Rick Barry's comments on Yao

damn good listen. Pretty funny too.

The host was like "so do you agree with me when I say Yao Ming will be a bust in 5 years?" Then Rick Barry was like "Kenny Smith is yappin on the mike, I can't hear you, please repeat the question." Then the radio host restated "will Yao Ming be legit or a bust?"

So Rick Barry, obviously unaware of the host's prestated position of calling Ming a bust, said something to the effect of "I can't believe there are so many idiots out there saying this crap about Ming. I am a basketball expert. I am a basketball God. I've seen Yao Ming play. He is legit. I put Danny Schayes on him and Schayes told me Ming is for real. I coached against Ming 2 years ago and he was legit even then."

Good stuff.

 

ROTFLOL

Just listened...that was HILARIOUS! The host actually said "do you agree with me Yao will be a bust" and Barry didn't hear it. He then slammed people who doubt Yao. Classic!

 

Rick Berry is my new hero!

 

LOL!

Yeah that was pretty classic I'd agree, and then did you notice after Barry dissed the host completely, the host changed subjects like he never heard a thing?? AWESOME

 

That was most enjoyable. Could Barry have been any more positive about Yao? The 1st pick was a 'no-brainer'.

Here's a direct link: http://mfile.akamai.com/3310/rm/sportnws.download.akamai.com/3310/i/media/audio/2/20020627/9289.ram

 

Oh Ya! That was good stuff.

 

check out these comments about yao ming made by NBA legend rick barry. let me note that they are all positve comments.

http://mfile.akamai.com/3310/rm/sportnws.download.akamai.com/3310/i/media/audio/2/20020627/9289.ram

 

thanks for the link, mfgarza.

I am so happy to hear an expert praising Yao with such emotion.

 

It's pretty funny, the people who have seen him (and I mean people who have REALLY seen him, not someone who has seen him a few times, and probably part of a game, and can't even remember it like Rick Majerus), love the guy, and the people who haven't seen him compare him to Bill Laimbeer, Rik Smits, Shawn Bradley, and every other unathletic white center they can think of. And it's funny how the host was calling Ming a bust (probably never even have seen even a clip of him), and Rick Barry just praised Ming. Good stuff by Rick Barry!

 

I love the part where Danny Schayes is reported to say how impressed he is with Ming's strength, and that Ming is hard to push around.

I hope this puts an end to opinions expressed by certain ill informed posters who claim our new 300 pound center is going to get thrown around by the likes of David Robinson.

 

Scouts, coaches and players who've played against him know the truth. The guy has talent.

The only people who talk bad about this guy are broadcasters and they know less than nothing about him.

If you are going to talk out of your ass, at least watch some freakin' video or something! Ask a few experts! Don't just make assumptions.

 

I already posted this, sans the audio link. It came from their draft day radio show. Glad you all got to hear it...just imagune that TSN guy repeated that bust line about 5 times prior to the Rick Barry interview and you will understand my anger.

 

http://www.warriorsworld.net/article.php?op=Print&sid=33

This article is old. But I just read it. It convince me what Yao Ming is.
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warriorsworld.net

Yao Ming Analysis by PointGuard
By del - Date: 2002-04-21 22:45:12



I just reviewed a digital Internet video of a full game that Yao Ming recently played in the Chinese Basketball Association. Here are my views on his strengths and weaknesses and how he might fit in with the Warriors.

Strengths - Yao Ming
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1) Put-Backs. Great garbage-man around the offensive boards. He's worth two garbage dunks per half, plus at least one put-back layup per half. So, offensive put-backs should account for the majority of his points. Even at his current raw state, he's probably worth at least 12 easy garbage points per game in the NBA, right now. Deadly accurate layup put-backs and backboard shots within 6 feet of basket -- (as opposed to Dampier!)

