The Man Who Would Be Ming

(3 of 3)

The day after the Guangdong debacle it becomes evident that for McClintock and Byrne, the Year of the Goat has begun about three weeks early. "The players that we invited from the U.S.A. are not doing well," says Sharks coach Liu Qiuping after practice. "Usually we bring in one tall American and one short one. When Yao Ming went to the NBA, we got two tall guys to take his place, but it didn't work out as we had wished. They do not play as if they are in a war. They should be full of spirit and energy. Instead, they are not very smooth."

Even an 18-year-old forward named Wang Li Gang feels obliged to throw his two fen in. "Not everybody can be like Michael Jordan," he says, "but I thought they'd be better than this."

The prestigious newspaper Wen Hui Bao is not quite as harsh in an article headlined, WORKER HARDER, HOMEBOYS:

"In the past, the Shanghai team gained the upper hand in the center position because of Yao Ming. And his extraordinary capability in defense also made up for the errors his teammates made. The team's weaknesses have all surfaced since Yao Ming left the team.

"It is learned that the Oriental Club is planning to recruit a new center from outside in order to substitute for Dan-ni-er, as a result of his poor performance. However, it is neither fair nor accurate to put all the blame on Dan-ni-er alone. It is also not helpful for the team's future success."

"It's not their fault," says Ma, who, with his ailing knee, played only a few minutes of the rout but drew the loudest ovation from the faithful. ("Ma Jian jia you!" they cried when he took the court. Add fuel, Healthy Ma!) "It's tough for them," he continues. "They come on short-term contracts. They are people who love this game, and they make our league look better. But their language is different, their culture is different, their playing system is different—you can't expect a Chinese coach and American players to work together so quickly.

"Our young Chinese players talk about Yao all the time—‘Oh, I wish he was here'—and I tell them that it's a waste of time talking about him. Look up at the ceiling, boys: There's his jersey. He's retired, and he's not coming back. Let's take care of our jobs. Forget him. Work hard today."

This is not to say that the young Sharks wish they were Yao. "They all want to be Kobe," Ma says. "None of the big guys' shoes sell well here." Ma contends that he is not jealous of Yao. But doesn't Ma wish he were the one in the NBA—even for one game? "Just one game would resolve everything in my life," he says, sighing. "I would know that I could play with the best. It would make my dream come true." And he begins to silently sob.

The Sharks have two days to prepare for the Hong Kong Flying Dragons. For the American players the writing seems to be on the wall: according to the Shanghai Daily, a Nigerian center named Uche Ejelu Okafor—declared ineligible by the NCAA a year ago when he tried to play at Missouri—has been called in for a secret tryout with the Sharks.

The evening of the game, the Sharks break out of their desolation with such intensity that they seem to have trained on maotai liquor instead of boiled noodles. There is no sign of Okafor. If his name was floated merely to warn the Americans—"killing the chicken to scare the monkey," in the words of a Chinese proverb—the ploy has worked, at least for one night.

Shanghai scores the first 10 points and leads Hong Kong 44-29 after one quarter. By this time gentle Dan McClintock has slammed home three dunks and has dared to yelp in protest to a referee. His wife is glowing with pride. When Dan-ni-er sits down in the second quarter with 25 points (and Byrne—who will be cut in a couple of weeks and replaced by an American guard—comes in to score 20 points), he almost seems to smile. But this would be vanity.

The Sharks win 122-108, and for an instant Yao Ming is just a memory.