http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2004-10-06/21131181650.shtml Yao's good friend Yang Yi agian had this exclusive interview with Yao. I think it is pretty interesting. Yao talked about his first impression about T-Mac as a teammate 1. T-Mac has amazing jumping ability. Yao thinks T-Mac can fly. 2. T-Mac is very quite, unlike Francis and Mobely. Nobody would even notice him in locker room. 3. Yao doesnt think T-Mac is arrogont. T-Mac doesnt joke around or even talk much, but he will listen to jokes. 4. Yao thinks T-Mac is really talented, and really loves to play alongside with him, same affection as Tmac had expressed. 5. Yao said the Chron reported JVG showing him pictures of Shaq did not happen. He has no clue about it. (Wow. Yang Yi is taking a shot on Chron. )
verrrrrry interesting.... Of coure T-mac wont be as vocal being the new kid on the block, he'll open up as time goes on
I doubt it, Tracy has always been the silent but deadly type, the only difference is that he doesn't stink.
it seems weird how he would be quiet in the locker room but a "trash talker" on the court. I know he's not as talkative as maybe francis and cuttino and them but I doubt he'll be as quiet as Cato seemed to be when the season begins rolling
If anybody wants a full translation of the article, I could take a stab at it. I have a proletarian understanding of the language.
Maybe I'll just further provide more "details" into that article by Yang Yi to complement what Yallmean has summarized for us. However, it's not a line-by-line, word-per-word translation. http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2004-10-06/21131181650.shtml Basically this is written by Yang Yi and it is all about Yao Ming's first impression of T-Mac as his team mate. 1. Yao Ming dished the ball to T-Mac with his back to the basket; T-Mac jumped up to grab the ball, stayed in the air, and then on his way down, casually slotted the ball in. 2. Yao Ming thought T-Mac was showing off his jumping ability; but he thought T-Mac is exceptional and can really fly. 3. To Yao Ming, his first impression about T-Mac was that T-Mac is a very very quiet person, unlike Steve Francis and Cat Mobley. Nobody would even notice him in the locker room. 4 Yao Ming thought he will need time to adapt to T-Mac both on court and off court. He is not much worried about adapting to T-Mac on court. He thought T-Mac is a very talented player, and it should be fun playing alongside with him. 5. What worries him is T-Mac's tranquillity off court. To him, T-Mac is completely different to his Lao Da (Big Brother), Steve Francis. Yao Ming thought Steve Francis is easier to handle, as he is a jolly fellow, like to talk/express himself, showing all his emotions on face. But T-Mac just does not like to talk. 6. But Yao Ming does not think T-Mac an arrogant person or intentionally put on airs or is trying to isolate himself from others. He is just of different personality; he does not joke around or even talk much, but he still listens and laughs to jokes from the others. 7. Yao Ming does not think he would have a problem playing alongside with T-Mac, as he thought they share the same aspiration of NBA greatness and championship. He said he did not know T-Mac's target for the season, but for him, his bottomline is that Houston Rockets need to reach at least the semi final of the Western Conference. He further said that he really does not care what type of a person T-Mac is (a big-mouth or a very dull person) or whether they can become good friends off court or not. But as professional basketball players, sharing the same goal, he thought just let the basketball do the talking and keep winning on court. That is more important. 8. One interesting note of the article was that Yao Ming said John Lopez made up the story in Houston Chronicle about JVG showing him photos of Shaquille O'neal at various stages of his NBA career just to motivate him.
Thanks pryuen and yallmean for the translations. It is great to get the Chinese media articles as well as the US media.
Sounds like this season may be the start of Yao becoming more of a vocal leader, like he was in the Olympics.
"I doubt it, Tracy has always been the silent but deadly type, the only difference is that he doesn't stink. " What else is silent but deadly? Passing gas aka fart *po0t*
I disagree with Yao about caring if he and tmac have a relationship off the court. I mean Shaq and Kobe did not either, but look at them now.
Yeah, but Shaq and Kobe had all this other baggage in terms of on the court jealousy and fierce dislike (or even hatred if you want to be so bold). Yao and T-Mac don't need to hang around after games to succeed. I mean Stockton and Malone were never drinking buddies but they worked really well with each other in their professional life.
