AFP: Yao Ming and other Young Centers of Asia

New generation of Asian behemoths eyeing NBA

Mon Sep 29, 1:18 PM ET

HARBIN, China (AFP) - They are big, tall and young, they have gigantic wing spans and tremendous potential, but it will take years to see whether a new generation of Asian seven-foot (2.12 meters) basketball players have what it takes to play in the world's most prestigious league.

Long dominated by Chinese big men like Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi and Menke Batere -- all centers in the NBA -- this year's Asian Basketball Championships has been marked by a number of non-Chinese big men who are hoping to change the face of hoops in Asia.

South Korea's 2.23 meter (seven-foot three inch) center Ha Seung-Jin and young Iranian center Jaber Rozbehani Darrehsari, also 2.23 meters, have been in the spotlight in Harbin leaving players and coaches gasping at their potential and guessing at what they can bring to Asian basketball.

Despite getting little playing time in the ongoing championships, Jaber turned heads when he held NBA All Star Yao Ming to 15 points and 10 rebounds in a first round match last week.

His mere presence on the floor appeared to deter the Houston Rockets center from making many dominant moves around the basket as the Chinese team explored other scoring options in their 93-69 win over Iran.

"Don't compare him to Yao Ming, there is no way that you can compare the two," Iranian coach Hassan Nour Bakhsh said.

"Jaber is only 17 years old, he has come here to study, not to play."

Statistically Yao has dominated the championships averaging 22.5 points, 14 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 3.3 dunks a game in six games and leads the tournament in all four categories.

Despite his strong defense outing against the Chinese center, Jaber has averaged less than 10 minutes a game for a combined total of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Ha, 18, has also struggled, but had his best game against Kazakhstan on Sunday when he played 25 minutes, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in his best outing in the championships.

Overall, the giant Ha has scored 43 points and nabbed 35 rebounds in six games.

"He is still young, he is not strong enough and his shooting percentage is not high. We brought him to Harbin this time mainly to let him see for himself what his level really is," South Korean coach Chun Chang-Jin told journalists.

"He dominated when he was in high school, but when he plays with the older players it is a different game and I'm afraid that at the momment, he still isn't good enough."

Ha is slated to meet Yao Ming in the championship game, if China can defeat Qatar and South Korea can dispatch Lebanon in Tuesday's semi-finals.

Against Kazakhstan on Sunday, Ha faced 23-year old Russian-born Alexandr Yemelyanov, who at 2.13 meter is also likely to be a mainstay in Asian basketball for years.

Although not a great offensive threat -- Yemelyanov is averaging seven points a game -- he ranks fourth in rebounding in the championship with 10 boards a game and fifth in blocked shots with 1.2 blocks a game.

"If Asia can continue to produce players like Yao Ming, then this will have a very big impact on Asian basketball, it will for sure bring Asian Basketball closer to Europe," Lebanese coach Ghassan Sarkis said.

"But one or two big players is not enough to bring Asian closer to Europe, you need other good players and an improvement in skills to catch up with Europe," he said.

Lebanon, who placed second in the last Asian Championships has remained a top tier team in Asia thanks to dominant centers like Romy Seikaly, who had a long NBA career and current center Joseph Vogel, 30, who is averaging 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds a game in six games.

"All these young big players are very good for Asian basketball, but Asian players need to play more physical," Japan's Croatian coach Zeljko Pavlicevic told AFP.

"The younger players have to get better and their size will help, but right now the centers in Asia are still all not true centers, they are still only about 2.05 meters tall or so, and that is not tall enough."

Pavlicevic was referring to players like Jordan's 2.04 meter Zaid Al Khas, who ranks second behind Yao Ming in points and rebounds in the championships, averaging 22 points and 9.5 rebounds a game, and India's 2.06 meter S. Robinson, who is averaging 14 points and 9.5 rebounds a game.

Meanwhile, Pavlicevic likes his own center 2.10 meter Fumihiko Aono, 24, who averaged 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first two games but has since been sidelined by injury.

"Right now, I think Aono is the third best center in Asia after Yao Ming and Batere, he has long arms and good size and we are expecting a lot from him. He is definitely Japan's center of the future," Pavlicevic said