# Yao to Hang Out in Houston, Not China



## FirstRocket (Mar 10, 2005)

*Yao to Hang Out in Houston, Not China*


By JOEL ANDERSON
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON -- Yao Ming rested comfortably in a chair and smiled at the thought of a summer without basketball. At long last, the big man will get a break.

"I just want to relax," Yao said. "I don't want to do anything. I'm not too used to being relaxed."

Yao will head into his first NBA offseason without any obligations, a big change from the previous two summers when he returned home to play with China's national team.

At 7-foot-6, Yao was already one of China's biggest sports stars - quite literally - after entering the NBA in 2002 as the No. 1 draft pick. But he won even more fans back home for leading China to the Asian basketball championship in 2003 and helping his national team reach the quarterfinals of the Athens Games.

However, the challenges of year-round basketball and travel have taken a toll.

His commitments to China's national team have limited his ability to improve his conditioning and skills in the offseason and he is often hurt by fatigue during the grueling NBA season.

*Arcticle of **Yao to Hang Out in Houston, Not China*


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## kfranco (Apr 22, 2005)

Wow, im surprised and happy for him. Hopefully this will make him improve his game here in the states. He is staying here right? or is he still going back to china to rest over there??waz da deal?


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## FirstRocket (Mar 10, 2005)

> Rockets strength and conditioning coach Anthony Falsone, who traveled to China with Yao and trained the Chinese national team last summer, has marveled at Yao's durability and on-court production despite a schedule that leaves little time for improvement
> 
> *The next offseason goal for Yao, Falsone said, is to improve his stamina, something that former Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon also dealt with.*


 
*We will see what Falsone can do for Yao in regard to his stamina next season.*


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## SMDre (Jan 28, 2005)

This will be really good for him. Hopefully he dosen't get out of shape.


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## mavsmania41 (Mar 27, 2005)

I heard he lives in Sugarland Texas outside of Houston.


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

He lives out in Katy.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

kfranco said:


> Wow, im surprised and happy for him. Hopefully this will make him improve his game here in the states. He is staying here right? or is he still going back to china to rest over there??waz da deal?


he won't be back to china until July,as i read in a interview days ago.and CD has arranged a two-week private training for him. Before that,he gotta undergo some minor surgeries in San Francisco.

yes,sure he will still go back to china this summer,play some games for them,i guess. he will meet some CBA officials this week, who are with chinese female basketball team in SA now, to discuss about his summer schedule, and ……to meet his gf there.


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

This is when he needs to improve. You learn in the offseason, and Yao needs to get with some legend centers and get taught! And rest too.


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## kfranco (Apr 22, 2005)

kisstherim said:


> he won't be back to china until July,as i read in a interview days ago.and CD has arranged a two-week private training for him. Before that,he gotta undergo some minor surgeries in San Francisco.
> 
> yes,sure he will still go back to china this summer,play some games for them,i guess. he will meet some CBA officials this week, who are with chinese female basketball team in SA now, to discuss about his summer schedule, and ……to meet his gf there.


Yao has a gf? wow im surprised. GO YAO!!!!


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## FirstRocket (Mar 10, 2005)

kfranco said:


> Yao has a gf? wow im surprised. GO YAO!!!!


His gf is quite cute too.:kiss:


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## Raxel (Nov 10, 2004)

Yao's GF, someone posted this before.

Yao's father played professional basketball, His mother played too, now he's going to have a wife playing pro basketball. Just think about his son, that's going to be some decent basketball gene in the blood. :biggrin:


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## SMDre (Jan 28, 2005)

Raxel said:


> Yao's GF, someone posted this before.
> 
> Yao's father played professional basketball, His mother played too, now he's going to have a wife playing pro basketball. Just think about his son, that's going to be some decent basketball gene in the blood. :biggrin:


Not too bad. Does anyone know how tall she is.


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## Raxel (Nov 10, 2004)

6'4 - 6'5. She's the starter of China national team.