2) Rebounding. Takes good initiative on blocking out his man for offensive rebounding -- very good offensive rebounder. He should be worth at least 4 offensive rebounds per half. The fact that he is a good offensive rebounder is a plus if he plays with a poor shooting team like the Warriors. However, he has a deficiency in not being able to quickly grab the mega-quick-bounce rebound off the long perimeter jumpers, the ones that sometimes bounce off the rim like a jai-lai ball off the wall.

3) Baseline Turnaround, Backboard Jumper. I now know why Bill Walton likes this guy. Ming has almost perfected the exact same Walton-esque turn-from-center-lane-to-baseline-turnaround-jumper within the 8 foot to 4 foot range. If Cliff Ray can help him speed up this maneuver by just 10% or so, this should be an unstoppable shot in the NBA. He seems to only use it about once or twice per half. Even early in his NBA career, this shot should be worth at least 2 to 4 points per half.

4) Good Thigh and Calf Structure. I totally agree with Rick Barry's KNBR comments the other day about how Ming is different from Shawn Bradley in that he has fairly powerful legs and calves for a guy 7' 5. This should help him a lot in the NBA.

5) Good Dribbler in Traffic. Ming seems to have pretty decent dribbling skills, and an awareness of how much dribbling he can and should not perform in traffic. (again, as opposed to Dampier! uggghhhh)

6) Much Better Pass Receiving Hands Than Any Current Warrior Center. Ming has pretty good hands for receiving passes: a) in fast-paced transition offense and b) the hard, high fastballs thrown down the key from the guards. He does need to get better at positioning himself to grab the lob pass into the side box, low post position. He has a tendency to get a little complacent and then his man, better positioned than he is, grabs the ball while Ming is still getting his arms in position to receive the lob pass. He also needs to train to jump higher on the lob pass so that the guard can throw it higher and out of the way of Ming's defender.

7) Solid, Consistent Shot Blocker. Ming will be a solid, consistent shot blocker in the NBA. However, he will never be a shock-the-crowd pleaser with any athletic-prowess shot blocking. He will casually and fundamentally average 2 to 3 blocked shots per half in the NBA - nothing flashy, just productive. Several shots that he blocks now in the Chinese league will not be blocked shots in the NBA due to the fact that NBA players are probably 20% quicker and the NBA game is about 15% quicker overall than the Chinese CBA game.

8) Runs Floor Well for Mega-7-Footer. Ming runs the floor well. When he needs to -- maybe two to three times per half -- he can even keep a sprint pace with generally faster, smaller players when getting back on defense - due to long stride, I guess. Overall, he lags behind a lot during transition offense, a lot like Jabbar used to do. I guess this is just basic big man modus operandi for saving lungs and legs for fourth quarter. When the transition offense stalls into a real offensive set, Ming will often take about 10 seconds to get down to his offensive post position, leaving only 14 seconds on the NBA shot clock. He needs to shave another 2 seconds off this situation and get in position with 16 seconds left, allowing at least a few back 'n forth two-man-game passes between the guard/post.

9) Gets to Foul Line At Least Twice Per Half. Ming gets to the foul line in the Chinese league about 5 times per half. He won't get to the line as much in the NBA, but he should be worth at least two in-the-act-of-shooting foul trips per half. He seems like a 60% foul shooter. So, this should be worth another 5 points per game.

10) Pretty Aware/Good Passer Out of the Double Team. Ming seems to have a 100% better awareness and ability to pass out of the double team than any current Warrior center.

11) OVERALL. If you add the garbage dunks and put-back layups and turnaround 8 foot jumpers and the foul shooting, even in his early NBA career, Ming should be worth about 21 points per game, assuming he plays about 32 minutes per game. This means he would immediately be about one-half as productive offensively in the NBA as he was in the CBA, where he often scores over 40 points per game. Given 3 or 4 years in the NBA, he should be worth at least another 6 to 8 points per game, averaging about 28 points per game. As for offensive rebounding, he should be worth 6 to 8 offensive rebounds per game, now. He's not quite as good on defensive rebounding, but he should still grab at least 4 to 6 defensive boards per game. His overall rebounding average should be around 10 to 14 rebounds per game. And he is worth at least 3 to 4 blocked shots per game, even in the much quicker NBA, and he may occasionally reach game high double digit blocks maybe three or four times a season.

