Larry Smith: Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

pryuen · Jul 30, 2007

Not sure whether you guys like this......or you guys will again accused me of trying to turn this forum upside down.........

Larry Smith explained why he did not give Yao Ming a lot of play minutes in his rookie season

http://nba.sports.tom.com/2007-07-30/0424/85274537.html

Special correspondent Zhu Jun reporting from Guangzhou

Larry Smith, the acting head coach of the Houston Rockets in Yao Ming’s rookie season. With an obvious slit between his 2 front teeth, this black and big guy had been labeled as the Number 1 YOH(Yao Hei/Hater)amongst all Chinese fans all these years, due to the fact that he did not give Yao Ming sufficient play minutes then.

Now, Larry Smith has already lost his job in NBA. But as the head coach for the NBDL Ambassadors team that is participating in the FIBA Stankovic Continental Cup tournament, he sort of resurfaced and reappeared in front of the Chinese fans and media; and regarding those “grudges” of the years gone by, Larry Smith had his own words to say.

TITAN: Where have you gone to after you left the Houston Rockets?

Larry Smith: I have gone to the LA Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks as assistant coach. I then went to the NBA Development League, and I coached the Thunderbirds.

TITAN: Also as its assistant coach?

Larry Smith: Yes. But this team has just replaced its head coach. So I also left there. Now the most urgent priority for me is to look for another new team. I don’t care whether it will be NBA, or NBDL or any other leagues as long as it can let me return to the frontline that I can continue coaching. Hey man, I like this job, particularly about training the big guys.

TITAN: Then what about Yao Ming? During that stretch while you were the acting head coach of the Houston Rockets replacing (the ailing) Rudy Tomjanovich, you usually only gave Yao Ming 15 to 20 minutes of play, even less (play minutes) than Kelvin Cato.

Larry Smith: You must understand that the responsibility of a centre is that he needs to do his stuff under the basket which his other team mates could not handle. Looking back, at that time, there were still so many holes/problems in Yao Ming’s defense, and Kelvin Cato was that kind of player that seemed to have inexhaustible energy.

TITAN: Therefore you inclined and preferred to use Kelvin Cato instead of Yao Ming?

Larry Smith: Also you cannot say like this. At that time Yao Ming was not yet physically strong enough, not as strong and dominant as he is now. Moreover, it happened that he was hitting the rookie’s wall, and he easily felt tired. Of course, now he is completely different.

TITAN: So in other words, it is not that you don’t like Yao Ming?

Larry Smith: Absolutely not! When I was still coaching the Houston Rockets, I’ve already told him that he will have great achievement in the future, and he will definitely be able to become the best centre in NBA. Therefore if you really have to ask me whether I like Yao Ming or not, my answer is definitely an affirmative one: Yes, I like him very much.

TITAN: So after you left the Houston Rockets, you’re still paying attention and following them?

Larry Smith: You’re correct. Actually I always pay attention to every of the Rockets moves. They did a hell of a job in the player trades this summer.

TITAN: What is your take on Steve Francis’ return?

Larry Smith: The return of Steve Francis can let this team become better with a more complete roster. Steve can score, he can pass and he can even rebound. He can contribute a lot to team chemistry. He once was the (franchise) player that the Houston Rockets most trusted and treasured. Now that he has returned and with the new addition of that Argentine, the Houston Rockets is just formidable.

TITAN: Then from your perspective, how far can the Houston Rockets advance?

Larry Smith: Well, at this present moment, no one can predict (accurately). Even though the Rockets has 3 All Star players and now some very good supporting role players, in order to get the best results, they need to avoid making mistakes as far as possible throughout the entire season.

TITAN: As an ex-NBA coach, what is your take regarding the draft of Yi Jianlian and the series of incidents that occurred afterwards?

Larry Smith: Well, originally the drafting decision belongs to the executive management level; but if Yi Jianlian is reluctant to report to the Milwaukee Bucks, that will affect the planning of the team of the new season. If I am the head coach of the team, I definitely don’t want to face such situation and to deal with a player that wants to pick his team, and not the other way round (i.e. the team picks the player).

TITAN: So as a basketball coach with a player background as a centre, what suggestions you will make to the interior players of the Chinese national team?

Larry Smith: The Chinese national team has some good interior players; Wang Zhizhi used to play in NBA; Yi Jianlian is picked #6 in the draft. These all substantiated their abilities. But I think they should work themselves to be much stronger, and dare to dash and play in those 3-second zones, because that is the territory of the centre (where they belong).

TITAN: Talking about rebounds, I heard that you got this nickname “Mr. Mean” because during your player’s days, you fought for and grasped every rebound in sight and was not willing to give away the rebound to the others.

Larry Smith: HA HA HA..... Don’t mention those things in the long gone past. When I was coaching in Houston, some players also called me Coach Mean. But now onbody call me that again.
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abc2007 · Jul 30, 2007

Thanks, Pryuen. It is a good article.

tinman · Jul 31, 2007

pryuen,
thanks.. i think.

To us old Rockets faithful. Larry Smith is a great Rocket hero and has always been loyal to Rudy T. The year Hakeem got knocked out by Bill Cartright, Larry Smith took over and was awesome.

