You vastly underestimated Yao's global popularity. He is probably the most recognizable face in the world, at least among basketball players.
The only thing I wish Yao would adopt to his NBA game is the intimidation factor. When guys would come down the lane for the first time on Hakeem, he wouldn't just block the shot, he'd knock the living crap out of the guy as well. Yeah, he got a foul - a good clean hard foul - but it sent a message that it was his house in the paint. Just the way that altered shots throughout the game made a difference. And, it was also why when guys did dunk on him, it was such a huge moment because not only was it rare because of his shot blocking ability, it was also rare that a player would dare to challenge him. If Yao could adopt a little of that mental philosophy to his game, he would be a serious intimidator on the floor and it would help his game substantially.
Hakeem knocking the living crap out of someone? I don't remember Hakeem hardly fouled anyone intentionally in all my years watching him! He always tried to block shots no matter where the shooter was. He could jump quick and often so he blocked a lot of shots. That is how I remember where the intimidating factor came in.
he would knock the snot out of people, i remember him doing it quite a few times....im sure he learned it from moses...
I think NZ placed 4th in the worlds 2002.. so they were ahead of the US who placed 6th. They aren't a bad team.
you should download the video in the other thread and watch the segments i pointed out. yao pushed NZ player to the ground 4 times.