WHAT DOE THIS MEAN FOR THE WARRIORS? So, if this analysis is anywhere near a correct forecast of his NBA abilities, Warrior fans need to ask the following question. Do they want a center that can immediately and consistently average 21 points per game, 10 to 14 rebounds per game, and 3 to 4 blocked shots per game? I say yes.

One more point. Due to his current liabilities in defensive rebounding and getting shoved around a bit on defense in the paint, I would team him up with a beast-of-the-boards, shot-blocking, power forward. That's why I would propose that the Warriors take Yao Ming with their own pick in 2002 and then also trade Fortson and Foyle and a couple of 2005, 2006 first round picks in order to get Amare Stoudamire around pick number 6,7,8,9 in the 2002 draft. I believe Amare Stoudamire will be a beast of the boards and an All-Star power forward in the NBA. (P.S. I hate to trade Foyle, but one needs to offer somethin' to get somethin' in return. Stoudamire has 100% more long term potential offensively and defensively than Foyle even currently has after all of Adonyl's hard work to date.)

The shot-blocking combination of Stoudamire and Ming would basically shut down the middle for the next decade of Warrior basketball. Very few NBA teams could get significant guard or forward penetration against the Warrior's defense in the paint. With Rick Barry or Chris Mullin teaching Stoudamire some key offensive moves and classic shooting techniques, the offensive combo of Ming, Stoudamire, Jamison, Richardson, and Arenas would be worth at least 85 to 90 points per game, just from the starters.

With the 2003 draft, I propose the Warriors do what they have to do to go after Mike Dunleavy of Duke, in order to provide some much needed perimeter & 3-point shooting, and to provide an occasional, keep-the-opponent-off-balance tall point guard line up with Dunleavy at the point guard position for say 10 minutes per game. Dunleavy can do point guard and point forward effortlessly, with good ball control and very few turnovers. So, here's my Warriors' classic 7-man lineup for the 2003/04 season and beyond.

Center: Yao Ming (21 points per game; 12 rebounds per game; 3 blocks per game)

Power Forward: Amare Stoudamire (12 points per game; 8 rebounds per game; 2 blocks per game)

Small Forward: Antawn Jamison (19 points per game; 7 rebounds per game)

Shooting Guard: Jason Richardson (23 points per game; 4 rebounds per game)

Point Guard: Gilbert Arenas (14 points per game; 6 assists per game; 3 rebounds per game; 2 steals per game)

Reserve Small Forward, Point/2 Guard: Mike Dunleavy (8 points per game; 3 rebounds per game; 3 assists per game)

Reserve Power/Small Forward: Troy Murphy (5 points per game; 6 rebounds per game)

Scoring from Starters: 89 points per game; 34 rebounds per game
Bench Scoring: 13 points per game; 9 rebounds per game
TEAM TOTALS: 102 points per game; 43 rebounds per game; 5 blocks per game

This lineup spells several NBA Championship Banners in the rafters of the Oakland Arena -- IF they also play aggressive perimeter and transiton defense!

Weaknesses - Yao Ming
____________________

1) Problems Holding Position. Ming allows himself to get pushed around by much smaller, yet heavier/stockier players. There are three reasons for this, I believe. One, he has not yet been taught how to properly use his knees to help lower his center of gravity and establish a strong, unyielding position. Two, obviously, he needs to put on another 20 to 30 pounds to help maintain position against the wide bodies in the NBA. Three, he is not yet aggressive enough in his overall game. I think this is because the CBA officials try to make the games competitive and thus call quick fouls on him when he does push and shove back. (The Chinese CBA officials would call Shaq out on fouls by the end of the first half of play.)

