Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant practices like crazy to remain the best hoops player on the planet.

Not nearly as well known as Kobe, Timothy Wang as emerging as a big star when it comes to the Olympic sport of table tennis in the Lone Star State. In fact, the 19-year-old Wang is also developing quite a reputation on the world stage, too.

The facts back up Tim’s quest for greatness. His dad, Sam Wang, says his son practices table tennis five hours a day six days a week as he bids to join the U.S. Olympic Team in 2012 at the London Games. Practice, man, practice is also the best way for a singer or musician to get to the stage of Carnegie Hall in New York.

Timothy Wang is well on his way to the big-time in table tennis and the teen has the heart to succeed.The 2009 Junior National Champion, Wang first got interested in the game at age 5 when he went to Houston Table Tennis Association clubs with his older brother, Roland, reports the Houston Chronicle in a June 2009 story written by Jordan Godwin.

What’s new with Tim Wang these days? His father, Sam Wang, tells the NCTTA newsletter staff in February that his son, who’s been a consistent table tennis winner since age 8, is considering college. That’s huge news in the table tennis universe!

That is like a fantastic football or high school hoops prospect, a McDonalds All-American, saying he wants to play in college. Football signing day for NCAA Division I collegiate ranks comes in early February and that’s always a huge deal for sports fanatics on ESPN.

While it doesn’t get nearly as much attention, table tennis fans know Tim Wang is the real deal for their sport. "He’s a rising top junior and competed for the U.S. at the 2009 World Championships," says NCTTA board member David Del Vecchio.

Tim Wang attended school through the tenth grade, then the Houston, Texas resident was home-schooled ever since, his dad says. While Sam Wang won’t reveal any specifics, he says the family has been approached by a number of schools in the USA and abroad. "Right now the focus in the 2012 Olympics."

In the June 2009 story in the Houston newspaper, Tim Wang pretty much says the same thing about his aspirations. "Right now, my goal is to be the men’s national champion in the U.S.," the younger Wang said. He began seriously training in 2006 and hasn’t slowed down.

Tim Wang is a world-class traveler due to table tennis. He has competed at the World Table Tennis Championships in April 2009. He’s played on national Japanese TV. He’s been to the China Junior Open. And lately, in 2009-2010, he’s been playing tournaments around Texas to get ready for his league season, Sam Wang says. His son, Tim, expects to play in the Belgium Super League next season.

Want to know more about this Texas phenom? See Tim Wang in action in a piece recorded for ABC 13 in Houston. You can see him mow down some top players, even collegiate champs from Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth.

The table tennis ride for Tim Wang has been great. "It’s amazing because I get to see places all around the world," he tells the Houston Chronicle "It’s a real honor for me to compete for my country and see the world at the same time."

Whether or not he sees the inside of a college classroom anytime soon, that’s up for debate. But we think there are colleges that would love to recruit him.

Table tennis fans can also read more about his exploits on the Butterfly website, as you know, is the 2010 World Championships official ball sponsor. Butterfly is one of Tim Wang’s sponsors, too. And there’s good reason. He’s a world-class table tennis player!

Houston, Texas has been known for generations as the home of big oil. Today, the home of the Houston Rockets and Houston Oilers is on the map, too, as the turf of a big-time player named Tim Wang.

If you have ideas about other profiles on rising junior table tennis players, drop us a line at NCTTA headquarters. Send us a picture and a brief story on one of tomorrow’s table tennis stars! Email to publicrelations@nctta.org