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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 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?
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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 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?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
The Real Realist,
You have somewhat of a point, but look at this way. China does not have good coaches, same as most Asian countries.
If China were to hire an excellent American or European coach, they would improve dramatically. Chinese coaches have been known for being too soft on their players. Most do not reinforce proper weight training and tend to focus only on offense not on both offense and defense. South Korean Soccer found this out this year and they went to further rounds that they have ever been before in the World Cup. They were much tougher. I wonder why? American and European coaches are just much more tougher. They have that win win situation kind of attitude.
Wang Fei focuses on offense too much and not enough on defense just like a typical Chinese coach. That's why you'd just be seeing players shooting everywhere with no effective result. Yao was the only guy who could play defense on the team, but he's special any way you put it.
Everyone,
About Wang Zhizhi. Expect him to get more minutes with the Clippers. The Clippers staff stated that the reason why Wang was not as effective in the court his last two seasons is that he was always in an out the court. He would play 2 minutes and get in the bunch again and again, therefore, he never got the chance to feel his surroundings. They like his size weighing now at 270 pounds at 7'1, which only indicates that he has gotten a little bit bigger. He will get more minutes. They said so. Wang also stated things about his mother country and that he of course stills loves China.
The Wang Zhi--Zhi Fan
Friday, October 25, 2002 at 06:55:26 (PDT)
[68.96.110.59]
I'm just wondering, did Michael Ri of North Korea play on the South Corean side when they beat China? I have seen South Corea, Phillipines and Japan play against China in the past. They all look like midgets compared to the Chinese players. But, that Michael Ri guy is pretty big, about the same as Wang, Yao and Bateer.
China Basketball fan
Friday, October 25, 2002 at 01:35:47 (PDT)
[64.130.235.33]
Man, this forum is one big orgy of hyperbole. Give it a rest.
Listen guys. We don't have to hurl insults or have a stroke over this. Chinese basketball has improved a great deal, but overall it's still nowhere near the level of US competition. Yao and Wang will become solid all round players, but they won't dominate the league. China will then be known for producing dependable big men (and perhaps down the lane, dependable guards and forwards... the emergence of Chen Hsin ??? at the Kings' training camp is an indication) that can contribute solid minutes. But it will stop there, at least for this and possibly the next generation. Probably no one from this generation from China will become a dominant force in the NBA, unless by some good fortune Yao Ming develops unbelievably well (i.e. bulks up to over 325 pounds w/o losing any footspeed, while at the same time maintaining or even increasing his footspeed and footwork and arsenal of post moves) into a much taller Kareem Abdul Jabbar type of center.
We'll just have to see about the last part though. But as far as I'm concerned, these are the three immutable truths:
1)Chinese basketball is still (regrettably) inferior to US basketball,
2)It will remain inferior to US basketball for at least one more generation. Afterwards, I see Chinese basketball rising to and surpassing the level of top European leagues, and then matching the US, assuming that China keeps producing size and develops an NBA style weight-training/strength coaching program.
3) Yao and Wang will have solid (if not spectacular) careers, given that they develop their strength and speed.
Now chill
Thursday, October 24, 2002 at 23:47:54 (PDT)
[128.253.186.46]
The Real Realist, let's go through your arguments one by one, to show how much of an idiot you are. You claim that at the World Championships, that the rest of the world fielded teams younger than China. OK, let's look at the U.S.: Reggie Miller, Antonio Davis, Baron Davis, to name just a few. All well past their early twenties. Let's look at Yugoslavia's best player: Vlade Divac, in his early 30s. Let's look at China's best players: Wang, Batere, Yao, Zhu: all in the early 20s.
At the World University Games, the U.S. sent a team filled with college seniors, all of whom were 22. Yao at that time was 19.
You point to a couple of good foreign players in their early 20s, like Pau Gasol. Fine, I agree with you, he is a good player. But he was never a number one draft pick, and all experts in basketball believe that Yao has immensely more potential.
