I am a Chinese and my English is not very good. Sorry about that. I read an article today in Chinese media. A Chinese reporter interviewed Yao Ming after he knew Rockets won the lottery. When the reporter told Ming that many people in US thought it would be a great risk in picking him at #1, Ming smiled and said: this is just like a gamble. Take gamble, take the result. (Do I make sense?) Everybody in the Chinese sports BBS are talking about Rockets now. Many person asked for the website of Rockets. More and more people will come here. Is that excited or terrible? Don't worry about Ming's summer camp issue. He is not on a vacation in China, but training hard in national team for the world championship. The Chinese National team hires two coaches from Denver to help the physical training of them. Ming can get some muscle on his body under the help of these NBA professional people. Last year Ming took all the time on training and playing games. He only spent a few days with his family (less one week). It's unbelievable. I heard that Ming was in charge of a column on a sports newspaper in Shanghai. He wrote once a week to talk about CBA. He has humour and open mind. Many people who often read his article are very sure that the statement of his on Chicago workout is written by himself. About his English, Ming said that :"It's always me who translate the instructions of the coach to those American players in Shanghai Sharks." So his English is not as bad as mine. He is young, tall and has good personality. That's what I know about him at this moment. Good luck, Ming.
That's really cool at the thought of China visitng the board to talk hoops... If we draft Ming, this could be very exciting for everyone.. Thanks windandsea, welcome to the Rockets site
welcome to the board windandsea. Great hearing from your perspective. I think Ming would be a huge boost to the team. the concern of most people here is if he would be taken away every year and not be able to work with the team at all except in the regular season. Hopefully that's not the case, but he is the number one candidate, imo, and I'd be excited to hear his name announced as Houston's pick.
This is what makes the internet great. Welcome aboard windandsea. I didn't have a problem understanding you at all. Keep it up and keep coming back.
Welcome! Is basketball becoming a major sport in China? Is most of Ming's strength in his lower body? I hope you realize that we know very little about Yao! Any insight from you or others in China would be really appreciated.
Welcome windandsea, I too hope the Rockets pick him, good to hear more things about Ming that haven't been mentioned like his good personality. I too am very excited : )
Welcome Aboard WindandSea... It's an honor to have you post on this board... And your imformation is greatly appreciated... I have visited China several times mostly southern but I have also been to Beijing and THE GREAT WALL... ( they say Great Man walk the Great Wall I am sure Yao has walked it manny times) I love your country and your people... I am almost sold on Yao especially after listening to our own GM talk about him along with others but there is the issue of your governments involvement in his decision... Can you clarify your governments position on Yao playing basketball in this country... Also do you know why Zhi Zhi is having so many problems staying with Dallas... that is the rumors we hear in America. One more question. I know Yao plays for Shanghai. Is the main Language Mandarin or Cantonese or other? Again thank you for posting... and look forward to your future posts.
The main thing that concerns me is the amount of basketball this guy will be expected to play. Every year after an Olympics people make a big deal about how tired the Olympians are and how the injuries seem to crop up more frequently. If he plays a full season and playoffs for us, then goes back to China and plays or trains until the first day of the next NBA season, he could have burnout or fatigue. However, I trust Rudy and CD will figure this out.
windandsea (Fonghai?), warm welcome from me as well. Did the article say what Yao thought about being drafted by Houston? Is it known at all by fans/media/Yao that Houston has a sizable Chinese (and Asian) population and a thriving Chinatown? I hope Yao, the CBA, and fans in general are excited about Houston as a potential destination, if New York or Golden State were understandably preferred. Also, what are some good Chinese sports BBSes in English (or some English?) I think many of us here (those that aren't already) would love to chat on a Chinese bulletin board and get the perspective of fans over there.
Great news! Just imagine the millions (billions?) of fans worldwide who will instantly become Rocket fans if we draft Yao. It's very exciting
Welcome windandsea. It's so cool to have people posting from China. Please keep us up to date on all that goes on in the Chinese media! By the way, your English, as is the case with most foreigners who apologize in advance for their English, is very good. No trouble understanding you at all. In fact, your English is even better than some of the native speakers we have here (Voice of Reason, for example).
Trust me, the government of China wants Ming in the NBA as badly as American's do. When I went back to China last summer, there was a ton of coverage and hype of Wang Zhi Zhi first basket in a meaningless game that made no impact on the game except getting the mav fans chalupas. They played replays of that shot atlest 3 times a day, and it was just one basket by Wang Zhi Zhi. I think the people who are in charge of Chinese basketball knows how much hype and benefit to chinese basketball a player like Ming can bring .
Thank you for your post WindandSea. This information is welcomed and needed. I hope Yao Ming will like Houston. I hope we draft him.
Thank you everybody. Ming is a superstar and role model of Chinese youth. Many young boys bagan to like and play bball because of Ming. That is the reason why Chinese officals and Shanghai Sharks want many things out of Ming, because they are afraid that they will lose the fans on CBA. Shanghai is the biggest city in China and Ming speaks Mandarin. Many bball fans in China began to research the Rockets. They compare the centers of Rockets now (cato and the others) with Ming. They likes the PG (The guy who attended the draft, Fancice?) very much. They said if Rockets drafts Ming, then they will treat Rockets as their "home team". Now most of them like the LAKERS. But next season they will be the Roskets fans. Some people are quite sure that Rockets will enter the semifinial next season. Another article mentioned that Ming's cousin had reseived the call from GM of rockets.
Welcome to the board. It's nice that in addition to Ming we get much more international fan support. Clutch, you're going to need more bandwidth!
I can see the tip jar growing to a tip bucket... get ready Clutch. This is great. The BBS now has a presence in China. windandsea, Thanks for visiting the board, and I really didn't have any problems understanding you.
