Sports
June 6, 2016
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 13
Zhou Qi’s potential could lead to much NBA draft intrigue
By Tim Reynolds
AP Basketball Writer
M
IAMI — Zhou Qi needs someone to help him
communicate at workouts with National
Basketball Association (NBA) teams, simply
because he does not speak English well enough to
understand most instructions.
His game, however, translates just fine.
In an NBA draft class that will likely have Louisiana
State University’s Ben Simmons and Duke’s Brandon
Ingram as the first two picks and then much uncertainty
with the remaining 58, Zhou may draw plenty of intrigue.
He stands just over 7’2” in sneakers, has a wingspan just
shy of eight feet, and can nearly touch the rim while
standing flat-footed.
He is a big man with shooting-guard skills, China’s next
NBA hope, a 20-year-old who’s already a pro at home and
now wants to get on the game’s biggest stage.
“I am ready,” Zhou said at the NBA draft combine held
in May.
Time will tell if NBA teams agree.
Some draftniks say he could be a late-first-round pick.
The Boston Celtics — who have eight draft picks,
including three first-rounders and the No. 3 selection —
brought him in for a workout, as did the Memphis
Grizzlies. He’ll audition for more NBA teams in the
coming weeks, as everyone figures out their plans for the
June 23 draft.
“I think his basketball English was good enough that it
didn’t impede us from doing anything on the court,”
Grizzlies vice president of basketball operations John
Hollinger said after their workout. “I mean, obviously, we
weren’t having detailed discussions about politics and
economics or anything. ... Very skilled for his size, very
long frame, knows how to play.”
Executives seem to like what they’re seeing. Miami
assistant general manager Adam Simon said Zhou made
an impression even going back to last year at the Nike
Hoop Summit — which annually brings together the best
international players age 19 and younger.
“He held his own against the top high school players in
the country,” Simon said. “For him, here’s what you base it
on: Big guy that can catch, has good hands, and can run,
especially for someone over seven feet tall.”
Zhou is one of many intriguing overseas options in this
draft class.
Forward Dragan Bender should be a lottery pick from
Croatia, and countrymen Ivica Zubac and Ante Zizic are
likely to get snagged in the first round by teams looking for
centers. There’s also Turkish shooting guard Furkan
Korkmaz, Serbian swingman Timothe Luwawu, and
Spanish forward Juan Hernangomez as strong
first-round hopefuls. (And that doesn’t even include
Oklahoma star Buddy Hield, a soon-to-be lottery pick who
Rumi Utsugi signs with the NWSL’s Seattle Reign FC
Japan National Team
midfielder Rumi Utsugi
has signed with Seattle
Reign FC of the National
Women’s Soccer League
(NWSL), pending receipt of
her International Transfer
Certificate (ITC). Utsugi is
scheduled to arrive in
Seattle upon completion of
her current contract with
French side Montpellier
HSC. She is expected to be
available to play as early as
July 9.
Utsugi, 27, was a mem-
ber Team Japan for the
2007, 2011, and 2015 FIFA
Women’s
World
Cup
tournaments
and
has
amassed 87 caps repre-
senting her country. Her
professional career started
in Japan in 2004, when she
played six seasons for NTV
Beleza. In 2010, she signed
with Montpellier HSC of
Division 1 Féminine, be-
coming the first Japanese
player to play in the French
top division. During her six
seasons with Montpellier,
she recorded 19 goals over
101 appearances in league
play and helped lead
Montpellier to four league
cup finals in 2012, 2014,
2015, and 2016.
“It is a dream to play in a
country ranked No. 1 in the
world in women’s soccer,”
said Utsugi. “I have
decided to challenge myself
to play in this country.”
Ex-South Korean soccer referees indicted over payments
By Kim Tong-Hyung
The Associated Press
S
INTERNATIONAL STAR. Rumi Utsugi (#13, right) of Japan chal-
lenges for the ball in a match against Switzerland at BC Place stadium in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, during the 2015 Women’s World
Cup. The Nadeshiko defeated Switzerland 1-0 in the contest. Midfielder
Utsugi has signed with Seattle Reign FC of the National Women’s Soccer
League. (AR Photo/Jan Landis)
Seattle is scheduled to at 7:30pm. To buy tickets,
play the Portland Thorns call (503) 553-5555 or
at Portland’s Providence visit
<www.portland
Park on Saturday, July 30 thorns.com>.
