Saturday, July 21, 2007

Chang Tsun-hsien to play in German league

張宗憲2

Chang Tsun-hsien, who was expected to be the No. 1 draft pick in the 2007 SBL local players draft, withdrew his name on the eve of the draft and told media that he will play for BG 74 Goettingen, a team in German top league 1. Bundesliga, next season.

If Chang makes the team, the 18 years-old guard out of Hsin-jung High School will be the first Taiwanese player in an European basketball league.

There have been several options for Chang, who was regarded as the best player in this year's high school class and was invited to attend the LeBron James Skill Camp in Akron, Ohio.

A minority owner of U.S. minor league ABA's Anaheim Arsenal, who is a Chinese, tried to bring Chang to play college ball before Chang declined. Chang then put his name in the SBL draft and was ready to play in Taiwan before pulling out.

With the help from BG 74 head coach John Patrick and Nike Taiwan, Chang is now trying to fulfill his dream of playing overseas and the first Taiwanese basketball player to play in Europe.

High-flying Chang led Hsin-jung High School to the 2007 HBL championship game and had 32 points and 7 rebounds in the overtime loss to the eventual champion Nan-shan High School. He was the leading scorer of Taiwan U-18 NT, which took fourth place in the Asian U-18 Championship in Urmuqi, China last year.