The Big China Man Yao Ming

When Yao Ming finally announced his retirement, the big China man not only put an end to a glittering career, but he also left a gaping hole in the legacy of Chinese basketball. There seems to be no one to continue the legacy of one of the finest talents to have ever embraced the game. Yao Ming not only contributed to the sport of basketball in terms of his outstanding talent, he was also an excellent ambassador to the sport. 

If this is not enough, he caused the popularity of basketball in China to rocket and due to his contributions; China became the second largest country in terms of NBA viewership, and it is even now.

Keep in mind that China has an extensive and rigorous state-run athletics program to top the massive interest in the game.

Some pointers might help depict a clearer picture as to why this might be the case.  To start with, China's system is extremely demanding and overburdening for the players. Some critics believe that Yao Ming's career was cut short at the mere age of 30 due to the unreasonable levels of stress he had to endure as part of the Chinese national team.

This focus on winning at the expense of health indeed envelops a huge risk of career threatening injuries. Secondly, China seems to lay all the focus on recruiting tall players. It is worth noting that the NBA has done well in adapting players of all heights in to the game. Besides, if the 5 ft. 3 inch Muggsy Bogues can have a successful career in the NBA, then the Chinese better pay heed to the little master.

And then there is fact that Chinese have a tendency to search for a talent that shines at a young age. There appears to be no relaxation in terms of the time given for a player to develop and harness his potential. The Chinese need to pay attention to Michael Jordan in this scenario, who was dropped from his high school team and later went on to become the icon of basketball.

Last but not the least, there is a strong focus on education in China, a thing which has placed them at par with the Western powers. That in itself is a good thing; however, it can be destructive if it overshadows all other aspects of life, especially sports. Children generally tend to get very less free time to engage in sports as a recreational activity. But as they, to achieve something you have to lose something and unfortunately, it's the hoops  game that is suffering at the moment.

In truth, there are probably many potential future Yao Ming's roaming the streets of Beijing right now. However, it all depends on the state and how it plans to work towards identifying and grooming that talent. For Yao Ming's part, he has assumed the ownership of a Chinese basketball club and rest assured, there will be some stars emerging from that team. Probably at the moment, that is all he can do.

Basketball Star - Yao Ming

July 20, 2011 14:00 pm, Yao Ming and his team held a press conference in Shanghai, announced himself officially retired, ending 16-year professional basketball career, and in the conference process due to emotional and shed tears. Since Yao went down, the Rockets have won five straight games. A perfect span in which they have beaten two sub-par teams (Grizzlies, Pacers), one reasonably good team (Wizards), and two very good, talented teams teams (Nuggets, Mavericks). So, it seems as if having their most reliable player has not affected the Rockets in a bad way. Rather, Yao being sidelined looks to have galvanized Houston.

Tracy McGrady is a superstar and when healthy is one of the best players in the league. He is going to get his points with or without Yao Ming. But, the rest of the team is a different story. When Yao and McGrady are in the game, the rest of the team is reduced to mere role players, giving an extra little something to get Houston over the hump. No one player does anything out of the ordinary. However, since Yao went down, Tracy McGrady has had to rely on the rest of the team to continue the insane hot streak the Rockets are currently riding. Rafer Alston is scoring like primetime player. Shane Battier, aside from his usual selfless play and reliable defense, has also started putting up big scoring numbers. Luis Scola is filling the void in the paint beautifully. Yao Ming in the 1997-98 CBA season officially set foot on the track to help the Shanghai team for three consecutive years starting from the 99-00 season, reached the final of the CBA, and in 2002 defeated The Team won the championship. Yao Ming in the CBA league record left a lot of brilliant, for example, in the finals once during the 21-21, have four games in a row sent a total of 40 blocks, and so on.

Houston Rocket's Yao Ming's career may be over due to a non-healing foot fracture. He was sidelined during the playoffs on May 8th with a hairline fracture of his navicular. As of today, this has not healed properly. The nature of his non-union and his prognosis is being kept quiet by the team physicians, but it is evident that there is a problem. Most stress fractures heal completely in 6 to 8 weeks. Many of these fractures are actually missed due to lack of specific x-ray findings. Many fractures are actually misdiagnosed for months. Plain film x-rays are often read as normal so the fracture is missed until symptoms increase. Early symptoms can be diffuse and non-specific so the index of suspicion is also low. Abnormal biomechanics of the foot often are one of the causes of these fractures, so biomechanical control is crucial to distribute the abnormal stress so an athlete can return to sports and have a lower risk of recurrence.