Sacbee: Yao and Rockets article

Pressure and poise

The Houston Rockets, the NBA and China are counting on Yao Ming, and the rookie is handling the responsibilities well.

By Scott Howard-Cooper -- Bee Staff Writer

Published 2:15 a.m. PST Tuesday, December 10, 2002

HOUSTON -- There is a red bracelet on his left forearm, and he doesn't want to say anymore that it's a reminder of his girlfriend back home. Things have gotten that bad that quickly.
Before, he would answer. Now, there is a retreat to maintain some privacy, and the rookie season has barely started. A writer has been dispatched from China to track him for two months, which says nothing of countless others on shorter visits or already posted in the United States.

The usual NBA media, happily finding a big name who doesn't use the training room as a hiding place, long ago exhausted the notion of an original question. But mini-news conferences still come before games in larger cities and, in a nod to the large Asian population as a big buildup, there was a teleconference with Bay Area outlets before the first game at Golden State. The smaller fishbowl is brought out for other stops.

"Other than basketball, I just want to lead a normal life," Yao Ming said.

Someone on the other side of the small table wondered if it's possible.

"There is no point in asking that question," he replied.

That would be a no. And so when he was asked in late November, five weeks into life as a Houston Rocket, a life unlike any other in NBA history, about the red bracelet, Yao politely in Chinese declined to answer. And then his translator, Colin Pine, relayed it to the English-speaking reporters.

The day the team's Spanish-language radio outlet jumps in, and another translation is needed, it's a coin flip whether the starting center makes tipoff.

The 22-year-old Yao has so far handled the demands with an understanding of his unique moment in history, grace and the proper amount of humor. In other words, better than a lot of American-bred stars who bristle at the scrutiny and marketing demands from one country.

"I don't know how he's sleeping at night," teammate Moochie Norris said. "I know if it was me, I'd be losing it."

"The pressures on him versus other No. 1 picks," said Tim McDougall, the Rockets' vice president of marketing, "it's not even comparable."

The only things at stake are the hopes of the world's most populous nation, the dreams of a league figuring it can sell a few T-shirts with the 1.3 billion possibilities in China and a large portion of the path of a franchise.

China wants to make a mark. The Olympics are in Beijing in 2008, and Yao has raised expectations. The Yao phenomenon is streaking skyward now, but it was evident as far back as the 2000 Games in Sydney, when representatives and visitors with the U.S. delegation began raving about a prospect who had coordination and a delicate shooting touch to go with a 7-foot-5, 296-pound frame.

So great is the country's continued role in his development that Yao missed almost all of training camp to stay with the national team for a Far East regional tournament against competition that would get smoked in a lot of college pickup games. To China, coming to the NBA is a great way to get better for future international play.

"It's our pride and duty to be good and represent the country," said Clippers forward Wang Zhizhi, who two seasons ago became the first to come from China when he joined the Mavericks.

The Rockets want to win. In a league of shrinking possibilities at center, they have the new prototype: massive size, the ability to turn and face the basket and either shoot over his man or see over the entire defense to pass, a feathery touch and skills as a shot-blocker, all before he even hits a weight program hard.

Post defenders who move him off the block with ease now will soon be moving to find a Plan B. Without a training camp, he is already at 11.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.47 blocks in just 22 minutes and a league-leading 61.5 percent from the field as the Kings visit Compaq Center tonight.

The NBA wants to make a dent. That league? International marketing? And to get a chance to plant a flag inside the country with the most people? Yeah, maybe this is slightly a big moment for them.

"I can't speak for Mr. (David) Stern (the commissioner) at all," McDougall said. "But I would suspect Yao makes those plans much easier to turn into reality if he is successful here. I know for sure that we are very excited that a couple hundred million people are watching our games on TV."

The media want his time. In two languages.

"He's a very humble person. Very humble," Rockets director of media relations Nelson Luis said. "He's the kind of guy who, really, if he could kind of be in obscurity, he would do it. Just go out and play basketball. But he understands, and I think he realizes it's a huge story. In about a two-week span, he was in the Wall Street Journal and Sports Illustrated's cover. He knows the implications of his play."

