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ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Yao Ming: The Next Asian Superstar?
(Updated
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:38:56 AM)
he sweetest moment for Asian men in American sports came on June 26, 2002 at Madison Square Garden. The Houston Rockets had just spent their number one overall draft pick on 7-5 Chinese center Yao Ming over 6-2 Duke guard Jay Williams. The largely black crowd of draft prospects and their contingents had reason to be displeased. For the past quarter century black athletes had dominated pro basketball and they saw Yao as a subversive force, an alien threat. Even Charles Barkley -- Yao's basketball idol -- sniped at Houston's choice and hinted at bad consequences.
David or Goliath?
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What's wrong with this picture?
In the global sports scene blacks have come to represent all-around athletic prowess. Asian athletes, on the other hand, have been painted as disciplined and skilled but lacking power and size, able to excel only in sports no one cares about. For an Asian to get the top pick in a black-dominated sport was heresy.
To appreciate what Yao represents to Asian American men requires a quick trip down memory lane. And we do mean quick. The lane is short and sparsely populated.
In the beginning there was Sammy Lee, the first Asian American to win Olympic gold. He did it with 10-meter platform diving at the 1948 London games and again in 1952 at the Helsinki games. Not exactly a marquee sport, but inspiring nevertheless in a time when Asian Americans hardly knew what to call themselves.
Then came Michael Chang whose 1989 French Open championship has passed into tennis legend. Cramping and down two sets to Ivan Lendl in the round of 16, the 17-year-old phenom dared to discombobulate the Ice Man with moonballs and an underhanded serve. The ploy worked. The proof that Chang's nerves and speed were real came in the classic 5-set finals victory against Stefan Edberg. But Chang's recent ignomious descent into tennis twilight raises the suspicion that he simply lacks the size and power to stay in the power game.
It wasn't until Hideo Nomo joined the Dodgers in 1995 that an Asian athlete was able to inspire sustained frenzy in one of the big-three sports. Nomo's martian windup and delivery proved so effective that he set Dodgers strikeout records, made the All-Stars and inspired Nomomania.
By 2001 when Ichiro Suzuki joined the Mariners, Asian imports taking Rookie of the Year honors had practically become a Major League tradition. But none had done it with Ichiro's flair or sunglasses. It wasn't enough that he led the game in hitting and basestealing, he seemed determined to make it look easy. Sex appeal had finally come to the image of the Asian male athlete.
But the image still lacked something in many AA minds. Sure, for a leadoff hitter Ichiro hit his share of home runs, but he was known for speed and finesse, not power. Having chafed so long under stereotypes denying them size and strength, AA men longed for a star who could knock those assumptions back into the last millennium.
Eyes turned longingly to football as the obvious arena for the ultimate stereotype smasher -- and saw only Dat Nguyen of the Dallas Cowboys. As a promising linebacker, Nguyen doesn't enjoy the cache of a star offensive back. And at 5-11 and 240 pounds, Nguyen isn't exactly in the 99th percentile in terms of size and power among football players.
Asian American eyes were drawn to basketball by a trio of giants known collectively as "The Great Wall". They were very big for the Chinese national team. First to make his NBA debut was Wang Zhizhi (7-1, 220 pounds) in April 2001. As a center for the Dallas Mavericks he has averaged 5.5 points per 10.6 minutes of playing time per game. A respectable stat for any rookie but disappointing for those who had hoped for an instant Asian star. Then came Mengke Bateer (6-11, 290 pounds) in February of 2002. Despite 15.1 minutes of play per game as a center for the Denver Nuggets, he too disappointed some with an average 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Enter the Dragon. At a height variously described as 7-5 or 7-6, Yao Ming, 22, is at once the tallest and youngest of the trio. In the past two years his weight shot up from 255 to 295 pound -- and he's still growing. His gifts extend beyond size, however. He moves a foot shorter. Born to a pair of former stars for the Chinese national teams, his court instincts and skills are practically dyed-in-the-wool.
And yet Yao isn't a lock to defy the darker prognostications of his prospects as a Rocket. He was regularly outplayed by Wang Zhizhi when both were playing in China. Even with Yao, Wang and Mengke, the Chinese national team routinely lost to second-tier powers like France and Lithuania. Yao has never gone up against the likes of Shaquille O'Neal. The adjustment to life in the U.S. will be long and difficult. In short, Yao Ming is ideally positioned to become the biggest disappointment in the history of Asians in American sports.
Is Yao Ming the next Asian superstar? Or is he more likely to reinforce the image of Asian men as also-rans in power sports?
