Yao heads the rookie class BY MIKE MONROE FOXSports.com Mar. 17, 2003 4:27 p.m. Call the engraver, and see if you can find one that can inscribe in Mandarin Chinese. The NBA's Rookie of the Year race is over. Yao Ming is your winner. To reiterate a line I first used long before the draft: The Rookie of the Year trophy is going to pass from Pau to Yao. Wow! If Amare Stoudemire, the runaway Rookie of the Year leader through the first half of the NBA season, were going to retain any hope of being named this season's best first-year player his chance ended Sunday in Houston, where Yao outplayed him in the most important game of the season for both the Rockets and Suns. Stoudemire actually appeared to be getting the better of Yao late in the critical game when he rejected his dunk attempt as the Suns mounted a fourth-period comeback. But Yao followed by scoring six points in the next two minutes. And he set up two more Rockets baskets as they held on for a huge victory that earned them the season tie-breaker with the Suns should the two finish tied for the eighth, and final, playoff berth in the Western Conference. One of the reasons I had named Stoudemire top rookie in the first half was the fact he had been most responsible for turning the Suns from a lottery team to a playoff contender. We can now say the same thing about Yao. Yao finished Sunday's big game with 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting, along with eight rebounds. Stoudemire made only 3-of-10 shots, scored 12 points and had nine rebounds. The Suns' Amare Stoudemire, center, couldn't lead his team to victory against Yao and the Rockets. Pat Sullivan / Associated Press Yao and Stoudemire clearly are the top two rookies from a rookie class that may be remembered in future years as one of the best in a decade, in part because Yao has averaged 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds. He has made 51.9 percent of his shots and 80.5 percent of his free throws. He has also averaged 1.88 blocked shots and 1.6 assists. Stoudemire has averaged 13.4 points and 9.3 rebounds. He has made 46.3 percent of his shots and 67.1 percent of his free throws. And just as statistics don't measure the way Yao's passing and defense help the Rockets, they don't show the way Stoudemire's inside presence has changed the Suns. The Rookie of the Year was a two-horse race from the moment Yao began to recover from his late start — remember, he arrived in Houston just a week or so before the start of the regular season — to begin playing the way the Rockets believed he could when they made him the first overall pick in the draft. Stoudemire's early ascendancy was as much of a surprise as Yao's early struggle. He was the 10th player taken in the first round, not the first. Plus, jumping straight from high school to the NBA hasn't been easy for anyone, not even Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady. To say Stoudemire made the jump more successfully than those three MVP candidates is no overstatement. If you still have any doubt that Yao will be this year's Rookie of the Year, check out the results of a poll of actual voters the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen conducted over the weekend. Feigen contacted 28 voters (including Yours Truly), nearly a quarter of the 126-person voting pool, and asked for whom the voters will cast their Rookie of the Year vote. The results were overwhelming: 20 for Yao, 8 for Stoudemire. Nobody else received even a single vote. Considering how dramatically Yao was criticized through the first few weeks of the season this is a resounding affirmation of his resiliency, not to mention his talent and potential. Yao also has been a marked man every time he has played each team for the first time. Opposing players have measured their machismo by their ability to take their game right at him. That includes Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. Add the fact Yao has had to deal with a media circus all season, with pregame press conferences that include his constant companion, interpreter Colin Pine, and you begin to understand just how resilient the 7-foot-6 youngster from Shanghai truly is. Clearly, the Rockets made the right decision when they used the first overall pick to take Yao. Just as clearly, the Bulls made a mistake making Jay Williams the second pick. Williams has been given every opportunity to succeed as the Bulls' point guard. Only five rookies have averaged more minutes per game: Yao, Stoudemire, Caron Butler, Dajuan Wagner and Nene Hilario. But Williams is eighth among rookies in scoring and his shooting percentage is horrid, 38 percent. Let's apply 20-20 hindsight to last June's draft and re-select the Top 10. Yao Ming — Rookie of the Year, and he's only going to get more dominant. Amare Stoudemire — A man's man at age 20. Nene Hilario — Ditto Stoudemire, and he'll be better when he learns English. Caron Butler — Logged more minutes