More good news for Yao potential appreciaters.
More bad news for you Yao haters.
In addition to getting ball movement Rick Adleman as coach....
Yao had Olajuwon give him his first one on one 90 minute training session.
Are more to follow? Oh i hope so. Yao already feeling the results.
Olajuwon worked with Yao for about 90 minutes, picking apart Yao's post moves and giving him pep talks along the way.
"How do you dominate the game?" Olajuwon asked his attentive protege. "You are hardworking, you have the conditioning, you have the shots. You have everything. Now, you have to dominate."
Olajuwon showed off a few of his old moves, too, dropping in some baseline jumpers and jump hooks as easily as he did 10 years ago.
Yao hopes Olajuwon's killer instinct rubs off on him, too. By the end of their practice, Yao felt like it had.
"The biggest difference between him and me is the mentality," Yao said. "He's got two championship rings. I can hear very strongly from him, 'You are the biggest player on the court. You need to go in and change the game. You need to be dominant.' He repeated that time and time again. I feel a little bit different. I feel his heart."
Olajuwon retired after the 2001-02 season and the Rockets drafted Yao with the first pick a few months later.
Yao has blossomed into one of the league's top centers, averaging 25 points and nine rebounds last season. But he showed in this year's playoffs he still has much to improve, committing 33 turnovers against Utah.
"My average score is up, my average turnovers are also high this year," Yao said. "I need to work on that."
Olajuwon showed Yao how to get into the lane from various spots and score using a single dribble.
"If you get the ball here, they're in trouble," Olajuwon said. "You should score easily."
The two had no more workouts planned, but both seemed eager to schedule another.
