|
|
|
|
|
GOLDSEA |
ASIAMS.NET |
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 booed. They 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?
|
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 at 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?
This interactive article is closed to new input.
Discussions posted during the past year remain available for browsing.
CONTACT US
|
ADVERTISING INFO
© 1996-2013 Asian Media Group Inc
No part of the contents of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission.
|
|
|
|
WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
I just remembered that F-C Marcus Camby got traded to the Denver Nuggets so he would definitely not be traded for Wang, but the Knicks do need a center and/or a forward so there's a good chance he will end up there equally with the Warriors, Blazers, and Heat.
Sorry, I just forget, but it is true that Wang will leave the Mavericks (about 99% says his advisor, Simon Chan); the Mavericks will not want to risk losing the privilege of drafting another Chinese player in their club, which means that they definitely got their eyes on another prospect who's probably better than Wang.
International flavor in the NBA
Sunday, September 01, 2002 at 06:58:16 (PDT)
[68.96.110.59]
In the Championship game, Yao scored 10 points in a 19 point defeat of China against the U.S. What did you expect. They were playing against 18 year olds.
The U.S. team all had players with at least three years of experience in the NBA. Michael Finley, Shawn Marion, and the others aren't exactly teenagers, you know. They're old. Menke Bateer who tallied 19 points was the oldest at 26 years old, but that's basically it. He did better than the others because he had some experience in the NBA. At least 25 games. Well, the U.S. had Williams but he did not play that much more like 2 minutes.
The game would have been different though with Wang Zhizhi in the Line up for China. They really needed him.
The U.S. team were panicking though in the beginning. One could see their frustration.
It was obvious that they were trying to hurt Yao with their elbows.
We're looking at potential here. And it's hard to deny his potential. With Rudy Tomjanovich's training, he will be an excellent center.
Teenagers versus All stars. Come on. Of course experience will win over.
Yao has potential
Saturday, August 31, 2002 at 20:13:01 (PDT)
[68.96.110.59]
"you're just looking at a fellow native mainlainder and assuming he will succeed because you're just another blind chinese national and buying into all the propoganda. that's not only irrational, but also sad. really sad. "
-You just got smacked.
and you're just a another anti-Chinese person who buys into the anti-yao propaganda and the inferiority of chinese products. that's not only irrational, but also sad. really sad.
silly hypocritical imbecile. lol
chinatown
Saturday, August 31, 2002 at 11:38:27 (PDT)
[67.98.161.29]
Oopps! I just realized my mistake. Yao scored 38 points, 8 blocks, and a double digit assists against Algeria not a European team in 29 minutes. If he had put 2 more blocks, he would have became the first player to record a triple double in international competition. Not bad considering that no one has done it before. It was one of the most memorable moment in international play.
On Saturday, the U.S.(2-0) takes on China (1-1). China lost to Germany (1-1) by 9 points while the U.S. is undefeated.
Wang Zhizhi Fan
Saturday, August 31, 2002 at 07:40:01 (PDT)
[68.96.110.59]
Everyone's going to get dunked on sooner or later. Heck even Shaq got dunked on at times or got swatted by a 6'1 guy.
Why is this guy still talking about the exhibition game which took place a week ago? It's an exhibition game. Just an exhibition game. China couldn't care less if they win or not. They were just there for a warmup. Comparing the Chinese team to the U.S. is like comparing the NBA to college ball. At least that's what the NBA compares the CBA to. Even the Knicks got beaten by 40 points twice by one of the worse teams in the NBA. And they're an NBA team, which means that should not happen.
That hasn't stop Ming from scoring 30 points in their most recent match against a European team.
News Flash
Simon Chen, Wang Zhizhi's adviser stated that the Mavs might dump him for a trade with the Knicks, Raptors, and Warriors. All of these franchises have big men that they are unhappy with and like to dump for Wang. Among the many other teams, the Knicks who were the most interested in getting Yao is the sole franchise to show the most interest in him.
Everbody knows that the Knicks is unhappy with Marcus Camby, their starting center. It is a great possibility that the Knicks will trade him for Wang.
Don't be surprise if Wang wears a Knick uniform to replace Camby as the starting center. Afterall, the Knicks could use some help in offense and passing skills and some attendance boost from the Asian-American community in New York; everybody knows how many Asians in New York. Wang will be a major hit there and he knows that.
For those of you who are expecting Wang to play in the World Championships, don't get high hopes. Because of his actions to not join the Chinese national team's training camp, he has been banned in joining them for the rest of the year. Everybody knew that was coming anyway so no big surprise there.
I'm happy for Wang that many other NBA teams want him bad!
Wang will switch teams- to be a Knick most likely
Saturday, August 31, 2002 at 06:44:02 (PDT)
[68.96.110.59]
yeah im gonna look at a crystal ball...lets see what it says "yao ming is gonna be the best center in the league in a year...MVP MVP MVP"...cooool...the only sad thing is you who got no life but to write all this stuff on the message board...man i really dont wanna come back here so stop writing back to me
phil the thrill
Saturday, August 31, 2002 at 06:09:51 (PDT)
[216.194.4.169]
AP English is a breeze. Anyways, despite a performance that was touted as sub par against Germany (16 points, 5 boards, 1 block??? sub par??? wtf?),
Yao definitely redeemed himself today against Algeria. 38 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 blocks in only 29 minutes of play. DAMN! That's quite outrageous, if you get my drift. To put it quite simply, Yao dominated like no one else in this tournament so far. With just two more blocks, he would have become the first player to amass a triple double in a WBC game.
Can people tell what quotes are real and not real? Evidently not! :
quite the hypocrite...
Davis said that for the moment, he was not at Smit's level, but in time, he would certainly be able to develop that ability. In the present, Ming already has many things going for him such as his range and passing ability.
Let's save the Yao bashing for tomorrow. Today, he silenced all challengers, but on Saturday, he faces team USA again. That's when it will count. And who knows? Expect the unexpected (how very cliche').
chinatown
Friday, August 30, 2002 at 23:43:12 (PDT)
[67.98.161.162]
Say what you want, but stop being ignorant. ,
"Just how many people knew that Shaq was a number 1 pick. Not many."
the whole world knew shaq was going to be the number 1 pick. shows how little you know! orlando even had his jersey made before draft day. you're an idiot if you didn't know that.
Wow, you are incredibly stupid
Friday, August 30, 2002 at 11:26:28 (PDT)
[66.107.44.253]
You just got smacked.
He has that right to state his opinion, if you don't like it. Well TOO BAD. What is wrong with have some positive things to say about his fellow asain people. He at least don't doubt Yao Ming instead only giving supporting him. Good for you if you don't like it.
Azn-Pride
Friday, August 30, 2002 at 08:56:30 (PDT)
[162.83.147.191]
NEWEST COMMENTS |
EARLIER COMMENTS
|