how exactly is it a silly inference, Professor Will? I mean, congratulations on your clever thread title and all, but to me, it seems pretty farfetched to equate Yao Ming to Hakeem Olajuwon no matter how high you think the ceiling is on Ming. you're willing to do that for a player you've never even watched play a whole game? it might be a silly reference if Ming had dominated Wang in China, but as far as I know, that has not been the case. stubborned inability to consider both sides of the Ming issue weakens your position, no matter which side you're on. I think you may have forgotten to take your Savioritis pills today.
Dang, good point. If Olajuwon hadn't gone to college in the U.S., we could have figured out from the performance of the 2nd best Nigerian player that Olajuwon would suck in the NBA. You get a gold star.
and if Hakeem publically stated that the 2nd best player in Nigerian (who he never dominated in the NBA - nigerian basketball assoc.) was his role model and the better defender, then does this mean that the #2 player sucks?
if Wang's NBA performance is irrelavant to Ming's NBA performance, then how exactly is Hakeem's performance relavant?
barbourdog, you keep refrring to Ming's quote..blah blah blah... Lou Holtz used to gripe about how his Top 10 Irish team would have to play its best ball to beat the Air Force. In Lou's case it was psychological B.S. In Yao's case,it's called humility and respect. I don't think there is trash talking in China. Either way, take it with a grain of salt.
You're right. It would be. Go find somebody who equated them, and reply to his thread. If you can't see the illogic of concluding that a country's best player won't do much in the NBA because that country's second best player didn't do much in the NBA -- or if you can't figure out from the stats and eyewitness reports we've gotten so far that Yao is better than Wang -- then it ain't much use arguing with you. There are two sides to the question of whether to draft Yao. There ain't two sides to logic.
I don't know about head to head, but I'm pretty sure at his peak, Wang was round 24 pts, 11 boards, 2 blocks a game. Ming, at his peak this year in a possibly more competitive league (a different team did finally win), Ming averaged 32.4 pts, 19 boards and I can't find block numbers, but in either case, its clear that Ming is the much better player - just how much better?
For all you people who can't let go of the Ming, Wang comparison consider this. Ming is 4 years younger than Wang and is already a better player. Not to mention Ming hasn't even filled out yet.
Riet, no disrespect, but I do not think Ming was just being polite. Alot of people on this board seem to be Ming experts, but the only TRUE source of comparison for Ming is Wang. Its not like Ming has every dominated Wang in the CBA, so why does everybody think that he is going to dominate NBA players? Those two have had a rivarly in the CBA for years. Yes, I think Ming has more potential than Wang, and could become a very good center in the league. But were talking about 3-4 years from now, at which time he will be a FA. There is no guarantee that he will re-sign with the Rockets and worse, its not his choice. He is the property of china, and they will determine which city they can make the most money from.
People keep making a big deal about the competition in the CBA versus "tough" US Competition. Rik Smits was drafted 2nd in 1988. He played at Marist. Are you saying Marist college could whip up everyone in the CBA? Are you saying Marist couldve playe comeptitive international basketball and the Olympics. How much competition did Marist have? Ming is the equivalent of a college senior. You may say that the CBA sucks but is it worse than a small division 1 school in a small conference? Are you saying that if Ming had played in college he would not have performed better than Olowokandi did at the Pacific??? There are many 21 year olds who do not have incredible upper body strength, who have not been taught the proper techniques of good defense, and have not maximized their offensive potential. From all reports, Ming is smart and a hard worker and he has size. I have no idea why people try to measure Ming's success to 25-30 year olds.
Forget Smits and Marist, RIET Who was the second best player that came out of the Patriot League in, say, 25 yrs??? Was he as good as Wang?
Either way the comparison is inane... when the hell has Wang been put in a position for all of you experts to summarily dismiss him? You guys don't know Wang's bad points, and you don't know Ming's good points. So put some cake in it, because either way you read like idiots. p.s. I don't know Wang's good points or Ming's good points either, but I trust the umpteen million damn basketball gurus that get paid for a living to do this stuff when they tell me that Ming will be great. Seems like about all you have to go on... wish for the best. Oh yeah... SEVEN FOOT FIVE FRIGGIN' SHOOTING GUARD!! YEEEEEHOOO! oh yeah, let me trump comparisons to Bradley by mentioning that Bradley is a farm boy that milked his height when he came back from his mission. He never practices during the offseason because his wife won't let him. Seriously. Slight difference here: Ming is a basketball player, and was raised by two basketball playing parents. Just a slight difference... I see how Bradley's height and Wang's race fit into the analogy... and congratulations on you guys first analogies, but seriously, there's no reason to think that those analogies are sound or valid. Sit back. Carroll and Les aren't listening to you or I, so let's enjoy the view and all of that stuff.