I know in Asian culture you respect your elders. why Yao fans hated Larry Smith contradicts that. Like I mentioned before Pryuen and all your followers. You must learn about the history of this great Rocket organization before you make judgement calls like "hating Larry for not playing Yao". He's a championship assistant coach and Houston favorite. A little respect for our history, that's all I ask.

Larry Smith
College - Alcorn State
A 23-year NBA veteran as a player and a coach, Larry Smith brings championship experience to the coaching staff of the Atlanta Hawks. One of the toughest players in the league during his 13-year career, he joins the staff after serving 10 seasons as one of Rudy Tomjanovich’s assistant coaches - and the last four as his top assistant - with the Houston Rockets.

In his first two seasons as an assistant coach, Smith helped the Rockets capture back-to-back championships, as Houston won the NBA title in 1993-94 and 1994-95.

On the court, Smith displayed a tenacious rebounding style that earned him the nickname “Mr. Mean,” as he grabbed an average of 9.2 boards in 883 NBA games, and scored 6.7 points per game (.531 FG%) over his career. A 6-8, 251-pound forward/center who spent nine seasons with Golden State (1980-89) and three years in Houston (1989-92) before wrapping up his playing days in San Antonio (1992-93), he returned to the Rockets the next season to begin his coaching career.

Since the league started tracking offensive rebounds in 1973, Smith’s 3.9 offensive rebounds per game average ranks sixth all-time, and his 3,401 offensive rebounds places him 11th on the all-time list. Not only did Smith lead the NBA in offensive boards during the 1985-86 season (with a 5.0 average), but he also came in second on three other occasions, trailing Moses Malone in 1981, Hakeem Olajuwon in 1985, and Charles Barkley in 1987. Smith finished among the NBA’s top 10 rebounders five times (1980-81, 1981-82, 1984-85, 1985-86 and 1986-87), averaging double figures in each of those seasons. His 8,125 total rebounds have him in 47th place among the league’s all-time leaders. He registered over eight rebounds per game in 10 of his 13 seasons. Smith posted 400 double-digit rebounding performances, reaching 20 rebounds in 28 games. His best effort in a game was 31 against Denver in March 1981.
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ind0fo0 · Jul 31, 2007

lol. it still cant be forgotten that he screamed his assoff at the players after his lack of coaching

thanks though

thelasik · Jul 31, 2007

Thanks again, pruyen. Hopefully the banstick will be dropped on MacGreat in the near future.

Mehdi · Jul 31, 2007

Thanx Pryuen...forget the haters or hater = )

TTRocket · Jul 31, 2007

Thanks Pryuen. Without you this site wouldn't exist.

MacGreat · Jul 31, 2007

Another fake article.

tinman · Jul 31, 2007

TTRocket said:

Thanks Pryuen. Without you this site wouldn't exist.
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WRONG

This site would not exist without the work of CLUTCH.
You guys have no clue what he did and how this site has evolved.

ind0fo0 · Jul 31, 2007

tinman said:

WRONG

This site would not exist without the work of CLUTCH.
You guys have no clue what he did and how this site has evolved.
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calm down. he is just being thankful (a bit extreme, admittedly)

MLittle577 · Jul 31, 2007

Wow, Mr. Mean went to Alcorn St.?

tinman · Jul 31, 2007

ind0fo0 said:

calm down. he is just being thankful (a bit extreme, admittedly)
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nope. you're kidding me? this site wouldn't have existed with one poster?
If I were admin I'd ban him.

We original members know the hard work CLUTCH did for this city and team, and its a privilege for anyone of us to post anything. It makes me sick to know that the history of our team is being slaughtered and forgotten.
Now the history of this site being disrepected? you guys have no clue.

rocketman84 · Jul 31, 2007

tinman wants to sex clutch

Blatz · Jul 31, 2007

TTRocket said:

Thanks Pryuen. Without you this site wouldn't exist.
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What would even make you think something as stupid as that?

JustWannaChill · Jul 31, 2007

tinman said:

This site would not exist without the work of CLUTCH.
You guys have no clue what he did and how this site has evolved.
Click to expand...

Has it ever crossed your mind that TTRocket was being sarcastic? He actually voted 'yes' to ban Pryuen in the other thread. You are so hypersensitive that it's beyond words.

rocketman84 · Jul 31, 2007

i like to party

blazer_ben · Jul 31, 2007

Pryuen, thanks again. dont let that certian duffus(McGreat) get you down. you are a very good and appreciated poster. i value all you're work. as do many others.

blazer_ben · Jul 31, 2007

rocketman84 said:

i like to party
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Lets do the cha cha...

tinman · Jul 31, 2007

JustWannaChill said:

Has it ever crossed your mind that TTRocket was being sarcastic? He actually voted 'yes' to ban Pryuen in the other thread. You are so hypersensitive that it's beyond words.
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how am I suppose to know that!!??
you know clutchfans protocol is to put a couple of these after your statement!

Carl Herrera · Jul 31, 2007

They should ask Larry which nickname he prefers: Mr. Mean or Black Biggie?

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