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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
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
Kerry, for the most part, only tall foreigners get picked. There are always exceptions, but these foreigners almost never become true big name stars. Ex. Raul Lopez from Spain, Carlos Arroya, etc...
Steve Nash can be considered a foreigner...in that he's not from the US, but Canada is really not a very alien place, so it's not a big deal.
China does have some budding stars in the works right now. With the NBA's focus on height, let's go and talk about the big men.
In the CBA, we have Sun Huo Hua, who stands a whopping 7'3.5 (7'4) and weighs 138 KGs. He was born in 1979 and plays for the Zhejiang Horses, which placed 6th in the CBA. I believe he is from Ningbo, a city in Zhejiang province.
Then we have the 9th place Jiangsu dragons with 18 year old Tang Zhendong. He stands a full 7'1 and weighs 112 KGs. I believe he is quite the player, having made it to the All-star team his second year in the league. He averaged 17.6 points along with 12.2 boards that same season.
The CBA also has a division II league. On the Shenzhen team, there is the 16 year old Huang Haibei, who stands 6'11 and weighs 220 lbs. I believe he proved himself over here in the states during a recent tournament of sorts.
Haibei has definitely shown inside prowess, as he attained the majority of his points from the inside, as a result of a ball hog teammate (Sebastian Telfair, I believe one of the top American highschoolers).
And of course, on the Henan team, there is Xue Yuyang, the 7'1 do-it-all. He weighs 205 lbs. and is about 19. He was named the Division II rookie of the year in 2001.
chinatown
Thursday, August 08, 2002 at 23:35:42 (PDT)
Kerry,
you wrote,
>>There are a [TONS] of asians that want to play basketball<<
Comment,
Yes, this is true. Theres are a lot of asain that wants to play basketball. But we're not aiming for the NBA. Most of us only play for fun.
If your reffering to TONS of asains wanting to play and tryout for the NBA. I disagree, this is not true and is only your opinion. I've Never heard of it before.
Azn-Pride
Thursday, August 08, 2002 at 17:16:11 (PDT)
Fu man,
A buff guy guarding someone whose a head taller than him. Still pretty hard, it's true. The only thing they can do effectivly in getting the rebound, playing defense is, "know how to use body". Which means a lot of pushing back and forth. This however can lead to a lot of fouls.
There aren't that many buff people in the NBA. Yao's weight is pretty much up there. For someone, you said "lanky", close to 300lbs ain't skinny. Many 7 foot player are on average 250-60 lbs and Ming weight 30-40lbs more than them. Hakeem for example weight ONLY 255 and made an impact for the Houston. He's not buff at all. He weights less and are shorter than Ming and made impact, so why can't Ming do it as well? I think he has a chance, we'll see when the season comes.
Another View
Thursday, August 08, 2002 at 17:05:06 (PDT)
FOP, thanks for the comp and let's not forget the sweep of the Lakers by Tim Duncan in '99 (I know what happened to the Spurs in '01 but that's another issue).
I have to disagree with all those doubters that said Yao won't succeed because he's too soft. How would you categorize centers such as Olajuwan, Robinson, and Duncan? They're definitely finesse centers and not brutes in the tradition of Shaq and Wilt. Yes, Yao is not in the same company of the aforementioned centers; not yet anyway, but give him sometimes and we shall see. The whole NBA and not just Houston is trying to solve the riddle of a Shaq. They all know the answer but don't have the tool to do it yet. That is until along came the Yao man. Everybody, including a casual observer like myself knows that the best D against Shaq is a good O. Yao is going to be a handful for all the centers in the NBA and that include Shaq because of his height and shooting range (for a big man). Shaq has no choice but to come out of the low post and play D, thereby making him less effective on weak side help out and rebounding and also less dominating on O because of possible fatigue. I know I know it seems I'm over-simplifying it a bit, but hey basketball is not rocket science. On the subject of rocket, all you doubters better watch out for the rocket man when he come to your city and making your center looks silly.
Tay Trai
Thursday, August 08, 2002 at 14:33:01 (PDT)
What is the latest info. on Wang Zhizhi? Has the Mavericks released him or what? Is he trying out for other teams now?
I really hope he plays for the Golden State Warriors.
Chinese American fan of the NBA
Thursday, August 08, 2002 at 00:44:50 (PDT)
Tay Trai,
Finally someone with common sense has spoken. I supposed no one has heard of saying "learn on the fly". He is not quite there. No problem. We did not know how to walk on day 1. Let Ming be what he would be. Hype? sure. Shaq received his but got his butt kicked in a sweep by Hakeem.
FOP
Wednesday, August 07, 2002 at 21:05:27 (PDT)
Yao Ming's shooting range is alright, but he's got s***ty post up moves for a tall guy!!!! He plays too soft.... I mean I'm a buff 5-10 guy, and whenever I play a 6-4 guy or whatever that plays like Ming (soft, perimeter center), I always take advantage of him... It seems like Ming's got no foot work and he only uses the extension of his arms. That style would work against a weak defender, but against a strong muscled player that's playing high intensity defense, it's going to be hard for him to get position. when i play, i never let the tall lanky guys get any position.... Anyway, i'd rather have a big center that stays inside the paint and be strong than be outside with the small forwards... a center should not played scared. I think Ming plays too scared. no excuse for a 7-5 guy. He needs to be aggressive and pound a bit.
Fu man
Wednesday, August 07, 2002 at 14:06:09 (PDT)
Ray,
"Another reason is because not alot of Asian-Americans even like to play basketball; most of them want to be doctors, lawyers, scientists, and etc. "
There are a ton of asians that want to play basketball, but they can't because they suck or are way too short.
"A point guard is also likely to come to the NBA with the fast and sometimes unpredictable movements of the players in the Philippines, Korea, and Japan."
LOL. don't think so. have you ever seen that league? I think you and I or anybody can star in it. average height in the phillipine league is like a whopping 6'1". And they got no handles. Turnover central.
No NBA manager will draft a foreigner under 6'6". They don't even draft anyone from Europe unless they're at elast about 6'10".
Kerry
Wednesday, August 07, 2002 at 13:51:22 (PDT)
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