She is a gold digger. There will be tons more of those when he get to the NBA. actually I have no idea who she is.
My wife and I caught a little bit CNT vs Thunderbird game 2 on NBA TV in between the commercial breaks of the Colts and Dallas game. My wife said she didnt like Yi after watching him play the first time. So I asked her, honey why is that, and she replied because he is too ugly.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2684801 NBA prospect Yi Jianlian impresses at Asian Games DOHA, Qatar -- NBA prospect Yi Jianlian has been hailed by some as the "next Yao Ming." For now, the 19-year-old is just another member of China's national team. And his coach is less than pleased with him. Yi Jianlian Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images Yi Jianlian is being heralded as a possible lottery pick in next year's draft, but some say the 19-year-old needs to get better in order to make an impact. "He needs to understand that it's not enough to be very talented," Lithuanian-born Jonas Kazlauskas said of Yi following China's 89-76 win over Kazakhstan at the Asian Games. "He needs to fight for every step, for every position, for every ball." Kazlauskas' words typify much of the buzz surrounding the 19-year-old Yi: That he is a great athlete whose basketball skills and on-court presence still have a long way to go. The 7-foot power forward had 14 points and six rebounds against Kazakhstan, but just as notable were his turnovers and flubbed shots. On defense, Kazakh players scored over him easily, and he was outshined at both ends of the court by former NBA player Wang Zhizhi, who scored 22 points and had five rebounds. "He was like a 'good boy'," Kazlauskas said of Yi. "Everyone could push him, could kick him out of the three-second zone. And he was happy with everything going on around him." Yi, who won a six-figure deal from Nike, had some impressive moves as well, including a massive jam in the third quarter and a fade-away jumper reminiscent of Dirk Nowitzki. While much work is ahead for Yi -- he especially needs to gain upper-body strength and build on-court intensity -- he has piqued the NBA's interest with his height and athleticism and is expected to be picked in the high rounds of next June's draft. Kazakhstan starter Yevgeny Issakov said Yi's height and quickness make him formidable. "He's very good and it's very hard for us to play over these tall Chinese guys," Issakov said. And China's captain, Liu Wei, cautioned against judging Yi's performance too harshly. "It's the first game and there's always a degree of adjustment that needs to be made," Liu said. "We'll be getting better and better." Yi's true age is a subject of some controversy. Reports put his birth year as early as 1984, partly because sports authorities are known to report their players as younger than they actually are to keep them eligible for junior competitions. Recruited into one of China's demanding state sports schools, Yi trained hard, eventually joining the Chinese Basketball Association. He led his native province's Guangdong Tigers to the CBA title last season, recording 20 double-doubles during the regular season and topping the 30-point mark eight times, including a 43-point performance in the regular season finale. And despite a lackluster showing in last summer's world championships at which China finished 11th, Yi won praise from no less an authority than U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski. "The kid Yi ... he'd be in the NBA. He'd be a lottery pick. That kid is really good," Krzyzewski said. "He'd probably be starting for some teams in the league. The kid's just got it." Yao, the Houston Rockets star center who has not joined the China national team in Doha, said his own progress since joining the NBA reinforces the need for Yi and other Chinese players to go abroad as preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Despite his multiyear Nike contract and NBA prospects, Yi presently enjoys few extra privileges at home with the Tigers or traveling with the national team, living and practicing with his less-heralded teammates. He's kept a low profile at Doha, letting others do the talking for the team and shying away from interviews. "I am not thinking too much about the draft, now I am focusing on helping China win the gold at Doha," Yi said on arrival. "The Asian Games is a very big event and it's very important for me."
Yi does not impress me. From what I've seen of him, the CNT coach's comments are right on. He needs to realize it's not enough just to be very talented. The kid puts up good numbers in China, but has underachieved in international competition. He has a tendency to loaf in games. Maybe better competition in the NBA will cure him, but judging by international play, he hasn't exactly responded to better competition. He's 7 feet tall, he can jump, he can run, and he can shoot a semi-decent midrange shot. Maybe enough to get him picked relatively early (worked for Stromile Swift), but it's gonna take him a lot of work to be useful in the league.
well he's averaging like 25/13 in the cba now.. I think that's pretty good edit: it's actually 25.9 pts and 12.5 rpg. yesterday the chinese national team play some other team and he had 21/8. sun yue had 22 points and 6 steals. so yeah the two prospects look good
the coach also says Yi is better than many nba players currently after the CNT win the asian champion today.
why? You think Yao's ugly? Yao looks better than Yi if you ask me, and definitely has a more beautiful smile.
Yi Jianlian scored 42 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and held Shangai's Reggie Okosa to 1 point on 0 for 8 shooting as Guangdong destroyed Shanghai 98-65 from asiabasket
Yi Jianlian scored 40 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Guangdong to a 113-90 victory over Beijing. from asia basket
Yi slams Yao's China dunk record http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070118/sp_wl_afp/basketchnnbayaoyi_070118142418 BEIJING (AFP) - Rising star Yi Jianlian has broken NBA centre Yao Ming's record for the most slam dunks by a Chinese player in the China Basketball Association, a local sports website said. ADVERTISEMENT Yi, 19, who plays for the league champion Guangdong Tigers, surpassed Yao's CBA record of 302 dunks by a Chinese player, according to Sina.com, which is recognised as having some of the best basketball coverage in China. Yi overtook Yao's dunk milestone two weeks ago and, following Guangdong's 102-91 victory over Shandong on Wednesday, the 2.12-metre (seven-foot) Yi has 314 dunks. Yi, who is averaging 24.3 points and 12.1 rebounds per game this season, is expected to be a top pick in the National Basketball Association's June draft, following his famous countryman into the world's toughest league. Although Yi is now the CBA's leading Chinese dunker, the league's most prolific dunker remains US player Jason Dixon, Yi's Guangdong team mate and seven-year CBA veteran who has 386 dunks, Sina.com said. The CBA keeps official statistics on slam dunks, but the numbers were not posted on its website on Thursday.
funny record to keep...and break. having watched Yi over the summer, there is obviously a disconnect between world-level talent, and CBA level talent. That said, I am definitely impressed with Yi's progression over the year's towards dominance in the CBA, and he is clearly ready to make to move to a more talented league. Plus, at only 19 (apparently), he still has tons of years of improvement ahead of him.
we're talking about the CBA? Yao probably averaged 40pts in the CBA dunk record?! Yao doesn't even dunk much and it was probably easy to break i think he'll be a bust
