Bill Walton would be Yao's ideal mentor. He was a superb passer, better than average rebounder, and had the soft hands for the type of shots Yao thrives on. Plus he believes in Yao (he has sung his praises since Year One), which is more than you can say for a lot of those geniuses who believe he's less than what he should be. Walton would never leave a high profile analyst job where he can expound ad nauseum but he would be the best thing that ever happened to Yao.
ewing has taught yao all that he can, we have gotten all we can get outa pat, and im getting a lil nervous with all these old knicks players on our staff, yao needs to work out with hakeem
You know I'm not sure what Ewing taught Yao, everytime I saw a picture of a coach with Yao it was Tom Thibodeau.
OK, so Yao has improved and Ewing had nothing to do with it, and you admittedly have no basis for this opinion. I think the reason Chuck Hayes has been good has been his work with Tom Thibodeaux, but I've got no reasoning to back it up. Talk about an argument in futility. For those clamoring for Hakeem: didn't Emeka work with him this summer? So far, Okafor's scoring, rebounding, and FG% are down and his turnovers are up.
Basis? What basis? Do you want me to down to the county courthouse and get a notarized copy of the legal document that clearly states that Ewing hasn't been a good teacher for Yao? Come on. From day one when Yao started his career in the NBA he had moves. He had his finesse and he had the same repertoire of shots that he has now. IMHO the only thing he's learned from Ewing is: how to muscle around in the paint and how to fight for rebounds. And those are good things. Now, I believe that Yao has learned when to try certain shots and when not to. And when to pass vs. when to shoot. But I believe that such learning came from experience playing in the NBA.
No. But anything other than "Ewing Sucks" would be good. There it is. Inconclusive proof that Ewing is a horrible coach.
How about this... Because Yao entered the NBA with a reptertoire of shots, and has added few, if any shots to his game... ,.. and because the only finesse improvements in his game have come (IMHO) simply from experience in playing in the NBA... ... for these resons, I believe that Patrick Ewing has not guided Yao in a direction which takes advantage of, and builds opon his finesse-style of gameplay. Now, let's reverse things, shall we? How about if you tell me a few things that Ewing has done to improve Yao's finesse? Hmmm? I have an open mind. Sell me on it, and I'll consider it. (Yeah, we know his numbers have gone up. That doesn't mean squat.) (Yeah, we know Yao has learned to bang under the hoop.)
Patrick Ewing couldn't even teach his own son to play basketball. Talk about a softy. A prized recruit for his size and lineage, Ewing Jr. sucked it up at Indiana before transfering out last Spring.
What did Ewing teach Yao really? Turnaround jumpers? Yao already had it in the CBA, and he was great at it. Rebounding? Aside from Yao's natural progression, don't forget the sexy Mutombo. Passing? I almost thought Yao forgot how to pass. Defense? Yao picks up dumb fouls. Post moves? I haven't seen the Shanghai shakes in a long time. Dealing with the refs? If Yao knows how to work the refs he wouldn't be screwed night in night out. Hands? Yao has weak, fumbling hands which can be improved by doing some exercise. Post play? Yao needs to get better at sealing his man in the post. What Yao needs on offense is to add a face up game, a running jump hook and longer range/accuracy on his hook shots. It's Ewing's job to make it happen. So far I don't see much what Ewing has done for Yao in the past two years. Final grade on Patrick Ewing: F
Kareem is in LA Moses is in Philly Hakeem tutored Okafor Walton is ...Walton All ASKED for the chance to tutor Yao. Shoot, just set up a clinic, it doesn't have to be a full-time gig. Swift needs a full-time guy, though. Drox is right. Yao has skills, skills that will defeat the double, but he passes off. If that was an assist to a cutter, fine, but it's not. To be a superstar, a player has to beat the double with his unstoppable talent, whatever it is. Right now, to be a real MAX player, Yao needs to define his unstoppable talent. He then needs a move, a counter, and a default. Hakeem had like 20 moves. David Robinson had like 4. Yao has at least 10 talents, but he isn't on Robinson's level yet. He needs to milk his talent a little bit, solidify what he does best, then move outside. EDIT - if Ewing does go, what would be really impressive would be JVG bringing on an additional xs and os guy, like Pop has in PJ, Phil has in Tex, and Avery has in Del. That's just smart, and it's dumb not to.
When did Hakeem ask to tutor Yao? I remember him saying he wouldn't mind working with Yao but it would be too difficult since they are never in the same country at the same time.
