I don't know if anybody has posted this. It's from today's Chronicle's Rockets Summary. Oct. 22, 2002, 10:47PM Rockets summary Much improved As much as Yao Ming has impressed his teammates, Juaquin Hawkins has been impressed by something no other Rockets player can be -- Yao's improvement. As a member of Chung Ching in the China Basketball Association, Hawkins said he watched Yao play three years ago. When Yao began practicing with the Rockets this week, Hawkins said he barely recognized him. "He's a lot different," said Hawkins, who described the play in China as comparable to "low Division I" college basketball. "He's a lot more skilled," Hawkins said. "He's improved his all-around skills. He's always been able to shoot. But he's improved his passing, rebounding, really, all his skills. I had no idea he'd be able to pass the way he can pass. His overall awareness as a basketball player is much better. He's going to be a big asset to this team." What stands out from Hawkins observation to me is that Ming has always been a good shooter (a natural). But his passing and rebounding are learned skills.
The improvement in passing makes sense. Passing skills come with maturity and increase understanding of the game. (From my experience, a teenager who can pass is a rarity!) The rebounding part, to me, is kinda bad news-good news. Bad news is, he is not a natural rebounder. Some players simply have the instinct of going to the ball before everyone else. Ming apparently is not that kind of player. The good news is, there is still room for him to learn and improve. Rebounding techniques can be learned. With good coaching, hopefully he will become a great rebounder worthy of his size.
