Former Bayi Rockets star guard Zhang Jinsong and his new coaching colleagues from the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA) were invited by the University of Memphis for an NCAA pre-season inspection and training here on Thursday.

Fifteen Chinese young coaches will have a 10-day journey in Memphis from October 8-19 with one of them having chance to become an assistant coach for the Memphis Tigers, one of the NCAA top eight teams last season.

The CBA and the Univ. Memphis made the cooperation annually and 75 Chinese coaches in total will benefit from the program.

"I know the head coach of Tigers is Mr. John Calipari, a successful coach both in the NCAA and in the NBA. I'm looking forward to watching his training and matches," said Zhang, 37, who led the Bayi Rockets back to the top of the CBA after three-year absence last season before he retired.

As part of the program, Calipari is expected to hold clinic in China and the Memphis Tigers will have warm-ups with the Chinese national team in May of 2008.

"This is a precious chance for Chinese young coaches. They will earn the essence of American college basketball," Houston Rockets center Yao Ming was quoted as saying in the press release of the news conference in Beijing.

LeBrone James, Cleveland Caveliers guard, was also quoted as saying, that "It's a good idea to bring Chinese coaches to the United States for training. Their efforts will pay off when more and more coaches and talented players benefit from their work".

(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2007)