"To play against him was an eye-opening experience for me. He's a lot better than what I thought," Michael Finley said. "He earned our respect." "Everybody's dream is to dunk on someone taller than you," Williams said. "I thought he was going to jump, but he didn't jump." "He blew away my expectations with the way he played," Williams said. Anybody else know what else they're saying?
"When he (Ming) was fresh out there and had his legs under him he was in there and he was active. I was surprised by his awareness on the court. When he caught the ball deep in the paint, he didn't waste time, he went into his move and made shots around the basket. When he caught it outside he turned and faced up and was able to find the open guy. That was impressive for a guy 7'5", " said USA's Ben Wallace. "At halftime we did speak and said the kid (Yao Ming) is pretty good. We talked about being more aggressive with him and not letting have the easy catches. We talked about fronting him some more and changing up the defenses. He had a double-double with a lot of blocks. There¡¯s no question he¡¯s a danger factor around the basket. You have to respect his size and length. Offensively, he¡¯s very interesting ¨C it looks like he¡¯s going to be able to get his own shot off and is going to be difficult to cover. It also looks like he¡¯s always going to be able to shoot and pass over the top of you. He¡¯s got a very good release ¡ his wrists and fingers are very good on the ball. He¡¯s also a problem backing you down and I think he¡¯s going to get more physical inside. He looks like a good passer, being able to read double teams and defenses. His ability to throw over the top of the defense is incredibly successful in our league. I think the Houston Rockets have themselves a very talented player." said USA head coach George Karl. "Yao Ming was even bigger in person than he looks in film. Fundamentally he was sound and he did some good things offensively. Like coach said, we had to play him a little bit tougher and make him work for those shots. This was the first time I have ever seen him ¡the only time that I¡¯ve ever seen him was on the highlights and he didn¡¯t miss. So, to play against him was an eye-opening experience for me. He¡¯s a lot better than what I thought personally. He has a great touch from outside and if he continues to improve I think he can be a lot better. " Finley Antonio Davis" "I think he did a great job out there. Under the circumstances and under all the expectations, it seemed like he took his time and did what was best for him to help his team. There are some obvious things that I'm sure Rudy Tomjanovich (Yao's future NBA Coach from the Houston Rockets) will help prepare him for. I really think that he's going to be able to help that team just by being big with the athleticism that they will have out there on the floor. He will establish his presence out on the floor and it should make Houston a contender." On the curiosity factor of Yao's play and the fact that the fans came out in big numbers: "That's a great thing. We're here to play the game and for people to come out and enjoy themselves. Whether they came out for Yao Ming or the USA, no matter what it takes, if they come out to support us, that's all we care about. The bottom line was that I think they enjoyed the game and we came out and accomplished what we wanted to accomplish." On the nature of play. Was it physical or not as physical as expected? "After her turned and scores on your 'mug' a couple times, you've got to try to do something else!!" "My thing was to really try to get him to catch the ball further out and hopefully make him shoot a longer shot and maybe get a hand up. Maybe try to wear him down a little bit. I saw that he was getting kind of tired, so I thought we could run him up and down the floor and push on him a little and that would work to my advantage." Was he strong? "Yes. He's very strong from the waist down. He's very strong. The upper body stuff will come. It will come with time and it will come - as I'm sure Houston has a great strength coach and it will all come into play over the next couple months or so." When you play China in Indiana, will you do anything differently? "I think he's a very smart basketball player. He sets the ball very high on his shot so you're not going to go up and block his shot. So, I don't think there's much we can do differently. You have to get a hand up on his shots, not let him catch the ball deep and I thought we did a pretty good job on that. Most of the shots he made were pretty long jumpers "He kept his composure and that's a sign of maturity. It would have been real easy for him to go out there and really go crazy... to not be patient and not do the things that help his team and to focus attention on himself. But, I don't think he did that at all. So that's really great for him" Jay Williams: On his explosiveness on drive late in first half: "I just saw an opportunity and tried to take advantage of it. The ball just slipped out of my hands. I don't think he (Yao Ming) was quite ready for it. His being 7'5" he probably didn't think a little guy was going to challenge him but he showed a lot of talent tonight. He definitely blew away my expectations of him. He's a really good basketball player and he showed that tonight. I just tried to surprise him a little." Going up on him and scoring on him tonight at the end of the game. Did you dunk on him? "I didn't really dunk on him, but I