After a reluctant move to America's Dairyland, Yi Jianlian is
slowly starting to embrace life with the Milwaukee Bucks in wintry
Wisconsin.
As culture shocks go, few stops on the National Basketball
Association (NBA) circuit could present more challenges for a young
Chinese player.
So it was understandable that Yi and his handlers balked at the
idea of going to Milwaukee after the Bucks used the sixth overall
selection in last year's draft to claim the immensely talented
20-year-old.
Yi could have expected a frosty welcome from slighted
Wisconsinites but he says the only cold reception he has had to
deal with has been the winter weather.
"On the court and off the court there are a lot of things to get
through," Yi, speaking with the help of an interpreter, told
Reuters before a recent game against the Toronto Raptors.
"On the court, the games we're playing are very hard, and off
the court it is hard to get used to living in a city where it snows
all the time.
"But except for the fact that it is a little bit cold I think
everything is Ok."
Vigorous campaign
With only a tiny Chinese community, Milwaukee had not been on
Yi's list of preferred destinations. His agent Dan Fegan neglected
to invite the Bucks to private pre-draft workouts and cautioned
them not to waste a valuable pick on his client.
The Bucks, however, ignored the warnings, selecting Yi then
launching a vigorous campaign to convince the power forward that
Milwaukee was not Mars.
An unhappy Yi looked ready to force a trade until basketball
officials on both sides of the Pacific, including China Basketball
Association (CBA) chief Li Yuanwei and, according to reports, NBA
commissioner David Stern, became involved in the negotiations,
which ended in late August with the Bucks' prize draft pick
agreeing to a multi-year deal.
Yi and Milwaukee have slowly grown more comfortable with each
other and Yi is steadily winning over converts with his efforts to
fit in.
Perhaps the biggest hint that Yi is adapting to life in
Milwaukee is the fact that he follows the local National Football
League (NFL) team Green Bay Packers, even though the intricacies of
American football remain a mystery.
"Until we haul him off to (the Packers') Lambeau Field he
probably won't understand what's going on," said Bucks coach Larry
Krystkowiak. "I don't care what anybody says, you're dealing with
country, culture issues, league issues, you're dealing with
perceptions. It's really hard."
Having arrived in the NBA with nearly the same weighty
expectations and fanfare that greeted compatriot Yao Ming when he
landed with the Houston Rockets as the NBA's top pick in 2002, Yi
is working his way through a solid but unspectacular rookie
campaign, averaging 10 points and 5.7 rebounds a game.
His play has sometimes impressed but has also exposed the huge
learning curve he faces.
Media interviews
The seven-foot (2.13m) Yi's progress is watched closely by
millions of basketball fans in China and scrutinized by American
and Chinese media.
His first NBA game broadcast back to China attracted 100 million
viewers, according to one Chinese television station estimate,
while the Bucks schedule a separate interview time for Yi whenever
they play in a new city to accommodate the many media requests.
His first showdown with Houston Rockets' fellow center Yao on
November 11 last year, which was dubbed "NBA's China Derby" by
domestic media, was broadcast live by an amazing 19 television
stations in China and it's estimated to have attracted 250 million
viewers globally.
Their second mouthwatering clash comes on Sunday (9:30am Beijing
Time) and is expected to have more media involved. China's leading
online media portal Sina.com has confirmed to broadcast it live
on.
Just over three months into his NBA career, Yi has not made the
impact some had predicted but Krystkowiak believes that, given
time, his prize pupil will emerge as a league All-Star.
"Do you know what Dirk Nowitzki averaged when he was a rookie?"
asked Krystkowiak. "It was eight points and three rebounds a game
so right now he is ahead of that pace."
German Nowitzki, a forward with the Dallas Mavericks, went on to
become the first European to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player
award last year.
"There's a lot of talk, a lot of expectations but it's not going
to happen overnight," added Krystkowiak. "It's going to be a
learning experience for him. I know he's going to come out the
other side of it being a lot stronger and a more capable
player."
(Agencies via China Daily February 1, 2008)