The point of this is that Patrick has neither attracted nor lured any former players he coached, that the teams he coached (big men) did not quantumly leap forward (or move forward at all) and now people question Yao. I just am looking at six-degrees of P-Ew, and I wonder what his future in coaching can possibly be. Deep sixed, I conclude.
I think Yao's case may be a little different from the standard American player. He grew up playing a different style of bball and probably can be taught a few things about the physical NBA style. But it IS his third year. Sooner or later, a player is going to learn all there is too learn. We probably can't expect too many veteran players to exhibit astronomical leaps in ability. As Sam noted, this isn't rocket science. There is only so much knowledge to garnered. All the coaches in the NBA know a lot more than us fans. We just like to whine and b*tch sometimes. Is Ewing a good coach for Yao? Who the h*ll knows? Part of the problem lies in the vast expectations a lot of us have for him. He is a very athletic (for his size), skilled player with a (seemingly) good head on his shoulders and great shooting touch. His performances against the superstar big men like Shaq and Duncan only raises these expectations. It seems like its the mediocre guys (like Dampier, Doleac, Jason Collins) who get physical which seem to cause him the most trouble. Are there some techniques about positioning, leverage, etc. that can be taught that would raise Yao's game? Are they being taught to him? I would assume so. Ultimately. it's up to him.
