Look, ma! No Ma.
China's men's Olympic basketball team is witout Ma Jian, the former University of Utah player who nearly made the NBA last year.Ma, a 6-foot-7 swingman left China several years ago to play collegiately in the United States. However, his departure resulted in no invitation to play for his native country in the Olympics.
Initially, Ma was to play at UCLA, but he didn't qualify for entrance because he spoke only a few words in English. He ended up playing junior college basketball at Utah Valley Community College, before playing his final two years of college ball at Utah.
He played extensively as a junior for head coach Rick Majerus before being relegated to mostly mop-up action his senior season.
Ma later played briefly with the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers in their summer-league programs two years ago and was among the final cuts from the 1995-96 Clippers roster.
However, Ma didn't maintain correspondence with the Chinese federation during his four years in the United States, which some see as similar to political suicide. And although he would be one of the best players on the Chinese team, Ma's petition for a position on the squad was denied by the national federation.
Chinese officials are said to be discouraging their players from leaving their native country to play elsewhere - particularly in the United States. Instead, China would rather cultivate and keep its own talent at home.