KEITH VAN HORN On Yao Ming: “He’s a lot bigger in person and he moves very well. I was really impressed and he’s going to be a solid player in this league. He made some moves out there that really surprised me. He is very agile and shoots the ball well and is stronger than he looks." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALLEN IVERSON On Yao Ming: "Yao Ming comes to play. He’s a great player. He does a lot inside and outside and has such soft hands. It’s amazing, his God-given ability. He’s special. He should thank God everyday." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OLDEN POLYNICE On Yao Ming: "He is going to realize this is the NBA and that is the way we play. We gave him some hard shots inside and he just got up and went about his business. He will have to learn about the fouls and that will take some time. He will have a target on his back but he is reacting real well. Once he learns the offense he will be incredible. I’m in awe of him. He is going to be very tough. Basketball wise, he knows how to play the game. He has such a soft touch for a big man."
POSTGAME QUOTES OCTOBER 24, 2002 -Rockets vs. Sixers- http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/RocketsSixers_Postgame_Quotes-56199-34.html ROCKETS COACH RUDY TOMJANOVICH On his team: "Exhibition season is over. We’ve got some really important days before the season starts. Still no Kenny (Thomas) and Moochie (Norris) will be able to go and of course we will start the year without Mo (Taylor), so we probably don’t know exactly what our lineup will be. Not the most ideal situation but that’s the way NBA basketball is. I’ve been here many times before and I really like our defense throughout the exhibition season. We’ve had that going and offensively we will have more weapons when we have those guys back." On Yao Ming: "He did a good job. It’s been tough on him. He’s had so much to absorb. It’s not a good situation but he has made the best of it and he looked really good. It’s going to take some time but I think he is going to be fine." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GLEN RICE On Yao Ming: "The big guy is exciting! Defensively, he is always changing shots. He’s having fun and that is what it is all about. Once he gets some rest and starts to get rolling it will be exciting. He is going to force people to double down low and his passing ability will allow him to throw passes and get everyone else involved." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STEVE FRANCIS On Yao Ming: "Offensively, he was more assertive. He made more of a conscious effort to pass the ball. He passed the ball real well tonight which I thought was good." On the crowd’s reaction to Yao entering the game: "Everybody was real pumped up. And that was good. It was good that he was getting that much love when he entered the game for the first time. If they (the crowd) can be like that throughout the season, it would feel like home." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YAO MING On the game: "I started off well but toward the end of the game I missed a few rebounds. It was not because I felt tired but because it was a very physical game." On the crowd: "I felt like they were really supporting me and rooting for me. It felt a lot more like coming home tonight. I am very happy that I got so much support." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SIXERS COACH LARRY BROWN On his team’s play: "We got a few more people healthy and we had a lot of guys play well. We played very good defense, and that is the only way to play when you play the Rockets." On Eric Snow’s play: "Eric made a great defensive play at the end. He had an outstanding game for us all around." On Yao Ming: "I would have loved to have had the first pick. He can play. He can pass and shoot and he’s playing for a great coach and in the right system." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the players that have played against Ming all have good things to say. The only people that insult Ming and say he's a bust are players that have never played against him. Coincidence? I think not. By now, you would think people would understand Ming is the real deal, but some people refuse to believe it.
One of the best coaches around. Has a lot of class and is very old school. Yao Ming is the real deal and the next big thing!!!
''SportsCenter' made fun of the kid [for perceived bad plays], and that's stupid," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "He flew in Sunday, had two practices - and both were open to the public. He made a pass [against the Spurs] I don't think I've seen two big guys who would have seen the [teammate] open. 'SportsCenter' better get on the money and do the right plays," Brown said. Man, Larry really likes Yao...........nice to hear comments like this from people that know the game.
Larry Brown and Rudy T are friends as well. When you look around the league, most coaches, scouts and players don't care for the joking, sarcastic nature of broadcasters and writers. It irritates them and who can blame them?
This quote from Mr. Brown brought a smile to my face. I was going to post it but you beat me to it. I love the fact that someone is challenging those moron shaq-kobe-Jordan butt lickers, they are so unobejective it isnt even funny. Ok, my rant is over, and Mr Larry Brown helped me get out a ton of aggervation!
My respect for Larry grows, I've always thought he was a good coach. Iverson really surprised me with those quotes. Ivy's talkin bout Ming! Talkin bout Ming! Even though Olden is saying nice things about Ming, I can't take anything Mr. Officer says seriously. He is a walking talking joke.
Excerpts from http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/1025/1450966.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Olden Polynice : "He has a combination of some of the best big men,'' veteran 76ers center Olden Polynice said. "He has Shawn Bradley height, Shaquille's (O'Neal) weight and he's able to play like (Arvydas) Sabonis the way he handles the ball. He's a little of all of them.'' "So far, he's reacting very well, but he has to learn their offense,'' Polynice said. "Once he learns the offense, he's going to be awesome.'' Glen Rice : His spin move on the 76ers Art Long impressed teammate Glen Rice. "To get a guy that big to do a baseline move like that, it's unbelievable,'' Rice said. "He just has a lot of basketball skills. We could tell the crowd got excited when he came in and that's good.''
This is why Larry Brown is one of my favorite coaches. I posted the same thing in another thread, and I was wondering if it was just me and other Rockets fans being paranoid. ESPN made fun of Ming, mocked him, and then compared his start to other centers starts like Shaq and Dream. Of course last night they gave him praise but screw SportsCenter.
wow, those are some amazing quotes. it's almost like they were scripted by rockets management for our players to say, but they were coming from the opposition. man this is exciting.
Olden Polynice : "He has a combination of some of the best big men,'' veteran 76ers center Olden Polynice said. "He has Shawn Bradley height, Shaquille's (O'Neal) weight and he's able to play like (Arvydas) Sabonis the way he handles the ball. He's a little of all of them.'' the most important part of that quote- the weight of shaquille o'neal. this is from a man who had to face him on the court. over the past 2 games it's been shown that players aren't just moving ming around at will. he's getting a spot and holding it.
He's saying that and this is only Ming's second game without much practice and he's probably still not all there from everything that has been happening.
You right. I think the funny thing is that all these players around the league are hearing that Yao is good, but some don't really know for sure until they play against him. I think it's funny when opposing teams put their 6'9" power forwards on Yao at first, and not their centers. Then, they learn not to compromise as the game goes on. I mean, not all teams have a Duncan/Robinson, or Shaq. Match-up problems for our opponents all year long!
Brown is a class act. He always has been. And that's why I always like pulling for his teams when they aren't playing against the Rockets!!
