Rockville, MD--

The last time I saw the gym at Montgomery College Rockville this packed, Former MC Rockville standout Jerome Williams was throwing down jams in the the small gym on this cozy little Junior College campus.... Tonight it was another player who packed the gym and he certainly had no problem throwing down a dunk, the 7 foot 9 Sun Ming Ming, the tallest player in professional sports history.

Ming Ming, or "Big Homie" as the savvy point Guard Randy "White Chocolate" Gill calls him joined the Maryland Nighthawks of the ABA and certainly has brought some attention back to the league which has struggled to find its niche in the basketball market since they moved to Rockville after a brief stint in Prince Georges County at the Showplace Arena.. While they have had a better draw then before, it still in a hot and small high school style gym.

Nighthawks owner and ABA President, Tom Doyle has vowed to bring back a little fun back to the league has even gone as far as cracking down on basketball basics to many of the teams in the league, some of whom couldn't even keep simple game statistics or update their team websites.

So the big story tonight Sun, who looks as if he still needs a little bit of work in the skills deparment, but with a team around him that loves to play basketball, he will be sure to learn quickly. Sun recently returned from L.A., where he was shooting some fight scenes for "Rush Hour 3"--is not actually being paid by the Nighthawks. He's a volunteer player. Whether he remains qualified for the "tallest player in the history of the professional basketball" title that the team has given him, I certainly do not recall anyone other than King Kong being taller than 8 feet.

Tom Doyle said that not only does he plan to press on with his "Tallest Basketball Lineup in History" quest featuring Sun, Gheorghe Muresan, Manute Bol and a couple other 7-footers, he also has designs on a "Smallest Basketball Lineup in History" promotion. Or at least a "Smallest Basketball Player in History" promotion. Who would suit up for that, Wee Man and Mini Me...

Ming Ming, last player for a Division II team in China, and prior to having surgery, played a few games in the USBL last summer,.He'd He's also been working out regularly with White Chocolate and they're striking up a friendship; "no chopsticks, American, eat fork," White Chocolate told him when they started eating, post-press conference. White Chocolate might even convince him to play in Allen Iverson's softball classic this summer, where Sun is likely to become the tallest softball player as well.