Yao Ming gets downsized

[Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

	This is from Slate.com. The writer argues that Yao Ming is clumsy,
inexperienced and overrated but lauds his character. Says Wang Zhi Zhi
is selfish, me-first, standoffish. Mentions other players in Asia,
including North Korea's 7-9 mystery man, Michael Ri.

	As far as Yao Ming goes, bearing in mind that anyone who is 7-5 tall is
going to look skinny relative to his height, he actually seems solidly
built if not yet very muscled in the upper body. He seems to have very
thick legs. That's a physical attribute that distinguishes him from
Shawn Bradley. 

	Plus he's around half-a-foot taller than the average NBA center, and to
me that's a BIG deal. Think about it. This isn't a perfect example, but
let's imagine that the average person on this Celts mailing list is
6-feet tall and still plays a little pickup basketball. Now what if your
coach told you to guard someone equally as athletic as you who is 6-6
and can shoot? Fuhgettabout, right? Factoring in his age and his
development since the Olympics (for goodness sake he was just a teenager
then) Yao Ming still seems like a no-brainer, eventual #1 overall pick. 

	Watching the Lakers cruise through the playoffs is getting me down that
Boston didn't win a shot at a player of that caliber. A Celtics-Lakers
matchup would have been fascinating to watch if we added Curry or Ming
and they grew into their full potential. I guess we just have to hope we
find the next Karl Malone AND the next Kevin Garnett/Kobe out of our
draft position. ;-)


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http://slate.msn.com/tagteam/entries/01-05-18_106212.asp
By Robert Weintraub

Since the day Chinese giant Yao Ming blocked 12 shots in a half at the
1998 Asian Junior Championships, he has been front and center in the
minds of NBA general managers intent on importing him to the United
States. The hype increased after the 7-foot-5-inch Yao swatted Gary
Payton and a couple of other Dream Teamers in the opening 90 seconds of
their encounter this past summer in Sydney. Talent scouts with household
names, such as Michael Jordan and Bill Walton, gave him rave reviews,
and he has since been anointed as basketball's next big thing by ESPN:
The Magazine, HBO, and the NBA's house organ, Inside Stuff. Although
Yao's team, the Shanghai Sharks, refused to release him last week for
this year's NBA draft, it's only a matter of time before he comes
stateside—no doubt accompanied by publicity shots of him sharing some
Kung Pao chalupa with compatriot Wang Zhizhi in Big D. Will the piercing
of the silk curtain change the NBA?

Not anytime soon. All the drooling makes you wonder if anyone actually
watched the next 8 1/2 minutes of the U.S.-China game, during which Yao
picked up four fouls (a feat matched not only by Wang but also by the
third 7-footer in China's lineup, Menk Bateer. That's 12 fouls in 10
minutes by 21 feet of player.) This wasn't Shaq, Duncan, or Hakeem that
Yao was hacking, either—it was a quasi-healthy Alonzo Mourning and a
fully healthy Vin Baker—your average Tuesday night in the NBA pivot. And
in China's next Olympic contest, New Zealand outscored the Big Red
Machine in the lane despite not having a player taller than 6 feet 9
inches.

The best thing that can be said about Yao is that he's only 20, which
means he still has plenty of time to improve his game. His footwork is
awkward to the point of clumsiness, he has little or no post game, he
doesn't have a soft shooting touch, and he combines a Mr. Punyverse
physique with a lack of aggressiveness. Essentially, he's Ralph Sampson
without the experience of big-time competition. The last thing Yao needs
at this stage is more time in China, where his main competition next
season will come from a handful of Americans that couldn't make it in
the Philippines leagues.

Still, Yao does have good defensive instincts, and he is a natural
shot-blocker. And anyone 7 feet 5 inches will get his share of garbage
baskets when not forced into the auxiliary parking lots by the musclemen
around the league. But if you have a lottery pick in 2002, do you really
want to use it on a player who won't be able to help you on both sides
of the floor for several seasons, if ever?

Yes. Despite his lantern jaw and fearsome glare, Yao is quite affable,
with passable English and a coachable personality. Unlike Wang, who
mouths platitudes about wanting to improve the standard of play in his
country, Yao genuinely means it, and he will assist the cultural
exchange programs that are sure to be a byproduct of his coming west.
More to the point, his larger-than-life persona should lead mainland
China and the greater Chinese diaspora to embrace American sports in the
same all-encompassing manner in which they have embraced the other
tendrils of U.S. popular culture. This will allow David Stern and his
fellow opium traders to increase their presence in China from a mere
toehold of pirated Bulls jerseys to a full-fledged money-printing
machine. It can't be long until Yao Ming bobble-head dolls are included
in Happy Meals at McDonald's throughout the Middle Kingdom.

But until Yao shows up in the NBA, it's Wang's World. So far, Wang
hasn't served as much more than a 7-foot-1-inch totem of inclusiveness
on the Mavericks bench. His flaws are many—poor footwork, iffy
fundamentals (besides shooting), horrible rebounding given his size.
Equally troubling is his attitude. Wang is nowhere near as popular as
Yao in China, mainly due to his standoffish personality and perceived
arrogance. Wang's selfishness and me-first attitude may not stand out in
an NBA locker room, but since he needs to work extremely hard merely to
become decent, the Mavs had better hope he left his ego with customs.

On the positive side, Wang's game is suited to the wide-open style of
the Western Conference. He runs the floor extremely well, and with his
sweet touch he could be devastating spotting up in transition and
shooting over smaller wing defenders. He has the tools to be a decent
role player in Dallas.

But don't expect an influx of last-name-firsts into the league after
Wang and Yao. Menk, the third member of China's so-called "Great Wall,"
is barely more mobile than the centuries-old edifice. When Menk tangled
with Moses Malone a couple of years ago in an NBA Legends tour of China,
it wasn't immediately apparent which player had 20 years of service
behind him. Hu Weidong, a tall, rangy gunner who was the 1999 Asian
Championship MVP, might be able to serve as a Dell Curry type, coming in
when a long ball is required, but he's otherwise too slow to compete.
And forget about any other perimeter players across the continent,
including those from "West Asia," as the Middle East is known. Compared
to the hyperspeed of the NBA, they may as well be playing underwater. It
will require far earlier and more frequent competition with Americans
for the next generation of Asian players to be able to keep up with the
Allen Iversons of the world.

There is one intriguing possibility, one shrouded in mystery, hidden in
about the only place NBA scouts haven't set up permanent base camp—North
Korea. His name is Ri Myung Hoon, and he is 7 feet 9 inches, which would
make him the tallest player in league history. Like Bigfoot, he is
glimpsed only occasionally, on grainy videotape, which feeds his myth.
But if Yao is a lottery pick, surely Ri is a project some team will
undertake. Despite the fact that it is probably as difficult for Ri to
get a good meal as a decent pickup game, he has proven himself ready for
the big time in at least one area: He has said that he wants to be known
by the Great Satanic name of Michael. Michael Ri. Even in the most
hermetically sealed of despotic states, His Airness is the real power on
the throne.