Friday, September 20, 2002

Chen Hsin-an starts individual workout in Sacramento

Chen Hsin-an, the first Taiwanese player invited to participate the NBA pre-season training camp, starts his individual workout after arriving in Sacramento. On Sep. 19, Sacramento Kings put Chen's story on the frontpage of their official website and excited numerous local fans who cheers for Chen.

Under the guidance of Kings veteran coach Pete Carril, Chen focuses on his shooting stance and footwork in the first two workouts. Original plan to workout twice a day was dropped. And Chen adds the weight program on his routine starting today.

Chen's awesome leaping ability, tremendous speed and strength impressed Kings' assistant coaches, Terry Porter, John Wetzel and Elston Turner yesterday. They said they really want to see how Chen does in the real competition.

Most believe, the outside shooting will be the deciding factor for Chen to make the final roster. Although the Kings have a couple versatile players like Turkoglu and Stojakovic that can switch to shooting guard, they don't mind to add a backup SG on the roster. And that's where Chen can come in and take the opportunity.

Coming from Taiwan, where you can't see too many luxurious gyms, Chen is captivated by Kings practice facility. Almost every experience is new to him. Chen said he will focus on the fundementals right now and block everything out of his mind. If he fails in making the final roster, he can still come back as a new-and-improved player.

The NBA pre-season training camp starts on October 1.