Yi Jianlian has received constant attention - from both local and international reporters - since his arrival in Milwaukee. (Getty)

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October 23, 2007

MILWAUKEE -- The members of the Milwaukee Bucks' training staff might be well-advised to fit Yi Jianlian with a pair of goggles before he is introduced to the physical punishment of his first National Basketball Association season.

And while they're at it, they ought to make sure those goggles are darkly tinted. The glare of all those cameras that have been following the Bucks' 7-foot, 238-pound lottery prize around since he touched down in the United States might take a heavier toll on him than all of the bumps and bruises that will be inflicted upon him by rival NBA post players.

The spotlight is not new to Yi, though. In fact, Bucks assistant coach Jarinn Akana, who scouted and bonded with Yi in his homeland of China, believes he'll be subjected to less live scrutiny here than he received back in his homeland. He not only won three CBA most valuable player awards, but developed a rock-star persona there.

"The team that Yi played for in China, the Guangdong Tigers, are kind of like the old Lakers -- 'Showtime,'" Akana said. "They won three championships in a row. When they go and play a team in a smaller market in China, people come and pack the arena to watch them.

"When the Tigers come to play, and they have Yi and some other National Team players, it's like, 'Boom!' Yi has very, very big status, because he's a big guy, he runs, he dunks, he does everything. In China, that's new."

Those Chinese fans won't be able to see Yi play in-person, but Akana knows their eyes will still be focused on his every move in the NBA.

"They'll be watching him, and he knows that. They'll be watching him here, too, but there's a lot more people back in China who'll be watching."

It would be virtually impossible for Bucks fans to fathom how many, though General Manager Larry Harris tried to put that in perspective.

"An average NBA game in the United States is viewed by 10 million people," Harris said. "One Friday night Houston Rockets game (with China native Yao Ming on center stage) is viewed by 187 million people in China. Yi comes from the capital city in China that has 15 million people and a province of 74 million people.

"I've talked to Charlie Villanueva, who's from New York City. They have eight million people there. Yi's city doubles that, plus his province has 74 million people. I don't think people here can really comprehend that."

Yi's home folks want to see their latest NBA native son succeed in a big way.

"The Chinese people are very proud, and they want to make sure their countryman is being put in the best position," Harris said. "I think they're finding out that Milwaukee is embracing him, cares about him, and is doing what it can do promote him and to develop him.

"I'm trying to educate our players about the magnitude of all this. When you think of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in their heyday, well, that's what this is for the Chinese people, with Yao (Ming) and Yi playing in the NBA. That's their Jordan and Pippen. We have their Scottie Pippen right now, and we have to develop him."

Akana believes Yi will thoroughly embrace those efforts. He has observed his coachability since his first exposure to basketball in the United States, and has always been impressed with his aptitude.

"I saw Yi in international competition when he was younger, and then I saw him at Pete Newell's big man's camp about three years ago," Akana said. "He came in, and Coach Newell was very impressed and tried to help him out and give him a little extra attention.He sought him out and helped him with different things. That was a great experience for him.

"Then he came over for the Nike Hoop Summit. I've been over a couple of times scouting and doing clinics in China. I've followed him the last couple years and watched him grow and develop. He had a lot of pressure put on him at a young age in a tournament he played in Germany. He had like 30 points on the American team, and everybody put a lot of pressure on him, but he's been good. He stuck with his progress, and he's here now. He's in the NBA."

Harris was amazed at Yi's quick transition.

"For him to get off a plane and within 15 hours spends two and a half hours practicing with a team he's never spent time with and knows very little about, he really made a nice segue," Harris said. "From what I've seen before and during the short time he's been here, he is going to be a contributor for us right away. We were very fortunate for him to be available at No. 6 for us.

"Several of our players were amazed at how quickly he fit in, without a translator. Most guys in his position just come in and shy away, hang on the sidelines and feel things out. He put himself right into the fray.

"When he got on the floor and immediately fit right in, that made me proud of him and proud of the other players."

Akana, having observed Yi for several years, was pleased to see Yi's smooth transition, too, but he was not totally shocked by it.

"Getting through an NBA practice is not easy if you don't understand," Akana said. "He picks up a lot of things. He sees things one or two times and knows, 'OK, that's what I've got to do.' Once Yi sees something over and over, he'll know what it is."

Akana does not expect Yi to be intimiated once he experiences the warp speed and blinding spotlights of the NBA regular season and the flying elbows that come along with it.

"Yi is a very humble kid," Akana said. "He doesn't show much emotion. He looks at pressure and doesn't change his demeanor. He plays the same way. I think part of that will evolve like it has with Yao Ming.

"When you play in the NBA, when you play this game, you've got to have some of that. It comes out with more experience and confidence in your game, and being able to go out there and compete with the best players in the world."

Harris has made a vow that the Bucks will do everything they can to help Yi reach the highest possible echelon of that elite group.

"In our talks with Yi's people in China, one of the things that was very clear on both sides was our commitment and our promise to develop Yi, from the day he got here, to make him a better player each and every day," Harris said. "We made that commitment and we're going to do that.

"We understand what Yi is carrying on his shoulders -- his country, his expectations, what he wants to be. It was almost like we were taking their son from his family, and that's how the Chinese people felt. They wanted us to take care of him, and that's what we've promised to do."

With the world looking on.