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WHAT YOU SAY
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Dang Wang,
You need to chill. Just let us watch how Ming fares in the upcoming season, and then we will make our judgement on him. Hakeem Oluajwan isn't big either (I know for fact cos I met him in person), but he totally contained Shaq when he played for Orlando. Hakeem is only 225# and 7'0".
FOP
Thursday, July 25, 2002 at 09:43:36 (PDT)
To I don't think so (maybe you are Dang Wang, or maybe not)
I do think so. Kenny Smith is short and also very skinny. I stand 5'11" and he is definitely shorter than me cos I needed to look "down" on him when I asked for his autograph. Maybe K.S. is not 5'8", but he is definitely under 6'0". So is Vernon Maxwell. He is only 5'10". I am sure cos I met both players in person.
I also know that quite a few people notice this height discrepancy. You are right, if someone bring on a class action law suit against NBA for fudging height stats. NBA will be screwed. However, it requires a substantial collective effort first.
FOP
Thursday, July 25, 2002 at 09:38:33 (PDT)
Yao Ming is going to be wearing #11, and it will have his full name on the back. Upper deck released a bunch of Yao Ming cards, autographed by the big guy himself. Their retail value is about $150.00 each.
Houston Rockets Fan
Thursday, July 25, 2002 at 07:46:42 (PDT)
Dan Wang
you said,
at 7"5 yao ming only has 7"1 wingspan??!?!
dang, that brizilian guy drafted this year stands only 6"10 and has 7"4 wingspan!!!
mike tyson is only 5"10 or 5"11, and has 7" wingspan!!!
comment,
you guyz are pathetic, you say that mike tyson has a wingspan of 7 foot. You must be physco, if he does, than he must looks more like a monkey and his arm would be down to his knees when he is standing. Won't people laugh at him then. You guyz aren't making any sense and I don't know where you gets idea from.
Where did you guy get stupid stories that yao has wingspan of 7-1. And some of you mention that yao sucks and he not gonna make it into the pros. Who are you to judge on wheather he becomes a pro or not. Trust me, he has more chance to become a pro. If you guy are asain and saying all this, you are a disgrace. B/C Vince Carter is black and a professional player, two times all star said that Ming is gonna be a pro. So if any of you asain here think otherwise. It is shame on you [but it's your own judgement and opinion and you free to have it]. You are a disgrace to us. I have confident in this guy.
Here is a report of what Vince Carter said about Yao Ming;
REPORT.
Vince Carter: Yao Ming will be successful in NBA
Wed Jul 24, 9:29 AM ET
BEIJING - The Toronto Raptors' Vince Carter faced off against Houston Rockets top draft choice Yao Ming on Wednesday and predicted that China's new NBA sensation will be successful in the pros because of his height and skills.
Carter, visiting Beijing, joined Yao to play a two-on-two half-court game Wednesday at the stadium of the Chinese National Training Administration. Each had a tiny child as a teammate.
"He's going to be successful," the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Carter as saying, citing the Chinese player's height and skills.
The 2.25-meter (7-foot-4-inch) Yao was the No. 1 overall NBA draft pick last month, tapped by the Rockets. He hasn't reported yet, pending final permission from his Chinese club, the Shanghai Sharks, and the Chinese Basketball Administration.
"If you give me three to four weeks to see how he plays, and how he adjusts, I can tell you (if) he is good or not," Carter said. "There are a lot of people from the world playing in the NBA, and lots of people struggled at first."
Carter recalled his first impression of Yao.
"I said to myself, `He's tall. I'm going to dunk over him,'" Carter said. But, he quipped, "Now I don't want to."
DoubleD (AM)
Thursday, July 25, 2002 at 07:32:47 (PDT)
dang:
Dang you're stupid!!! Yao Ming has a 7'4 wingspan, the same as Nene Hilario a.k.a. "the brazilian guy". Check out NBA.com regarding the World Basketball Championships.
Joey:
A long neck? He's not a giraffe. Kevin Garnett, among other black NBA big men have "long necks". We never dog them about being disproportionate. Why Yao? The Chinese issue again?
On another note: The farther north you go, it's been generally shown that limbs will lessen in length. In equatorial and tropical regions, one can expect long apendages. Ex. Ethiopians have really long arms and legs while Eskimos have stumps.
Perhaps if Yao hailed from Indonesia, he'd have a 8'0 wingspan.
chinatown
Wednesday, July 24, 2002 at 21:52:44 (PDT)
Kenny Smith is 6'1", not 6'3", and not 5'8". he is the same height as I am
Jared
Wednesday, July 24, 2002 at 16:11:29 (PDT)
Dan Wang,
Impressive analysis. Where did you play? Your name sounds very familiar.
china hoops
Wednesday, July 24, 2002 at 13:45:24 (PDT)
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