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Ming a possibility Yao Ming may or may not be the first pick in next month's NBA Draft. But, depending on which team selects the 7-foot-5 center, one of Yao's first appearances in the U.S. may be in Honolulu at the 25th Pete Newell Big Man Camp.
at Big Man Camp
Newell and his staff are
ready to instruct pros and
collegians for a 25th yearBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.com"He's definitely a big guy," said Merv Lopes, the former Chaminade basketball coach who is the coordinator for the Aug. 12-16 camp at Kekuhaupio Gym. "He'd benefit from being in the camp. But you don't know what team's going to get him. I think he'll go top three then get traded.
"We'll try to take 24 pros again and we usually don't hear much until Aug. 1. So far, we've only had interest from the (Golden State) Warriors, (Washington) Wizards and Atlanta Hawks."
Of the three, only Golden State sent a player (Antawn Jamison) to last year's camp. But the teams vary from year to year, depending on personnel and front office.
The Denver Nuggets likely will send players this year. Kiki Vandeweghe, who just finished his first season as Denver's general manager, has been on the camp staff since its inception.
Another might be the Houston Rockets. Coach Rudy Tomjanovich was Newell's first pick in the 1970 NBA Draft when the Rockets were in San Diego and Newell its GM.
"Some teams favor the camp, others don't," Lopes said. "We've also had some inquiries from Korea and the (NBA) developmental league.
"But things have changed since 9/11. It's not that easy for people to come."
One of the problems is the rising cost for the collegiate players who have to pay their own way. Lopes said he has commitments from players from West Virginia, UNLV, Tennessee and two from California, the school that Newell coached to the 1959 NCAA title.
"It's been tough, but we're going to keep it going," Newell said in a telephone call from his Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., home. "College and NBA teams have waited until the last minute to tell us, so we don't know if we'll have 10 or 25 coming.
"The increase in airfare won't be a deterrent for the pros, but it might be for some of the college players."
Regardless, the silver anniversary of the camp will be special. Lopes is working on a video that chronicles Newell's achievements at the college, pro and Olympic levels.
"We're collecting testimonials and putting it all together," Lopes said. "The players who come will also get something extra as part of the 25th anniversary."
The camp will have two sessions each day. The pro players will go from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and the college players from 1 to 4 p.m.