Yao Ming is...

...extremely tall and very good at basketball. His ability to lock down two Portland big men, alter every single shot in the paint and make Greg Oden look like the rookie that he is truly astounds.

When Yao first came into the league, I was impressed with his size and that was about it. Now, his whole game is a thing to admire. His footwork in the post is Duncanesque, freeing him up to pop those little eight--twelve footers that he's become so good at.

He moves very well from the top of the key to the baseline, those huge arms changing just about anything in his area.

He's a great passer--one of the better bigs in the league at hitting his guards in stride for good outside shots (watch that stuff, G.O.!)...

And the man handles himself so well. Listen to him speak English. I know I wouldn't be able to speak Chinese that well if I'd been in that country for less than ten years.

He is a game changer, and well worth that first overall draft choice, which reminds me: NFL draft today! My Broncos have two first-round picks; the McDaniels experiment begins.