Video of Hasheem & Yao on the court together
Friday, February 25th, 2011
by John
Last summer I had the opportunity to go to China and Taiwan to cover Yao’s Foundation Charity Tour. On that trip was Hasheem Thabeet, who was traded to the Rockets yesterday.
I shot lots of video of Yao and Hasheem on the court together in a Taipei gym in late July. As I watched them on the court together, a little part of me thought it was feasible one day that Yao could be a mentor of Hasheem’s on the same team, not just on a charity tour. That could happen if Yao signs with the Rockets again after this season, and the Rockets keep Thabeet.
One thing is for sure: if Thabeet can learn from Yao the same work ethic that made Yao such a good player, then Hasheem will have a chance to prove lots of his naysayers wrong.
In this video….
0:00 – Hasheem shows some athleticism as he does some spin moves to the basket.
0:54 – Yao and Hasheem take turns shooting jump hooks. Surprisingly, Hasheem shows some nice touch around the rim. Notice at the 2:23 mark how Yao gives Hasheem a tip by flicking his wrist more, presumably at the top of his jump, rather than hoisting it up, perhaps to avoid getting the shot blocked.
6:19 – Yao and Hasheem work on a variety of low post moves.
11:51 – Hasheem again shows some nice athleticism by scoring on a reverse breakaway dunk in the charity game he played in Taipei.
What’s nice to see in this video is that the Rockets FINALLY have someone who approaches Yao’s height in the middle of the lane. That’s got to be worth something.
I honestly don’t care if Hasheem becomes an option on offense for the Rockets. Houston has plenty of scorers to not require him to score. I just want him to be a defensive presence in the lane, block some shots, grab some boards, and not pick up cheap fouls. It will take some good coaching to get him to improve. Is Jack Sikma up to the task? Carroll Dawson? Hakeem Olajuwon?
Last summer I had the opportunity to go to China and Taiwan to cover Yao’s Foundation Charity Tour. On that trip was Hasheem Thabeet, who was traded to the Rockets yesterday.
I shot lots of video of Yao and Hasheem on the court together in a Taipei gym in late July. As I watched them on the court together, a little part of me thought it was feasible one day that Yao could be a mentor of Hasheem’s on the same team, not just on a charity tour. That could happen if Yao signs with the Rockets again after this season, and the Rockets keep Thabeet.
One thing is for sure: if Thabeet can learn from Yao the same work ethic that made Yao such a good player, then Hasheem will have a chance to prove lots of his naysayers wrong.
In this video….
0:00 – Hasheem shows some athleticism as he does some spin moves to the basket.
0:54 – Yao and Hasheem take turns shooting jump hooks. Surprisingly, Hasheem shows some nice touch around the rim. Notice at the 2:23 mark how Yao gives Hasheem a tip by flicking his wrist more, presumably at the top of his jump, rather than hoisting it up, perhaps to avoid getting the shot blocked.
6:19 – Yao and Hasheem work on a variety of low post moves.
11:51 – Hasheem again shows some nice athleticism by scoring on a reverse breakaway dunk in the charity game he played in Taipei.
What’s nice to see in this video is that the Rockets FINALLY have someone who approaches Yao’s height in the middle of the lane. That’s got to be worth something.
I honestly don’t care if Hasheem becomes an option on offense for the Rockets. Houston has plenty of scorers to not require him to score. I just want him to be a defensive presence in the lane, block some shots, grab some boards, and not pick up cheap fouls. It will take some good coaching to get him to improve. Is Jack Sikma up to the task? Carroll Dawson? Hakeem Olajuwon?