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## FirstRocket (Mar 10, 2005)

*Re: Yao to Hang Out in Houston with Girlfriend, Not China*

It seems that talking Yao's gf is more interesting than talking about Yao.:biggrin: 
What is her name? Must be pretty name to match her look.

Edit: I would change the title of this thread if I can.:clown:


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## Raxel (Nov 10, 2004)

*Re: Yao to Hang Out in Houston with Girlfriend, Not China*

Ye Li, She's playing WNBA or going to play WNBA, I can't remember the details.


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## single-9 (May 10, 2005)

kfranco said:


> Yao has a gf? wow im surprised. GO YAO!!!!


???????????

dude,why surprised? because of his height? :biggrin: :biggrin:










her name is Ye Li,yao said his "11" stands for Y-Y....


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

*Re: Yao to Hang Out in Houston with Girlfriend, Not China*



Raxel said:


> Ye Li, She's playing WNBA or going to play WNBA, I can't remember the details.


she is probably playing WCBA(chinese version of WNBA) now,i guess.
Rumors goes like she will possibly be drafted by Comets.

actually Yao doesn't want her to play pro basketball any more,cuz she already has many injuries.but she shows she has more passion for basketball than yao does(as Yao put it),so yao will respect her own decision.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Houston Chronicle says otherwise. 



> Yao said he was happy to be unsure about how he would spend his summer, but it sounded as busy as ever, filled with medical procedures and training for an international competition.
> 
> Depending on the results of an MRI, Yao likely will have surgery in San Francisco to remove loose particles from his left ankle. That would lead to a rehabilitation and a training period in Houston.
> 
> Yao said he also planned to play for the Chinese national team in the Asian Games, which begin July 19 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


Yao never said he wouldn't go back to China this summer, that espn article is kinda BS,especially its title. I remember very well years ago a Dallas newspaper "reported" Wangzhizhi wouldn't be back to china during summer which single-handedly brought on the "Wangzhizhi incident".

I don't like to see that happen again.

actually some chinese reporters (Yao's friends) have suggested Yao to make a statement to clarify this.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Yao is the model Chinese worker, he will do as he is told by the National team. If Yao didn't need surgery I bet he'd be back in China earlier.

Nevertheless, good news


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## MightyReds2020 (Jul 19, 2002)

China doesn't need Yao for the Asian games but you know what pissed me off the most? If Yao really does play, I will miss the opportunity to watch Yao for cheap, because I am from Malaysia but lives in the Bay Area now and once almost pay up to 200 bucks for a pair of tickets to go see Yao. I have yet to see Yao in person to date.

Damn!


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

MightyReds2020 said:


> China doesn't need Yao for the Asian games but you know what pissed me off the most? If Yao really does play, I will miss the opportunity to watch Yao for cheap, because I am from Malaysia but lives in the Bay Area now and once almost pay up to 200 bucks for a pair of tickets to go see Yao. I have yet to see Yao in person to date.
> 
> Damn!


so this year's Asian Games will be in Malaysia?


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## MightyReds2020 (Jul 19, 2002)

kisstherim said:


> so this year's Asian Games will be in Malaysia?


I believe so.


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## Geaux Tigers (Apr 26, 2004)

I was always wondering what would happen if Yao somehow pissed of his country so bad that they would want him back. Whats the deal if he refuses to go back and play or something? What could happen to Yao if they get pissed at him?


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## FirstRocket (Mar 10, 2005)

Jsimo12 said:


> I was always wondering what would happen if Yao somehow pissed of his country so bad that they would want him back. Whats the deal if he refuses to go back and play or something? What could happen to Yao if they get pissed at him?


*Yao will seek asylum in US. He has nothing to worry about since his parent and girlfriend are in US. I forgot, his parent have a restaurant in US too and lot of money.*

*The most important thing I forgot to tell you is Yao will never ever be pissed off with China. :biggrin: *


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## single-9 (May 10, 2005)

yao is much clever than Wang Zhi Zhi.


