Husky Men's Basketball Blog

Mike Jensen said a few months ago he'd never really been outside the United States, saying he didn't really consider Canada a foreign country.
That's about to change in a big way.

Jensen will leave Aug. 25 for China where he will play in the Chinese Basketball Association for the Shaanxi Kylins based in the city of Xian.

(Brief personal aside: I've been to Xian, which may be best -known to Americans as the home of the Terra Cota Warriors. Jensen will never have seen so many people, or seen so many people riding bicyles, or, unfortunately, so much smog. Hopefully the latter has cleaned up a bit since we were there three years ago. Also, I hope he likes KFC as there is one on seemingly every street corner).

Jensen got the gig after attending a tryout camp for the Chinese Basketball Association in Oregon recently. Afterward, he signed a contract for the entire 2006-07 season, which will run roughly seven-and-a-half months, meaning he would be home in mid-March.

Other Americans who were signed to contracts out of that camp included another former Husky --; Doug Wrenn -- as well as former UCLA center Michael Fey of Olympia, so Jensen will at least have some company over there.

The teams provide players with apartments as well as a translator.

"He's excited,'' said Jensen's father, Scott. "He said 'I get to live the dream a little further.'''

Jensen also hopes that he will play well enough over there to possibly open up some further basketball opportunities over here.

As the Wikipedia entry points out, Shaanxi needs some help as the team went 11-29 last season.