Military personnel in uniform are required to salute when they meet and recognize persons entitled (by grade) to a salute except when it is inappropriate or impractical (in public conveyances such as planes and buses, in public places such as inside theaters, or when driving a vehicle).
One notable player, Shawn Kemp, enrolled in college but never played any games due to personal problems. In 1989, a year after his high school graduation, he was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics. He played 14 seasons in the NBA and was selected to 6 All-Star Games and 3 All-NBA Teams.
The Portland Trail Blazers made Thompson the number one pick in the 1978 NBA draft, the first foreign-born player to be selected first. Thompson was a fixture in the Portland lineup for eight years (though one season was missed due to injury), where he started at both power forward and center positions.