than any rookie. Mike Dunleavy — Still needs to fill out, but still knows how to play. Drew Gooden — Change of scenery definitely helps. Jay Williams — Better work on his shooting. Jared Jeffries — Wizards could have used him for the stretch run. Carlos Boozer — Top percentage shooter, No. 3 rebounder among rookies. Dajuan Wagner — "Tweener' who shoots just 37 percent. You may notice Nikoloz Tskitishvili, the No. 5 pick last June, and Chris Wilcox, No. 8, didn't make our re-draft Top 10. There are reasons the Nuggets and Clippers have been two of the NBA's worst teams for years and year. Draft day mistakes are among them. At least the Nuggets picked a winner in Hilario. Wilcox hasn't been able to log meaningful time (not even among the top 20 rookies) despite injuries to Michael Olowokandi and Elton Brand. Mike Monroe can be reached at his e-mail address, mmonroe@foxsports.com. NBA Fans! Register and Bid Now on great NBA auctions at eBay! NBA Gear! Check out the FOXSports.com store and its great selection of NBA merchandise. Get NBA Tickets Check out our great selection on NBA tickets! You can buy and sell tickets to major sporting events, including NBA games, at the FOXSports.com Ticket Shop. NBA News MONROE: Yao heads the rookie class Hill hoping fourth ankle surgery will do the trick Duncan listed as questionable after ankle sprain Tomjanovich undergoes biopsy, won't coach Tuesday Coach says embarrassed Davis won't be fined John Starks to coach USBL team Mavs beat Kings in Sacramento, avoid season sweep Knicks beat Bucks behind Houston's 50 eBay: Bid on NBA items here Dime Magazine
I don't know. Give Amare and Yao co-Rookie of the Year. Both contribute big time to their teams and their race for the playoffs. You can't deny one for the other.
Godamn, all these freakin reporters jump from one bandwagon to the next. I'm glad that they are saying that Yao will be rookie of the year, but when Yao has a bad game, these guys will say that Yao has finished his second wind and is now back to the rookie wall. At first they loved J-Will, then Yao, then Amare, then Drew then Yao again...
As much as I hate Cuttino (and I started the "Get Rid of Cuttino Mobley" thread, I think he was just being diplomatic.
He's coming along. Buy you know, Yao is kinda passive, and not looking for winning awards He'll pass even when he's single covered. The thing is you can't be looking to him all the time, like we could Francis as a rookie or the Clipper's did with Brand. We've got lots of players...lots of weapons on this team, and we need to use them all, not be looking at one guy. So maybe that's why his numbers are identical to Amare.
no contest. yao should win the ROY award unanimously. all you have to do is watch a few of their games. yao is becoming the go-to guy for the rockets. when he does not have the ball, defense still has to worry about him. on defense, yao is not great but good enough. he blocks a few shots and alters many more. amare is just a role player on the suns team, splitting time with bo outlaw.
Yao's better than Amare right now but don't be too surprised if it falls co-rookie of the year. I thought Steve had the award sealed, locked and deliver during his rookie campaign, but Brand end up winning it also.
Damn, you still think Yao's number is identical to Amare? The following part is borrowed from Matador's post. Read it carefully, word by word, before you say anything. [[ Now why do so many people think Yao and Amare's numbers are almost identical. True their points and rebounds are about equal but that is where the similarities stop. assists: Yao has nearly twice as many per game as Amare 1.7 per for Yao and 0.9 for Amare field goal percentage: Yao is sixth in the league at .520 and Amare is at .461 free throw percentage: Yao is 4th among all centers at .805 with Amare far behind at .669 steals: while neither player gets many Amare gets a few more at .66 a game to Yao's .29 a game blocks: this is where Yao really excels ove Stoudemire 1.91 to 0.91 per game turnovers per game: Amare has slightly more at 2.31 to Yao at 2.09 personal foul per game: Amare has more at 3.30 to Yao at 2.90 OK so points and rebounds are nearly equal but nearly every other major statistical catagory Yao leads by a pretty large margin. Why is their a perception among some that their numbers are "alomst identical" ?? ]]
Great post!! From my understand, voters generally vote based on these 3 aspects: 1. Stats 2. Teams Improvement 3. Impact/Intangibles 1. as you clearly indicated has Yao clearly ahead. 2. the Rox have improved MORE than the Suns so Yao is ahead again. 3. the impact is where I think Yao is by far superior. Yao's presence changes opposing teams offensive strategies by either blocking or altering shots. And on offense, teams consistantly double and triple team him. Amare does neither of these. Conclusion: Yao is clearly better in these 3 categories and should be the SOLE winner of the ROY award.
