Yao Ming's Take of Yi Jianlian's YTD Performance in NBA

pryuen · Jan 27, 2008

Interesting article in which Yao Ming appraises about the YTD progress of his compatriot's Yi Jianlian's rookie NBA season.

Also read about how Wang Meng and Steve Novak's comments about the personality and character of Yao Ming as a person and as a team mate.

And yes, the craze is now building up in this part of the world for the 2nd close encounter of the 2 Chinese giants in Milwaukee this coming week-end.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=711326

Yi follows in Yao's footsteps on the path to NBA stardom.
By CHARLES F. GARDNER
cgardner@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Jan. 26, 2008

Houston - Yao Ming, all 7 feet, 6 inches of him, seemed larger than that as he walked past, moments after the Houston Rockets' practice session at the Toyota Center had ended.

"You want to talk about Yi, right?"

Yao's intuition was correct.

One of the hottest topics in China these days is Yi Jianlian, the rookie power forward for the Milwaukee Bucks, and Yao, who has solidified his status as one of the top players in the National Basketball Association, is always big news.

Along with festivals associated with the Chinese New Year, there will be a palpable buzz this week in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Beijing as Round 2 of Yao vs. Yi approaches.

The Bucks will play the Rockets on Saturday night at the Bradley Center in a game that will be televised by China's national sports network CCTV. And this promises to be even bigger than the matchup between the Yao and Yi in Houston in November, a game watched by more than 200 million fans in China.

Since that time, Yao has watched Yi's progress from afar.

"He's a very simple guy," Yao said. "He is very focused on something, particularly what he is doing right now, and that's very good.

"After one year experience in the NBA, that will help his skill. That will be very good for our (Chinese national) team. The 2008 Olympics in our home country, that is a big deal, and everybody is very excited for that.

"At least he's playing in a physical league right here. Then he will go back to play for the national team, and it will be easier. I had the same feeling my first year in the league."

Yao has carried the weight of his country's expectations since being selected by the Rockets with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 draft. Then along came Yi, a 7-footer who won three Chinese Basketball Association championships in five seasons with the Guangdong Tigers before entering the NBA draft last summer.

Making comparisons

The Bucks selected Yi with the sixth overall pick, and he has made a remarkably smooth transition to the NBA. Yi and center Andrew Bogut are the only Bucks players to start all 44 games this season.

"A lot of people in China compare Yi to Yao, and how Yao did in his first season," said Wang Meng, a Houston-based reporter for Titan Media, a Chinese national sports publication. "Yao has said it's not fair to compare.

"The players are totally different, with different bodies. Yi's body is much better than Yao's; he's more athletic. I think Yi is the quickest guy on the Chinese national team, even quicker than the guards."

Yao said he had one major problem his rookie year that Yi has not faced, at least not to such a great extent.

"Language was my problem," Yao said. "I had an interpreter back to that time. Running down (the court) so quick, you cannot listen to him every time. The best way is to listen to your coach and to your teammates. I don't mean I could not speak any English, but it caused a problem for me."

Yi has a greater grasp of English as a rookie, and he has been able to communicate well with Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak and his teammates. Yi stepped off a plane from Shanghai and went through his first Bucks practice without a translator.

Yi does use interpreter and University of Wisconsin student Matt Beyer to help with media interviews, but the young Chinese star also regularly answers questions in English.

"Yao is more traditional Chinese people, and Yi is more like some kind of young power," Wang said. "Also, they have different fans.

"People in their 30s or 40s like Yao. Yi was loved mostly by the young people. He looks so cool there. When he came out in the airport in the U.S. (on his arrival in Chicago), he was wearing sunglasses and he hardly looked tired."

The debate still rages over Yi's age, whether he is 20 years old, as listed on his passport, or instead was born in 1984 and is actually 23. Yao will turn 28 in September of this year.

Yi has been among the league's top rookies all season, along with Seattle SuperSonics guard Kevin Durant, Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford, Toronto Raptors forward Jamario Moon and Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley.

Yi ranks third among rookies in scoring (10.0 points), third in rebounds (5.7), first in field goal percentage (44.0%), second in free throw percentage (81.9%) and fourth in minutes played (27.2).

It is natural for rookies to experience highs and lows in the 82-game NBA season, and with the Bucks just past the halfway point, Yi may have hit the proverbial "rookie wall."

