I really want to support you, but I'm afraid things aren't so simple as you think. Better than Yao? Yi will face a lot more great players at his position than Yao ever does. I'd be very happy if Yi turns out to be half a player of a Garnett or Dirk.
Well that doesn't really matter. Just because there are more star "PF's" in the league than "C's", it's just a designation. You can still compare big men on a scale of dominance and influence on the game. With that in mind, Yi doesn't have an easier or harder route than Yao based on his position. No, the real thing that sets Yao apart, is his determination to succeed, his work-ethic, and his learning curve. He wants to get better, he's willing to work at it as hard as anybody in the league, and he's shown that he has the capacity to improve and get better with study and practice. Some guys never get better, or plateau at a certain point, but Yao hasn't shown any let-up since he came into the league. And doesn't figure to as long as injuries don't derail his career. *knocks on wood*
Yi is a big idol in a booming basketball marketing. I seriously doubt he has what takes to beacame a decent NBA player, not everyone has Yao's personality. Yi being a starting PF at some point is the best I can image. Once he get busted in NBA, next big CBA idol will come out for Chinese fans to enjoy.
Yi Jianlian stats in 1st three games of the playoffs, 38/10/2b 20/15/3b 32/17/3b -------- 30/14/2.7b 67%FG, 85%FT
76er president Billy King is in China to watch Yi instead of the NCAA tournament. Are they seriously considering him?
Well, to be fair, the NCAA nationals are one of the most televised and attended basketball events while CBA games are kinda...out there.
no one even knows how old this guy is for real..his birthday has ranged from 1984(22-23) to 1987(19-20). who knows
I am surprised that his US agent does not come out of clarify his age. It seems that the age thing is hurt his stock the most.
If i have Yi's body.. i would posterize people all day long, and try to rip the rim off in every dunk, and try to block every shot...
Yi looks pretty raw to me. Whichever team picks him should talk to the CBA to send him to Europe so he can get better competition before coming to the NBA. He isn't as mature or fundamentally skilled as Yao who could come straight out of China.
I think Yi's body is more mature than Yao's when he came out. Yao was a complete stick that had to be thrown right in the middle of the paint. Yi won't have to battle all the big bodies that Yao had to coming out of China. With that said, did anybody see Yi's dunk lastnight? The kid has athleticism, that's for sure.
Yi just made his play appear on NBA TOP 10: (no.7) http://broadband.nba.com/cc/playa.p...op10/top10_070318.asx&video=blank&nbasite=nba
Looks like Yi will be in the States starting in April and train with the dream until the draft, interesting.
I'd put him at the SF position to utilize his athleticism. Of course, i haven't seen him play. I'm only assuming he's a good shooter since the way the Chinese players are trained fundamentaly. He could be Ala Dirk at that position. Nobody could defend him out there with his size, ASSUMING he can shoot. From the clips it appears he can drive the lane with authority and draw plenty of fouls. I'd swap 1st picks and trade an extra #1 for him.
