Max Zhang didn't even set foot on the court in California's hard-fought win over Oregon State on Saturday. Not that it mattered to his loyal fans.
A horde of kids greeted the 7-foot-3 Chinese center when he emerged from the locker room, armed with pen and paper for autographs while their parents held cameras to snap pictures.
``How tall are you?'' asked 9-year-old Kalina Campos, looking way up to greet Zhang.
He answered the girl, then responded with a friendly, ``How tall are you?''
``I don't know,'' the fourth-grader replied.
When Zhang does play for the Pac-10 first-place Golden Bears, he walks to the scorer's table to enter the game and all of Haas Pavilion goes crazy. This soft-spoken kid is wildly popular, garnering standing ovations for the most minor of contributions.
Because of his height, people took notice from the moment Zhang first stepped on Cal's campus 2 1/2 years ago. He drew instant thoughts of Chinese NBA star Yao Ming, who stands 7-6.
Zhang doesn't mind, though he makes it clear he's far from the same player. He is a big fan of Yao and even attended one of his camps in Beijing.
``It's a lot of fun,'' Zhang said. ``I hear them all the time, but I don't show it on my face. A lot of guys at first saw me and said, 'There's an Asian guy who's really tall.'''
Zhang is working to become a more consistent presence. He has shown that Cal (13-6, 5-2) can count on him for key minutes these days - a credit to second-year coach Mike Montgomery's hard work with the lanky center to become stronger and more confident.
``Max has a dimension to him nobody else has,'' Montgomery said. ``For Max it's about continuing to improve, because he's so much taller than everybody. The better he gets the more he will help us.''
Zhang can't help but stand out on the streets of eccentric Berkeley, where vendors push tie-dye and trinkets and protesters are known to march not far from where the Bears play. This liberal town sure has a different vibe than anything Zhang's been used to in his structured, Communist home country.
Yet he's becoming more comfortable on the court and in the classroom, and hopes for a career in international relations. Zhang's ultimate goal is to one day make the Chinese Olympic team.
Zhang began learning English in high school back home and now speaks well, which helps him communicate with teammates. He shined playing for China in the World University Games last summer, posting a pair of triple-doubles in six games.
Zhang certainly made his presence known in Cal's commanding victory over rival Stanford to open Pac-10 play. He scored a career-high 13 points, with four rebounds and three blocks.
Afterward, point guard Jerome Randle called Zhang a key to the Bears' success this season. Cal plays a key game Thursday night at second-place Arizona State.
Cal has had only three other 7-footers. Zhang was recruited by former coach Ben Braun, who landed him after he had considered attending San Diego before then-coach Brad Holland was fired in spring 2007. Braun caught word that Zhang was playing AAU ball in Southern California.
``We're constantly working with Max. Every once in a while, he'll do something and you say, 'My goodness, he's long,''' Montgomery said. ``At some point, he was a novelty at 7-3 and a Chinese kid that tall. Now, it's changing to, 'Hey, this kid can really do some things.'''
As far as putting on weight, his mom is trying to help.
Lixin Gong was recently in town for more than two months to help with her son's calorie intake. His favorite is dumplings and she cooked other Chinese staples to make sure he's putting on weight. He's up more than 30 pounds since arriving at Cal and would like to gain 20 more to around 260.
``I enjoyed my time with her,'' Zhang said of their visit, ``and the food of course.''
It was his mother who encouraged him to start playing basketball at age 15 in Yantai City, China - something she figured he should at least try given his stature. He visited the United States for an Adidas camp in 2005 and came back the next year to study at American English Academy in Monterey Park, Calif.
Zhang has started five games this season after averaging only 4.5 minutes as a redshirt freshman. His 27 blocks more than double his total from a year ago.
The crowd cheered madly when Zhang scored and was fouled with 2:13 remaining in a rout of Oregon on Thursday night. He converted the free throw to more applause.
``We love to see him contribute,'' forward Theo Robertson said. ``Max is capable of helping us, and we're seeing it right now. He just needed a chance to get out there.''
