interact with him on that love, sports. he loves sports. i like the guy. the guy is awesome to me. >> reporter: rodman and his nba buddies are scheduled to shoot hoops with the north korean national squad. it's a birthday treat for kim, who is an avid basketball fan. on his last trip in december, rodman spent a few days coaching the north koreans. as they waited for their plane to pyongyang, players insisted the focus was on the game, not politics want but shooting guard, doug christie, is hopeful they can build bridges. >> sport is what we're going for. sport is something that cancels and conquers all borders, all lines. and it's an exciting feeling. >> reporter: power forward, charles d. smith, also seemed optimistic. >> the extreme views on north korea come about because most people have not been there. and because people have a sense of fear of the unknown.