Less playing time

He played a season-low 13 minutes in the Bucks' victory over Indiana on Thursday night and 18 minutes in the Bucks' loss to Phoenix on Tuesday, and he did not play in the fourth quarter in either game. And he had just four points in 23 minutes in New Orleans on Monday.

"For me, this is my first time playing an NBA season and the first time playing 16 or 17 games a month," Yi said. "I need to work hard, and when I play not so good, keep working hard.

"I'm fine; I'm not very tired."

Yao said he believes the "rookie wall" is real.

"For a 20-year-old rookie, that is normal," Yao said. "He just came to this league. I hit a wall, too, at some times in the season. Particularly, he played 30 or 40 games in the summer for the national team. I think his energy will be a little bit down right now. He will handle it."

Yi has impressed players and coaches around the league, and many had little prior exposure to his game. Others, such as Golden State coach Don Nelson, had followed his career for a long time.

"He has tons of ability," Nelson said. "Really, it's just a different level here, and he has to get used to playing against really great players every night. He'll do that.

"You have to be patient with young guys. He's getting an opportunity to play, so he'll develop faster. A rookie has to be in the right position at the right time. With the Bucks, they had a position that was waiting for him."

Former Marquette University player Steve Novak is a teammate of Yao's in Houston and also is an astute observer of the game. Novak said he quickly saw something special in Yi.

"I hadn't seen him play much before, but I was very impressed," Novak said. "His shot isn't a big man's shot; it's a guard's shot. He has a beautiful flick of the wrist, and he moves so well.

"When you have good feet to go along with good coordination and a good shot, you're only going to get better. The stronger he gets, the more his game will open up for him. He can shoot the ball well, which will always allow him to be on the court, no matter who's out there.

"The more years he has in, he'll develop into more of a post player. I don't think he'll ever be a back-to-the-basket post player, but I don't think that he needs to be."

Wise man

Yao was named the starting center for the Western Conference all-star team Thursday, the sixth consecutive time he has been selected an all-star starter.

"There's a kind of wisdom in Yao," Wang said. "He's so clever; he's so smart. He knows how to deal with people. He knows how to face pressure; he knows how to face a good game or a bad game. The way he deals with life is even greater than the way he plays the game on the court."

Novak just laughs when asked what Yao is really like as a teammate.

"He's not a guy who has an ego, for all the fame he has," Novak said. "He's the most low-maintenance superstar you're going to find in the NBA.

"Whenever he gets a little motivation, he's just dangerous. He is obviously so blessed being 7-6 with the body he has. But a huge part is that he was first to the gym for so many years and still is. It's not he's 7-6, so he's good at basketball. It's he's a guy who is 7-6 and has really worked hard on his skills to get to where he is today."

The NBA is making a strong push in China, and the Beijing Games will bring even more attention to basketball, especially with Yao and Yi playing together in the same frontcourt for the home country.

"I've been there for a couple years now, and the skill level of Chinese basketball definitely is rising," said Rockets forward Shane Battier. "It won't be a shock 20 years from now to have multiple Chinese players in the NBA. It won't be as big a deal as it is now, because it will be normal for them to be among the best players in the world."

But on Saturday night, when Yao and Yi meet in Milwaukee for the first time, it certainly will be a big deal.

"I'm excited to play that game for all Chinese fans," Yi said. "A lot of people will watch that game, and I'm proud to play that game."
Click to expand...

Jelle · Jan 27, 2008

Thanks, great read.

What's the deal with his age though, 20 on his passport but believed to be 23 ??

pryuen · Jan 27, 2008

Jelle said:

Thanks, great read.

What's the deal with his age though, 20 on his passport but believed to be 23 ??
Click to expand...

Well, it was sort of a malpractice in the Chinese basketball league in the past that to enable their young players to play longer in the junior provinical or national or international competitions, provinical/municipal or club officials tended to forge and fake players' ages by 2 to 3 years.

So it was rumored that Yi was born in October 1984 insteads of October 1987.

abc2007 · Jan 27, 2008

Is Yi a rocket?!

pryuen · Jan 27, 2008

abc2007 said:

Is Yi a rocket?!
Click to expand...

Yao Ming is !!

And the article had alot of stuff talking about Yao Ming.....and also the craze currently building up in anticipation for the 2nd match-up of Yao vs Yi this coming week-end.

boby · Jan 27, 2008

pryuen said:

Yao Ming is !!

