No doubt about that. Yao is a high-risk high-payoff pick. Both CD and Rudy T took lots of heats from the media in picking Yao. Some of the media people have been waiting for every opportunity to hammer on Yao in proving they are right. Even JVG tried recently to talk about that issue.
This Andy Munger also calll him Yao Ying Wing. What's wrong with this guy LOL http://www.allsports.com/cgi-bin/sh...?story_id=30721
I posted the ESPN draft scouting report and here is another scouting report from Ric Bucher that I posted in another thread but will post the link here. http://espn.go.com/magazine/bucher_20020520.html Both of these are fairly positive and while they make the comparison with Rik Smits also acknowledge that he's likely going to be better than Smits. The way you make it sound like is that the number one pick of Yao was a joke, a publicity stunt on the part of the Rockets and NBA. That is anything but the case here. Again I agree there was a lot of negative publicity about Yao but there was also a lot of positive too. A foreign player who has never played a US college game, or even a high school game, never was drafted before at one and never has been. A gamble like that isn't taken without some serious belief in potential positives.
Notice though, ""I think he will be a force eventually, but he will take time to develop," said Indiana Pacers President Donnie Walsh. "He does remind me of [longtime Pacers center] Rik Smits. He is bigger and probably more skilled than Rik was when he came into the league."" Everyone keeps on portraying the comparison with Smits as an insult. Its not. Remember most of the NBA community or anyone else in the US had never seen Yao before in 2002. The description, "An extremely tall player with a good outside shooting touch and good passing skills" up until that point Rik Smits fit that description to a T. Given Yao's relative unknowness in 2002 the comparison to Rik Smits is fairly logical. But these many of these descriptions go further in saying that Yao is likely going to be better than Smits as he is bigger, more skilled and stronger than Smits. These are positive assessments of Yao based upon the knowledge base at the time. These aren't negative assesments and in light of the video of Yao in his first US workout very accurate since in that video you never see Yao banging down low.
I don't really disagree with you. It's interesting that the comparison to Rik Smits comes right out of the draft media guide. That makes me wonder if a lot of media guys got their hands on this guide and perpetuated the stigma. Like... maybe this is the SOURCE for that comparison. I mean, how many media guys were actually watching film for Yao Ming back then? They were just reporting whatever the scouts were telling them 2nd and 3rd hand. But somehow maybe the message got lost. "He's like Rik Smits, but much better" got turned into "He'll be Rik Smits.... at best". People jumped on that and took it a step further. If not best, then what? That's when you started hearing "Shawn Bradley had a lot of hype coming into the league, too" which became "He's going to be another Shawn Bradley". Just goes to show you how fast the guys in the media can jump on and off of a bandwagon. It's like Ryan Howard winning the MVP in the National League this year. Once the masses as a whole become convinced of something, it becomes a mob mentality. I'm starting to question everything. Maybe Tim Duncan HAS personality. Maybe Europeans CAN play defense. Maybe Isaiah IS a good GM. Okay... that's going too far.
^ That's true that people in the media can be lazy and the comparison to Smits, Bradley and others became infectious. Still given how relatively unknown Yao was I don't think those were unfair comparisons at the time. Most Americans simply didn't know enough about Yao and the natural comparison is to known players. For instance lets say a 5'-6" player from Pakistan is being considered for the NBA draft. He's played for the Pakistani national team in international competition but never in the US. Now would it be unfair to compare this guy Earl Boykins or Mugsy Bogues?
They play basketball in Pakistan? Just kidding. I know what you're saying. It just kind of a frustrating habit for everyone to have. It was the same with Michael Olowakandi and the comparisons to Hakeem for no reason.
Did I say Yao as a #1 pick was a joke? Is it so hard to understand what I wrote before? I said the expectation on Yao was not that high. You keep twisting there is positive expectation, true, but positive expectation does not mean Shaq-scale expectation. Rik Smits comparison is no way a great compliment or high expectation. Last time I remembered, Rik Smits is not a #1 pick.
Rik Smits, as good as he is, was not a #1 pick with hindsight. If your argument that the comparison to Rik Smits is positive, I agree, but that argument does not mean Yao should be a #1 pick as a Rik Smits in any given year. Your reasoning seems to be that positive expectation as Rik Smits means #1 pick and means there is hype on Yao. I do not agree. My reasoning is that if Yao was picked the #1 pick based on Rik Smits or better as the benchmark, then there must be two things happening in that year's draft: one, that year's draft was weak since Rik Smits was not picked #1 (with hindsight) and Rik is really not a dominant center to build the team around; second, the expectation on Yao is not Shaq-scale exactly as you mentioned. Therefore, my conclusion is that there is no hype, the expectation is Rik Smits or somewhat better by most GMs or small segment of the media. However, the majority of the media hammered on that choice because they just do not like it for whatever reason.
No doubt, everybody would compare that guy with Earl Boykins or Bogues, but that comparison does not guarantee a high pick for that Pakistan player. Unless of course, everybody else was rated lower than Boykins or Bogues in the draft. As a result, the Pakistan player is picked #1. Now does that mean the Pakistan player is hyped by the media? The answer is NO. You have to make someone the #1 pick and that Pakistan Player happens to be the best prospect.
r u kidding me? curry couldn't say enough about Yao after Yao ripped him for 36 and 17. Curry said something along the lines of "Playoff form, Allstar form, I don't care I've never seen Yao like that"
