What they said: May thru August 2004
Tuesday, August 17th, 2004
by John
“He is a man of integrity and has good sense of humour. He is the perfect one to be the flag-bearer.”
– Chinese Olympic delegation official Xiao Tian regarding Yao being chosen to be the flag-bearer for his country duing the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, 8/9/04
“He’s pretty much what you expect. He’s so big and I think I learned what I have to look forward to in the league. He’s a tough guy to have to face for your first NBA center.”
– 7’5″ Dallas Maverick rookie center Pavel Podkolzine, after facing Yao in an exhibition game, 7/01/04
“If he had it, no one could stop it. Absolutely no one.
“I don’t think he really understands how to use his height when he’s in close at the basket. He wants to come out to 15 feet, where he can shoot over anybody. He can do that, but if he can get in closer to the basket and then operate from there, taking the six-foot shot, the high-percentage shot, that would really help his game. He doesn’t play the game that way at this point in his career. I think he could be very effective (if he played that way).”
“It’s like he’s doing it the hard way, you know. He’s not using his strengths to his best advantage. But that’s not his fault. Somebody has to show him.”
“I could help him. Patrick (Ewing) could show him. Patrick was effective. But Patrick also shot a lot of jumpers, so maybe Patrick isn’t focusing on that one specific (inside) aspect of his game. And when you have that kind of size, I think that’s what it is all about.
“I would imagine that (Yao) must get frustrated because people expect so much from him. He hasn’t been able to deliver. I can see he doesn’t understand the dynamics here. He’s very intelligent, he’s a good athlete, and he has a great attitude. He can be a great player, but nobody has taken him through those steps yet.”
“(The sky hook) is not sexy. Everybody who plays wants to be like Michael Jordan or shoot 3-pointers or be driving and dunking.
“Backing in and working the post, getting a high-percentage six-foot shot, has no visual appeal. But it really affects the bottom line — whether you win or lose. And that’s most important. It takes awhile until (players like Yao) have an understanding of the game that goes that deep.”
– Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, on the benefits of Yao adding the sky hook to his arsenal, 5/09/04
“He is a man of integrity and has good sense of humour. He is the perfect one to be the flag-bearer.”
- – Chinese Olympic delegation official Xiao Tian regarding Yao being chosen to be the flag-bearer for his country duing the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, 8/9/04
“He’s pretty much what you expect. He’s so big and I think I learned what I have to look forward to in the league. He’s a tough guy to have to face for your first NBA center.”
- – 7’5″ Dallas Maverick rookie center Pavel Podkolzine, after facing Yao in an exhibition game, 7/01/04
“If he had it, no one could stop it. Absolutely no one.
“I don’t think he really understands how to use his height when he’s in close at the basket. He wants to come out to 15 feet, where he can shoot over anybody. He can do that, but if he can get in closer to the basket and then operate from there, taking the six-foot shot, the high-percentage shot, that would really help his game. He doesn’t play the game that way at this point in his career. I think he could be very effective (if he played that way).”
“It’s like he’s doing it the hard way, you know. He’s not using his strengths to his best advantage. But that’s not his fault. Somebody has to show him.”
“I could help him. Patrick (Ewing) could show him. Patrick was effective. But Patrick also shot a lot of jumpers, so maybe Patrick isn’t focusing on that one specific (inside) aspect of his game. And when you have that kind of size, I think that’s what it is all about.
“I would imagine that (Yao) must get frustrated because people expect so much from him. He hasn’t been able to deliver. I can see he doesn’t understand the dynamics here. He’s very intelligent, he’s a good athlete, and he has a great attitude. He can be a great player, but nobody has taken him through those steps yet.”
“(The sky hook) is not sexy. Everybody who plays wants to be like Michael Jordan or shoot 3-pointers or be driving and dunking.
“Backing in and working the post, getting a high-percentage six-foot shot, has no visual appeal. But it really affects the bottom line — whether you win or lose. And that’s most important. It takes awhile until (players like Yao) have an understanding of the game that goes that deep.”
- – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, on the benefits of Yao adding the sky hook to his arsenal, 5/09/04