China has another basketball player entering the NBA draft this year. 7 foot 8…yes 7’8. Something is going on over there. Look at the history of the world and the history of china. I only can remember 1 female from china who was very tall, I think she was over 7 ft, but that is it. The average male is 5’7 in china. Could china be altering genes. One would guess looking over the years at the players coming out of china.
What are you guys take on this?
How about… China has a huge population and in that population there will be some freaks. Plus, like most communist countries, it has an established system (school system) of recognising and developing talent. Naturally they are going to push very tall people into basketball because they arn’t going to be too good at gymnastics, diving or wushu!
What is the guy’s name! 7’8 is massive!
his name is Sung Ming Ming,
just because a country has a vast population doesnt mean the entire basketball team are all over 7 foot tall and some push 8. Pushing people into basketball is normal when they are tall but 7’8 is off the charts. The problem with him being that tall is his cordination, it sucks. The NBA will have to develope his skills.but when he get his swagger…all hell is gonna break loose cause who will be able to stop him.
just think if this guy could develope into a sprinter. Can you say 7.98 100m, 12.4 200 or how about 33.8 in the 400m.
I wouldn’t know about the gene theory. Sure it is possible and to beat the US at its own game would be a great achievement for a communist country.
However, according to the CIA website:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html
China’s population is - 1,298,847,624
US population is - 293,027,571
So it is about ohhhh, 4.43 times that of the US! Statistically that is quite significant.
7-8 3/4 Sun Ming Ming Shoots for the NBA - Apr. 18, 2005 - by Arthur Volbert
Sun Ming Ming, who now stands 7-foot-8 3/4 and was once on China’s Olympic Hope team, is training in Greensboro, North Carolina, and hoping to be selected in this year’s NBA draft. At 7-8 3/4, Sun is currently taller than any other basketball player in the world. This translates to 236 cm, one cm taller than Myong Hun Ri of North Korea, whom we currently list as the world’s tallest player.
When I saw pictures of Sun almost two years ago, as he was touring the West Coast with the Olympic Hope Team, I wrote that he looked taller than 7-5, his listed height. He appeared to be 7-9 or 7-10 when compared to known 7-footers like Zhao Hang and Mo Guochao. So it appears that Sun has stopped growing.
But it does look like his listed birth date of 1983 is correct, as this would make him eligible for this year’s draft. I would like to thank Kellie Dixon, staff writer for the Greensboro News & Record, whose news story provided information included in this article.
Sun, who is from Harbin, China, is working in Greensboro with trainer Keith Gatlin for a shot at the NBA. His agent, Charles Bonsignore, paired Sun with former client and former professional basketball player Keith Gatlin. Gatlin, a managing partner with 334 Sports, a Greensboro firm that trains athletes, has worked with Sun for about five weeks.
“With his size, that intrigues everybody,” Gatlin said. “He can really shoot the ball to be that size. The challenge for him now is to get mobile, to get up and down the court.” Sun also can handle the ball, as he has soft hands, and he has a very good outside shot. When it comes to dunking, he doesn’t need to leave the ground. Sun’s weakness is his inflexibility and his lack of weight training. While playing for the Olympic Hope team and then Da Qing, his province’s club squad, Sun never lifted weights and is just now building upper-body strength.
Trainer James Wilson, who coaches track and field at High Point University, has worked with Sun on his mobility for about five weeks. During the first workout, the color drained from Sun’s face, and he tired easily. Now Sun completes the workouts. His flexibility has improved to where he can lift his knees higher, and he gets up and down the court more smoothly.
I do not know if Sun had an operation to contain his acromegaly, but it appears that he is not declining. Gheorghe Muresan had acromegaly and had a brief career in the NBA. But eventually leg and foot problems resulting from or aggravated by the condition cut his career short. Like Sun, Muresan was a great shooter and had good hands.
Another player Sun resembles is Mu Tze-Zhu, China’s 7-6 center in the 1970’s. Mu also was a wide-body who could shoot very well but suffered from mobility problems. When I saw Mu play against Rutgers University in Madison Square Garden it seemed that one foot was shorter than the other. Mu was thought to be bigger than 7-6 but did not want to be listed as being taller.
there are plenty of tall people in China, the Northern Chinese are much taller, average height is closer to 6 feet, they have leaner angular features, Yao Ming is typical of this look 
The Southern chinese are much shorter, ie your typical Chinese, more rounded looking. Different gene pool, and the difference in diet is another reason, Northerners have more wheat in their diet, just like Western countries and Southerners eat more rice.
I saw a photo of Steve Francis standing with some local Kids at a BBall camp he held in Beijing, and they were all just as tall as him, and a few taller, he’s 6’1"…
And this quote on a Detroit piston scout visting China in a NY Times article in interesting
During a visit near the Mongolian border, Ronzone came upon 20 seven-footers under the age of 18, plus a 12-year-old who’s already 6-11
7’8 is one tall dude? Are they gonna take time to train him before he enters the draft for a full year like they did that other dude? I guess these guys don’t have a chance against A dude that is 7’8! 
Don’t overlook a more obvious and simpler explanation: more protein in the diet. Protein content is a big determinant of adult height. The average height in the West has steadily increased over the last two centuries due to increased protein in the diet as a result of increasing economic development. Similarly, China has undergone phenomenal economic development over the last 25 years, especially the last 15. The Chinese overall are much wealthier and better fed than they have been up until the recent past. Therefore, do not be surprised if the average adult height in China inceases significantly over the next 20-30 years.
If you combine a huge population with a bell curve distribution that has a steadily increasing mean, you’re more likely to see super tall athletes with greater frequency.
It said in the article there he has acromegaly. That’s why he’s so tall. This is a disease of excessive growth hormone production. It causes people to grow tall and big but they normally die young. Andre the Giant and George Muresan are 2 athletes who had acromegaly.
What was the name of that Billy Crystal movie, My Giant? George Muresan was in it, and it was inspired by Billy’s experience with Andre the Giant while filiming The Princess Bride.
My comments above were not about a specific athlete. I was just referring to the general population in China. Expect Asians to become taller as their nutrition and protein intake improve as a result of economic development and a more Western diet. Of course also expect them to have more obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
7’8.75 whoaaaaa
how much does he weigh…that will be the diff btw playing and the bench in the nba…