NBA All-star Yao Ming has rushed to the defense of beleaguered
national coach Jonas Kazlauskas by declaring the Lithuanian worthy
of leading the team to the Beijing Olympics.
China's besieged national
basketball coach Jonas Kazlauskas pulls his hair during a fixture
last year. The Lithuanian has been widely panned by Chinese media,
prompting Houston Rockets star Yao Ming's appeal to lay off
him.
The towering center has turned the tables on media who have
attacked the mentor, accusing them of fickle reportage and showing
too little faith.
"He is a good coach," said the Houston Rockets star after
leading the team to the first of two comfortable wins against the
visiting Melbourne Tigers on Monday night.
"I have heard a lot of people speaking against him, but I am
sure he is a great man, he unites the team, of course he should
stay and lead us at the Beijing Olympics.
"Some media are like grass atop a wall swaying in the wind, when
you won some games, they cheered for you, but when you lost, they
went to the other side."
The renowned Lithuanian head coach has been panned for
reportedly running out of ideas and placing all his chips on the
return of Yao for next year's Olympics.
The national team ended its European tour with five-consecutive
losses earlier last week, setting off a barrage of broadsides from
Chinese newspapers after yet another disappointing summer for hoops
fans.
"How many summers can we waste?" pleaded a harsh headline in
China's leading sports newspaper Titan Sports.
"Kazlauskas' prestige in the team has hit a new low.
"He has lost control of the team and his desire for victory
diminished this summer."
China extended its losing streak to European teams to 18 after
the Athens Olympics on the latest tour.
Without Yao, who took the summer off to recover from injury and
to enjoy his wedding and honeymoon, the team won just four from 17
games in three major campaigns -- NBA Summer League, the Stankovic
Cup and the European Tour.
"He is taking a gamble," said an editorial in the Beijing
Evening News.
"Jonas has raised all his hopes on Yao Ming, this is absolutely
dangerous.
"What if Yao was injured at the Beijing Olympics or he had too
many early fouls?"
Even with two NBA prospects Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue plus former
Dallas Maverick Wang Zhizhi, China only managed to score an average
of 69 points to lose by a mean of 23 in the five-game European
trip. The most embarrassing setback came on August 22 when China,
ranked 11th on the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Teams
Standings, suffered a heavy defeat to world No 55 Poland.
"Our chance to beat a European team is zero," the Basketball
Pioneers said.
"We cannot move even one step if we cannot overcome those
European rivals."
Neither were the players spared from the newspaper's spray.
"They know we will make Olympic roster as long as they stay
healthy, so they won't play with hearts in the games this summer,"
the paper said.
Some players have expressed their frustration at the losing
streak.
"To be honest, I cannot take it for granted that we will make
some instant changes after Yao comes back to the team," Wang, the
team's top scorer at the NBA Summers Games in July, said.
"Nobody knows how the team will be with Yao. All we can do is
stay calm and learn from the games this summer.
"Problems are everywhere. We struggled everywhere on the court
-- from paint area to the backcourt. I cannot stay optimistic to
the team's future.
"I think we are miles behind European teams overall -- we have
improved a lot, but I don't see there is any chance that we are
able to catch up in a very short time."
Yao said last year that his goal at the Beijing Games was to
make the top six, meaning China would have to beat at least two
European rivals in the 12-team Olympic draw.
Despite the losses, Kazlauskas believes the summer was not
entirely hopeless after discovering a re-energized Yi, who finished
as the team's leading scorer in the Stankovic Cup and the European
Tour by averaging 27 points and 8.9 rebounds.
"I think what delights me most in Europe is Yi," said the coach
of his 20-year-old star. "He is a harvest for the team. The boy
made tremendous improvement as he played great games against top
teams in the world.
"I am very happy to see his confidence and technique have moved
to a higher level. I'd say he is a role model for the rest of the
team.
"Apart from Yi, we have made some progress in defense this
summer but it is not enough. I don't want to use Yao as an excuse
but I am sure we would be able to compete against European teams if
Yao was in the team."
(China Daily September 6, 2007)
