THINGS ARE looking up for Haverford School's basketball team. Way up.
Now enrolled, as of 3 days ago, is Xu Tao, a 6-11, 250-pound center and member of China's Junior National Team.
The Fords' interim coach and admissions director, alumnus Henry "Doug" Fairfax, a star there [first team All-City in 1999] and at Drexel, said the school remains unclear whether to classify Xu as a senior or junior. Because he will turn 19 in January, he will be limited to one season of eligibility.
"With the late start," Fairfax said, "we're not sure how things are going to work out. We're still sorting through his credits and working with the NCAA Clearinghouse. Tao is here because he wants to play American college basketball and we're going to help him with that. He has indicated a strong desire to stay with us for next school year, even without being able to play basketball, if it comes to that.
"The plan was to have him here Sept. 7, our first day of school. But he got hurt - got undercut, actually - playing for their Junior National Team in the late summer and broke three vertebrae in his back. He was immobilized for 2 months. That has him behind.
"He's coming along well, though. We just got back from a stop in the gym. He had a big smile on his face because he was able to get up off his feet, a little, and shoot the ball with no pain."
Fairfax said Xu is living with a Haverford family. Georgetown and Utah are among the interested colleges, he added.
The Fords learned of Xu through assistant Charles Monroe. One of Monroe's best friends since childhood, former Church Farm/Lehigh headliner Dozie Mbonu, has strong ties to Nigeria's youth basketball program. Mbonu was informed of Xu's desire to play college ball in America and contacted Monroe, who immediately involved Fairfax.
The presence of quality, big-guy imports is nothing new for city-leagues basketball. George Washington's Max Blank (1984, Russia), Archbishop Carroll's Barry Bekkedam ('86, Canada) and Carroll's Rafal Bigus ('95, Poland) were first-team All-City honorees. Cardinal O'Hara's Adonal Foyle (St. Vincent and the Grenadines), who enjoyed a long career in the NBA, was a second-team pick in '92 as a sophomore. He then left the area and finished high school in upstate New York.