As for your predictions of how much China will "suck" (and by the way, I truly admire how eloquently you speak), there is no way to decide on this but to wait and see what will happen.
However, I must point out, almost all basketball experts in the U.S., such as Larry Brown, Rudy T, to name a few, believe strongly that China will challenge the U.S. one day for basketball supremacy. So, you think you know more about basketball than them? Goes to show, you are an idiot, and are so jealous of the potential of China that it has made you extremely delusional.
Man, it is sad to see such jealous people out there such as you. You must have quite an inferiority complex. I wonder where you are from? Whereever it is, it is probably a place which has a big inferiority complex to China......Pathetic. Whereever you are from, Chinese will rule you one day.
Realist
Thursday, October 24, 2002 at 20:07:53 (PDT)
[210.0.188.194]
yao ming stunk it up in preseason. it's going to be a loooooooong season for yao fans. he's not going to do anything this year but get lousy numbers or sit on the bench. looks like houston drafted another kwame brown.
Yao's not ready 4 bigtime
Thursday, October 24, 2002 at 13:40:41 (PDT)
[66.107.44.253]
Realist,
Why do you have that name? because you're not being real at all. Perhaps the Ponderer is more suitable, but not Realist.
you wrote:
" Yao and Wang are 21 and 23, respectively. They have a long way to go. Put it another way, if the Chinese National Team played in the NCAA championships, I bet you they would win it. In fact, they defeated the U.S. at the World University Games, when the U.S. fielded an all-star college team."
All the players from the US were 20 and under. Some were even 18. Then look at the Chinese squad. There were numerous elder players . Even Yao and Wang were a lot older than the american players. Put Yao and Wang against people from their own age group, and look what happens. They got blown away by almost every team in the World Championships. China stunk it up.
you wrote:
"So, the Chinese are already beating the U.S. players of the same age."
You're not being real. You're being delusional because they were not the same age. You want to compare people accurately with their ages. Look at Pau Gasol. He's the same age, and he's light yeeeeeeeears ahead of both wang and yao. No, he's actually younger than wang.
you wrote:
"When they peak, they may be able to beat the U.S. players who are at their peak."
the chinese players just suck and don't really have that great of a potential. In 10 years, the rest of the world will also have matured, and if china can't even beat them now, they're not going to beat them in the future. almos every team in the tournament OWNED china. it would be humiliating for the chinese to have their butts whooped in their homecourt in 2008. that's only 6 years away. chinese basketball is progressing, but it's not progressing that fast. it hasn't really advanced that much since the olympics anyway. they were so hyped for sidney, but they failed to produce anything. they were hyped for the recent world championships too, but they really stunk it up badly. only a nationalistic chinese in denial would be brainwashed to believe otherwise.
you wrote:
"Again, South Korea was a fluke. Upsets happen. Or, do you believe the U.S. is worse than Spain, Argentina and Yugoslavia in basketball?"
those teams were better than the US. the recent US team was pretty weak. they tried and tried and tried, but they just had no game against the foreign powerhouses.
you wrote:
"Upsets happen."
REALITY CHECK. 1 loss, if it's close, may be an upset, but 3 times in the same tournament is not an upset. it's a BUTTWHOOPING.
You see, the points that you come up with are far from real. Get a new name.... like delusional ponderer.
the real REALIST
Wednesday, October 23, 2002 at 13:59:47 (PDT)
[66.107.44.253]
Counter Puncher, in time, all those sports you mentioned will be won by China over Korea. It is inevitable. You better enjoy it while it lasts, cause it won't......
Also, do you really believe Korea is better than China in basketball? What a joke. Let's see who wins the Asian Championships next year, which is the Olympic qualifier......Korea has no NBA players......
Realist
Wednesday, October 23, 2002 at 09:21:04 (PDT)
[218.103.248.34]
NBAAficiano,
Look, I am not saying that China is competitive with the U.S. right now. I have never said that. But give China 10 years, when Yao, Wang and Menke are in their prime. Then, China could give the U.S. a run for their money. Yao and Wang are 21 and 23, respectively. They have a long way to go.
