OS Inside Stuff: Yao arrives Sunday Ok...so I got a little carried away. I heard from someone in the know that he's arriving on a United flight sometime Sunday afternoon around 4pm at IAH and will be at the game Sunday night to wave and such. It sucks that his first game on the court will be in San Antonio. os
-Maybe this article about Yao will add some juice to this wonderful insider thread of yours Old School" http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/5811310 Yao brings winds of change to Houston Oct. 18, 2002 By Mike Kahn SportsLine.com Executive Editor Things are going to be different for the Houston Rockets this time around. And it's more than just trying to overcome their postseason drought over the past couple of years, the migraine headaches of young All-Star guard Steve Francis and the physical toll coach Rudy Tomjanovich took a few years ago. A change is in the wind. Rudy Tomjanovich wants to see where Yao Ming is at physically and mentally before deciding how much playing time he'll get.(Getty Images) It's hard to put into perspective what it will mean when Yao Ming shows up. The No. 1 pick overall in the June NBA Draft, Yao has been with the Chinese national team for three months, but with his four-year contract in tow, he'll join the Rockets by the end of the weekend. A nice predicament to add a 7-foot-5 center into the rotation, but as Tomjanovich said, it wouldn't be as difficult if he just had to deal with basketball. Keep in mind, as a national hero, he'll essentially be coping with a lot of the same things the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki dealt with -- media from his homeland will chronicle his every move. And then there's the not-so-small matter of learning the language and basketball terminology. "He's going to go through things that no one else has before and there are a lot of difficult situations he's going to have to deal with," Tomjanovich said. "First of all, coming in and not being around the team and not knowing any of the stuff we're doing. Then you put on top with that a new language, new country, new teammates and then the media attention of being the No. 1 pick in the league. This guy is going to be bombarded with a lot of things. "It won't be easy, especially being behind. But my feeling, being around the kid some, is that he really has an even temperament, very positive sort of a -- just work and do the best you can. He's been in the spotlight for many years because of his stature there in China. If anybody can do it, I think he's got a good chance of handling those things." And it will be interesting to see how he fits in. Francis is excited about just having an enormous center behind him. But it isn't as if the Rockets don't have any more size to go along with him. Second-year talent Eddie Griffin is skinny but is nearly 6-11 and a great shot-blocker. Maurice Taylor, who tore his Achilles' tendon and didn't play at all last season, will also play some power forward, and that's not to mention 6-8 Kenny Thomas, who has gotten better every year and is just the kind of tough, scrappy player that Tomjanovich adores. "One of the things we're going to do is we will try big lineups with Kenny Thomas playing the small forward," Tomjanovich said. "He is athletic enough where we think he can slide with most of the (No.) 3s, but then there's going to be a match-up problem for them on the other end. What they've been doing is putting the 3 on Eddie and he's been doing a pretty good job of posting up on those guys. So we're going to try to go with some big lineups, some small lineups. "The rotations are going to get even tighter when Yao Ming gets here because I have been using Eddie as a sort of a backup center. Most of the backup centers in the league really are sort of 4 players so we're going to have a lot of guys that can play and that's probably going to be my biggest challenge this year; trying to make this thing work and keep people happy." Cuttino Mobley is the other starting guard with Francis, with veteran gunner Glen Rice also likely to play plenty of minutes at small forward. Athletic Yugoslavian rookie Bostjan Nachbar was also likely to take plenty of minutes at the small forward spot, but a hernia operation has slowed him down and will his play at least the first couple of months. But the key will be how Yao fits in. The pressure and the transition to this country doesn't even begin to get into how he'll deal with the rigors of an 82-game season against the most talented and physical competition in the world. Essentially, they'll just have to take it slow with Yao as far as teaching him the system, and pick it up as they go along. "As far as how much I'm going to use him right at the beginning, I'm just going to play that by ear," Tomjanovich said. "They worked out three months preparing for the World Championships and I had seen him during that period. Then after that he went back and played in the Asian Championship, so he really hasn't had any off time at all. Physically I have to see where he's at, and mentally, because we have so much new stuff here. We're just going to try to pace him." Which is the only way to go at this point, in any language.
Good article. I wonder if the Rockets are going to plan any sorta welcome for Yao Ming at the airport that we can attend??? os
An agent of Ming has proved that Ming will leave for Houston at Sunday.(arrive at the same day). But they have not gotten the flight tickets. They will arrive Houston at Sunday or Monday. Rockets signed with CBA to ensure Ming be available at Olympic, World Championships, Asian Games and Asian Championships. If Ming is traded to other teams, CBA must approve this trade first and sign a similar aggreement with that team. http://sports.sina.com.cn/o/2002-10-19/0322337060.shtml
W&S, My info came from someone who I trust...I'm pretty sure he'll be attending the game Sunday night. os
Maybe they have gotten the tickets. The agent said Ming planned to go at Monday but Rockets asked him to take the physical examination after he arrives. So he changed his schedule and waited for the tickets of Sunday.
OS is right. Ming will be in Houston at 4:30 on United from BUSH. A press conf will be around 6-6:30 that evening.
A 30 or 40 minute press conference from the summit prior to the game starting should be no big deal. Rudy T can still do both. Thanks to OS, Doc and Jeff! That is great news.
The question is: WHO IS GOING TO BUSH IAH TO GREET YAO?????? Bring your digital cams and post here!! You still got time to get home and watch the game. os
I wish I could be there for that! I hope there are a lot of signs so Yoa Ming will know that he has found a real home and not just a place to play ball.
man, this is the reason why i want to move to Houston real bad. clutchcity.net is the best site for Rockets fan. Especialy to those can't watch (or listen) on TV..... anyway we should go to the airport to show support for Yao Ming....
How would you see him? With the new laws, no one is allowed in the terminals unless you have a ticket for a flight, so unless he comes into the concourse or you manage to catch him outside, he'll probably sneak out away from the media and fans.
Hi! long time rockets fan and first time poster. I just wanted to respond to Jeff's post by asking how the Mavericks managed to throw that huge shin-dig for Rashard Lewis when he arrived? Maybe we can do something similiar?
Jeff, I would be very easy...all the international flights (if indeed this flight is direct from China) exit through the same doors in the international terminal. People who go through customs must come through the same doors. The public is allowed there. You are correct, the public cannot get back to the gates where he will depart his plane. os
