http://www.clutchcity.net/news.cfm?NewsID=1056 After a quiet summer in which it appeared Francis was upset about possibly drafting Yao, recently-signed Steve praises highly the new Rocket center Steve Francis has finally commented publically on Yao Ming, and it appears he has changed his tune about the Rockets adding the 7-foot-5 center to the roster. Speaking on ESPN Radio after signing his new contract extension, Francis sang the praises of the Chinese big man. "Obviously I've seen a lot of footage on this guy and I'm really, really impressed with how fluidly he moves and the total team player that he is," said Francis. "You don't have too many guys picked #1 come in like this guy is coming in. He is really enthusiastic and happy to be able play in the U.S." "I'm definitely grateful and happy that we got a guy like that." Francis joked that the words he wants to learn in Chinese to communicate to Yao are "rebound" and "Pass the ball". The Rockets guard plans to head to Indianapolis to meet Yao and watch him at the World Games. "I hope that there's not a lot of pressure on him to be able to stick with a Shaq. His first year, I don't think that's going to happen," added Francis. "I think we can bring him along slowly. I'm looking forward to seeing him this Wednesday." This is a new take on Yao for Francis, as before the draft he was quiet and grumpy about the prospects of adding Yao to the team, citing that big men like that have never helped his game. Perhaps seeing some of the NBA players on the U.S. team testify about Yao's skills made Francis realize it was time to speak out. Francis also added that with the addition of Yao and the return of other players from injury, things are looking up. "I think last year was kind of a down year for us," said the 6-foot-3 guard. "We had a lot of injuries. But I think we did a good job of picking a guy like Yao Ming, and we got guys injured from last year coming back ... we're looking to be good this season." Steve to learn Chinese word "pass me the ball" hehehe Yao should learn english "pass me the ball"
Great!!! I am extremely happy about these quotes, especially if Steve Francis is extremely happy about his extension. If Francis is happy about showing off Yao, and how no one can beat their tandem ... ummmm or the tripledom.(cat) & quadrupledom.(cat | eddie) ... ...[drifting into geekdom]... why do I feel like that is a Hofstadter metabasketball magical thema. franchise.pass.ball().getNext().pass.ball()!!! So, can anyone explain the "see him this Wednesday??" Are they meeting, or is Francis going to watch him on TV? We do know that Yao is supposed to be signing his contract while in the States.
I'm glad that Francis is happy, I'm glad the fans are happy! Well why arn't we all happy then? Firstly there is no need for Steve Francis to learn Chinese, if he wants to,then I suggest the words BE READY FOR MY PASS instead of REBOUND and PASS. It seems to me, that Steve is still thinking like last year, where he was a part-time Point Guard. This year he needs to be making plays and many more assists.Rudy must get this into his head NOW, as we have plenty of scorers on this years team, who will be looking for the pass FROM Steve rather than passing to Steve,like in previous years. Yao Ming will have no problem understanding what is required of him! He has a great feel for the game,very intelligent and is picking up new English words every day.If anyone has news of Yao Mings Signing, please post it!
dude what are you talking about? "thinking like last year" chill out this was a light conversation with dan patrick. he wasn't discussing game action and how ming has to make sure steve gets his touches. patrick asked steve something about communication with ming, and he said he'd have to learn the chinese word for rebound(while chuckling) then patrick threw in pass, and steve said "yeah, pass too." it was all in jest. so you should be happy, don't take everything so seriously.
Steve had said he was going to go up to Indianoplace to watch him play in the World Championships. Maybe he's flying up there...
mmm... suddenly hungry for Daal Maharani and Garlic Naan. Somehow though, I'm afraid a restaurant named 'Indianoplace' is one of those cowboy eateries with Indian food and burgers and frys all on the same menu.
