Yi Jianlian doin’ FIBA work without Yao; The next Brandon Jennings
Yi Jianlian
Lately we’ve been calling for NBA TV to do us starving hoop fans a favor and put next month’s FIBA European Championships on the air, all while forgetting the FIBA Asia Cup is actually going on right now. Not as much star power, not as high quality ball, but we still wouldn’t mind seeing some of those games on the schedule to replace the endless ’80s re-run games … From the games yesterday — or next Tuesday or whatever it would be with the U.S./China time difference — Yi Jianlian was the star, putting up 29 points and 18 boards in China’s win over Jordan. Going into his third NBA season, Yi might be ready to become an impact player. The starting PF job in New Jersey is his to lose, and all reports this summer say he’s looking great in workouts and in the FIBA games … Remember Wang Zhi Zhi? He added 23 points and eight boards in that China/Jordan game. Wang is listed at 30 years old, but if you’ve seen him recently, he looks like he’s 50. He’s the Chinese Anthony Randolph … Some other notable ballplayers at the Asia Cup: Sun Yue (China), Hamed Haddadi (Iran; he posted 21 points, 16 boards and six blocks vs. Korea), D-League alum Rasheim Wright (Jordan), Ha Seung-Jin (Korea), Jackson Vroman (Lebanon), ex-Vanderbilt star Matt Freije (Lebanon), and Gabe Norwood (Philippines) from George Mason’s Final Four squad … In other overseas news, high school senior-to-be Jeremy Tyler inked a one-year, $150K deal with Maccabi Haifa in Israel. (He’s got two years before he can enter the NBA Draft.) In an interview a couple months ago, Tyler talked about why he’s leaving high school early to go the Brandon Jennings route. “I was the best player in San Diego this year and it was boring,” Tyler said. “Next year, it would be extremely boring. I’d go into the game with no enthusiasm.” Do you think Tyler is making the right move by skipping high school and college? … Ironically, as Tyler enters a situation where he could become a major bust or a big star, he’ll have some teammates that represent some of the spectrum of what his future could hold. Haifa’s roster includes Davon Jefferson, the kid who left USC with O.J. Mayo after his freshman year and didn’t get drafted; B.J. McKie, who was a beast at South Carolina for four years and still didn’t pan out in the NBA; and Tamir Goodman, the “Jewish Jordan” who had a ton of hype in high school and didn’t even make a splash in college … One significant move in the NBA yesterday, as the Hornets traded Rasual Butler to the Clippers for a second-round pick. Basically a salary dump for the Hornets, who otherwise could have used Butler’s abilities as a shooter since Peja Stojakovic‘s body is unreliable and Butler was penciled in as the starting two-guard. The Clips get another shooter, which they needed since Eric Gordon is the only other one on the roster … Four or five years ago, Steve Nash vs. Jason Kidd was the argument when it came to point guards. While they’ve been jumped by the likes of Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, and even Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose (depending on who you ask), Nash and Kidd are still elite. Which one do you think is better right now? Two or our writers argued their side, one for Nash and one for Kidd, and left it to the readers to decide … Comment of the day comes from reader Yoooo, responding to one of our writer’s claims that 2010 free agents would be drawn to the Wolves, who could have a bunch of cap space and a promising young roster (Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, Jonny Flynn, Ricky Rubio, etc.): “A no-brainer to live in Minnesota? Yea right buddy. Show me ANY superstar who wants to go there and I’ll show you Halle Berry’s penis.” … And when did the Northwest Division become so intriguing? Going into next season, you’ve got Kevin Durant — and to a lesser extent, Russell Westbrook — poised to absolutely blow up; the Rubio/Flynn situation; the Carlos Boozer situation; the Nuggets trying to maintain top-level status in the West despite (arguably) getting worse in the offseason; the Blazers possibly taking the next step up to challenge the Nuggets with their offseason additions; and the continued development of Brandon Roy, Deron Williams, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson. Who’s your pick to win the division? … Not gonna lie, when we saw the headline, “NBA Star Accused of Pizza Joint Beatdown,” we automatically assumed Eddy Curry had a withdrawal incident on his new diet. Nope. Turns out it was just Zach Randolph allegedly acting like Zach Randolph … We’re out like Wang Zhi Zhi …
-->
August 13th, 2009 at 5:02 am
Quincy Watkins says:
first bitchezzzzzzz. Just kidding…. What about FIBA AFRICA? Angola’s Carlos Morais is puttin up work
August 13th, 2009 at 5:04 am
heartbreaker85 says:
yo dime there are a bunch of FIBA Asia live streamings on the net. if you want blah basketball, you can go watch all the games, but if you want the uptempo type watch the philippine team. they’re outsized, but they run at every opportunity.
china’s frontline of wang and yi is solid, iran is winning because they have a 7″2 finesse big (hadadi) and jordan has their import rasheim wright.
check out this guy, there are youtube clips of what he did in the fiba tournament: philippines #14 CYRUS BAGUIO.
