How the Draft looks from China
Far Post returns with Q’s and A’s
By Alan Paul
As you all can probably imagine, the selections of Yi Jianlin and Sun Yue in last week’s Draft are being treated as big, big news here in China. Interestingly, the press either doesn’t seem to realize (doubtful) or chooses to ignore (much more likely) that as a second-round pick, Sun is not guaranteed a roster spot. He is being written about as a sure thing, China’s fifth NBA player (after Wang Zhizhi, Mangke Bateer, Yao Ming and Yi).
As for Yi, they seem to be downplaying his unhappiness with the Bucks. I’m reading about it on American websites but so much in Chinese press, at least not yet. It was, however, reported that he was disappointed not the selected by a team such as “run and fire” Golden State Warriors.
It seems like a big, big mistake to me for Yi’s agents to be publicly agitating for a trade. I think Yi has the potential to be really good but it’s not a sure thing by any means. He is going to need some time and a great environment and if they create a hostile situation in which people are looking to see if he’s any good. I don’t think he needs the pressure.
Sun is interesting. A lot of people have been asking me about him. I haven’t seen him play much the last two years as he has been in Los Angeles, where his CBA team the Aoshen Olympians played in the ABA. (That’s a long and convoluted story.)
I have met Sun, however. In October, 2005, not long after arriving in Beijing, I met with him the day after his 20th birthday in an empty conference room in Aoshen’s downtown Beijing headquarters. He was in town for one day between the East Asian Games in Macou and a flight to LA, where the rest of the team had been practicing and playing for four months.
Sun entered the drafty room wearing a pair of faux spray-painted Ecko jeans and a maroon leather jacket, sporting a small cross in his left ear and a silver necklace around his neck. His hair was stylishly coiffed. I was struck by Sun’s size; he looked every bit his listed 6-7. And despite the official word, and Sun’s own admonition that he desperately need to gain weight and upper body strength, his shoulders looked broad and square, his arms anything but gangly.
“Everyone calls me Q Tip,” Sun said, surprising me by speaking in English, ignoring my Chinese teacher, whom I had brought along to interpret. “But I don’t know why.”
Sun was already being hyped as a potential NBA player, not least by his team, but even he wouldn’t go that far. “Right now I am not mature enough to play in the NBA,” he said to the interpreter, speaking Chinese again, careful to have these words properly understood. “I only hope that some day I will be.”
We will soon see if that day has come.
A day or two after the draft, Sun and Yi both held conference call interview sessions with the Chinese press. Here are some highlights.
Sun Yue comes first. He had just mentioned how he played in LA for the past two seasons and knows the city pretty well and is excited at the opportunity to remain there.
Q: How is your level of English now?
A: I’ve been in the States for two years already, and we also had American assistant coaches on the Aoshen team, my English has improved bit by bit over the past years. I can manage day to day conversations and also communication on court.
Q: Even Africa American slang?
A: I can’t say completely, but more or less. Sometimes when I don’t understand I would ask them, they’re very willing to explain to me too and I take notes. Practicing and using it repetitively helps me to remember those words better.
These questions and answers from Yi are not as classic, but still pretty good.
Q: There are a lot of young players in Jiansu who have the same dream about the NBA like you do. What advice or suggestions do you have for them?
A: I believe that everyone teenager should live to make their dream happen, everyone should strive to realize their dreams. I hope that there will be the day when their dreams come!
Q: You were still outside the doors of the NBA an hour ago, and an hour later you’ve stepped into the NBA. How did you feel before and after that hour?
A: I felt like riding on a roller-coaster, was very excited and emotional. An hour later I’m back to feeling simply nervous, getting ready for a new beginning.
27 Responses to “How the Draft looks from China”
Jul.2 at 12:35 pm
Reggie Evans says:
!
Jul.2 at 12:35 pm
Andrew says:
di yi (first)
Jul.2 at 12:37 pm
Reggie Evans says:
Sun looks like a pretty good passer from his youtube highlights. Couldn’t really tell where he was going to pass to, like you can with most players, it was a little like watching Nash. Just a little.
Jul.2 at 12:49 pm
Nadav says:
ni hui zhoung wen ma?
Jul.2 at 1:11 pm
Goody says:
Nice Chinese Nadav. I really dig this column. China loves the NBA. Yi shall see…….
Jul.2 at 1:13 pm
Mark says:
The main question is, has Sun managed to dunk over Paul Shirley in the ABA?
Jul.2 at 1:43 pm
galo says:
Nadav:
Ni hui shuo Han yu/Zhong wen ma?
Jul.2 at 2:02 pm
Nadav says:
the shuo isn’t a must.
