All hail the monkey king!
I've seen too little of Sun Yue's game to know whether he has truly earned a title that declares absolute royalty over all monkeys -- although wisely, he avoided a claim encompassing all primates, which, given how many species are involved, is exceptionally bold -- but "Monkey King" would be Sun Yue's preferred nickname. More important, the un-preferred nickname would be any version of "The Chinese Magic Johnson," a tag thrust upon him by some media and fans. The nickname is a nod to Sun Wukong, a mythical monkey hero from the Chinese novel "Journey to the West." And below is Wikipedia's list of Sun Wukong's powers. If Yue can do even a quarter of these activities, dude is an absolute steal as a second-round pick.
Sun Wukong possesses incredible strength, being able to lift his 13,500 jīn (8,100 kg) Ruyi Jingu Bang with ease. He also has superb speed, traveling 108,000 li (54,000 kilometers) in one somersault. Sun knows 72 transformations, which allows him to transform into various animals and objects; he is, however, shown with slight problems transforming into other people, since he is unable to complete the transformation of his tail. He is a skilled fighter, capable of holding his own against the best generals of heaven. Each of his hairs possesses magical properties, and is capable of transforming into a clone of the Monkey King himself, or various weapons, animals, and other objects. He also knows various spells in order to command wind, part water, conjure protective circles against demons, freeze humans, demons, and gods alike, to name a few. Unlike most gods, he earned his immortality through battling heaven and earth.
AK
KBBlitz....
Did Sun Yue lose weight?...according to the NBC Olympic info gathering mafia, they listed him at 214, 3 pounds less than the Lakers weighed him in that predraft youtubeclip @ 217 lbs.
Once he relocates to Los Angeles, and perhaps adapts his diet, (inevitable on road trips), he may pick up some more weight, which he will nullify, because he won't be playing that much and so he can spend his days working out on the weights or doing drills. I'd say that he's going to eventually fill out. I think Kobe was 200 lbs when he was drafted, but that was because he was 17. Remember what I claim, Asian atheltes peak later than African American athletes, unless were talking about 3'10" gymnasts. I think Sun will eventually be a more muscular 220lbs.
Posted by: humanomaly | September 14, 2008 at 07:13 PM
Jon K and HmrHd,
The "pharmaceuteutical"....I see where you're trying to annoint him with an appropriate name, but, I don't get good vibes....kinda reminds me of "the professor" from the And1 crap that is the only stuff on when it's the only stuff on...
If you insist try "the pharmacist", a profession which involves distribution (of medication) and clinical (knowledge of patient condition and possible courses of treatment, involvinging monitoring patient response to mediacations, appropriate medication usage and dosing, etc etc etc, believe me, I know about it....
I think if Jordan is called the "Pharmacist" he would walk all over the memories of the "Professor", and I think Jordan is cerebral in his approach to the game, So I'm ok with it.
H,, Rph
Posted by: humanomaly | September 14, 2008 at 07:25 PM
Justalakerfan,
Okay, your criticisms listed make a lot more sense, in terms of stating why you don't like Phil as a coach. That's a lot more specific and legit- whether I concur with all of them or not- than a "the zen image" issue, which we both agree isn't really relevant here.
As far as Mbenga goes, I wasn't trying to sound arrogant or dismissive with the videos. It's not a question of me being "open minded." I just meant that I'd already seen Mbenga play before he was a Laker, in Laker games, in practice (which fans don't get to see) and have talked to the coaching staff about him. And considering he's a guy with limited career PT as it is, I doubt there's anything in the videos terribly different than I've already seen. Realistically speaking, the sample size to see is only so big to begin with.
In the end, I think this is simply a question of you thinking Mbenga is a better and more effective player than I do. Thus, we'll probably have to agree to disagree.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | September 11, 2008 at 05:17 PM
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Fair enough. We agree to disagree on Mbenga. Thanks for the lively exchange of views.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | September 14, 2008 at 08:50 PM
I saw a stat line for Sun Yu that abslolutely amazed me. 10 points, 14 rebounds, 12 dimes, 8 blocks, and 6 steals all in one game! Mind you this was in the ABA, but still numbers that blow you away! I also seen that he has a very adequate 3 point shot. D, dimes, and 3's, now that is talking. I dont pretend to think he can do this in the NBA, but if he can come close to simulating these numbers he is just what the Dr. ordered!
Posted by: PJindaflesh! | September 18, 2008 at 03:24 PM