CHN - Sun full of hope after battle with illness

GREENSBORO (FIBA) - At 7ft 9in, Sun Ming Ming can dunk a basketball and hardly leave the ground.

But the enormous height which gives him so much potential is also his greatest disadvantage.

The growth disorder that caused it left Sun critically ill, and after two surgeries, the 23-year-old must prove he is fit enough to play organised basketball.

Two weeks removed from his second operation, Sun is optimistic he can return to peak condition and resume pursuit of his ultimate dream - to play in the NBA.

Sun, in a telephone interview with PA Sport, said through an interpreter: "Right now I feel fine. I'm clear to train."

But Sun also knows there is no quick fix for his condition. He must have another scan in six months to see if the cause of the problem - a tumour pressed against his pituitary gland which caused an excess of growth hormone
- has been removed.

Sun arrived in the United States in February 2005, hoping to be selected in that year's NBA draft.

He had been spotted four years previously by his current agent, Charles Bonsignore, when he visited the US with China's national youth team.

But it wasn't until Sun started working out for NBA teams that concerns were raised about his health.

Sun was seriously short of stamina, and nobody knew why.

An MRI discovered a shocking truth - Sun had grown up with a life-threatening condition and never known about it.

Sun only got the results after he had returned to his home in the poor farming town of Harbin in Northern China. He had so many questions, he didn't have time to be upset.

"I really didn't react with any great surprise when I was told the news because when they said I had this illness and I needed surgery for them to remove the tumour, I was more worried about how I would be able to pay for it," he said.

"I did not tell my family because I did not want them to worry, but they found out through the press anyway. I told them I would find a way to have the surgery I needed."

A campaign was launched by Bonsignore in the United States, and Sun also got huge financial assistance from Rocky Manning, a North Carolina man who had given Sun a home when he first arrived the US.

"Rocky helped me in so many ways," Sun said. "He took me in to live with his family like one of their own, and during my surgery he offered me a huge amount of financial help that meant the surgery could go ahead. What he has done for me is immeasurable."

Manning never thought twice about putting up what amounted to the bulk of the nearly $100,000 needed for Sun's operation, even though he had only known him for two months.

"He's an awesome guy, a gentle giant who's had a very hard life," Manning said. "He's really a hard worker who wants to be the best that he can be, and we decided when we found it he needed it that we should continue helping him. I'm glad we could."

Sun's first surgery in September 2005 removed the bulk of the tumour, but enough remained to threaten his life - necessitating the second operation two weeks ago.

Although he was thousands of miles from home and his family, Sun was overwhelmed by the support he received.

"There were so many people who helped me through the entire process," he said.

"I received letters from many people and donations from people I didn't know. Many people from the Chinese community in Los Angeles (where Sun's agent is based) gave me both financial and emotional support throughout the process."

Although Sun must return to hospital in the near future, the hope is that his illness is behind him and he can focus on his career.

In the 18 months Sun has spent in North America, he has had only one short, injury-hampered spell playing for the Dodge City Legend in the USBL, but he still believes he can make it all the way to the NBA.

"I believe and I hope the second procedure has completely taken care of the problem, but we won't know until we get the scan results six months from now," he said.

"I'm training on my own, trying to get into the shape I need to be in to play organised basketball, and if an opportunity comes along I will take it.

"My immediate goal is to make sure my illness has been cured. Then I want to get into condition so that I can one day make it to the NBA."

By Ian Parker
PA Sport