Larry Brown got something nice to say about Yao Ming ------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/basketball/nba/philadelphia_76ers/4358558.htm Posted on Thu, Oct. 24, 2002 Brown likes Yao's upside Thinks Chinese star will have big impact in rookie season Larry Brown made no secret of his love for Indiana forward Jared Jeffries in 2002 NBA Draft. In fact, the 76ers tried to trade up as high as No. 3 in the draft in an attempt to land the sophomore forward who went to the Washington Wizards at No. 11. Still, despite his fondness of Jeffries, the Sixers?coach would have done exactly what the Houston Rockets did with the first overall pick ?select 7-5 Chinese sensation Yao Ming. "I don’t think you can ever pass up a kid like him," Brown said yesterday after the Sixers practiced before traveling to Houston for tonight’s preseason game with the Rockets. "First, he’s a great kid, and I think he has an unbelievable upside. "I thought it was a no-brainer (to take Yao), and you know how much I loved Jeffries. But here’s a 7-5 kid who is 22 years old. He’s really intelligent, really athletic. I don’t see how you could pass on him. It’s hard to come by a center." Yao, who just arrived in Houston on Sunday after fulfilling his obligation to play for China at the 2002 Asian Championships, didn’t start practice until Tuesday and contributed six points and four rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench in last night’s 80-79 preseason loss to San Antonio. Brown remembered Yao from his stint as an assistant coach for the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. The USA crushed China in a preliminary-round game, but Yao, then just 20, still made an impression. "I just loved (Yao)," Brown said. "I remember watching him in the Olympics and I told everyone he was going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft someday. (Houston Rockets and USA Olympic coach Rudy Tomjanovich) was with me when we saw him the first time and, lo and behold, Rudy got him."
So far all the positive comments about Yao comes from experienced coaches and players(like Duncan and Robinson). These are people that know the game and can give a true opinion about Yao. They don't claim him to be an instant megastar but they recognize his POTENTIAL(alot i might add). Don't listen to alot of the idiots out there that claim Yao to be a bust and just waiting for him to make any bad play to pounce on him. I remember one guy on The Best Damn Sports Show, say that he was gonna suck, before even seeing Yao play in an NBA game. He just assumed he would suck because he's a foreigner. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but give the guy some TIME to play before you do so!
Yes. There is no reason to call Yao a bust based on 13 mins of preseason game. Rockets fans should be more understanding & follow what Francis said: give Yao 100% of their support !
I like coach Brown a lot. He might be the next better coach for Yao Ming besides Rudy. He can definitely develop players with potentials. Look at Eric Snow, Aaron Mckie and those Davis boys (former Pacers). They wre no namers before Brown at all.
I hope I'm not the only one who is slowly getting irritated with the word "upside". Every year during the summer, the word "upside" is used more often than even a vowel.
Regardless of the actual "upside" of Yao, at least there is another NBA coach would do the same thing as the Rockets to select Yao Ming with the no.1 draft pick
Besides his upside, Yao will have an immediate impact on this team both on offense and defense. Yao will simply clog up the middle on defense. On offense, Yao will demand a double team in certain situations and getting Cat/Steve open more than before. It maybe won't be perfect right away but it'll be better than having just Cato. So he has potential, yes, but he will have an immediate impact.
Of course, being the opposing coach, Larry's instructing his players to knock the %^@$ out of that "great kid" at every opportunity. But so would I, if I were the coach.
Yeah I would rather believe Larry Brown than those trolls on nbadraft.net who have started bashing Ming after 13 mins of playing in a pre-season game.
