I heard this from a radio interview with Rick Barry The talk show host asked rick barry if Yao Ming was gonna be a bust or not. and Rick Barry said that yao ming is gonna be something. Rick Barry was saying how he was talking to this center,Danny Shays, who played for 18-19 years in the NBA and the center said that he was surprised by Yao Ming when he played against him in international games (when yao was younger). He said he was surprised that he couldn't push yao around like he expected to. He also confirmed that Yao had alot of talent. Certainly no Shawn Bradley. He said the Rockets should be considered crazy if Yao ming wasn't picked first. Also, Yao ming went 21-21 in the shanghai championship game. Thats pretty impressive even for somebody playing in the chinese league. Also, According to Rudy, Yao has pretty good foot work and moves like a guy who is 6ft 5 instead of 7ft 5 (maybe due to all those mountains Yao's coach made him run back in China). And from what I saw, his J is pretty wet. Hmmmmmm...I was ambivalent or even a naysayer about Yao but testimonies like this make me liken to Yao's talent more so. Yao may help the rockets to the play off spots. But the proof is in the pudding, I'll hop on the bandwagon once Yao produces. Hell, I may even buy a Ming jersey. What I would like to see Yao do: if he has the speed like people say he does, he should be versatile enough to score from anyway on the court even from the beyong the arc. And he does have a shot. Rudy should work on Yao's ball handling so he can go off the dribble or shoot. I've seen Yao take the oregon center, Chrisoffeson or whatever, off the dribble and spot up and shoot. Even though yao got blocked by him on several occasions. Add muscle, even though he is pretty heavy and will slow him down and take away his finesse. He should learn how to "bang" with the big boys so he can truly score from anywhere. Also, learn post moves like a fade away, hook, how to pump fake, etc.
Cipheroue:- I am against Yao putting on too much weight! It will effect his balance and speed. He is not a banger but a finesse player,he does need a stronger upper body but he should not try to gain too much upper bulk as he is the wrong body type !
oh, thanks for the heads up but why is it Yao Ming instead of Ming Yao, culture shock for me I guess.
According to WindandSea, Yao is Ming's Sur (Last) name. When Wang first joined the Mav's the back of his jersey was ZhiZhi. Now Wang is on the back. Its a Chinese Culture thing to refer to someone by saying their last name first.
Yes, when Chinese address one another by full name, we put the family name in front of the first name. Rick Barry was the coach for the "NBA Legends Tour" to China in Aug-2000. After losing to the NBA Legends by 79~73 and 90~77, the Chinese NT adjusted by playing more aggressive defense and came back to win 79~60 in the final game of a 3-game series. ..."China played with more character and heart in this game," Legends coach Rick Barry said. "And Yao Ming played an exceptional game."...The 19-year-old Yao, 2.23 meters high, scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots in 38 minutes... NBA Legends roster: Clyde Drexler, Dominique Wilkins, Buck Williams, Rolando Blackman, Eddie Johnson, Danny Schayes, Joe Wolf, Tim Kempton, Charles Smith, Doug Smith, Cory Beck and Tremaine Fowlkes. Not exactly an intimidating list of players...
I am more inclined to listen to guys like Shayes, Rick Barry, and I have even heard Bill Walton say that Yao is the real deal. Former players are usually better judges of talent then talk radio hosts, or even scouts. I'm sure that most of the scouts in the NBA who have said Yao will fail, have never played pro ball, or even semi-pro ball. If all of these former pros and hall of famers are saying that Yao is the real deal, he probably will be pretty good. Rick Barry has two sons playing in the NBA, I'm sure he knows what it takes to make it.
Originally posted by The Fever I am more inclined to listen to guys like Shayes, Rick Barry, and I have even heard Bill Walton say that Yao is the real deal. Former players are usually better judges of talent then talk radio hosts, or even scouts. I'm sure that most of the scouts in the NBA who have said Yao will fail, have never played pro ball, or even semi-pro ball. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From what I have read, most of the NBA scouts and coaches think Ming will turn out to be good. The people who bash Ming are mostly the newspaper columinst and radio talk show host.
