Article DENVER — You can stop wondering if Yao Ming, the 7-foot-6 center from Shanghai whom the Rockets made the first pick in the NBA draft, can adapt to life in the NBA. He already has. How do we know this? Because he's already grown weary of the U.S. sports media. After dealing with about a dozen media types after Team Canada's 96-68 thumping of the Chinese national team in an exhibition game Friday in Vancouver, Yao on Sunday was moderately startled when two reporters and a lone still photographer showed up at Pepsi Center, where the Chinese team is practicing for a few days. At the end of a relatively brief Q and A session — a grand total of 14 questions were asked — Yao was asked what he felt would be the hardest adjustment, from a personal standpoint, about playing in the NBA. "Watching," he said through an interpreter, "that you guys don't chase me to my house." Let the record show Yao was chuckling when he said it, so we think he was joking. Truthfully, though, I think Yao's apparent discomfort at always being the center of attention, even before he has played a single NBA game, could be a bit of a drag on his development as a player. Hey, when you're the first pick in the entire draft, not to mention the first Asian-born player to have such a distinction, you have to expect intense media scrutiny. If Yao's tired of it now, wait until the Rockets play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Yao's primary concern between now and the time he joins the Rockets in mid-October — he will report late to training camp because of an obligation to play for the Chinese team in the Asian Games — has to be a strength program that is the only hope to keep him from becoming elbow fodder for the musclemen who lurk in the painted area of NBA arenas. It's evident from a quick glance at Yao's long frame that he already has begun hitting the weights. Nuggets strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess spent a couple of weeks in Asia with the Chinese team last month. He got Yao started on a strength program, one which he is certain the strength team in Houston will continue. "He's got some work to do," said Hess, who had the blessing of Denver GM Kiki Vandeweghe to assist the Chinese team, even though Yao will be a foe for the Nuggets for years to come. "But even his progression from the time I left China to now shows he's definitely gotten stronger. His core stability is improved. I think once he gets into a good strength program, as Houston has, he'll improve hugely. "Right now he still needs to work on his strength, but he's never been exposed to it. Now he is, and he'll do well." For now, all Yao wants to do is get as strong as his Chinese teammate, 6-11, 310-pound Mengke Bateer, who played last season for the Nuggets. "I have a real model there, and that is Mengke Bateer," Yao said from a seat in the Nuggets' locker room, where Bateer has a locker stall with his name on it. Beteer didn't get pushed around in his role as a backup center for Denver last season. He did, however, have a problem being identified too often as the pusher, instead of the push-ee. Bateer said he gave Yao one bit of sage NBA advice about the referees that control the play. "I told him that's the key," Bateer said. "He doesn't need to tell me," Yao said, "because I saw what trouble he got in when he was here." Fans in the United States will get their first look at Yao on Thursday, when the Chinese team plays Team USA in an exhibition game at The Arena in Oakland. Since the Bay Area has one of the largest concentrations of Asian-Americans of any U.S. metropolitan area, a huge turnout of Asian fans is expected.Expectations from such a crowd for Yao's performance will be enormous. Expectations from anyone, Yao said, can't be his concern. "I don't care what other people put on my head, but you guys should know, up until now I haven't played even one single NBA game," Yao said. "I hope it is going to be a good game. I've played them before, you know." Yao said he believes it will be two or three years before he will begin to be the player his most enthusiastic supporters believe he can be. What is important is that he believes he commands his future. "No matter what people expect of me," Yao said, "if I can get there depends on how much I work on it."
It is nice to see that Yao is dedicated to getting stronger. I think that he will prove all of the people that doubted him wrong.
Rockets' Yao unfazed by mounting pressure By Marc J. Spears Denver Post Sports Writer Monday, August 19, 2002 - With his 7-foot-5 frame sitting comfortably in a chair in the Denver Nuggets' locker room late Sunday morning, Yao Ming looked calm. The same could be said for the No. 1 draft pick's outlook on his pro basketball future. Yao is one of the most highly anticipated players to join the NBA. While countrymen Mengke Bateer and Wang Zhizhi have worn NBA uniforms before him, China is banking on Yao to become its first NBA star. Although Yao, 21, will face serious pressure as a rookie with the Houston Rockets, he seems unfazed by the spotlight. "That's good," Yao said through a translator. "It makes me feel like I am still in China." Yao and the Chinese national basketball team have been practicing at the Pepsi Center in preparation for the world championships Aug. 29 through Sept. 8 in Indianapolis. China's second game at the world championships is Aug. 31 against the United States, a team filled with NBA stars. But Yao will face his future NBA competition Thursday in an exhibition game against the U.S. in Oakland, Calif. In his first game against the U.S. senior team, he was limited to 16 minutes because of foul trouble, totaling five points, three rebounds, two blocked shots and two assists during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. "It is going to be a good game," Yao said. "I don't hear what other people put on (me as expectations). But you guys should know, until now I haven't played one single NBA game yet." Once Yao does play his first NBA game, expectations should be mild at best. Along with his stunning height, Yao possesses amazing quickness and agility. He has a soft shooting touch with 3-point range and powerful legs. But he cautioned that it could take three seasons for him to reach his NBA potential. His biggest challenge likely will be adjusting to the physical nature of the league. While Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal is 5 inches shorter than Yao, he outweighs Yao by more than 50 pounds. Nuggets strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess, who has been helping China's team, said Yao needs to develop his upper-body strength. "He has some work to do, but there has been some progression since I've left China to now," said Hess, who visited the Chinese team this summer. "He's definitely gotten stronger, and his court stability has improved hugely. "It's hard to say how strong he is. If you compared him to (former Nugget) Antonio (McDyess), he is a little weaker. There are certain guys in the NBA that would be closer. He doesn't have NBA strength yet. ... He would be on the lower spectrum strength-wise on our team. But with his potential and the way he works, he definitely will get where he needs to be." There's no doubt about Yao's role model. "That's the big Bateer," he said. After China's practice, Bateer sat in front of a locker stall wearing a mammoth Nuggets T-shirt. It is uncertain, however, whether the 6-11, 290-pounder will be in a Denver uniform next season. Bateer made his NBA rookie debut after signing as a free agent on Feb. 26. He averaged 5.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 fouls in 15.1 minutes in 27 games. Denver owns a team option on the Inner Mongolia, China, native, next season paying $512,435. Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe recently said the team's contract determination on Bateer likely will be made after the world championship. Bateer has stiff competition for a roster spot from Juwan Howard, Marcus Camby, Nene Hilario, Mark Blount, Chris Andersen, Donnell Harvey, Don Reid and possibly Francisco Elson. And Bateer will miss two weeks of training camp because of a commitment to play for China in October at the Asian Games in Korea. Bateer is confident he will be a Nugget next season and said he will work twice as hard once he arrives. "My dream is to have my best performance with the Nuggets," said Bateer, who started 10 games last season. "That is what I have been working hard for."
