Why Yao Ming WILL succeed - and we will win a championship soon

Let me just chime in here on something. I have some experience with the Chinese culture, although I am not Chinese. I currently attend school to study Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and herbal medicine) here in Houston. The school is owned by a Chinese couple and is staffed by mostly Chinese instructors, all of them high-quality individuals that are great teachers and mentors.

Also, let me preface this by saying that I realize some of these things will sound like generalizations, and they are for the most part. But, hopefully we can all agree that generalizations can be useful and that there ARE certain things that do apply generally within different cultures, religions, etc... although there are always differences within those generalizations. So, now, let's proceed.

Yao Ming will be a refreshing addition to the NBA because of his culture and upbringing. In China, there is still a great deal of cultural respect for elders, for wisdom, and for tradition. The Chinese also have a work ethic that is second to none. I have seen this first hand in my experience at school. There is a striving for excellence and respect that is mind boggling to the average Westerner (such as myself).

What does this mean for the Rockets? Yao will work on his game harder and with more focus than anyone we have ever seen. He will have the utmost, unwavering respect for Rudy T and the Rockets coaching staff. He will treat his teammates with deep respect and will always be a "team-first" player. I believe this is one of the main reasons he was drafted first.

There is a story about Yao where he went to a summer camp in the US about 3 years ago (one of Michael Jordan's camps). The coaches had to beg him to dunk the ball. He didn't want to dunk because he didn't want to "show off" or try to "stand out". He just wanted to blend in with the other guys, and in his mind dunking a lot meant he was trying to shine at the expense of his teammates. He has since learned that dunking is part of the entertainment and now dunks with regularity (as evidenced by some of his highlight videos).

When a guy with the kind of natural gifts that Yao has -- 7' 5", athletic, smart, and a basketball pedigree (remember - his Mom and Dad were both basketball players both professionally and for China's National Teams) -- has that kind of mentality, it is almost a guarantee that he will rise to the challenges presented to him. Yao will impress not only with his basketball skills, but with his sincerity, honesty, and humility. He will be VERY respected around the league and by the media.

And, within the next two to three years he will emerge as the most dominant center in the game (by then Shaq will be on the decline, IMO).

I for one have been a Yao booster for a long time, as you all know. I'm really looking forward to his presence on our team. I think it will make our team better not just in a basketball sense, but in a chemistry sense also.