In 1994, still a high-school student, he represented the US on a basketball team that went to the mainland to compete for two weeks. During his trip, he visited such places as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Without knowing even a word of Chinese, he still took a deep liking to this ancient Eastern country.
一九九四年，還是高中生的他，代表美國棒球隊赴大陸比賽兩個星期，期間他遊歷過北京、上海、廣州等地，當時一句中文都不會，但他已深深喜歡上這個東方古國。