<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p1yvhr5bPx4"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p1yvhr5bPx4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
http://draftexpress.com/podcast.php Draftexpress on Yi: http://www.sigdomain.com/draftexpress_1.mp3 *Questions Yi's "mental toughness, physical toughness". Struggled against Wang Zhi Zhi in CBA, someone who couldn't crack into a NBA rotation. *Concerned about age. No one, NBA people, really believes he is 19 years old. *Lottery teams hoping he gets drafted ahead of them so they won't have to worry about him. *Solid late lottery pick.
Wang used to dominate Yao left and right even before Wang came over to NBA. Yao was Wang's biatch in CBA. Yao's Shanghai Shark would lose to Wang's Biyi Rocket as long as Wang's playing in any game. Wang dominating a pre-NBA Yi in CBA doesnt mean anything.
That guy was really down on Yi. For me, his defence is the main concern. Golden State is the perfect team for him, I wonder if he will drop low enough that GS may trade up to get him...
Expanding on that piece. They mentioned following Yi closely throughout the past season and made a specific mention of the CBA final against Zhi Zhi. Under certain circumstances Yi doesn't play well except for maybe one game. The point they were trying to push is they think Yi cracks under pressure.
I doubt many of the kids in the draft will be immune to "cracking under pressure" at the NBA level. It seems like Yi's court awareness is a bit lacking, which makes him seem a bit lost, but thats what happens when hes never played against all those other college kids before. But I think his nerves and mental side is just as strong, if not stronger, then all the other college kids. And regardless of age, he is still young, and ok so maybe he'll be in the league for 15 years, not 17. I dont see why that is such a big issue in drafting him, since most likely, mid way through his prime, he wont even be with the same franchise that drafted him anyways. You guys remember when yao came into the league right? He was much more of a development project than Yi is now. Yi would easily go #1 in last years draft, and I cannot see why he isn't a surefire #3 in this years. Like Yao, Yi seems like a hard worker, but he also already knows english well, is into western culture, so should be well into his teams system in no time. I doubt Charles will be betting that he wont score more than 19 points, thats for sure.
i think when ure older, like instead of being 19, hes 21, its harder for him to learn new things.. thats why its such a big deal. but i dont know if this is true or not
Of course that's a very generalized statement. Did the Dream improve his game after 21? Did kwame brown ever improve after high school?
True- Wang would probably be 1st team All-American if he played in the NCAA. Can't really compare a 19 year old with a 28 year old.
I don't think it's an age issue. But rather how close someone is to their peak. Young guys who have played ball all their lives are probably closer to their ceiling than a young Hakeem. Yi start playing when he was 13. He's probably received a lot of training from Chinese coaches etc and has probably logged a lot of time in general. But - he has not really experienced coaching from the experts (aka. Americans) so his ceiling is probably still pretty high. Looks like he has a good body frame to put on some muscle too.
Well, that says Yi is not ready to contribute in NBA big time right now, which I agree. But draft is more about upside. In that regard, Wang's domination over Yi is a minor concern.
I agree. Yi is definitely still a "project", just based on his lack of experience with american basketball, but i can see so much more potential in him then in, for instance, a horford, or wright.
At the older end for estimates of Yi's age, he's as old as LaMarcus Aldridge, I believe... so unless you believe that Aldridge has no more room for improvement, you still have to think teams would bet on Yi, given that he, like Aldridge, is a 7 footer who can run and chew gum at the same time.
Yi has all the tools to be a good player in NBA. Yi is a good pick if you are sure that you can: 1. change his "concept". 2. give him playing time. 3. make sure his knees, shoulder, toes are good. 4. tell him no Yi Buffet stuff.
Yi is not at the NBA predraft camp. None of the players that are projected to go in the top 10 are at the camp. It would be pretty cool to see him play against the lower draft proj players, but his agent had probably advised him against that as it will do little to improve his draft projection and more to hurt it.