2) Needs Improvement on Blocking Out on Defensive Rebounds. Ming seems more interested in blocking shots than in establishing early, strong position on the defensive boards. This is curious, since he seems very aware and skilled in the art of blocking out his man when he is on the offensive boards.

3) Slow Arm Movement. On many man-on-man defensive sets and on defensive rebounding, Ming often seems slow to move his arms to quick moving balls-in-the-air -- as opposed to South Park Butters' balls-on-chin -- and also sometime slow to react to quick moving players in the key. (I predict the Clipper Miles may be one of the guys that can get by Ming and make him look silly --- same for McGrady.) Perhaps there is some sort of technique Cliff Ray could show him to help speed up his arm movement and in-the-key defensive reactions (footwork?).

4) No Hook Shot Yet. Ming seems tailor made for an Alcindor/Jabbar hook shot. I always thought the key to Jabbar's hook shot was his left arm and left arm-pit. His left arm-pit was the focal point, the leverage point, since it was at least 4 to 6 inches higher than anyone else's arm-pit -- he just seemed to gracefully rotate in an arc around his left arm-pit. He then used his left hand to establish distance against his opponent -- creating an unblockable shot. As you know, Thurmond was the only one who, at times, figured it out -- Jabbar always said Thurmond played him the toughest. Anyway, Ming's arm-pit will be half a foot higher than any other center's and so he will have the Jabbar hook shot leverage advantage. I think the Warriors could hire Jabbar to teach this kid the classic Jabbar hook shot. Jabbar always needs money, so he'll do it in a flash -- for $150K a year and credit as 2nd/3rd assistant coach, which Jabbar also desperately wants.

5) Needs Better Physical Condition. Ming seems to have a hard time making quick bending movements. Doing a lot of sit ups and conditioning his entire body to perform more quickly will help him a lot in the quickness of his overall game. With Ming following a rigid program, the Warriors trainer and conditioning coach could improve Ming's game by 20% by making him quicker and his whole body more instantly reactive.

6) Ming's Mega-Frame Means Retirement by Age 32! Since he has such a large body frame, I think it is unlikely that the Warriors can count on having Ming endure the hardships of NBA quality basketball for much more than 10 years. Since he will take about 3 years to develop, the Warriors will only get about 5 real high quality, top-of-the-NBA center years from Ming, and another 2 years of part-time, backup center years as Ming reaches 31, 32 years old.

However, during that time period, in the middle of this millenium decade, this proposed Warriors' lineup could win 2 or 3 NBA Championships.

 

To tell you the truth.. he does look like a gangly 7'5 ft guy..
and he can be mistakened for someone who would get
pushed around.. but there isn't much footage around showing
him going against big bodies.. mainly the thin bodies of the
chinese leagues, but from this radio tid bit.. it sounds like he
can handle himself well in the paint

 

Among the weaknesses they state : no hook shot. That can't be right. I thought I saw a couple of hook shots in past videos, and it looked like he used the regularly from the way he shot it so non-chalantly and fluidly.

 

You're right Doc. As a matter of fact, I thought I read somewhere that Ming can shoot the hook shot with BOTH hands!

 

It seem like overseas they really stress fundamentals. For a big man, I would think a hook shot is considered fundamental. Apparently, Yao and his coaches have worked on his 3-point range while overlooking the huge advantage of him developing a hookshot. That just seems very unlikely to me. I saw his hookshot a couple of times in the video too.

Ming has no hookshot? The next thing they're gonna tell us is he's not a shot-blocker?

 

Outstanding! Just outstanding! Thanks for posting that link! It was hilarious to listen too!

Much like what Jeff said in his latest article, the SCOUTS and the people that KNOW, know that Ming is the real deal. Those that are ignorant to Ming and know very little are those that just generalize and have nothing to backup their statements other than they "just feel" that he won't be good. Whatever!

Chris