Put it another way, if the Chinese National Team played in the NCAA championships, I bet you they would win it. In fact, they defeated the U.S. at the World University Games, when the U.S. fielded an all-star college team.
So, the Chinese are already beating the U.S. players of the same age. When they peak, they may be able to beat the U.S. players who are at their peak.
Again, South Korea was a fluke. Upsets happen. Or, do you believe the U.S. is worse than Spain, Argentina and Yugoslavia in basketball? Upsets happen. Besides, it was more that China collapsed and choked than South Korea winning.
Realist
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 at 18:31:29 (PDT)
[210.0.188.194]
Besides, it can also be thougth of as a diplomatic move in that China was playing on South Korea's home turf. Making the home team feel good was the honorable (and profitable) thing to do.
Chinatown,
OOPS.....could this be another Chinese excuse??? Could it???
Why do I think it is. Heck, whatelse is
new with the Chinese. Since basketball was the only relatively popular sport China reined suprem before South Corea knocked them off, Chinatown doesn't like it huh?
Oh nooo... now what can the Chinese beat the Coreans at?? Surely not baseball, football, rugby, hockey, volley ball, boxing, wrestling, taekwondo, judo and now not even basketball. Chinatown, why are you such a loser?? Plain and simple China lost, deal with it, better luck next time.
No need for excuses. Only the Chinese think their basketball is on par with USA, you're not even on par with second rate European teams like Germany.
Counter Punnnncher
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 at 18:06:44 (PDT)
[152.163.189.134]
china losing to korea was just one game. it happens. if it were a 7 game series, it would have been 4-1.
big deal
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 at 11:23:25 (PDT)
[66.107.44.253]
NBAficionado:
Umm...I fail to see any points on your behalf.
How did korea only manage to beat the Philippines by 1 point whereas China destroyed the same team by well over 40?
If we acknowledge Asian competition to be inferior to the rest of the world, then naturally, relatively successful players in international play ought to dominate the Asian games.
Menk and Yao played because their contract agreements with the NBA stipulated this fact. This is particularly true of Yao, who had not signed a contract prior to the Asian Games. There had been a convenant established with the Houston Rockets that he would participate in major events for team China such as the Olympics and the Asian Games. However, there is no mention that he has to "try" -lol.
Besides, it can also be thougth of as a diplomatic move in that China was playing on South Korea's home turf. Making the home team feel good was the honorable (and profitable) thing to do.
As an added bonus, we get the opportunity to kick Wang Fei out of the coaching position.
chinatown
Monday, October 21, 2002 at 17:02:23 (PDT)
[67.98.161.206]
Realist,
I agree with you on one point. China is not focused on Asia...because they lost to Korea. How can people claim that China is internationally competitive when they couldn't even beat South Korea? How can you even think they can challenge the US when they can't even beat South Korea? I know that China has the best basketball team in Asia, but that really is not saying much. If Chinese basketball is so good, then they should be dominating and not even allow a team like South Korea to even be close. Chinese basketball still has a ways to go before it can even be competitive with 3rd to 2nd tier international teams.
China has some good men, but you can't start Yao, Menk and Wang all at the same time. Plus, Wang has officially been kicked off the Chinese national team. China needs to develop much better guards and more athletic forwards to compete internationally. Just having Yao is not enough to lift them much higher than a team like South Korea. Just having height is not gonna do. When I watched "highlights" of the China-SK final, I noticed the guards and forwards for both teams were not very smooth and ultra-athletic like you see in the US college teams. China is likely to send more big men to the NBA in the future because everyone loves height, but I seriously doubt there will be any guards or athletic small forward types on the horizon.
I'm excited by Yao joining the Rockets, but I seriousy believe we're only gonna see 7-foot Chinese in the NBA. Honestly, I did not see any athletic looking players except for Yao on the court for the Chinese team.
NBAficionado
Monday, October 21, 2002 at 15:51:05 (PDT)
[63.206.24.50]
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