Yao Ming Set to be a Rocket By Bill "The Rocket Guy" Ingram for HOOPSWORLD.com Oct 18, 2002, 11:24am Email this article Printer friendly page Yao Ming Finally Receives Clearance Yao Ming will be a Houston Rocket, ending months of speculation that the Chinese might allow the actions of Wang Zhizhi to scare them into preventing the NBA’s top draft pick from playing in the NBA. Yao Ming received his visa on Wednesday and yesterday he received final clearance from FIBA. He is set to arrive in Houston on Sunday or Monday and will immediately begin playing catch-up with Rudy T and the Rockets. Preseason will take on a whole new meaning once Yao is in the mix. The time for Tierre Brown and Tito Maddox to practice against real NBA competition will be over. There will be no more easing Glen Rice and Mo Taylor into the rotation. Steve Francis and Kenny Thomas will not sit out for “precautionary reasons.” When Yao Ming joins the Rockets it will be all about making up for lost time and getting Yao ready for the beginning of the season. He will need to get real playing time with the teammates who will be around him when the games start to count. Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Mo Taylor, Glen Rice, and Yao Ming will take the court together and begin the process of getting to know each other and developing chemistry. The Rockets made certain guarantees to the Chinese when they drafted Yao Ming. They assured Chinese officials that everything would be done to give Yao a shot at the Rookie of the Year award, and they have an understanding that Yao will be a full time starter. While these promises are unprecedented (Wang Zhizhi has been little more than a hood ornament for the Mavericks), they are indicative of the incredible potential that Yao Ming personifies. Yao Ming averaged 32 points, 19 rebounds, and 15 blocks per game for the Shanghai Sharks last season. This is a long way from being NBA-equivalent, but it does mean that the Rockets have serious talent on their hands. He averaged 21 points and 8 rebounds in international competition that included Team USA, and he impressed Ben Wallace after one game. Wallace was intending to shut down Yao with ease, but admitted he had his hands full just trying to contain the 7’5” center. Now the big question is how well will Yao Ming fit into the Rockets’ system. Yao was a handful for teams in the World Championships in spite of the fact that he was the only real threat on his Chinese team. Opposing coaches would gear their entire defensive sets around stopping Yao, leaving anyone else on the team open in an effort to stop Yao. Yao still averaged 21 points per game. Now put Yao on a team that includes an All-Star point guard, an off-guard with the fastest first step in the league, a money-man from three-point land at small forward, and a power forward who wants to prove he deserves the contract he signed last season. Add premier talent off the bench in Eddie Griffin and Kenny Thomas and you have a team that would make the playoffs without Yao Ming in the middle. If Yao Ming can average half of what he did for China last season, the Rockets will compete for homecourt advantage in the playoffs. Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich and GM Carroll Dawson have been singing the praises of Yao Ming all summer and were like two kids in a candy store on the day of the draft. Fans have not had many opportunities to see Yao Ming play, and have had their doubts about what he will bring to the Rockets. Get ready, Houston. Yao Ming is coming and we will have answers to all of our questions soon. It remains to be seen whether or not Yao Ming is the ultimate answer to the World Championship question. Rudy T compares his new center to the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Charles Barkley. If he can live up to that comparison, the playoffs are back in Houston to stay. http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_1528.shtml ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyone still remember TRG? This is his latest column about Ming.
