New Asian college basketball league hopes to produce 'next Yao Ming' - ESPN

Jay Li has two goals for the new Asian University Basketball League, a first-of-its-kind college basketball organization that will launch this summer in the world's largest continent.

Li, the CEO of the AUBL, hopes to bring together the top colleges across Japan, China and Korea and beyond — and he also aims to add another layer of development that could produce the NBA's next Asian superstar.

«One thing people didn't know about before is, hey, there are a lot of good colleges in Asia that are world-leading institutions, very famous schools, but they also have fascinating basketball programs and there is already an existing following,» Li told ESPN. «And the AUBL is really just bringing that to another level.

»And we are not just an Asian basketball league. We could be the centerpiece of youth talent development for the entire world when it comes to developing Asia's next Yao MIng, Asia's next Jeremy Lin."

The league has the backing of multiple investors, including Joe Tsai, the owner of the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Liberty. The AUBL will play its first games in August, Li told ESPN this week after announcing it had raised the initial funding to move forward with the league.

In August, the league will host a single-elimination tournament with 12 elite Asian college basketball programs — including the University of Hong Kong and Peking University (China) — at an event that will culminate with a «Final Four» and a champion. In 2026, the AUBL will play a full schedule, which will include road and home games.

Li said college basketball can grow rapidly in Asia, where there are more than 1 billion basketball fans. But he said he's also fielded calls from Australia and other places around the globe that want their