Grand Rapids, MI -- His name is Sun Ming Ming and he's signed-on to play with the local professional basketball team The Grand Rapids Flight. Ming is 7 feet 9 inches tall and 370lbs. He will be arriving in Grand Rapids Tuesday night. Tihon Johnson, one of the players for the Flight says, "I mean, who doesn't want to see a 7 foot 9 guy, just period, not even for basketball reasons." Johnson says the players will meet him tonight, but already know a lot about him. He's 23-years old and towers above the rest. Grand Rapids Flight Coach Dave Fox lured Ming to West Michigan. He says, "I've been talking to his agent, bugging his agent for 6 months now and convinced him that this is the place for him based on the Grand Rapids medical community. He has a condition called Acromegaly, also called “Gigantism".It is that pituitary condition that caused Ming's excessive growth. He recently had surgery to improve his condition. Fox says Ming's endurance is improving and the International Basketball League will be great practice for him.Fox says, "We think he's going to be an NBA prospect, it's just going to take some time."Chris Blakely, one of the Flight players says, “This should be a good league for him. It's a fast paced league which should get him into shape. It will be great for him to bounce back and have a great year for us."The Grand Rapids Flight has a jersey ready for Ming to wear. It's a triple, triple-extra large. As soon as he gets settled in, he'll hit the court for practice. If he's as popular here as he is across the country, some of the players think that the relatively "unknown" Grand Rapids Flight could soon be playing in front of sell-out crowds. Johnson says, “It kind of gives us a name. Brings a name to the forefront.”The games are played at Forest Hills Northern High School. The home opener is April 6. Tickets cost $8 for adults and $4 for children. The teams coach says they are also looking for sponsors. For more information, you can go to www.iblhoopsonline.com.
World's Tallest Basketball Player Moves To Michigan
He's the tallest basketball player in the world and he's about to move to Grand Rapids.