Yao himself?

"Every day," he said through Pine, "I look forward to the time I get to go to sleep in the evening."

To handle the fullcourt press of his time.

"The best method is to sleep," Yao said.

OK, but other than sleep?

"I really think sleep is the best method to deal with the pressure."

The Rockets have tried to do their part, eliminating Yao's media availability following the game-day shootarounds. Which means reporters have access to him only twice, before and after the games. Off-day practices mean he has to answer questions only once.

How are you adjusting to life in the United States?

How do you like the food here?

What has been the toughest part about the NBA?

"I think what has probably, more than anything, caught him by surprise is how every single thing about him is amazing to everybody in the media here," Luis said.

Either that or how it really is possible to work sleep into every answer.

Whether the demands will slow after the first swing through the league or increase as his play continues to impress remains to be seen, but Yao has handled the attention without any outward signs of annoyance or, worse, stress that would affect his development. Those who see him behind the scenes say the same thing, leaving everyone to wonder if he will change in time, either from becoming jaded or from simply having it up to here with the questions.

So far, so great. He talks with teammates and Rockets staffers without Pine present. Sometimes operating without the safety net of a translator/Vaudeville partner, Yao answers some media inquiries in English, showing years of schooling. He has been engaging in any language, like the time Pine flubbed a translation and Yao reached over with a patronizing pat on the back and with a "Wake up, wake up" broke up the room. Good thing they were sitting at the time or a playful Yao hip check might have broken Pine's ribs.

Another time, when asked about a column by a female San Francisco writer that he was becoming something of a sex symbol, Yao allowed an impish grin and said, "I don't know. At least I'm not worried about it." And Charles Barkley's promise to kiss Kenny Smith's butt if Yao scored 19 points was incorrectly relayed to Yao that he would be the recipient. Better stop at 18 in that case, he responded without hesitation, in full deadpan. Letterman on Line 2, sir.

That more hasn't gotten lost in the translation is the surprising part. Yao prefers the Shanghai dialect and speaks it with his parents, while his 6-3 mother lives with him in Houston and his 6-7 father plans visits from China.

But Baltimore-bred Pine, an English major at James Madison before spending three years years living in Taipei, is proficient in Mandarin, a bigger difference than, say, the contrast in inflections between someone from Boston and someone from Alabama. So Mandarin it is.

The trailblazers didn't face anything like this. Wang was the first but also more curiosity than anything, a ninth or 10th man in Dallas when it came down to it. Coming off as more distant, and as a bit player who would have been entirely nondescript if not for the passport, neither side seemed to mind foregoing interviews. Mengke Bateer came next, originally to the Nuggets, and faded to the background even faster, eventually landing this season in San Antonio.

But Yao hit Texas with massive hype, took on all the demands, and then took on the league. Twenty-seven points, 18 rebounds and three blocks against David Robinson, Tim Duncan and a very good Spurs defense. Sixteen points, 13 rebounds and three blocks three nights later on the deep Hornets frontline. Eighteen and 12 in the second night of a back-to-back against Philadelphia, making a double double commonplace six weeks into a rookie season that even the Rockets concede was supposed to include a much tougher learning curve.

The next thing anyone knows, he's immediately being embraced by teammates and surpassing expectations. That's the real accomplishment, considering the buildup that came with his arrival in a town that is not new to great big men. Hakeem Olajuwon was a Rocket, and Moses Malone before him, and Elvin Hayes was a Houstonian all the way back to college. So a rookie has not exactly landed amid basketball novices, and still he impresses. Yao-za, Yao-za, Yao-za.

Two countries track the progress. A star guard, Steve Francis, already in place, a team besieged by injuries last season develops along with him, making early playoff statements. Back home, meanwhile, "Everyone wants to know about him," said Gao Jiajia, nearing the end of her two-month stint for Nanfang Sports. "They always want to know."

There's a lot of that going on around these parts as well, with no limit to what could come next, for Yao and the Rockets as a whole. So much for a normal life anytime soon. Sleep well.



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About the Writer
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The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at (916) 321-1210 or showard-cooper@sacbee.com.


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