http://sports.sina.com.cn/s/2004-01-18/1503740997.shtml That Yang Yi guy again. That article is quite interesting. It talks about some body shortcomes of Yao. The most interesting part for me is that Yao used to have 60cm vertical. that's about 23 inches. Between 1996 and 1997 he broke his left foot twice and his vertical dropped a lot. Now he rarely jumps over 20cm, which is about 8 inches.
thanks for the interesting post but could someone provide a translation.. a more thorough translation. would make for some interesting reading. J
lol....jesus...yao would be insane with a 23 inch vertical. i can't even imagine it...he would be blocking like 4 shots a night.
Come on a 20-cm vertical? I bet Yao's grandma can jump higher than that. 20-cm must be mistaken. He tip his toes and that would be 20-cm. I saw some pictures and clearly show up jumping at least around 60cm.
From the articel, I think he meant Yao rarely jumps over 20 cm now, not that he can't jump over 20 cm.
To clarify, the article did say Yao's vertical was at above 60cm back before 1997. Then the author guest-estimated Yao's vertical right now to be 20cm since he doesn't see Yao jumps more than 20cm in the game.
That doesn't make sense at all since his reach is only 9'6". It would take a 6 inch vertical to touch the rim. Is he saying that yao can only get 2 inches above the rim. That's just stupid.
I believe this is a pic from his first season. He's added lots of size since then, I'm sure his vertical has been reduced somewhat. I sure as hell can't imagine him jumping that high right now.
If Yao had more vert that would be totally awesome.. he would be a shot blocking machine. I think Yao can jump higher than he does but doesnt want to waste his energies.. If you read this you will see a discussion about Yaos vert.. hehe (snickering) Yao's Vert Discussion] ummmm... im in a funny mood.. I apologize in advance for my behaviour. J
In his last few seasons Olajuwon barely jumped too. He's still get the rebounds just standing flat footed half the time. It was in my opinion a lack of effort. But you never know. Some big guys don't like to jump because they fall harder, or two, they don't have to.
although jumping is important, i think it is way overrated by most members on this board. especially when the debate is about the 7"6 Yao. for those of you who watched b-ball in teh 80s, you will recall Mark Eaton. This guy ws 7"4 (2 inches shorter than Yao), 290 pounds (20 pounds lighter than Yao) and slow as $hit. albeit, he may be stronger than Yao but the point is, he is considered one of the best defensive players/shot blockers of all time! thus, Yao can still become an amazing defensive player without becoming a great leaper.
I believe Yao can still jump around 60cm. The reporter does not have a brain. It is impossible that Yao's vertical is 20cm. What is the size of Yao's feet? It should be easily over 35cm.
maybe Yao isnt used to having to jump I mean, the guy came from playing in China...how many people do you think are 7+ footers over there? (no offense to chinese, but usually, asians are generally short). Yao probably almost never had to jump for rebounds/blocks. Just a thought....
