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Born in Chinese Taipei, schooled in Beijing and fluent in Mandarin, Milwaukee Bucks rookie Joe Alexander found himself at the center of attention during last week's NBA China Games.

Joe Alexander of the Milwaukee Bucks competes during an NBA pre-season exhibition game in Beijing on Saturday at the Wukesong Indoor Stadium. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Bucks 109-108. [Yang Shizhong/China Daily]

Heading into practice on Tuesday at Guangzhou Gymnasium one day before the first of two exhibition games against Golden State Warriors, the 6-foot-8 small forward was swarmed by local media looking for a new "star" to build their stories around in the absence of Yi Jianlian, who was since traded to New Jersey Nets.

Alexander said that games like this were as much an eye-opener for American viewers as for the Chinese public.

"People in America, when they think of China, they think of the rural areas. So when they come to China they are most shocked when they see the big city," he said.

"They're like, 'Oh, I never thought about it, but China is just like America, really. Big populated cities with good architecture and fancy roads.

"I'm so excited to come back to Beijing," he said. "I spent five years at the International School of Beijing (ISB). I really enjoyed every minute of it."

Alexander, who left Maryland for Hong Kong at the age of eight when his father took a position at a local confectionary there, was treated like a hero on his return to the Beijing-based school ahead of Saturday's game at Wukesong Indoor Stadium.

He got acquainted with basketball when the family shifted to the capital six months into their China stay and Alexander attended the ISB in Shunyi from 1996-2002.

His two brothers John and Jeremy became the first foreigners to win the Beijing High School basketball MVP award, a feat they managed in successive seasons.

"Basketball life in ISB was a very important part of my career," he said. "I had a dream to be in the NBA at that time. And I told myself no matter how tough it is, believe in yourself, hold on and never give up, then it's likely to have a dream come true."

Lucky No 8

The 22-year-old was the No 8 pick in this year's NBA draft and he has already shown he has the talent to become a huge star stateside.

He finished his junior season in West Virginia University leading the team with 16.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Alexander was second in terms of blocks (1.5), third in assists (2.4) and averaged 31.6 minutes per game.

He finished his NCAA career by averaging 18 points and 9.6 rebounds and was impressive in the Bucks' two China games despite only narrowly making the trip due to an abdominal strain.

After scoring 11 points in Guangzhou and improving to 14 in Beijing he said the team was making progress.

"It's a very good start for me," he said. "We're just trying to get better with every game. We feel good about the path we're on, and we're steadily gelling and learning the offense."

He said playing in China game him extra motivation. "Definitely, I'm very excited. And I saw a lot of my friends (in Beijing), which was pretty cool."

(China Daily October 21, 2008)