Yao Ming towers above his High Five America teammates.BRANT SANDERLIN/STAFF

Chinese star must watch out for head

Web posted July 14, 1998

By Dwight Foxx
Staff Writer

NORTH AUGUSTA - Yao Ming made quite a first impression on Monday when he had to bend his knees to get into the Riverview Park facility.

Ming, a 7-foot-5, 252-pound player from Shanghai, China, is playing with the San Diego-based High Five America team at the third annual Nike Peach Jam Invitational.

A second player from Shanghai, 6-foot-2 Liu Wei, is also on the roster but didn't play in the morning session because of an injury.

One of the reasons Ming came to America and joined the High Five squad in mid-June is to find out how he compares with the American players. He scored 16 points in a 51-44 loss to New York City's Riverside Church in Monday's morning session.

``Chinese basketball is slower and more structured, while American basketball is a lot of one-on-one play with stronger players,'' Ming said through his interpreter, Brock Wilson. ``American speed is also much faster.''

Ming played well against Riverside and also made a good showing against many of the same players last week at Nike's All-American camp in Indianapolis.

Surprisingly, Ming runs the court very well for a player his size. For his teammates, this is the first time they have every played with a player of his height.

``(Ming) can speak a little English,'' High Five teammate Andre Porter said. ``He can communicate on the floor and he understands when we are playing. It's always good to have a good big man on your team.''

High Five America coach Rle Nichols coached Athletes In Action for nearly 15 seasons and coached against the Chinese Olympic Team for 14 years. Nike's presence overseas helped him get Ming to the United States.

Ming will travel with the team for another month, before heading back to China to play with the Beijing National Team in September.

Playing in tournaments like the Peach Jam will help Ming, who turns 18 in September, decide what he wants to do after next season. He also plays for a Pro Club team called the Shanghai Sharks and their season runs from November to March. He has played the game since age 9.

It's been said that Ming has the size and skills to potentially make the jump to the NBA. He could decide to play for an American college, continue to play in China, or declare for the draft.

``I'm not going to get into if he should try to make the jump to the NBA,'' Nichols said. ``But I do know that there are a lot of 7-foot guys in the NBA who can't score like he can and they make a lot of money.''

High Five America draws a lot of media attention wherever it goes due to the presence of Ming.

Another teammate, Wayne Bernard, also raves about Ming.

``He is good at blocking shots and scoring,'' Bernard said. ``He'll post you up and all we need to do is keep feeding him the ball. He is much stronger than most of the big men we see. We'll just throw it up there real high and he'll catch it.''

Nichols said the attention his team has been getting this summer due to Ming has been positive.

``He is really improving everyday,'' Nichols said. ``He has a great personality and is very coachable. This has been a very positive thing for everybody involved.''

Eventually playing in the NBA is something Ming thinks about, particularly after the encouragement he received in Indianapolis. He said playing in the NBA is something everybody wants to do.

``I really hope in the future to have a chance to play in the NBA,'' Ming said.