I'm not really a betting man, but I'm willing to bet Ming team would beat any college team in america even marylan and duke. i based this seeing that the best college players played against him and lost this past summer. No one claimed the cba was nba 2, but its probably better than college. What were shawn bradleys numbers in college? 10pts 7rebs 3 blks, 2 yrs off in the wac. I don't see how people are comparing the 2.
There are a number of inane Anti-Ming arguments. I'm not saying he will be an all-star (who the hell knows if Caron Butler will be an all-star). However, if youre anti-Ming at least be logical. 1. He hasn't played anybody. See my earlier post. Neither did Smits or Olowokandi or any other college player from a small school or weak conference. 2. He can't play defense. There are a lot of players who were not good defensive players in college but were taught. The key to defense is desire and technique. From all reports he has the desire. Now let's teach him technique. 3. He has a weak upper body. At age 21 so does a lot of people. Ben Wallace was not that way at age 21. Neither was Karl Malone. As he grows older, he can gain weight. He has the torso to add weight and muscle. 4. Wang sucked so Ming can't be that good. Wang is 4 years older than him. Yes they may have played against each other but somehow I suspect that when Wang was 18, he was better than Ming at age 14. Also, remeber that the game is different in China. China is probably a lot like European basketball where there's more focus on offensive fundamentals like shooting and passing and less on defense and one on one play. Also, Ming probably had to guard Wang and vice a versa. Do you think Shaq would have trouble guarding Nowitzki one on and vice versa? Yes, because one is taller and stronger while the other may be quicker and can shoot farther from the basket. Last but not least, have you noticed that China did not ask for 1/2 Wang's salary? There was not THIS much press about Wang because they KNOW that Wang has nowehere near the potential Ming does. That's why there's so much hoopla about Ming there as here. 5. It'll take him 3-4 years to develop. Guess what, that's normal. That's the risk you have with a lot of HS players and most college players. It'll take Darius Miles several years to develop a complete game. It took Kobe several years to develop his game. 6. Yeah but it's different b/c you didnt have to deal with the Chinese government. If Ming starts gaining some success after a few years, you think China will take him away? After 3 years if China is getting 1/2 his salary, they will want him to get the maximum amount of $$$. And in these salary cap days, thats the team youre with. If Ming is successful with the Rockets, it would be a huge marketing coup and every freaking fan in China will be a Rockets fan. 7. Yeah but China may force Ming to come back like Wang. Wang played for the Red Army. Ming is not in the red Army. Plus China understands Ming is a potential franchise player and Wang is not. Ming will be treated differently. In China it's all about business. China wants Ming to succeed so they can cash in both now and in the future. This is a watershed moment for China and the NBA. Wang 's arrival was more of a curiosty. The only way Ming will be called back if he's had success will be if our countries go to war. And if that happens, all hell's going to break loose anyways.
The top Nigerian player prior to Hakeem was Yommy Sangodeyi. Yommi Basket was the player that Olajuwon looked up to and eventually surpassed as the premier Nigerian player. Here's a blurb on Yommy: http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/hakeem_encyclopediaUZ.html Yommy Basket - A legend in Nigerian basketball when Hakeem first started to play. His real name was Yommy Sangodeyi but his fans in his native Nigeria called him Yommy Basket. When he took his jump shot everyone in the stands would shout "Yommy" and then "Basket" after his shot swished through the net. He eventually attended Sam Houston State and was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1984 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets.
Thanks, that makes Will's point much stronger. I actually think Wang, if he were to stay, would be much better player than Yommy Basket ever was. I saw him in several games, and at moments he definetely looked lost, but at other moments he looked slick. Right now, on skill alone, Wang would be a starter on Cleveland, Atlanta, or some other Eastern team. His bad luck is that he was on a deep Maverick roster. Of course, at Denver he would be The Franchise.