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## FirstRocket (Mar 10, 2005)

*A rested Yao big for Rockets (ESPN NBA Insider - 5/9-12/05)*

*Let's start with the Rockets, who got the best news possible this week. Yao Ming gets to rest this summer, stay in Houston, and maybe even work on his game a little bit.*

*Don't downplay this.* When Yao showed up in Houston in October 2002, he was already exhausted. He had played a full season of Chinese basketball. Then, he represented China in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis. By the time he made it to training camp in Houston, Yao was weary.

He spent the summer of 2003 traveling around China with his team, helping it qualify for the 2004 Olympics. According to sources on the Rockets, the grueling practice and training schedule over there included traveling from game to game in coach class. That's right – coach. I'm 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, and I have trouble sitting comfortably in coach.

Last summer, after his second full NBA season, Yao was in Athens, representing China in the 2004 Olympics. He went from there right into his third NBA season.

*In reality, Yao has played three consecutive years without any significant time off.* When he isn't playing basketball, his marketing and other responsibilities in China have taxed him.

*The bottom line is Yao has been exhausted – mentally and physically – since the Rockets drafted him three years ago. He hasn't been able to work on his game in any concentrated way. His obligations in the offseason have limited his ability to improve.*

That likely will change this summer. If Yao can continue to resist the urge to play for China in the Asian games, he might actually have the chance to work on strengthing his upper body, improving his conditioning, getting in the gym with top big-man coaches and spending a huge amount of time sitting on a beach, somewhere away from the media, sipping tea.

It's in the best interests of China, the NBA and the Rockets for him to do just that. Yao came under unwarranted criticism this year for not meeting expectations.

*If Yao is ever going to reach his potential, he's going to have to start cutting out some of the extra things he does and focus entirely on the NBA.* That's a huge blow to the shortsighted Chinese national team's hopes. But if the Chinese can just let Yao rest for the next couple of summers, maybe he'll have improved enough to give China a real shot in the 2008 Olympics. *And maybe, by then, he and Tracy McGrady will have won the real prize – an NBA title.*

_*It didn't look impossible during the first few games of the playoffs this year. With a little more help from Yao, and a few more team changes in the offseason, I think the Rockets will be even more formidable next season.*_


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## On Thre3 (Nov 26, 2003)

FirstRocket said:


> *A rested Yao big for Rockets (ESPN NBA Insider - 5/9-12/05)*
> 
> *Let's start with the Rockets, who got the best news possible this week. Yao Ming gets to rest this summer, stay in Houston, and maybe even work on his game a little bit.*
> 
> ...



that article is correct, but its poorly written, and may offend some people. He calls the chinese national team short sighted(which is correct) and he calls the nba title the real prize - ignorantly because yao's best wishes is to win olmypic gold.


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## serine (Apr 27, 2005)

On Thre3 said:


> that article is correct, but its poorly written, and may offend some people. He calls the chinese national team short sighted(which is correct) and he calls the nba title the real prize - ignorantly because yao's best wishes is to win olmypic gold.


I agree.Millions of Chinese basketball fans have condemned the local official who wanted Yao's back on the forums of mainland.Even though without Yao Ming,China also can win the champion easily.And the same time enjoy Yao Ming's rest and new players' exercise.


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## FirstRocket (Mar 10, 2005)

_Lastest news is Yao Ming may not have to go through surgery, rehabilitation would suffice._


JONATHAN FEIGEN said:


> Rockets center Yao Ming might not be headed to ankle surgery after all. The procedure had been planned for most of the season, but the latest medical opinion this past week indicated rehabilitation would suffice.


*Sura undergoes knee surgery*


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

serine said:


> I agree.Millions of Chinese basketball fans have condemned the local official who wanted Yao's back on the forums of mainland.Even though without Yao Ming,China also can win the champion easily.And the same time enjoy Yao Ming's rest and new players' exercise.


I think the thing w/ the Chinese National Team is that they want Yao to remember his loyalty belongs to them first and NBA second. Comparison could be made w/ soccer/footbal, where a player's obligation to play for their country is above that of their League team. Still, given all Yao has done for Chinese basketball already, the National Team should give poor Yao a much deserved break.


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