I haven't gotten a chance to watch "Crossover", but there's an excellent article in the Spring 2004 Issue #3 of Hyphen Magazine, written by Tomio Geron, which talks about Asian American leagues and the "struggle to define membership and preserve tradition."

I, too, spent my prime years playing in the Northern California Japanese league (NAU or "Nippon Athletic Union"). I had the good fortune to play with and against the guys that grew up with Rex Walters, who as a pro calling Kansas home obviously wasn't and is no longer in touch with the NAU. At some point I and others ran out of Japanese players to add to rosters, so I started Dream League, a nonprofit community-oriented basketball league that now has over 40 Asian American teams in its Bay Area and New York locations. Geron's article in Hyphen magazine does a good job of presenting all of the issues and I even got my first-ever quote included in it.

The Asian American basketball community is definitely thriving and with Yao Ming and the Beijing Olympics coming up, I think more and more people will take notice of just how strong our basketball community is.

Let me plug Dream League while I'm at it. Our Asian American basketball league keeps growing and growing, and we try to resolve our issues in a democratic fashion. We're also very passionate about making the basketball experience top-notch and sort of NBA-like. After all, the players in the NBA have their own bond, and Dream League is living proof that those same type of bonds can be created when you run a good league. Feel free to check us out at http://www.dreamleague.org and contact me with any questions.

Thanks,
Rich Twu
Executive Director
Dream League
rich@dreamleague.org
San Francisco, CA

Hi,

I just watched "Crossover" and I found it made me homesick, but in a good way. I am currently attending Boston University, some 3000 miles away from my family and childhood friends. I grew up in the Japanese American Basketball Organization and I loved my time there. I can definately see myself as a basketball mom later on the in the future. I was hoping to get some feedback on how u made this film, and what type of research you went through. I am currently doing an anthropology study on the history of JAO basketball and how it evolved today. If you could help me in listing some literature that helped you research your film or any other way as in people I should try to contact that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Lauren Watase
ltwatase@bu.edu

Hi,

I just watched "Crossover" and I found it made me homesick, but in a good way. I am currently attending Boston University, some 3000 miles away from my family and childhood friends. I grew up in the Japanese American Basketball Organization and I loved my time there. I can definately see myself as a basketball mom later on the in the future. I was hoping to get some feedback on how u made this film, and what type of research you went through. I am currently doing an anthropology study on the history of JAO basketball and how it evolved today. If you could help me in listing some literature that helped you research your film or any other way as in people I should try to contact that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Lauren Watase
ltwatase@bu.edu