Chinese basketball player, 7' 8'', in town for surgery
Richard Obert
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 17, 2005 07:10 PM
Everyone wanted to stand next to the colossal man from China for photographs. He dwarfed them all inside Gilbert Highland High's gymnasium, remaining stoic in each shot.
Sun Ming Ming, a 7-foot-8, 335-pound, 21-year-old who can dunk a basketball without jumping, was more exhibit than budding NBA player this day. He complained of a headache and fatigue, and sat out the drills and scrimmage as a bunch of local high school players mixed with Chinese youth who were here to experience American culture and hoops.
Sun came along for the ride last weekend with Zhang Weiping, one of China's most prestigious youth basketball directors who has co-authored books with legendary former UCLA coach John Wooden. Sun has a long road ahead of him. Right now, the dream of facing his fellow countryman - Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, who is three inches shorter, 30 pounds lighter but much stronger - on an NBA court one day is furthest from his mind.
He just wants to live. And to live what he hopes will be a long, healthy and prosperous life, he needs surgery to remove a benign tumor that is pressed against his pituitary gland, which produces the body's growth hormone. The tumor is also sapping Sun's strength because it is preventing the production of testosterone.
Sun and his entourage - headed by his agent, Charles Bonsignore, with whom Sun lives in Ventura, Calif. - are trying to raise $130,000 to pay for the procedure and 10 years of follow-ups. It is not known how long Sun has had this condition, but it has been deemed as pre-existing and is not covered by insurance.
Bonsignore said that Yao is unaware of Sun's condition and has not been approached for help. Right now, Bonsignore is reaching out to the Chinese community in L.A., and negotiating with the Discovery Channel to document Sun's life and the surgery. The Discovery Channel, if it agrees, would help pay a portion of the costs of the surgery. The surgery is scheduled to be performed by Dr. Hrayr Shahinian at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in about two weeks. Shahinian is director of the Skull Base Institute, which he started on the West Coast in 1996. Shahinian will use fiber optics to go through the nasal passages to remove the tumor behind Sun's eyes.
If all goes well, Sun's strength will match his size. He'll start producing the testosterone levels that should keep him from having to leave a game after seven minutes because of fatigue and stress.
"Yeah, my dream is to some day play in the NBA against Yao Ming, but now I just want to concentrate on this surgery," Sun said, using Weiping to translate.
He doesn't possess Yao's charm and charisma, but Sun, who came to the U.S. in February to work out for NBA teams and to find an agent, is gentle, smart (he manages his Chinese club team's money), and polite.
"He was always most gracious," said John McLelland, a Mesa-resident and sport nutrition marketer, who arranged for eight Chinese youths and Sun to spend a few days in the Valley last weekend after helping them get into the Michael Jordan Camp in Santa Barbara, Calif., earlier this summer."We went to McDonald's where he had three cheeseburgers, fries and a Sprite," McLelland said. "After he was done, he neatly folded up the packages and threw them in the garbage. He's a gentle giant."
A giant with size 19 shoes, a soft, sweet touch from 15 feet, an unselfish court nature who looks to pass first, and a frame that overlaps king-sized beds in hotel rooms. He has a hard time flying, because most of the airplane seats are too small for him.
"I thought he looked like a monster. I never saw anyone so tall. His personality is so nice," said McLelland's 13-year-old son, Jason, who played at the Jordan camp.
Sun was discovered two years ago in Harbin, China, an industrial city and capital of Heilongjiang province, by Weiping when he was in charge of building China's Olympic basketball team for 2008.
Sun did not know he had the tumor until June 26 after medical testing, which was suggested by several NBA teams that had privately worked him out before this summer's draft. They were concerned about his lack of strength and stamina.
According to the Skull Base Institute, Sun has acromegaly or "gigantism," a hormonal disorder that results when the pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone (GH). It causes increased growth of the long bones and increased height, according to the institute's Web site. Bonsignore said he has been told Sun could die before he is 30 if the tumor is not removed, because of the excess GH being produced. He said the vital organs will continue to grow, and Sun's heart will have no room to pump.
The tumor,along with suppressing testosterone, also compresses surrounding brain tissue, such as the optic nerves, the institute says. This causes headaches and affects vision. Sun, who played for China's second-division national team (Yao played on the first division team), can't keep his arms raised very long before fatiguing.
"It prevents him from playing more than five or seven minutes at a time," Bonsignore said. "He can't produce the testosterone for the recovery needed. His heart is in good condition."
Still, NBA teams inquire.
"There are five or six teams who keep calling, asking about the tumor," Weiping said.
Bonsignore emphasizes that the procedure is to prolong Sun's life long after an NBA career would be over. But he envisions what kind of player he could be.
"His whole life is going to change," Bonsignore said. "He'll be able to build that muscle and he's going to basically be an impact NBA player. I don't look at him as an NBA prospect. I see him as an NBA player. But first things first. We want him to live a normal life. If basketball is part of that, that's great."
Sun isn't in a rush.
"I'm concerned about the short term," Sun said through Weiping. "I just want this tumor removed. Then, I can think about basketball."