August 13th, 2009 at 5:04 am
Quincy Watkins says:
For those ho don’t know him, he’s like Shannon Brown with more hops and hella range. He gave the U.S. BUCKETS in the World Championships
August 13th, 2009 at 5:07 am
BRUCE says:
Doggone China-man putting numbers on low-level competition. Where is his comrade, Sun Yue? Lakers Nation were happy to see him go……..Later Sun, we hardly knew Yue! Who gave him the moniker — Chinese Magic? Please do not insult Magic like that, ever ever again! Magic is the greatest point ever!
August 13th, 2009 at 5:11 am
BRUCE says:
Basketball is not China game — Those China-men better stick with Ping-Pong, Badminton, Gymnastics, Wonton, and Kung Pao Chicken!
August 13th, 2009 at 5:16 am
yw says:
Wang ZhiZhi could still drop buckets, definitely better than Yi
August 13th, 2009 at 5:19 am
BRUCE says:
Mr. Made in China Yi better not play too much. His body might break down and the Chinese government might point the finger at an American! Ask Yao and the Houston Rockets!
August 13th, 2009 at 5:29 am
F.L.A.S.H. says:
bruce u one ignorant racist m’f
August 13th, 2009 at 5:35 am
K Dizzle says:
@ BRUCE
please STFU…..you embarrassin yourself and nobody thinks you funny
August 13th, 2009 at 5:53 am
Young Money (R.I.P. BDub) says:
Bruce probably made cause he has a small one.
August 13th, 2009 at 6:10 am
JOB33 says:
haha BRUCE you showed your true colors and got hated on! I hope that you weren’t trying to innovate some lame nickname for Yi with that #7 post. Mr. Made In China? WWWWWWWWEEEEEAAAAAAAKK! (had to keep it to 2 K’s or BRUCE would’ve thought he had a supporter)
August 13th, 2009 at 6:26 am
BRUCE says:
Its freaking true, Yi is garbage/weak. That’s Black people terminology right there! Same for Sun Yue. The Machine get more minutes than Yue. Affirmative Action at its best!
Don’t play the race card with me, it is always the Black/Negro people that plays the race card. It is their favorite game, well that and Spades of course. All Black/Negro people knows how to play Spades and ya drink Kool-Aid too. I learned how to play Spades from the Black/Negro/Colored people. Credit the NAACP!
August 13th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Shrink This says:
In the interest of public safety, if Zach and Eddy ever went to a buffet together they’d have to have the place to themselves. There’s no telling the kind of damage the two of them could do.
Zach would have to keep Eddy away from the sausage though…
August 13th, 2009 at 6:37 am
w@rr3n says:
@Bruce – you’re a tool….
August 13th, 2009 at 7:28 am
Rafa23 says:
@ job33
LMFAO!!!!
that line with the 2 K’s was genius.
August 13th, 2009 at 7:31 am
JOB33 says:
appreciate the love rafa…and uhhh hey bruce. newsflash: i’m white. kinda hard to place the race card for me..
August 13th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Flying_Aussie_Dutchman says:
Hahaha @ Job33.. Very good call
August 13th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Young Lebron 23 says:
If jeremy tyler was bored, jus go to oak hill or findlay prep. U won’t be bored after that
August 13th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Sweet English says:
My computer just exoploded from racism.
Damn.
August 13th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Kobeef says:
“And with today’s racist editorial which aims to offend everyone, heeeeeere’s Bruce!” Wow. I didn’t realize they teach computer in Redneck High.
Yi has got a great shooting stroke. If he can add some toughness to his game he could be a player in the NBA. Yao predicted Yi will be the better player and he certainly has the skill set to do that.
August 13th, 2009 at 8:48 am
common sense just aint common!! says:
Man heartbreaker85.. jus checked out the CYRUS BAGUIO guy.. he was all gud n all but couldnt get over the fact that all the players were all under 6ft.. couldnt distinguish between a centre and a guard.. reminds me of playin ball in my uni in england with all the oriental foreign students populating the ball courts.. they got handles, team work, hustle n all but ill be outrebounding them for weeks..
n was it me that thought bruce was funny.. please y uall gettin so bent up about racism.. people always r to quick to play the race card.. give it a rest.. feel sorry for racist dont hate them cus they live in a hate fueld world.. its rather pitifull..
August 13th, 2009 at 8:49 am
sh!tfaced says:
“Wang looks like he’s 50. He’s the Chinese Anthony Randolph.” LOL.
“WWWWWWWWEEEEEAAAAAAAKK! (had to keep it to 2 K’s or BRUCE would’ve thought he had a supporter)”
HAHAHAHA. Comment of the Day right there.
August 13th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Chicagorilla says:
J.Tyler
What happens if his knee explodes? He’s only making 150k. and He’s in Israel!!! what the hell kid. Go back to school. At least go to a Jr. College and learn how to play. Bored? I’m sure i’d be bored as the best player in SAN DIEGO! San Diego!!!! ?
August 13th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Chicagorilla says:
LMAO@ all black people know how to play spades and drink kool-aid.
Sure it’s Racist and i should probably be offended, but that shit is funny.
