Oftentimes when there is a work stoppage in a professional sports league, players will go back to school. Anthony Randolph has chosen to go back to LSU during the NBA lockout and was even considering joining a fraternity. Unfortunately for Yao Ming, injuries have derailed his career and he will not be playing basketball when the labor situation is sorted it. He will, however, still be doing the whole going back to school thing.
Yao will reportedly attend Shanghai’s Jiaotong University but has yet to decide what he will study. Jiaotong University is one of the most prestigious schools in China, and Yao will receive one-on-one teaching while in attendance. According to his agent, the 7-foot-6 center does not want to become a distraction to the other students by sitting in a classroom with them. Yao enrolled at Jiatong just before he headed to the U.S. to begin his basketball career but was too busy to complete the requirements.
As you may remember, Yao also received an honorary degree from the University of Hong Kong for his role in HIV/AIDS research back in 2008. Between his honorary doctorate in social sciences and an education from one of China’s top university’s, it appears Dr. Ming will make up for what his basketball career lacked with a respectable background in higher education. That’s more than most who have had their careers cut short by injury can say.
