rainman

I love all the comments about his age, first of all he says he's 19 and the Chinese coaches say the same thing, why not take him at his word. I read one comment where someone said he was born in october of 84 which means he's 24. Do the math Einstein if he's born in oct of 84 he's 22.BFD.

To me this guy is the biggest sleeper in this draft, a mobile 7 fter, some of the video i've seen on him he moves around the basket like a Kevin Garnett(seriously). No offense to Brandan Wright or any other powerforward but if i'm looking to fill that position Yi is the guy i'm taking.

HB

rainman, seems you know quite a bit about the kid. If he were playing in college this year, how would he stack up against the other prized freshmen?

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ralaw

I've watched him a couple of times. I will say that he is very talented and he has that NBA swagger, so I expect him to be able to contribute something; however, I don't think that impact will be immediate. He is still young and inconsistent, which should be expected. If you ask me is greatest weakness is that he doesn't dominate in any one area, but with his skill set he will have an impact.

At this point I wouldn't take him over any of the prized freshmen, but after they're off the board I don't see why not. I would say he's in the mix with the second tier players.

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HB

Thanks for the info ralaw. I have only seen him a few times too. I guess whats impressive is that he didnt play like he was 7 foot. Seems much more mobile.

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rainman

The problem with seeing video highlights on a player is you dont see the negative stuff its usually all good. When talking about this years prized freshman the player who would probably match up favorably would be Brandan Wright, i dont think Wright runs the court as well as Yi and is probably a couple of inches shorter. Either one should be the top powerforward selected, Yi may have more upside, Brandan less risk. Just my opinion.

Like A Breath

I've seen him play in the World Championships and Olympics, and he played very poorly both times. His quickness and athletic ability are great as advertised, but he disappears from a game very easily. He didn't make many hustle plays and gets pushed around on the inside easily. He has a midrange jumper, but gets nervous and can start bricking them wildly(like airballs and inadvertent bank shots). He wasn't aggressive driving to the hoop. He would get dominated in the NBA right now, but if he can adjust he has the athleticism and talent to be a legit player.

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rainman

Ask Spain if he was agressive taking it to the basket.

MemphisX

Lazy

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Jizzy

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What's your feel on this guy? I'm just going by the NBAdraft.net site and they have him as the next Pau but watching that clip, I think he's more athletic then Pau and has more mobility. Where do you see him going and how do you think he'll play in this league?

One thing is for sure, he looks much stronger then he gets credit for.

rainman

Someone can move this to the prospect profiles if they want as we've had a thread going on there. I'm glad you added this footage because this guy is one of the sleepers of this draft, I dont know if his basketball IQ is that of Gasol's but you're right he is more mobile and athletic. Around the basket he's sort of like a Garnett or a Stoudemire and he has 3 inches on Amare. The way you could market this guy in several major US cities is huge, we've already seen it with Yao, he would be getting a lot of allstar votes from day one wouldnt he?

As for where he'll go in the draft we know the first two slots barring some sort of catastrophe are locked up, then to me its open season. Some may come out some might not. I wouldnt have any problem making Yi the first powerforward taken in the draft, whatever pick that might be.

Jizzy