did challenge him." Miller: "You know he surprised me. He's a lot better than I expected. I saw some of his exhibition game against Canada and saw some interviews he did. Listening to him say he has to get a lot stronger, I thought he did a pretty much held his own. He did a good job and he's a big guy. I think the learning curve is definitely on the upward swing with him." BARON DAVIS Thoughts on Yao Ming: "The guy can play. I like him a lot. My boy Steve Francis is a good friend of mine and he's going to have a good time with that big guy down there. He's going to block a lot of shots that will lead to some fast breaks and he can score inside." Ben WALLACE: On playing against Yao Ming "He's got a nice touch and a couple of post moves, a couple of good moves around the basket. As long as he continues to play he was playing, he's going to continue to grow as a player. To my surprise he was a whole lot better than I thought he was." You were quoted as saying you were going to try to beat him up. Did you try to beat him up? "Oh yeah. We definitely beat him up.I think after we banged him a little and got to running on him , I think it took a little out of him. Once he gets the experience he needs, he can be a factor in the NBA. He didn't back down, but I think there were times out there he got a little winded.He didn't put up a big fight after he got a little tired. He needs to work on his stamina and get a lot stronger up top. When he was fresh out there and had his legs under him he was in there and he was active. I was surprised by his awareness on the court. When he caught the ball deep in the paint, he didn't waste time, he went into his move and made shots around the basket. When he caught it outside he turned and faced up and was able to find the open guy. That was impressive for a guy 7'5". "A lot of times you have to go up against a guy and give up 5 or 6 inches, so I'm sort of used to going up against taller players. Once you get out there you're not really thinking about his size, you're just trying to play the game. "He's a whole lot better than I thought he'd be." http://www.usabasketball.com/seniormen/02-mwc-exhgame1_quotes.html
To hear the praise of other NBAers was music to my ears. I loved the fact that, collectively, they all thought he was better than they thought. It is gonna be a great season!!!!!!
He only going to get better when he learns how to pump fake. I like that "Dream" like baseline turnaround. That shot is unstoppable. Life is GOOOD!!!!!!
I don’t know about you guys…… but these quotes are giving me Goose Bumps. I can’t explain in words how excited I am about the future of our team. !!! Eddie & Ming in the paint ( scary !!! )
Jay Williams: On his explosiveness on drive late in first half: "I just saw an opportunity and tried to take advantage of it. The ball just slipped out of my hands. I don't think he (Yao Ming) was quite ready for it. His being 7'5" he probably didn't think a little guy was going to challenge him but he showed a lot of talent tonight. He definitely blew away my expectations of him. He's a really good basketball player and he showed that tonight. I just tried to surprise him a little." who's jay williams to talk? williams will be lucky if hes not the biggest bust of the draft. how many duke players have made it in the nba aside from grant hill? prove something yourself before you comment on others.
I don't mind Jay Williams acting as if he's a man among equals. I mean, his first NBA experience is with players from other NBA teams. So someone had some confidence in him. He hasn't even lost (played) his first game on the Bulls yet. Jay Williams will be OK. His team needs some D, and those big guys need a couple more years to develop.
Elton Brand and Christian Laettner (believe it or not, he did make the all-star team) and I think everyone knows Battier will at least "make it" . Besides, the only other bust I remember from Duke was Langdon. A lot of the other Duke guys were not taken early in the draft, so it's hard to consider them busts. Make no mistake about it, Jay Williams will be a good NBA player.
Micheal Finley's take on Yao Ming Just thought you guys might find this interesting. I haven't been one of the biggest Yao Ming supporters but Finley is very knowledgable on the game of basketball and I do respect Finley's opinion. http://dallasbasketball.com/headline_A.asp?pr=
why does this a-hole have to throw that in there. GIVE IT UP MAN!!! that comparison died a long time ago.
A few more Yao-related comments, from today's NY Times: Rick Barry, the former N.B.A. All-Star, goes further. "He's a real athlete, with a strong lower body and legs," said Barry, who two years ago coached a team of former N.B.A. players against the Chinese team. "There is no doubt in my mind that with his work ethic, which is excellent, and proper coaching, which is certainly available these days, he will emerge as a major force in the N.B.A." "People say he has no inside game and that he doesn't jump high," Barry added. "But at 7-5 you don't have to jump much, and he has an outside game that players his size don't. His work ethic is one of his best attributes." Barry asked Danny Schayes, who played against Yao in those exhibition games, what he thought. Schayes played 19 years as a pro and had a player's perspective. Was he really a No. 1 draft choice? "He's the real thing," Schayes told Barry. "I was surprised at how strong he was. Anyone who doesn't take him as No. 1 is crazy".