EOUL, South Korea
— South Korean
prosecutors
have
indicted two former soccer
referees over allegations
that they received money
from a club official — also
formally charged — in
return
for
favorable
decisions in five K-League
matches in 2013.
An official from the
K-League said the two
former
referees,
who
allegedly received 5 million
Korean won ($4,200) from a
Jeonbuk Hyundai scout
over five matches between
March and October 2013,
were permanently expelled
from
the
league
in
December after the investi-
gation began.
Jeonbuk, which late last
Nepal honors nine Sherpas who paved way for Everest climbers
Continued from page 4
est’s unpredictable slopes, including at
least four in May.
The nine Sherpas who were honored
were the first to reach the summit this
season, reaching the peak on May 11.
Since they fixed the ropes and dug the
route, more than 400 people climbed the
mountain.
The Sherpas first fixed aluminum
ladders and tied ropes over the dreaded
Khumbu Icefall, just above base camp.
They then fixed ropes for climbers to hold
onto for much of the route.
The busy climbing season follows two
years of disasters on the 29,035-foot-high
NBA DRAFT COMBINE. Zhou Qi of China participates in the
National Basketball Association draft combine in Chicago. Zhou stands
just over 7’2” in sneakers, has a wingspan just shy of eight feet, and can
nearly touch the rim while standing flat-footed. (AP Photo/Charles Rex
Arbogast)
hails from the Bahamas.)
Fairly or not, each of the European and Asian draft
entrants will be compared with Kristaps Porzingis, the
7’3” Latvian forward drafted last year by the New York
Knicks who was the NBA’s second-best rookie.
“I think the international portion of this draft has got a
lot of potentially good players,” ESPN basketball analyst
and former college coach Fran Fraschilla said. “But
certainly nobody ready to make an impact, let’s say, like
Porzingis did a year ago.”
Zhou will face another automatic comparison, that
being to 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinee Yao
Ming. Zhou said China’s most successful NBA player is
already a resource for him.
“We have been in touch,” Zhou said at the combine,
speaking in Mandarin. “He shared a lot of his experience
with me, mainly about training. I observed (what he did)
when he came here back then, he told me of what he went
through when he came, such as things to which to pay
attention, and that the competition here can be tough.”
The drawback for Zhou is his build. He’s tall, but not big.
At the draft combine, Zhou weighed only 218 pounds,
which means he would get overpowered in the post by
even average-sized NBA forwards.
“I am growing all the time,” Zhou said, pointing out he’d
gained 10 pounds in recent weeks.
The list of plusses Zhou brings is far longer. His
wingspan and agility help give him a strong defensive
presence, and he moves well. But his biggest asset is his
shooting ability — 18-footers often seem like layups to
him, and he’s working on extending his consistent range
out to the NBA 3-point line.
His favorite player is Kevin Durant, but Zhou bristles at
any comparison.
“I think I have my own style of play,” Zhou said. “Who
am I like? I’m not like anyone. I’m like myself.”
Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen in Beijing,
AP sports writers Teresa Walker in Nashville, Tennessee and
Chris Lehourites in London; and AP freelance writer Clay Bailey
in Memphis, Tennessee contributed to this report.
mountain. Last year’s season was
scrapped after 19 climbers were killed and
61 injured by an avalanche at base camp
triggered by a massive earthquake. In
2014, an avalanche at the Khumbu Icefall
killed 16 Sherpa guides.
Prime Minister Oli offered bouquets at
the statues of Hillary and Tenzing in Kath-
mandu. People attending the function
observed a minute of silence in memory of
those killed on Everest this season.
Two Indians, an Australian, and a
Dutchman died on the mountain last
month, while another Indian is missing
and believed to have died near the
summit.
month advanced to the
quarterfinals of the Asian
Champions League, says it
suspended the scout and
that he acted alone. The
Busan District Prosecu-
tors’ Office refused to
reveal the games involved.
The K-League vowed
reforms after being rocked
by a massive match-fixing
scandal in 2011.
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Difficulty
MEDIUM
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level: Medium
#51451
# 17
Instructions: Fill in the grid so that the digits 1
through 9 appear one time each in every row, col-
umn, and 3x3 box.
Solution to
last issue’s
puzzle
Puzzle #31945 (Easy)
All solutions available at
<www.sudoku.com>.
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