April 16, 2008

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Green Bay men's basketball head coach Tod Kowalczyk has announced that Chop Tang has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Phoenix in the 2008-09 campaign. Tang, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward, recently completed his sophomore season at Eastern Arizona College.

"Chop is an extremely talented player who will bring a great deal of versatility to our team," Kowalczyk said. "He is a strong, skilled, explosive player who will be a very good Horizon League talent. We look for him to make a significant impact immediately."

Tang averaged 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds this past season to lead the Eastern Arizona Gila Monsters to a 30-6 overall record, the Region I championship and a fifth-place finish at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Tournament. He also was selected to play in the NJCAA All-Star Game. JucoJunction ranked Tang as the 13th-best junior college prospect in the country.

Tang was a first-team all-region and a first-team All-Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) choice following the 2007-08 season. He was twice named ACCAC Division I player of the week, and poured in a career-high 34 points against Scottsdale this past season. The Sporting News listed him as a second-team JUCO All-American in its 2007-08 college hoops preview magazine.

At Eastern Arizona, Tang was coached by Tim Walsh, who also served as his coach the previous year at Southeastern Iowa Community College. As a junior college freshman, he averaged 10.9 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, better than 40 percent from 3-point range and more than 80 percent from the free throw line.

"Chop is a very explosive player who has a very good feel for the game and brings a lot to the floor," Walsh said. "He's a very talented, hard working and coachable young man who has a variety of skills. Chop can shoot the `3', put the ball on the floor and is a very good passer."

Walsh also coached former Phoenix star Benito Flores when he was at Southeastern Community College.

A native of Sudan, Tang moved to the United States in 1994. He graduated from Mankato (Minn.) East High School, where he ranks as the school's second all-time leading scorer with 1,274 points. He had a career scoring average of 23.5 points per game.

Tang was a two-time all-conference and three-time all-city selection. He also was named to the Minnesota Basketball News all-state team. As a high school senior, he averaged a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds per game.

--www.uwgbathletics.com--