Liu Wei has played basketball with
Houston Rockets center Yao Ming for 10 years, including this summer on China's national
team.
In part because it will be a first for him, Liu is looking forward to
playing with the Kings next week against his good friend and the Rockets
in exhibition games in Shanghai and Beijing.
"It's going to be exciting to play at home," the 24-year-old
point guard said of the two
contests billed as the NBA China Games 2004, "but it's going to be more
exciting to play against Yao. We've always been on the same team."
Liu, born and raised in Shanghai, doesn't speak English very well and
uses Frank Sha as an interpreter. They stay in the team hotel and
generally eat all of their meals there, Sha said.
However, the 6-foot-3, 198-pound Liu said he has no problems with
language during games and when strategy is discussed. Liu said his
experience at the Athens Olympics with the national team, guided by Dallas
Mavericks assistant coach Del Harris, helped his ability to comprehend basketball terms in English.
In some ways, Liu's basketball development has been similar to that of
American players.
He first came to the United States in 1998 with Yao and spent two
months here playing in AAU competition and participating in Nike
All-American camps and a Michael Jordan-sponsored camp. Two years ago, Liu
joined the Chinese national team for an exhibition game against the Golden
State Warriors in Oakland and played well.
Liu said only one other sport sparked his interest.
"I played soccer but only for two weeks," he said. "I didn't like it
that much, and we didn't have a coach during holiday."
Unlike many kids growing up in the United States, Liu said he didn't
always dream of playing in the NBA. "No," he said with a giggle. "My goal
was to try to make the junior national team."
Liu knows the odds of making the Kings are slim and plans to rejoin the
Shanghai Sharks in China's "A" league, which begins in mid-November. But
Liu said he'll continue working in hopes of following Yao, Menk Bateer and
Wang Zhizhi as Chinese players to make the NBA. He would be the first
guard to achieve the feat.
Liu said he needs to improve his strength and conditioning to perform
at the NBA level. But Kings coach Rick Adelman, assistant Elston Turner
and president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie agree Liu shows no
fear.
"He's certainly not afraid to play at this level," Turner said of Liu.
"He competes. I haven't seen him back down once. He's really an
exceptional passer, and he's quick. He's been finding people without even
looking at them. He's a real point guard."
(Agencies) |