Just 15 Asian Americans played in Division 1 men’s college basketball last season, reports OPB.
Among those was Filipino American Jason Brickman (pictured) who played for Long Island University and is considered among the best point guards in college basketball.
Brickman is an exception. The 15 Asian American basketball players represent 0.2 percent of all players and is significantly less than the nearly 6 percent that Asian Americans represent in the US population.
That’s quite a contrast to men’s gymnastic where men make up 7 percent of the college athletes. In squash, Asian American women players make up 10 percent of the sport, 8.2 percent for men.
OPB wondered what’s up with the absence of Asian Americans in basketball especially with the prevalence of Asian basketball leagues.
Could it be that Asians are too short? If that were the case, there would be more white basketball players since whites on average are taller than African Americans.
Could it be a cultural preference? You can read the story of Bo Noung on OPB.
