NEW YORK, Jan. 29 -- San Antonio Spurs guard Emanuel Ginobili will replace Houston Rockets center Yao Ming on the rookie roster for the 2003 got milk? Rookie Challenge, to be played Saturday, Feb. 8 at Philips Arena in Atlanta.

Ginobili joins Jay Williams and Dajuan Wagner in a cat-quick Rookie Team backcourt.
Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty Images
Yao was named on Thursday as a starter for the Western Conference in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game, and thus will not participate in the got milk? Rookie Challenge.

The 6-6 Ginobili played the previous four seasons in the Italian League. He was originally drafted by the Spurs with the 57th pick of the 1999 NBA Draft.

A record six international players will be participating in the contest. Memphis' Gordan Giricek (Croatia), Denver's Nene Hilario (Brazil) and Ginobili (Argentina) will compete on the Rookie team, while Memphis' Pau Gasol (Spain), Utah's Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) and San Antonio's Tony Parker (France) will play on the Sophomore team.

The got milk? Rookie Challenge, which will be broadcast live nationally at 4 p.m. ET by TNT and ESPN Radio, features this year's top rookies against the league's best second-year players.

Tickets to the got milk? Rookie Challenge are priced at $30, and are available at the Philips Arena box office, Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com, NBA.com and 1-800-4NBA-TIX.

NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by America Online, featuring Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk, 1 800 CALL ATT Shootout, 989 Sports Skills Challenge and Jeep All-Star Hoop-It-Up will also be broadcast live nationally at 8 p.m. ET by the same broadcast outlets. The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 9 will be broadcast live nationally on TNT and ESPN Radio at 8 p.m. ET.

The got milk? Milk Mustache campaign is sponsoring the NBA Rookie platform to highlight the importance of milk's bone-building calcium and eight other essential nutrients for active people, teens especially, who add about 15 percent of their height during these years. The platform includes the got milk? Rookie Challenge, the got milk? Rookie of the Month awards, the got milk? Rookie of the Year award and the got milk? All-Rookie Team.

Below are the revised rosters for the 2003 got milk? Rookie Challenge:

ROOKIE TEAM ROSTER
Player Team Pos. Ht. Wt. College/Country
Carlos Boozer Cleveland C 6-8 258 Duke
Caron Butler Miami F 6-7 217 Connecticut
Emanuel Ginobili San Antonio G 6-6 210 Argentina
Gordan Giricek Memphis F 6-5 210 Croatia
Drew Gooden Memphis F 6-9 227 Kansas
Nene Hilario Denver F 6-11 260 Brazil
Amare Stoudemire Phoenix F 6-8 233 Cypress Creek, HS
Dajuan Wagner Cleveland G 6-1 193 Memphis
Jay Williams Chicago G 6-2 195 Duke

SOPHOMORE TEAM ROSTER
Player Team Pos.Ht. Wt. College/Country
Gilbert Arenas Golden State G 6-3 191 Arizona
Tyson Chandler Chicago F 7-1 235 Dominguez HS
Pau Gasol Memphis F 7-0 227 Spain
Richard Jefferson New Jersey F 6-7 222 Arizona
Andrei Kirilenko Utah F 6-9 205 Russia
Troy Murphy Golden State F 6-11 245 Notre Dame
Tony Parker San Antonio G 6-2 177 France
Jason Richardson Golden StateG6-6220Michigan State
Jamaal Tinsley Indiana G 6-1 199 Iowa State

PREVIOUS got milk? ROOKIE CHALLENGE RESULTS
1994: Phenoms 74, Sensations 68
1995: White 83, Green 79 (OT)
1996: East 94, West 92
1997: East 96, West 91
1998: East 85, West 80
2000: Rookies 92, Sophomores 81 (OT)
2001: Sophomores 121, Rookies 113
2002: Rookies 103, Sophomores 97