Here is a nice story on Yao Ming in Newsday. All ROY voters should read this! <b>Yao Having a Big Impact Center earns praise for his skills, humility</b> February 25, 2003 Barbara Barker What is the best thing you could do for the future of the NBA? Force every aspiring professional player - from Division I stars right down to the sixth man on your local CYO team - to watch Yao Ming as much as possible this season. "The guy is what our league, as far as people, should be about," said Jeff Van Gundy, the former Knicks coach and current TNT analyst. "Everyone in the game from youth teams on up can learn a lot from the way he approaches the game with both enthusiasm and humility. "He's a very good player who's come in with more hype than any rookie in a long, long time. And he's lived up to it and surpassed it because of his unbelievable demeanor." Yes, you can make a good case that Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire should be Rookie of the Year. But the story of the year - and perhaps the decade - is Yao. The 7-5 center has the potential to change the culture in the NBA in more ways than one. It's not just the fact that Yao has expanded the NBA's fan base by nearly a billion people that makes him an important newcomer. It's that he brings a refreshing attitude to a game that has become mired in swagger and chest-thumping. Yao, who plays at Madison Square Garden for the first time tonight, has made it hip to be humble. And that's a big enough impact to get my vote for Rookie of the Year. No one in the history of the NBA has had to face what Yao's had to face this season - new league, new language, new culture, new rock star-like status - and he has done it with unprecedented grace. Listen to some comments made by Stoudemire and Yao after a mid-January meeting and then decide whom you'd like your kid to be like. Stoudemire on Yao: "He's tall. He's got some low-post moves. I mean, he's not a bad player ... I think my game has developed a lot more." Yao on Stoudemire: "It seems like he's played for several years already. If there aren't more players like Stoudemire in the future, I think I can last [in the NBA]." It's this uncharacteristic modesty from a star player that has made Rudy Tomjanovich the envy of his coaching brethren. And Tomjanovich seems to know how good he has it. "He's a joy to coach," the Rockets' coach said. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think he'd be where he is today. He works incredibly hard. He just wants to learn, he wants to get better. From Day One, that's the way it's been. I really thought it was going to take him a couple of years to get to this point." Yao still has a ways to go. He's starting to command double-teams and must learn to deal with it; he's not a great passer, though he has the unselfish attitude to become one. He also needs to keep the ball a little higher and work on his pick-and-roll defense. Yao also needs to be a bit more aggressive offensively , though he has shown great improvement in that department over the course of the season. "Every day, he's out there trying to improve. That's his attitude," Tomjanovich said. "He puts basketball first, and to be like that with all the other things he has going on, I don't know how he does it. I don't think there's anyone out there who's had to do what he's had to do." No one is saying Stoudemire has had an easy road to the NBA - the truth is far from it. Stoudemire's father died when he was 12 years old, and his mother has been jailed several times for drug offenses. As a result, Stoudemire attended six high schools in two states before bypassing college and going directly to the NBA. It's no wonder that Stoudemire sounds cocky. If he didn't believe in himself early on, who would? But he hasn't been presented the same kind of challenges this season that Yao has faced on a daily basis. From the beginning, there have been plenty of people in the league hoping Yao would not succeed. After watching one brief workout in Chicago last summer, Clippers guard Quentin Richardson called Yao "no big concern" and declared that players would be "making bets" on who's going to dunk on him. Yao is both big and an outsider, and that has made some pull against him. "People always want to see size fail," Van Gundy said. "People don't like size. At the start of the season, he had a bad game and people were all over him. What's great is how he's handled every situation. After both great victories and disappointments, he's endeared himself to everyone. He's played with great enthusiasm and joy." The NBA can only hope it's contagious. Ranking the Rookies Comparing the rookie season stats of the Rockets' Yao Ming and the Suns' Amare Stoudemire (going into last night): Player G Min. FG% FT% Blk. Reb. Pts. Yao 55 28.6 .518 .798 1.9 8.3 13.5 Stoudemire 56 31.6 .458 .670 0.8 9.2 13.2
"He's starting to command double-teams and must learn to deal with it; he's not a great passer, though he has the unselfish attitude to become one. " A good article, but "he's not a great passer" Methinks a certain writer whose name rhymes with Bbarbara Bbarker doesn't watch many Rockets games.
Stoudemire on Yao: "He's tall. He's got some low-post moves. I mean, he's not a bad player ... I think my game has developed a lot more." I freaking hate this attitude in the NBA. It's as if Amare can't give Yao a genuine compliment because he feels like it will diminish him in some way. He looks like he's already politicking for Rookie of the Year. "He's tall"? No sh-t. That's for the brilliant insight, Amare. "Not a bad player"? How magnanimous of you. And people wonder why the NBA is declining in popularity. It takes someone like Yao to breathe some new life into the league.
