Menk Bateer as a possible power forward

Here's an article with a few positive things to say about bateer.

China at Melbourne - Aug. 10, 2003 - by Aaron Lichtig
This week, Hong Kong was full of sports superstars. Ming Yao (226-C-80) and Bateer Mengke (210-C-75) weren’t even the biggest ones – Real Madrid was in town. But as the hordes flocked to Beckham, Raul, Zidane and Ronaldo, the week’s best performance belonged to a bony unknown named Feng Du (203-C/F-81).
Du upstaged the “Ming Dynasty” and led the Chinese National team to an 85-75 win over the Australian champion Melbourne Tigers on Wednesday night. The game was close throughout, but a strong second half from Du and the Walking Wall helped team China to record its sixth consecutive victory.
The Hong Kong Coliseum was nearly full of supporters (the city deliberately kept ticket prices low) holding orange Nike-sponsored “noise weiners.” There were quite a few cameras at courtside, most trying to capture an image of Yao. The crowd was nearly 100% Chinese.
China opened the game with a lineup of Yao, Zhu, Liu, Ke Li (208-C-81), and Song, keeping Du and Bateer Mengke (210-C-75) on the bench. Melbourne countered with a few stars, the ageless Andrew Gaze (201-G-65, college: Seton Hall), gutsy NBA journeyman Mark Bradtke (208-C-68) (C), and shifty Atlanta-born guard Lanard Copeland (198-G-65, college: Georgia St.).
Yao looked strong early, winning the opening tip, knocking down a hook shot, and dunking on a helpless Bradtke all in the first two minutes. After this, the Chinese team’s play began to get ragged. Yao couldn’t keep the hot hand, missing two dunks later in the quarter. Zhu left with an injury, and Yang proved to be an ineffective replacement. Melbourne seized this opportunity and jumped to a 24-18 lead behind the strong shooting of Gaze, who had an incredible game, given that he’s almost twice as old as Yao. He still has the magic touch that he used in 1989 to help Seton Hall reach the NCAA championship game. The second quarter belonged to the Tigers, as they surged to a 44-38 halftime lead. The only bright spot this quarter was Du, who stunned the crowd with two monster throwdowns and an athletic block of a seemingly wide-open Gaze layup. Du’s hops would impress even the Americans.
After an abysmal, floundering performance by the local cheerleaders, China took the floor with a new sense of purpose. They had their best lineup on the floor, with Yao and Bateer up front Du on the wing, and Liu and Song in the backcourt. Yao lost the opening tip, but after that, it was all good news for the reds. Two minutes in, Bateer posted up low and used his massive shoulders to dropstep around his man for a lay-in. Two minutes later, Yao had one shot blocked, but took revenge on the defensive end, rejecting Copland, then filling the lane and throwing down a two-hander. The Aussies stayed close, but Du proved to be too much, scoring on a highlight-real dunk-and-the-foul play to put China up for the first time at 55-54. In the fourth, Song’s deep three and Yao’s dunks sealed the deal. The Tigers were definitely “zhi laohu” on this night.
The overmatched Aussies gave it a good effort, though. Gaze played well, considering he’s been playing since Naismith put up peach baskets at the Springfield Y. Bradtke doesn’t have NBA game anymore, but he embarrassed Yao at times, snaking around him to grab some well-deserved rebounds and even blocking his shot once. Copland got to the rim a few times, though his inconsistent shooting doomed his team in the third quarter. The Aussie national team is significantly better than this aging collection of former stars.
Despite its early sloppiness, the Chinese team’s play did have a few of bright spots. Yao, though this wasn’t his best game, turned in a solid effort, scoring 17 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. He ran the high-low post passing game with Bateer to perfection. To his credit, he continued playing hard for 40 minutes even though he got fouled every time down the floor and never got a call. The powerful Bateer, the “great eagle of the northern grasslands” keyed the Chinese run in the third with his solid post footwork and passing, which led to layups. He’s a leader on the court and he seems to be adjusting better with each passing game.
But the best player on the floor was the lanky wingman Du. He finished with 22 points and threw down 5 dunks. His style of play is very American – he runs the break well and has the ability to slash into the paint and take the ball to the rim with authority. He’s still too thin to make an NBA roster and the jury’s still out on his jumper, but his athleticism is impressive, as is his hustle. He does the little things right; he followed his shots and made quick outlet passes to start the fast break. The good news is, he’s only 21 and he’s getting better by the game. He has the kind of game that sells shoes, a game that paradoxically has playground overtones, something that won’t be lost on Nike in the future.
Unfortunately, China will not be able to compete for a medal in 2008 if the squad’s guard play does not improve. The guards each have some strengths, but unfortunately no one’s strength is ballhandling. Liu still looks uncomfortable at the point. His ballhandling skills are not yet at the international level (he was picked clean at the top of the key 4 times, leading to layups) though his low-release jumper is deadly and his on-the-ball defending is strong. Liu would have more success at the two guard spot, but China’s stable of point guards is empty. Song showed a sweet stroke and a knack for hitting clutch 3 pointers, but he, too, is shaky with the ball. Bin Fan (178-G-70), who wore what appeared to be hiking boots along with his trademark goggles, is certainly not the answer at the point. Also, I didn’t see a whole lot from Zhu and Ke Li (208-C-81).
This game might be remembered as Du’s coming out party. He just might be the exciting, athletic perimeter player China is looking for. Remember the name.

 

Most of his accomplishments came against some nba caliber players in TEAM USA and a professional team in the Melbourne Tigers. His stats were not taken from playing with other chinese teams. Most people has never seen him play, I can't figure out why some of you are so critical.

 

sorry pig, i can't make out those stats... Could you clarify the minutes, points, and rebounds per game.

He was a rookie that season, don't you think you are being a little harsh?

 

Take a look at some of the recent pictures of Bateer. He looks incredibly bulked up. With 2 years of NBA experience and extra power, he could easily get 10 points 7 rebounds with some playing time.

 

Was never trying to compare bateer to Cato. I want bateer in as a backup power forward. He will solely be a role player who can rebound and add size to the front line. Sure he is not an allstar and we are not trying to get another all star. We we be paying role player salary that will fit neatly into the salary cap situation. The only problem with Cato is his salary, its too much for a backup center. But having a good quality center combo is a good thing. Cato is real good in quick spurts, but after extended periods of play, he gets lazy, almost uninterested. His lack of offense is a huge liability inside when paired up with griffin. If we use mo, then we lose in the rebounding department. Everybody knows rebounding and defense wins in post season.
Adding Bateer as an inexpensive backup for center or power forward is a good idea. He costs next to nothing. You can't compare him to any of the players on the team because they make 100 times more than he does. I'm sure we can add another player for .65mil.

 

Chinese players having a shorter life span than black players? Where did you get that info from? When I last checked, Wang Zhi zhi, Yao ming and Bateer were the only Chinese NBA Players. And none of the have yet to retire...
Anyways, if we follow your suggestion of letting him play another year, if he improves greatly, his price will go up 4-10x his current salary. That makes a trade infeasable. At that price, I wouldn't even bring up this thread.