HChron - Even in his absence, Yao casts big shadow

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2134417

Even in his absence, Yao casts big shadow
By DALE ROBERTSON
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle


New building. New uniforms with the new color scheme. New head coach. Four new assistant coaches.

But no Yao.

Yao Ming casts such a long shadow and is so important to the new place these Rockets want to go -- it's called the NBA playoffs, which some of you old-timers might remember -- that his absence at a historic Media Day on Thursday could only be called conspicuous. Just as one always notices when Yao is present, one also notices when he isn't.

The Rockets convened for the first time under their new Toyota Center roof downtown while wearing their hip new red-and-white duds, but their new-no-more 7-5 center was still on the other side of the world celebrating China's Asian championship, good for a berth in the 2004 Olympics. At least Yao had a valid excuse for his absence, and he's expected on the court by Sunday, flight connections and jet lag willing.

Well, flight connections anyway. It appears Jeff Van Gundy sees being tired as a state of mind, not true physical duress.

"I'm not much for letting players make excuses," says the new guy charged with fixing what has been wrong with the Rockets these last four seasons.

Even more than most coaches, he places considerable value on the hours his teams spend practicing, and he wishes Yao were here. But he knows he can't fight city hall, especially the one in Beijing.

Yao would not be playing for the Rockets today if they hadn't agreed not to interfere with his obligations to the Chinese national team.

Coach and player have, however, laid a solid foundation for their hopefully fruitful basketball partnership via numerous e-mails and the occasional very-long-distance phone call. Van Gundy says the lines of communication are humming, the language barrier notwithstanding.

"I understand his English," Van Gundy said. "It's very good. Does he understand my English? I don't know."

He was joking. Although Van Gundy has much to learn firsthand about Yao the player because he has seen him play live on only a couple occasions -- on video, though, in all of his 82 rookie-year games -- he feels pretty certain he knows Yao the person.

"There are four things you never hear from most NBA players," Van Gundy said. " `Please. Thank you. My mistake. And, I'll take the check.' Yao has the first three down pat. I'll test him on that fourth one pretty quick.

"Seriously, he comes across as very respectful and very coachable. It has been my personal experience all great players are. They want to be pushed hard, because they understand that a coach can push them further than they can push themselves. I've only had positive experiences with my best players. I doubt Yao will be an exception."

When Yao reports, he figures to be eons ahead of where he was 12 months ago. His offseason conditioning program was designed by Rockets strength coach Anthony Falsone specifically for the NBA grind, the debilitating effects of which Yao now fully understands. Also, he shouldn't be nearly as fatigued by the burden of international competition -- there were no World Championships this year -- and the added weight of culture shock.

Everything should come easier for him, from picking up the Rockets' new offense to ordering room service to hanging with his teammates to bantering with the press. But his improved English skills will be tested straightaway because Van Gundy has decided not to permit Yao's interpreter to intercede for him during practice. The idea is to duplicate game conditions, when Van Gundy fears the translation process would be laborious to the point of being counterproductive.

"We'll devise hand signals or something," he said. "We'll keep it simple. When Yao wants the ball, he can point to himself. I happen to think his confidence level will be of greater importance than his (English) comprehension in determining how well he plays."

A popular misconception, in Van Gundy's opinion, is that the Rockets veered away from sufficiently feeding Yao as last season wore on. The reality, he concluded from his thorough video studies, is that Yao wore down to the point where he couldn't position himself to get the ball as much as he did during the middle part of the schedule, when his performance level spiked.

Where the ball winds up and how often is a crucial determinant of team morale in the NBA, because selflessness tends to be the exception, not the rule. Van Gundy says he will confront the issue head-on, as soon as Yao arrives at the Galveston camp.

"The ball is an issue that can divide a team," Van Gundy said. "The single biggest challenge I have is to make sure the ball doesn't become an issue."

Another popular misconception is Van Gundy hired Patrick Ewing to be Yao's personal tutor, although it's not too difficult to understand why we jumped to that conclusion. Ewing did hang on for 17 seasons in the NBA despite having, in Van Gundy's opinion, "very little God-given ability."

"Patrick hates it when I say that," he conceded, "but it's true. He willed himself into being a great player by working hard. And Yao will profit from being around him. But Patrick is here to coach all our players, not just Yao."

Van Gundy missed watching his center destroy the South Koreans with 30 points and 15 rebounds in the Asian final because he didn't realize it was being televised locally. However, he sounded unconcerned about the oversight.

"I hope," he said, "I can get (South) Korea on our schedule."

 

Rockets agree: It's time for a jump-start
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle


For four seasons, the Rockets held tightly to their nucleus and waited for their boundless patience to be rewarded. And for four seasons, the Rockets were disappointed.

Patience began to slip away Thursday.

New coach Jeff Van Gundy has praised former coach Rudy Tomjanovich, general manager Carroll Dawson and owner Leslie Alexander for keeping the Rockets together as long as they have. But in a hint of what his players might hear later, he said that if they hope to be around for the next training camp, the time has come to produce.

"The players will dictate that with how we play," Van Gundy said when asked if more changes would follow Tuesday's trade of Glen Rice. "It's hard for me to say right now.

"Winning usually brings about stability and monetary rewards. Losing brings about change. The results will dictate it."

The Rockets have not changed largely because Alexander's confidence in the rebuilding remains firm. He did not go as far as his "one of the greatest teams ever assembled" quote. But he did not back off from the opinion, either.