And the article had alot of stuff talking about Yao Ming.....and also the craze currently building up in anticipation for the 2nd match-up of Yao vs Yi this coming week-end.
Click to expand...

I am a YOF who could care less about Yi. Sorry.

Matchman · Jan 27, 2008

Yi needs to stop taking those long jumpers. Otherwise he will become another Wang guy and will be ousted from the League in a few years.

pchan · Jan 27, 2008

I want to know how's Yao's cousin George Ming is doing at his job.

DosSantos · Jan 27, 2008

pchan said:

I want to know how's Yao's cousin George Ming is doing at his job.
Click to expand...

Seriously, Ming is the given name

poprocks · Jan 27, 2008

Matchman said:

Yi needs to stop taking those long jumpers. Otherwise he will become another Wang guy and will be ousted from the League in a few years.
Click to expand...

Nah, he likes to dunk on people and then hang on the rim and teabag them. He'll never be like Wang.

sbyang · Jan 27, 2008

"Yao is more traditional Chinese people, and Yi is more like some kind of young power," Wang said. "Also, they have different fans.
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I love how this guy speaks for an entire generation of people. He wears sunglasses, he's so cool, he's like the fonz.

bloop · Jan 27, 2008

DosSantos said:

Seriously, Ming is the given name
Click to expand...

George Ming, yao's cousin on his mother's side. You didn't know Yao was named after his maternal grandfather did you?

I love how this guy speaks for an entire generation of people. He wears sunglasses, he's so cool, he's like the fonz.
Click to expand...

yi is far from cool. he looks like Lurch. I cant believe kids in any country in the world would be so uncool as to think yi looks cool.

really it's between that korean kid who used to play for portland and yi as to who's uglier. at least yao and wang look like normal human beings. anyways what they're probably saying is that his game is considered cool

Avicenna76 · Jan 27, 2008

boby said:

I am a YOF who could care less about Yi. Sorry.
Click to expand...

YOF = Yao only fan, also YOF = Yi only fan?

tchou · Jan 27, 2008

bloop said:

George Ming, yao's cousin on his mother's side. You didn't know Yao was named after his maternal grandfather did you?

yi is far from cool. he looks like Lurch. I cant believe kids in any country in the world would be so uncool as to think yi looks cool.

really it's between that korean kid who used to play for portland and yi as to who's uglier. at least yao and wang look like normal human beings. anyways what they're probably saying is that his game is considered cool
Click to expand...

Insecurity and disrespect is also very "uncool."

Yaoterminator · Jan 27, 2008

bloop said:

George Ming, yao's cousin on his mother's side. You didn't know Yao was named after his maternal grandfather did you?
Click to expand...

Where the hell does the fantasy come from?

Oh, wait. I smell **** in your brain.

DaDakota · Jan 27, 2008

How can Yi be first in rookie FG% when Scola has a much higher percentage?

And he is only 2nd to Carl Landry on our team.

DD

wireonfire · Jan 27, 2008

DaDakota said:

How can Yi be first in rookie FG% when Scola has a much higher percentage?

And he is only 2nd to Carl Landry on our team.

DD
Click to expand...

I think Yi was first earlier in the season when Scola probably hadn't taken enough shots to qualify. I am not sure Landry qualifies even now since he just started to get the minutes.

Drexlerfan22 · Jan 28, 2008

bloop said:

yi is far from cool. he looks like Lurch. I cant believe kids in any country in the world would be so uncool as to think yi looks cool.

really it's between that korean kid who used to play for portland and yi as to who's uglier. at least yao and wang look like normal human beings. anyways what they're probably saying is that his game is considered cool
Click to expand...

So Yi is ugly and Wang is not?

Coulda fooled me.

superx · Jan 28, 2008

YI never ever can't exceed YAO.
He'll never get the level that YAO is.
I'm not the YI-hater,I just tell the truth.

orbb · Jan 28, 2008

superx said:

YI never ever can't exceed YAO.
He'll never get the level that YAO is.
I'm not the YI-hater,I just tell the truth.
Click to expand...

He DOES shoot like a guard and is quick even at his size, which serves him better in today's guard oriented game. He's going to be scoring a ton with time.

Learning curve for centers is so much higher and it takes its toll quicker

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