<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">DOHA, Qatar -- NBA prospect Yi Jianlian has been hailed by some as the "next Yao Ming." For now, the 19-year-old is just another member of China's national team. And his coach is less than pleased with him. "He needs to understand that it's not enough to be very talented," Lithuanian-born Jonas Kazlauskas said of Yi following China's 89-76 win over Kazakhstan at the Asian Games. "He needs to fight for every step, for every position, for every ball." Kazlauskas' words typify much of the buzz surrounding the 19-year-old Yi: That he is a great athlete whose basketball skills and on-court presence still have a long way to go. The 7-foot power forward had 14 points and six rebounds against Kazakhstan, but just as notable were his turnovers and flubbed shots. On defense, Kazakh players scored over him easily, and he was outshined at both ends of the court by former NBA player Wang Zhizhi, who scored 22 points and had five rebounds. "He was like a 'good boy'," Kazlauskas said of Yi. "Everyone could push him, could kick him out of the three-second zone. And he was happy with everything going on around him." Yi, who won a six-figure deal from Nike, had some impressive moves as well, including a massive jam in the third quarter and a fade-away jumper reminiscent of Dirk Nowitzki. While much work is ahead for Yi -- he especially needs to gain upper-body strength and build on-court intensity -- he has piqued the NBA's interest with his height and athleticism and is expected to be picked in the high rounds of next June's draft. Kazakhstan starter Yevgeny Issakov said Yi's height and quickness make him formidable. "He's very good and it's very hard for us to play over these tall Chinese guys," Issakov said. And China's captain, Liu Wei, cautioned against judging Yi's performance too harshly. "It's the first game and there's always a degree of adjustment that needs to be made," Liu said. "We'll be getting better and better." Yi's true age is a subject of some controversy. Reports put his birth year as early as 1984, partly because sports authorities are known to report their players as younger than they actually are to keep them eligible for junior competitions. Recruited into one of China's demanding state sports schools, Yi trained hard, eventually joining the Chinese Basketball Association. He led his native province's Guangdong Tigers to the CBA title last season, recording 20 double-doubles during the regular season and topping the 30-point mark eight times, including a 43-point performance in the regular season finale. </div> Source
