New Quotes from Dream Team on Yao Ming

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news/20020827/worldsming.html

You can get a pain in the neck looking at Yao Ming. Sooner or later, you may get one playing against him as well.

Coaches and players from the United States team that will compete in the World Basketball Championships beginning Thursday agreed that the 7-5 giant from China has what it takes to play in the NBA right now and most certainly will get better.

Yao stands at least a foot taller than most of the guards on Team USA, who had to crane their necks to get a good look at the top overall pick of the Houston Rockets in last week's 84-54 exhibition victory over China at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

In 34 minutes, Yao had 13 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and the attention of the world's best basketball players.

"He definitely blew away my expectations of him," said Chicago Bulls rookie guard Jay Williams, who is 15 inches shorter than Yao. "He's a really good basketball player."

"You know he surprised me. He's a lot better than I expected," said Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller, who gives away a mere 10 inches. "I think the learning curve is definitely on the upward swing with him."

That was just from the guys who watched Yao. There was more of the same from the ones who guarded him. Detroit Pistons 6-9 center Ben Wallace and Toronto Raptors 6-9 center Antonio Davis are two of the better low-post defenders in the league and admitted there were times where they had their hands full.

"He's got a nice touch and a couple of post moves, a couple of good moves around the basket," said Wallace, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. "As long as he continues to play (like) he was playing, he's going to continue to grow as a player. To my surprise, he was a whole lot better than I thought he was."

"I think he's a very smart basketball player," Davis said. "He sets the ball very high on his shot, so you're not going to go up and block his shot. ... You have to get a hand up on his shots, not let him catch the ball deep and I thought we did a pretty good job on that. Most of the shots he made were pretty long jumpers."

Much has been made of Yao's ability to adapt to the NBA, which has been equal parts secrecy and scrutiny. Until last week, the only live looks anyone on this continent had gotten at him were in a controlled workout in Chicago in June and an exhibition game in Canada earlier this month.

In that game, Yao did not miss a shot, going 5-of-5 from the field and 6-of-6 from the line. But he appeared to tire easily as the Canadians were able to push him around, somewhat of a surprise when you consider he weighs nearly 300 pounds.

The Americans, who play the most physical game in the world, neutralized him the same way. Yao made only 5-of-12 shots and committed five fouls, two indicators of fatigue.

"My thing was to really try to get him to catch the ball further out and hopefully make him shoot a longer shot and maybe get a hand up, maybe try to wear him down a little bit," Davis said. "I saw that he was getting kind of tired, so I thought we could run him up and down the floor and push on him a little and that would work to my advantage."

"We definitely beat him up," Wallace said. "I think after we banged him a little and got to running on him , I think it took a little out of him. Once he gets the experience he needs, he can be a factor in the NBA. He didn't back down, but I think there were times out there he got a little winded. He didn't put up a big fight after he got a little tired."

Although Davis and Wallace both give away weight to Yao, they have the strong upper bodies that you need to battle under the boards in the NBA. Both said Yao needs to improve in that area. "He's very strong from the waist down," Davis said. "The upper body stuff will come. It will come with time, and it will come as I'm sure Houston has a great strength coach, and it will all come into play over the next couple months or so."

"He needs to work on his stamina and get a lot stronger up top," Wallace said.

Yao is neither rail-thin like Manute Bol or Shawn Bradley or hulkingly slow ike Gheorghe Muresan, some of the league's previous giants who only have shown that there may be such a thing as too tall to play in the NBA.

The player he is most favorably compared to is Rik Smits, the 7-4 former center of the Indiana Pacers who had a good combination of post and perimeter skills. However, Davis, a long-time teammate of Smits, does not think Yao is at that level.

"I think Yao Ming can't put the ball on the floor like Rik could and get the ball up and shoot it, but I think that's something he can do," Davis said. "You're just seeing the early stages. I think later on, you'll start seeing him put the ball on the floor. He can pass the ball, which is another positive."

Davis also noticed another less obvious element of Yao's game. Given the circus-like atmosphere of his first game against NBA competition and a crowd at the Coliseum Arena that was 50 percent Asian, it would have been understandable if the 21-year-old Yao became unnerved. But he didn't.

"He kept his composure and that's a sign of maturity," Davis said. "It would have been real easy for him to go out there and really go crazy, to not be patient and not do the things that help his team and to focus attention on himself."

With his temperament, height, shooting and passing skills and ability to draw double-teams, it may not be long before Yao is destroying defenses, a fact not lost on Team USA coach George Karl of the Milwaukee Bucks.

"It looks like he's going to be able to get his own shot off and is going to be difficult to cover," he said. "It also looks like he's always going to be able to shoot and pass over the top of you. He's got a very good release ... His wrists and fingers are very good on the ball. He's also a problem backing you down and I think he's going to get more physical inside. He looks like a good passer, being able to read double-teams and defenses. His ability to throw over the top of the defense is incredibly successful in our league."

New Orleans Hornets guard Baron Davis put it more succinctly.

"The guy can play," he said.

 

It's essentially what we've heard since the game but it's great to hear the reviews again and again until the season starts