I love the pictures. Thanks! Yao is playing with passion... you can tell he wants to excel. I can't wait until he gets here. It's a shame the Rockets won't have him after these games. They could do so much with him before the season starts. You can see why China wants him for the Asian Games, but it's not good for Yao's development. I wouldn't feel strongly about that if I saw evidence of even decent coaching on the Chinese team. Another point, if I'm not mistaken, is that China has won the Asian Games for many years in a row. The competition is mediocre, isn't it? Why not let the other Chinese players get experience in those games (which they should win) and do what's best for Yao's development and China's hopes for the Olympics... let him start his NBA career. Oh, well. Not going to happen.
This is a very good point but let me tell you why China needs Yao to play the Asian Games. First of all, the Asian Games are the qualifiers for Olympics 2004. China needs to win (Gold or Silver) so that China can advance to the Olympics. Similarly, since Team US is no longer a gold contender for WBC, it will have to send better team to the Pan American Games in order to qualify for 2004 Olympics. Secondly, based on the performance of the Chinese guards, China will need at least one big man to excel in Asian Games. Since Wang ZhiZhi will not play the Asian Games, either Yao or Bateer will have to be there. I think that the Chinese coach would prefer to rotate Yao and Bateer during 20 - 25 minutes per game stretch. Plus, it is simply not fair to let Yao not play in Asian Games while Bateer play it. Remember, both are NBA players and both should be given chance to play in the NBA camps. I think Rockets may request that the Chinese NT to spend extra 2 weeks in Houston before heading back to China to attend the Asian Games (Asian Games start around Oct 6). Essentially, Rockets can use the next two weeks to train Yao Ming as a susbtitute for the pre-game camp. The Chinese NT, especially the guards can also get some tips from Rockets coaches. That would be a win-win situation. For next year, both Yao Ming and Menke Bateer should stay in the US to attend the summer leagues and pre=season camps. I believe and most Chinese fans believe that they will get better training in US. I thinik the loss of the Chinese NT has put a lot of pressure to the Chinese BastketBall Association and something dramatic will have to happen.
Ming will return to China very soon with his NT. They will play one(maybe three) game(s) at around September 18 with NBA star team at China. There are 8 NBA players in that team.
Look at the eyes of these two player. You can tell Yao is a special player just by looking at his eyes compare to the other's.
Well done Yao Ming! The rules of WBC seem to allow rough stuff and I think Yao Ming did very well, considering so many,were gunning for him and getting away with it!If he does this well under civilized NBA rules plus as few more blocks then the Rox are set!Yao Ming "Please get here as soon as you can"!
A very good all round performance by Ming.Okur is pretty strong and is 6' 10" but he looked so small as compared to Ming. I liked the way Yao finished the tournament he came back strongly and is determined to get better.His attitude is just what we need on our team.
Hey windandsea, has anyone ever said how impressed we are with the materials you send in? Many thanks again for the great stuff you share here.
Thank you for the explanation, fwang. At least it's a "little" more understandable. I've forgotten how often the Asian Games occur. Is it every 2 years? Do they expect Yao to play in them indefinitely?
Panda, CBA's image is not tainted, it's actually miserable. And China's pathetic performace in the WBC FAIRLY painted CBA's image. It's not created by anyone else but themself. How could Wang want to conduct training with them? Did you see Yao's face often screaming "get me out of the hell"? I don't understand how you can still defend them when the reality is so cruelly presented to us. They need a complete overhaul, otherwise China will not only lose to European and S. America teams, they will lose to Africa teams very soon and slip to the bottom of the world. Wake up.
Like all major international games, Asian Games occur every four years. I think China better prepare some new guys for the next Asian Games. Personally, I do not think Yao should play for the next Asian Games (2006) but it all depends.
I don't see how you can excuse someone from attending practice just because his teammates and coach are pathetic. Wang needs to get to know the players, the system and build chemistry in order to contribute. Look at what happened to the Dream Team that just practiced for two weeks. If you don't Wang to represent his country just say so. Yao said he's proud to represent his country and he played all he can despite his pathetic teammates and coach, I guess that's the difference between him and Wang Zhizhi, a current Chinese army captain that's supposed to die for his country's interest. The CBA's overall level is increasing right now, not decreasing. It is gaining momentum and popularity in China as a professional league. It's keeping expanding, drawing audience, making more younsters play Bball with the chance it offers of a being an NBA No.1 pick. It's a young league so there's a lot of difficulties to overcome but they are developing. CBA bred players like Yao, Wang and Bateer and it's foreseeable that more and more CBA players are going to the NBA in the future. I don't see any reason to justify dramatic and systematic change for CBA right now. It's a successful pro league with a rather low but steadily improving game level. Finally, why is everyone holding CBA responsible for the NT's underperformance? As far as I know CBA is just a commercial league and not a government agency liable for assembling the NT.
Unbelievable that there is this small group of people keep bashing Wang without getting the fact straight. Look at this story from the dallasbasketball.com. When you have all the facts straight, you have to wonder what the MOTIVES are for these people who are pro-CBA/NT all the time. There is one thing that needs to be pointed out: there is no, absolutely none, good basketball coaches in China. The earlier teams in China start to hire foreign coaches, or the earlier Chinese players start to play for the Euro-league/NBA, the better off it is for the Chinese basketball in the future. The Wang Way Donnie: ‘There Is No Agreement’ By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com For the first time, the Mavericks are discussing the details of their arrangement with China regarding Wang Zhizhi and are talking boldly of eventually putting the needs and desires of the club ahead of those of the Communist country. “It’s 100-percent that we will do what’s in the best interest of the good ol’ Mavs,’’ team president Donnie Nelson tells DallasBasketball.com. “We will not lose an important asset, and we will do what is beneficial to the organization.’’ The specifics of Dallas’ agreement with China to allow Wang to be the first-ever Asian player in the NBA have, until now, been kept purposely vague as far as the public is concerned. Now, though, Nelson is willing to offer details. “There is no agreement,’’ Nelson says, suggesting that it is an “understanding’’ rather than a contract that motivates the Mavs to be as cooperative as possible with China. “It’s like you and your next-door neighbor. We spent two years of hard work, along with some fine people over there, to make Wang’s dream come true. Him taking these steps has put all of us in a precarious position. But politics aside, it’s a typical negotiation, really.’’ Of course, it’s impossible to completely place politics aside here. Wang, a promising young Mav who is a restricted free agent, has angered China by failing to report back to his country this offseason. Wang has instead remained in the US, saying he wants to work on improving his skills. Wang can receive offers from other NBA teams with Dallas having the right to match. Maybe in part because of the red tape involved, Wang has not received such an offer. Nelson says he is optimistic that Wang can once again be a part of the organization. But, he adds, “we are willing to look at anything. A sign-and-trade is a possibility, if he wants to go that route. We’re open to lots of different options on that front. Being (proactive with China) is an option. Re-signing him is a consideration. Working together with his representatives and other teams (for a sign-and-trade) is a consideration. It’s complicated. It’s just going to take some time.’’ (Discuss this story at DallasBasketball.com Boards.)
It's unbelievable that some people trying to argue with air, and while they aren't, they argue with no points.
YAO MING POSTGAME QUOTES: On what he thinks he needs to work on between now and the start of the NBA season: “I need to work on my weight training and speed. My stamina is getting better but it’s also something that needs to be better.” On how he thinks playing in this tournament will help him in his NBA career: “The NBA season is 82 games in six months so that will be hard for me. But I think this is a good preparation for me.” On playing in the World Basketball Championships: “This is important to me because I am Chinese and it is a great honor to play for my country at the World Championships