"I like this team," he said. "I'll say what I've said before. I like these players. I like their potential. I think they can be a terrific team. I've said it many times.

"But I agree that this is a year we should really move on (and) move up."

With that in mind, after months to prepare for his first address to his team, Van Gundy planned to point out that the time has arrived.

"I think it's an unusual show of confidence in a core group," Van Gundy said. "It's an unusual show of confidence, trust, belief in a team that has been to the lottery four straight years to keep it intact.

"To a man, they seem to be very, very happy with having another chance. They have to realize that Rudy, Carroll and Les have shown belief. When you show belief, you deserve to get something back."

Van Gundy has not yet had a chance to instill his vision, never mind establish "one voice, one vision and one goal." But he said for all that has changed about the Rockets -- from the new uniforms worn Thursday in a new arena on the way to a new training camp site in Galveston for a new coaching staff -- the easy conclusion that change would mean "a fresh start" was not accurate.

"If it was me changing and also an overhaul of the roster, then it's a fresh start," he said. "This isn't a fresh start. This is a crossroads for the individual players, the team and the organization to show growth and make strides toward winning a championship."

But before Van Gundy could get a chance to express that perspective to his team, Steve Francis almost repeated the opinion Van Gundy offered days earlier

"I think it's not a fresh start," Francis said. "We went a different direction. This will be my fifth year. Other core guys have been here the same time. We're going a different direction, and hopefully this direction can bring some more banners."

Having reached this point, whether they call it a "crossroads" or "different direction," the Rockets could finally on Thursday begin to replace what they have heard or assumed about their new coach with their own first impressions.

There were certain safe assumptions.

"I think the coach is going to try to get everybody to buy into a team concept," guard-forward Eric Piatkowski said. "That has been successful. If that doesn't come right away, he's going to pound it into our heads eventually."

As much as it has been debated how much pounding the Rockets need, Van Gundy said he assumes every player is coachable and eager to learn. Therefore, he planned to use his first meeting with the entire 18-man roster to begin to instill the values he cherishes and the mindset he will expect.

Like most things Van Gundy, it was a well-prepared address.

"Your first meeting is your most important meeting of the year," assistant head coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It's goal setting."

The directive was pretty basic. Van Gundy said much of it "is stuff you learn in kindergarten."

"When I got the job, everybody talked about talent," he said, offering a sample of his opening address. "There is less discrepancy from team to team in this league in talent than there is in attitude and chemistry. I want us to go from a talented group into a championship team.

"It comes down to three things. Do you have guys who will work, share and sacrifice? If you have enough workers, sharers and sacrificers, you are going to reach your potential and beyond. These are not hard lessons."

Van Gundy does not consider working, sharing and sacrificing to be revolutionary ideas. And as certain as Thursday was not the first time his players had heard the concepts, it was guaranteed not to be the last.

"It's very important we have one voice, one vision and one goal," Van Gundy said. "Hopefully over time I can convince them. That's how great teams become great. Breaking through and breaking a cycle of being in the lottery ... is not easy, but it's very doable.

"We're looking for a breakthrough."

With the Rockets having waited four years, the expiration date on patience seems to be approaching.

 

Rockets summary

Trim enough

Of all the things Maurice Taylor can expect to hear from Jeff Van Gundy, on Wednesday he heard something he never expected.

"He told me not to lose any more weight," Taylor said.

Taylor would not say how much weight he lost, but guessed he would weigh in at 254 pounds, at least 25 pounds less than the weight he was proud to have reduced to before last season.

"I haven't been 254," he said, "since Krispy Kreme franchised."
Guarded optimism

If Rockets forward/guard Jim Jackson can be considered an expert on anything it would be starting over with a new team.

"I'm great at that," Jackson said.

He is certainly well-trained for change. The Rockets are his 10th team as he heads into his 12th season.

"It's called adaptation," Jackson said. "You learn that in life. The better you can adapt to your situation, the better off you will be. I'm great at that."
Cato's foe

Rockets center Kelvin Cato spent much of the summer working out with Rockets assistant coach Patrick Ewing, one of his idols.

Cato said Ewing can still play, but only to a point.

"Me and P went a round or two," he said. "He's still got it. I think he's a halfcourt player. I don't think he can go up and down, right now."
Color wars

The player reaction to finally seeing and wearing the Rockets new uniforms was fairly, well, uniform. Most preferred the road red uniforms to the home white, every player made a point to say they were a huge improvement.

Jim Jackson said he appreciated that he was back to wearing "Buckeye" colors.

Hearing this, Maurice Taylor, no longer surrounded by fellow Michigan alumni Rudy Tomjanovich and Glen Rice, was not thrilled with hearing anything about Ohio State.

"Tell him, I'll talk to him the last game of the football season when Ohio State comes to the Big House," Taylor said. "Before then, I don't have any conversations with him.
Knick beater

If it were not already clear, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy made it apparent he is not about to forget a defensive breakdown. So when he was asked about new acquisition John Amaechi, he went back to a matchup of Amaechi and former Knicks great Patrick Ewing, now a Rockets assistant.

"(Amaechi) beat us," Van Gundy said. "It was shot fake, drive left four straight times on Patrick.

"He'll deny it. `Bad help.' "

Van Gundy was right. When Ewing was asked his side of the story, he said, "No help (defense) that day."
Watkins signed

The Rockets signed Jameel Watkins. The 6-11, 255-pound forward-center from Georgetown played in the National Basketball Development League last season.

-- JONATHAN FEIGEN

 

Patience, rockbox, patience The new season will soon be upon us!