| HE WANTS TO BE LIKE YAO MING |
| IS YOUR HAND AS BIG AS HIS? |
| |
HE strikes an imposing figure, at 2.36m tall, with size 19 feet. And Chinese basketball player Sun Ming Ming has an equally imposing dream - to join the National Basketball Association.
But what has made him so tall and given him dreams of following his countryman Yao Ming into the US professional ranks was also a threat to his life.
A tumour at the base of his skull pressed on his pituitary gland, making him grow.
It had to be surgically removed last year. Without the surgery, he faced the possibility of heart failure and early death. A tiny piece of tumour remains.
Mr Sun, who is in North Carolina training to improve his speed and agility, said: 'Yao Ming is the pride of all Chinese people. Could I be like him one day? This is not something that can happen just because I wish it to happen. I need to work hard and even if I work really hard, I don't know if it will ever happen.'
Mr Sun arrived in the US from China in February 2005.
Sports agent Charles Bonsignore says he took a risk by taking on the then lead-footed player and agreeing to raise funds for medical bills that already exceed US$100,000 ($160,000).
Mr Bonsignore said: 'I said, 'Let's see what we can do and make this guy into an NBA player'.'
Mr Sun was eligible for the 2005 National Basketball Association draft, but wasn't chosen because of his lack of stamina.
His huge feet were covered with corns and welts, his toes were gnarled and an X-Ray showed the bones in his toes were deformed because he didn't have shoes that fit him properly while he was growing up.
Then doctors made a more shocking discovery: A tumour was crushing Sun's pituitary gland which was producing too much growth hormone, causing him to grow and grow.
BLESSING AND CURSE
Dr Hrayr Shahinian, director of Los Angeles-based Skull Base Institute, who operated on Mr Sun in Sep 2005, said the condition was a blessing and a curse for Mr Sun, who barely needed to jump in order to dunk a ball.
He said: 'It is a curse because this disease, if it is left alone, if untreated, can be fatal and he may die of heart failure right on the basketball court.'
A tiny piece of tumour remains lodged in his skull close to the main blood vessel from the heart to the brain, and the optic nerve.
Treatment could include radiosurgery or special drugs, both of which are costly.
Robert Pershing Wadlow, who suffered from gigantism and died in 1940 from a foot infection at the age of 22, is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the tallest man in history at 2.72m).
If he succeeds in playing in the NBA, Mr Sun would be the tallest player in history, overtaking Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muresan, both 2.31m, Yao Ming and Shawn Bradley, both 2.29m, are the tallest players currently in the league.
Mr Bill Paolantonio, executive producer of a documentary about Mr Sun said: 'The first thing you notice about Sun Ming Ming is that he's the largest human being you'll ever see on Earth.
'It is an amazing feeling when he walks into the room. He stops the room. He's that large.'
Mr Sun's height is one thing that impressed Dale Osbourne, general manger and coach of Dodge City Legend in Kansas and prompted him to sign Sun onto the minor league team for a short contract in March.
The 141kg player averaged only about 5 minutes per game, said Mr Osbourne.
That compares to about 20 minutes for an average player.
'It's going to take time,' said Osbourne. 'He's got to continue to work hard on his foot movement, continue to work hard on his stamina and he's got to continue to hit the weight room and get stronger upper body and lower body strength.'
Mr Sun is now training about five hours a day, but he still has time to soak in a little Americana, from learning English to eating new food, shopping to playing pool and even getting a taste of night life.
He said: 'The dream that I had when I came to the US has not changed. It will be great if I can play in NBA one day. I will work as hard as I can, do my very best to achieve that goal. But if it still can't happen in the end, at least I will have no regret.' - Reuters.
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,115626,00.html
