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Notebook Yao draws a crowd off the court, tooPosted: Friday February 07, 2003 9:36 PMUpdated: Saturday February 08, 2003 12:06 AM
By John Hollinger, SI.com ATLANTA -- The word "paparazzi' doesn't come up often in the NBA world, but it certainly applied at Friday's media day. As Yao Ming entered the room and crossed it to reach his table, a throng of writers, photographers and assorted other hangers-on followed in his wake. The herd was so massive, you would have thought Princess Diana had come back to life and resurfaced in the Centennial Ballroom of the Atlanta Hyatt Regency. Cameras lined up deep enough that a path had to be cleared just to get him to his table. A slew of Chinese media had already been waiting for nearly an hour, blowing off the entire rookie game field just to position themselves for Yao, while the rest of the horde descended on the table upon his arrival. Some photographers positioned themselves on stepladders -- big ones, the kind that you could clean your gutters with -- to get a shot. "The guy's 7-5 -- like they can't see him anyway?" wondered Brad Miller. Meanwhile, the NBA set up a sound system to blare the translations of Yao's comments to the waiting masses, knowing full well that only a small percentage of the assembled entourage could get within earshot.
Excuse meIf you ask Croatian rookie Gordan Giricek of the Memphis Grizzlies, Americans smile too much. "They always want to smile, always happy," he said. "When I'm mad I show my feelings. That's the way people are, it's natural. [Americans] don't realize that I think. Most people are always smiling, 'Excuse me' this, 'Excuse me' that, being polite. I think a lot of that is fake. Sixty percent is fake." Giricek's impression of America probably wasn't helped when a reporter asked him about his experience playing for Yugoslavia in the World Championships -- his country, Croatia, fought a bloody war for independence from Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.The sweet-shooting guard says he is playing for less money in Memphis than he could have made had he stayed in Russia -- where he played for CSKA Moscow a year ago -- because of the potential to earn much more in the future if he plays well. "In two years, maybe if I play good, I get more money than anybody can get in Europe because they pay more here," he said. Giricek could have re-signed a 3-year deal in Russia for "great money."
Garrity's gun readyPeja Stojakovic and Brent Barry are the front-runners in the 3-point competition, but is Orlando's Pat Garrity the dark horse? "I could be," he said Friday. "It's really such a quick contest. The first round goes by so fast. It's who's hot." Garrity's quick release and set-shot style bode well for his chances. "I don't jump a whole lot. So I'm able to get off a lot of shots in a short amount of time."
Miller timeBrad Miller made the All-Star team as a member of the Indiana Pacers, but he knows he owes a big thank you to David Wesley of the New Orleans Hornets and is glad to see his friend at All-Star Weekend in the 3-point competition. "When I got in the NBA, [Wesley] and Bobby Phills took me under their wing. I have always stayed in touch with him," Miller said. "It's just fun to enjoy it with someone like that who's had a big difference on me in my career." Like starting East center Ben Wallace, Miller went undrafted out of college despite a high-profile career at Purdue. "I have no idea [how they missed me]. Many people wondered that, including myself and my family. I just have to look at like it happens for a reason. I've always had that on my shoulders. It seemed like every team [at the draft] was like 'Yeah, we're interested'; then every team kept going and picked someone else. That's a motivation."
Best retro jerseyJermaine O'Neal's bright-orange Elway jersey was impressive, but a young man on the corner of Harris and Peachtree streets with an "MPLS" jacket -- for George Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers -- took the prize. It doesn't get older school than that.
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