From NBA.com: A native of the Netherlands, Smits came to the United States in 1984 to attend Marist College in upstate New York. The gangly giant toiled in relative obscurity for most of his college career, but after averaging 24.7 points and 8.7 rebounds as a senior he became a coveted NBA prospect. This guy was shorter than Ming, way, way less athletic than Ming, less skilled than Ming, and, to top it off, he put up vastly inferior numbers to Ming prior to coming to the NBA. Is it safe to say that the competition at Marist college and the CBA are similar? How can you compare 24.7 points and 8.7 rebounds to 32.4 points, 19 rebounds, and 72 percent shooting? I mean, you don't even have to have seen Ming play to know that Smits is a bad comparison -- just look at the statistics.
Maybe, but while Marist is small, it is part of MAAC which includes, Niagra (Calvin Murphy's alma mater), Siena (made the second round of the NCAA tourney last year), Canisius and Loyola. They have teams like UMass and Maryland on their schedule. While it may not be Indiana, Kentucky or Duke, it is still Division I college hoops. On the other hand, Marist has NEVER been to an NIT or NCAA tourney, so... As for comparisons in skill, I still believe Yao is as skilled as Smits ever was right now. He is much more fluid on the floor than Smits too. It is an awkward comparison at best. Frankly, there isn't anyone to compare the big fella to. He is out of the ordinary.
The real comparisons will come during pre season and the regular season. Yao does have a couple things going for him. His athletisism is very good for a 7-5 player and he has very good passing and shooting skills. His defense will come just by standing near the basket. He will alter shots and make other teams think about coming in.
In all honesty I don't think the comparisons will be justified for another 1 to 3 years. Akeem the first few years was nothing like the Hakeem of his prime years. He was a far different player because he adapted and adjusted to the game. Ming will have to do the same... give him time...
I honestly don't mind the Smits comparisons at all. People lump Smits and Bradley together to criticize Yao, but Smits in his prime was much better than Bradley. Sure, I hope Ming becomes even better than that, but if he's a 22pt 8rbd guy, like Smits was for a while, I think we can be a great team regardless, with the rest of the talent we have on this team.
So Jeff, do you think Marist faces tougher competition than they do in the CBA? I honestly don't know, I just figured it was probably similar. I mean, I'm sure David Benoit would be a stud right now if he played in that conference. Wang would definitely be a stud. Don't know about Bateer, I've never seen him play. The CBA has graduated 3 players into the NBA recently, when was the last time someone made it to the NBA coming from the MAAC (it could happen all the time, I'm just asking)? You must be thinking of another Rik Smits. He never once averaged 8 boards a game. His highest point per game average was 18.5. He only once recorded 2 blks a game in a season. The only time I like to hear Smits and Ming in the same sentence is when people say "at worst, he'll be another Rik Smits".
Freak beat me - his best overall year was 17.9, 7.7, and about 1 bpg. His rookie year he put up 11.7 and 6.1. Bradley put up 10 and 6 as a rookie - similar. For a while Bradley produced decent numbers, but he slacked off noticeably...while Smits got better pretty much up until he retired. After 91-92, though, he never blocked more than 82 shots in a year. I agree, barring some major injury, Smits should be a low end scenario for Yao. Of course, Smits's numbers these days would make him an annual All-Star as a center. He was not anywhere near smooth or graceful. I like Rudy's closest comparison - Sabonis in his prime.
I also like the Sabonis comparison- although a "poor man's Sabonis" is an even better description. Ming will probably end up playing around 330, and is agile enough to develop a couple of post moves that nobody will be able to block. Remember, some very knowledgable basketball people has said that Sabonis, in his prime, was one of the best centers that have ever played the game. "He's now 30 years old, but I remember him when I played against him when he was 21 or 22, he was the best center I ever saw in my life. I can say easy he was a better player than Shaq, Ewing, Hakeem. . . . I'm telling you, he was the best center I ever saw in my life. "He was passing the ball, dribbling, shooting three-pointers, jumping. He did everything. Now he's lost his speed because of injury, but still he's a smart player. He knows basketball." - Vlade Divac "People who saw him play at a young age put (Sabonis) in the top five centers of all-time, when you watch him now and think about it, you can see it, he's got the 3-point shot, the sky hook, and he can beat people off the dribble. I wish I could have played with him when he was younger and even now. He has such a great feel for the game, and a lot of the guys could benefit more from his abilities if they had a little better feel. He can read plays before they happen. He's like Bird, Magic, and Jordan in that sense. They see it a couple of plays ahead." -Mike Dunleavy, former player/coach Pretty cool comparison!
