Yao: JVG gave me a stage to perform Sina phobics need not enter

This is the other part of interview by the Chinese reporter Wang Meng who interviewed JVG.

link

JVG's rebuilding project is a major success, Yao Ming:"He gave me a stage to perform"

20 pt and 10 reb per game, this is the scale most people use to judge a dominant center. It only took Shaq one year to achieve this standard, Yao four long years to achieve this, but he firmly believes that without JVG, the wait will be longer.

The past month, the voices that criticizes Yao have become smaller and smaller.

The criticisms of JVG have also reduced during this same period. When Yao Ming is completely dominating his oppositions on the interior with growing ease everyday, people finally began to realize why JVG wanted to change the style of basketball Yao was playing a few years back, why he wanted yao go fight on the inside instead of shooting mid range jump shots.

Today Yao's stat joined the elite group of players with 20 pt 10 reb per game, he can now carry his team to victory by himself, which validated JVG's farsightedness and his success at rebuilding Yao.

Are these judgements premature?

Yao Ming would not comment on this, he says "this can not be explained by one of two sentences and it can not be explained in a short period of time. To completely explain this might take ten years or more, at that time I will completely understand this. Now all I need to do is trying my best to follow the coaches instructions."

Two years ago, when JVG first arrived at Houston, he started his project of rebuilding Yao. At that time, Yao had a very accurate mid range jump shot, but JVG wanted him to fight for interior positions and score on the inside. Yao's height and weight are both number among the rocket players, but JVG wanted him to constantly cover the much shorter guards on the other team on the perimeter. Thus people are constantly watching the back peddling of Yao's big butt trying to chase these little guards.

At that time, there are criticisms of JVG from every corner of the world. Yao's coach at Shanghai Sharks said "JVG is not using Yao Ming correctly". Even in the United States, media was constantly bombarding the bald headed coach who lacks charisma.

At that time, there is a group opinion that a coach should utilize the talent of his players and adjust his system accordingly. However, JVG is not like that, his head seems to be made of iron triangle, extremely stubborn. If not for the fact that Yao is 7'6", no one would know what kind of role Yao was playing on the basketball court, you can not recognize Yao anymore, he is no longer the nimble young man from China. He is tossed under the basket, constantly exposing his clumsiness and lack of strength. He is constantly dragging his tree trunk legs chasing players like AI who's thighs are as thick as Yao's calves.

With the criticism, the hair on JVG's head is reduced (how can they tell? ), Yao's muscles became thicker, his body fat went down, JVG's popularity is growing (they obviously do not read this BBS!).

Back to today, I asked Yao "This season you improved a lot, what kind of role do you think JVG played in your improvement?"

After a pause, Yao carefully said "He designed a stage for me."

After this sentence, Yao paused again before he continued "As a player, no matter how hard you practice, without such a stage, without the coach designing a game plan to allow you to perform, you can not accomplish anything. It is the coach's game plan that requires the other players to put the ball in my hand, only then can I show what I can do."

Yao Ming admits when JVG first asked him to change his playing style, he was skeptical. "I agree that it would be helpful, but I had my doubts." At that time, Yao's lacked the physical strength to fight with the other centers. He can not handle his opponent if they just turn around on him.

To achieve this goal requires a period of time. JVG did not allow Yao to jut practice behind the stage, he just threw him into the trees of muscles and let him fight for his survival. Yao Ming said "At that time, I can understand the coach's designs, but he lacked the strength to accomplish them. Today, I can not say that I have all the strength required, but it is getting closer, thus everyone can see the results."

Yao have slowly raised himself during the JVG rebuilding project, and both of them could accept the building process. Yao made the following comparison "Like the economic reform in China, when the concept was first introduced in China decades ago, if you asked people back then what is the good points of reform, no one would be able to tell you. But now, after many years, everyone can see the prosperity brought by the reform. JVG's rebuilding of me is the same way, as time went on, everything is slowly changed."

Now you have the Yao Ming of today.

JVG has designed a stage for Yao Ming, this is Yao's own choice of phrase. But this is not an empty stage where Yao can do what he wishes to do, this is a stage with many props, Yao has to learn how to jump between them.

On his stage, Yao's control of the interior is increasing, but his outside ability is decreasing. Yao says there is no need for him to shoot mid range jumpers to just prove he can shoot them. But this is the fact, when JVG designed the stage in the beginning, he never left Yao such an opportunity.

So, up to now, it can not be said definitively that JVG's project is a success or failure.

After ten or twenty years, let Yao Ming himself evaluate the results of the project. Now, Yao Ming just needs to give a good performance on the stage created by JVG.

What ever happens, after JVG became the director, Yao's performance skills have increased.

 

Thanks.

 

I think most open minded people on this bbs will not be afraid to read this article, only the few people who believe anything from Chinese media are garbage will not read it. I do not wish to cause them problems like some other sina threads have done in the past.