August 13th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Diego says:
No problem with the kid skipping his senior year of H.S. to play overseas.
Seems like lots of the Europeans start playing pro ball very early over there (mid-teens)–e.g., Tony Parker, Zaza. (Zaza came over to the NBA at age 18, and already had several years of pro ball overseas.)
In soccer, that kid Freddy Adu (correct name?) signed up in the U.S. when he was like 14.
Finally, my recollection is by senior year of high school, you are basically done with your H.S. schooling anyway, and just coast with some credits to get your diploma. (At least that was my experience–and I’ve got a closet full of diplomas after H.S.)
August 13th, 2009 at 10:18 am
dk says:
@ Bruce… You ruined the whole joke because your an obvious idiot. You cant use back to back chineese food refrences… It destroyed your punch line fool. You also forgot to add the fact that thier main sport is taking lazy American jobs and producing cheap ass products.
August 13th, 2009 at 10:22 am
dk says:
@22 If it was worded like you took it, then ya, it was hilarious, he butchered that shit all up too….
August 13th, 2009 at 10:23 am
dk says:
@ Bruce White people can pull the racist card. Why the fuck did God make me average in everything and the bitch of the prison system.
August 13th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Yoooo says:
I feel honored. Way more writing on my personal site MenWithGirls.Com (and no its not porn). Check the articles out. Its a good read while ur sitting at work stealing money
Yi is gonna be decent man. It’s taking him a long time to get his NBA toughness up, but he has all the tools. I think he’ll put up 15 and 7 this year. With VInce gone, maybe even more. Before he got hurt last year, he was doing well.
Youngin that left high school altogether to go overseas is an idiot. “I’m the best player in San Diego, and it was boring”. Is the US NOT bigger than just once city? Who is the last good player to come out of the Ego? Like seriously. Why not just go prep at St. Benedicts or xfer to St. Pats or Oak Hill??? He might not have survived playing HS ball in LA, but he jumps ship across the pond? Makes no sense. And from what I hear his dad has bread too, so what’s the point of this? Suspect at best.
August 13th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Dennis Castro says:
In NBA2K9, Yi is like Jordan, Bird, and Magic all rolled into one for some reason. Does anyone else have this problem? It makes me want to throw my controller at my 360.
August 13th, 2009 at 11:25 am
bballinca says:
Last good player to come out of San Diego??? Not great players but they are in the NBA. Luke Walton and Chase Budinger. I’m sure there are others.
Tyler was getting hammered a lot in games but he also wasn’t the brightest guy allegedly as far as being able to stay eligible fron a grade standpoint.
August 13th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
hoopsguru says:
THANK THE GOOD LORD ABOVE THAT HALLE BERRY DOES NOT HAVE A PENIS!
August 13th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
BRUCE says:
Yi adding toughness? Are you kidding me? The day Yi add toughness to his game, that’s also the day we ban the Confederate Flag!
The white people posting here are very funny. In their post, there are spelling errors for example (Post #24). Idiot can me an idiot when he spelled, their wrong. English is his first langauge too and he is worried that another foreigner take his job. Them lazy Americans! Just another hick complaining. Take his pacifier away, take his moonshine away. Those hicks man, they are nasty, all they do is make moonshine and make love to their sisters.
Love Bruce……….
August 13th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Mo says:
Marcus Thornton
August 13th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
sans says:
what’s wrong with making love to sisters?
Anyway, I play spades, can spell, I tell my boy everytime he rebounds my shot and puts it back up that we ain’t playing ball in Puerto Rico, and after reading everyone hating on Bruce forgot what I was going to say after reading SMACK. Damn it! If I used my computer for than trying to floss between my three teeth and target practice with my shotgun and inborn son, I might be able remember shit.
Oh yeah, and all white people love sniffing glue.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
sans says:
I meant inbred son.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
sans says:
Oh yeah. Nash is better than Kidd right now; Blazers; Hell yeah Tyler did the right thing. I had a job in High School, and it didn’t pay shit so I sold weed, which also doesn’t pay shit but cut into me paying for it. Take that money and invest it properly. And, to continue the racism that is plaguing this website, at least he’s in Israel–there a lot of motherf3ckers over there that can help him with that.
Or, if Jeremy wants to learn how to subjugate people and create a modern Apartheid, he can learn that too.
August 13th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Da_Griff says:
Tyler goin’ overseas is a good move. Didn’t hurt Jennings, and hasn’t hurt many players who play in the NBA.
The reason a lot of players don’t leave Europe and return to the NBA is that they get paid a whole lot better there. If you find the right team, you can stay there a LONG time. Just look at guys like Anthony Parker, David Andersen. Why play in the NBA for the minimum when you can earn six times that and play half the number of games? They only came back to the NBA ‘cos they’re gettin’ paid.
150K is good money for a developmental player, which is exactly how he’ll be treated, the same as guys like Darko, Rubio and even Jennings were treated in Europe. Good for him.
August 13th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
The Ghosts of 76ers past says:
“Bruce” is a nice masculine name to put on his trucker hat