Yao Ming’s Rise to Success

　　The "little Giant "of basketball has been improving his game.

　　As you may have noticed, 2005-2006 was Yao Ming’s breakout(breakout=expericencing sudden success that surpasses any previous achievement) season. Criticized during his first three seasons for being too passive and unable to play heavy minutes because of stamina(stamina=the physical and/or mental strength to do something which might be difficult and which will take a long time.) and foul（犯規(guī)=an act which is against the rules of a sport, often causing inury to another player）trouble,Yao answered his critics last season in a big way.

　　Yao,25, even has some saying he has surpassed Shaquille O’Neal and Ben Wallace to become the game’s best center (中鋒= a player whose position is between other players or in the center). At 7 feet 6 inches and 310 pounds, he certainly strikesan imposing (imposing=having an appearance which looks important or causes admiration) figure.

　　"But he’s still trying to do something no one has ever done, which is play huge minutes at that size," said Rockets(休斯頓火箭隊(duì)= the NBA team based in Houston,Texas) coachJeff Van Gundy, who says Yao is one of the hardest-working players he’s ever coached."I said it many times-he’s so, so diligent(diligent=careful and using a lot of effort) about his craft.

　　"He comes early,stays late. So he’s in as good a shape as you can be, and yet at times he’s going to still have those nights where he’s playing big minutes back-to-back where he’s a little bit slow-footed."

　　Productive recovery time

　　If anybody’s slow-footed,it’s opposite centers, who have had a difficult time keeping up with Yao. The four-year veteran dropped 36 points and 12 rebounds(籃板球= the act of gaining possession of a ball that has bounced off the backboard 籃板or rim邊緣 of the basket) in a 2006 game against the Mavericks(達(dá)拉斯小牛隊(duì)= the NBA team based in Dallas,Texas).

　　After missing 21 games because of a December 2005 surgery on his left great toe, Yao’s game has soared. While recovering, he did a lot of studying of the game.

　　What Yao has accomplished since returning from surgery has been nothing short of phenomenal(relating to something that is extremely successful, often because of special qualities or abilities). Early in his career, he was hamperedby adjusting to the faster-paced NBA, the language barrier and living in a foreign country far away from his home in China. Now, he could be the league’s most dominating center for the next decade.

　　PS: Despite suffering a fracturedknee last year, Yao Ming continues to be one of the world’s leading basketball players.Growing confidence

　　Van Gundy has cautioned the critics not to be so judgmental when analyzing(to examine something very carefully) Yao.

　　"Yao is not blessed with anything except God-given size and great parents," Van Gundy said."Everything else has been worked for, basketball-wise." There are a lot easier roads to becoming a really, really good player in this league. He had a difficult road , and he made it through his own internal(=existing or happening inside a person, object,organization, place or country) drive to be great."

　　Rockets assistantcoach Tom Thibodeau，who works closely with Yao，said his prize protege（= a young person who is always helped and taught by an older and ususlly famous person）is always willing to do what's right to improve his game. Part of Yao's commitment came last summer when, for the first time, he decided to not play for the Chinese national team; instead taking a much-needed break.

　　"I think he prepares himself as well as any pro athleter,"Thibodeau said ."His dedicationand discipline are second to none. It leads to confidence for him. The way he works each day and, in the game, he's prepared to play, and then he is very analytical afterward."

　　A determined player

　　Yao's resurgence coincidedwith the release of his movie, The Year of the Yao. The documentary, in part, illustrates the challenges Yao faces on and off the court.

　　Count New Jersey Nets coach Lawrence Frank as a believer in the big man.

　　"I think his improvement has been unbelievable,"Frank said,"He's a special player."

　　So special that Thibodeau can only imagine where Yao will be once he reaches his prime.

　　"He has the ability to ... take steps to improve."Thibodeau said."It's a process. This hasn't been all of a sudden-boom! If he has not played well in a game, but he has great determinationto get better."