adidas superstar camp in beijing

I am writing now from the bowels of Beijing Sports University. I am here for an adidas superstar camp with about 60 kids from Asia, mostly chinese. KC Jones is here running it, along with detlef schrempf and a few current nba players (dwight howard and TJ Ford).

This place is the center of chinese sports world.. I am about 100 yards away from a giant alabaaster statue of mao, probably 7 stories tall. Around the corner in the gym, I saw young girls practicing gymnastics routines. Outside there is a mural honoring 2004 gold medal winners who were graduates. It is really the heart of the government sports machine so far as I can tell.

And here we are in the adidas media center… interesting to watch how western capitalist sports system fits into the communist sports machine, the last real bastion of the old line govt here.

the media center is pretty filled right now, as we wait for the afternoon sessions to begin. i am the only westerner. everyone else is a 24-year-old chinese guy. Not sure who they all work for but i will try to figure it out.

I will be writing about this camp for Slam Online, that’s beijing and my new gig, sports Business Journal, so much more from here to come on the blog, I’m sure.