Summary

Chapter 10 is titled “Qianjun ("Alex").” Gene opens with a history of how basketball became popular in China. It was introduced as a sport that would make players strong – potentially strong enough to compete in the Olympics. Scientists in the West thought the Chinese lacked the strength and athletic ability necessary to compete. Some Chinese felt that about themselves as well, but they liked basketball. Soldiers played as a means of developing teamwork. For years, Chinese leaders shut the country off from the world. In the late-1970s, the country began to open up, giving Chinese a look at how basketball had developed in other countries. In 1995, the Chinese Basketball Association was formed in China. The government evaluated children from birth and those with the potential to be skilled at the sport were invited into a program that fed the junior teams which in...