730 Foreign Hoopsters Apply to Play in KBL
By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter
The Korean Basketball League announced Monday that 730 foreign basketball players have applied to tryout for the league. It's the largest amount of interest the league has had from abroad since it began in 1997. The previous high was 616 applicants in 2007.
Korea's professional basketball organizing body will host a three-day tryout in Las Vegas from July 22 to 24. With the KBL's 10 teams permitted just two foreign players each, competition should be fierce.
Among the 730 are seven former National Basketball Association (NBA) players, including Mengke Bateer, Samaki Walker and Ryan Humphrey.
Bateer, a 2.11-meter, 136-kilogram center from China, played for the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors from 2002 to 2004. He was also a member of the Chinese national team, and was impressive at the World Championships in Indianapolis in 2002 where he scored 19 points along side Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.
Samaki Walker debuted in the NBA in 1996 and played for 10 seasons until 2005-06. The forward played for the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards and the Indiana Pacers, recording career averages of 5.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
Ryan Humphrey spent three seasons in the NBA with the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies from 2002-03 to 2004-05.
``We welcome foreign players who have good ability. They may help upgrade the KBL in technique and spread Korean basketball to the world,'' KBL Marketing & Public Relations assistant manager Choi Hyun-sik told The Korea Times, Tuesday.
However, Korea University Basketball Federation Vice President and Kyung Hee University head coach Choi Bu-young said he hopes the limits on imports remain the same, despite the increased interest.
``I hope that KBL keeps the new regulation which allows two imports per team, and one foreign player in the game at a time. I do not want the KBL to change the rule.''