It all began last fall when Yale played California in Shanghai, part of what’s become an annual event hosted by Alibaba, the Chinese company whose executive vice-chairman is quite the hoops fan and minority owner of the Brooklyn Nets.
Among those on hand for Yale, Joe Tsai’s alma mater, was Queen Smith, a former women’s basketball coach at Yale and now a resident of Charlotte. She accompanied her son, David, who at 11 was a Yale ballboy ... and enrolled in his elementary school’s Chinese language immersion program. Tsai was so impressed by David’s proficiency that he agreed to drop by Marvin Elementary when in Charlotte for the All-Star game.