Jul.2 at 2:45 pm
Chairmen Mao says:
yi,what you been smoking?? boy, you should be happy to hear your name called by the robot! THE TEAM PICK you NOT YOU pick THE TEAM! THIS IS WHY THERE’S A DRAFT!! yi, Remember Danny ‘the finger’ anige? did he draft you like he promised? no! he didn’t! So there’s one thing for you for to do now. Apolozie to everyone(people in milwaukee and in china) and go there play for them! you just make us(chinese) look real bad in front of the world.
Jul.2 at 3:06 pm
Greased Up Deaf Guy aka Clay Davis says:
kwan jang nim go mab sub nida korean, bitches
Jul.2 at 4:32 pm
Cheryl says:
oh, boy. i hope the n word ain’t part of the repertoire. i’m picturing an old richard pryor routine that included repeating that word over and over to viet namese immigrants. dam, here we go… -ASPOV
Jul.2 at 7:50 pm
Holiday says:
There’s a couple of guaranteed All-Stars, you know with China just pouring in the votes simply cause there chinese, just hope they earn there respect, you know like with yao ming being 7′6 every expert calling him the best center in the league! He really isn’t all that good!
Jul.2 at 8:29 pm
Ed Jucker says:
@Holiday: “He really isn’t all that good!” But (sadly) he really is the best center in the league!
Jul.2 at 9:07 pm
Holiday says:
Not if you consider Duncan really is a center no matter what he say’s, Oh and Oden might surpass him this season, and I’m not sure he’s better than Howard, or Bosh! I mean Okur contained him in the first round! I might even take Kaman over him, considering his potential!
Jul.2 at 9:19 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
That All-Star stuff isn’t necessarily true—how many times was Wang Zhi-Zhi an All-Star again?
Jul.2 at 9:48 pm
Holiday says:
Yeah thats true but he wasn’t even promoted really, Yao was like the biggest thing in basketball before he came! it was like when everybody was waiting on Lebron! and I mean you can’t ignore the fact that he’s I do believe been the leading vote getter since he entered the league, and his margin of lead is rediculous!
Jul.2 at 9:49 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
And did you explain to Yue that he gets called “Q-Tip” because he left his wallet in El Segundo?
Jul.2 at 9:57 pm
Holiday says:
What are you talking about?
Jul.3 at 1:52 am
Mongoose says:
Don’t engage him Russ, you will only feed his self importance. He is like a (more) retarded Stephen A Smith.
“Quite frankly, I might even take Kaman over Yao, considering his potential! “
Jul.3 at 3:50 am
Alan Paul says:
yao was playing mvp type ball before he got hurt. chinese people aren’t dumb. they’re not gonna vote for yi if he’s averaging 5 ppg. well, maybe they will. that will be interesting to watch, actually. I have a great picture of myself with Q tip. I forgot to post it with this but i’ll get it up.
Jul.3 at 9:05 am
LAN says:
i recon yi should b happy playin for milwauke.. got bogut helpin him out.. and an awesom guard in michael redd i recon it will b a good team next season
Jul.3 at 2:59 pm
Greg says:
Spent some time in China and all of the Chinese bball fans I talk to have some serious apprehensions about Yi. Their complaint is almost always the same: he didn’t dominate the CBA like Yao, or even Wang Zhi Zhi, did…
Jul.3 at 6:22 pm
Ben T says:
While I wish Yi came here to Chicago, the draft is the draft. China’s got to back off on their players and let them be. I remember when Yao was in the draft I read that China was considering not letting Yao play in the NBA UNLESS he was the #1 pick. Now for Yi they want him to be somewhere with a high Asian influence - maybe he himself wants that too, I dunno, but the lack of excitement he showed when his name was called kinda tells me he don’t wanna be in Milwaukee either. As for Sun, I remember he was drafted a few ago by Denver but since he didn’t ask the CBA for permission to enter the draft i nthe first place, he had to go back to the Motherland. China crazy
Jul.3 at 6:23 pm
Holiday says:
“Year of the Yao” “The next big thing” ect. when will it happen Mongoose! has he even made it out of the first round, he has T-Mac, Battier, Alston, Wells, Dikembe, Luther head yet all that talent and his “undeniable” dominance at center he can’t even get out of the first round of the playoffs! What about when he had Stevie Franchise, and everybody else??????
Jul.3 at 6:23 pm
Ben T says:
…and I dunno why they weren’t like this with Wang Zhi Zhi and Mengke Bateer.
Jul.3 at 10:20 pm
Holiday says:
Serious? I’m talking about players that are being heavily hype coming into the NBA, Wang Zhi Zhi and Mengke Bateer weren’t promoted to be superstars, and really didn’t get all that much attention at all! Outside of Lebron, who got more hype coming into the NBA than Yao? And just because there tall and Asian these guy’s are being coveted very highly!
Jul.4 at 1:45 am
dj says:
holiday: why get drunk on the yao haterade, man? This post is about Yi.