'Basketball Cesar' seeks feeders for Yao Ming

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, March 18, 2004

'Basketball Cesar' seeks feeders for Yao Ming

Determined to build the Yao Ming-led Chinese men's national squad into a first class basketball team, Lithuanian coach Jonas Kazlauskas is looking for fine feeders for the NBA All-star center.

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Determined to build the Yao Ming-led Chinese men's national squad into a first class basketball team, Lithuanian coach Jonas Kazlauskas is looking for fine feeders for the NBA All-star center.

"One of our problems maybe who can make excellent passes for Yao Ming, for Bateer and for other guys," Kazlauskas, who arrived here on Tuesday to start work with Team China as deputy head coach, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

"The Chinese team has very good inside players like Yao and Bateer, but there is a little problem with point guards," said Kazlauskas, nicknamed "European Basketball Cesar" by Chinese media. "If our opponents play double defense against these big guys, who can shoot and who can pass at the same time?"

Kazlauskas suggested that Yao would need strong support from his teammates, especially the outside shooters.

"When guys are open, they can shoot. If not, they can pass the ball for Yao," Kazlauskas added. "If guys just looked on Yao, that is bad,"

"We will try to make other players stronger before Yao came back from the NBA."

Yao Ming will join the team after finishing the Houston Rockets' NBA season.

Kazlauskas also urged the Chinese players to improve their shooting after move.

"You have good shooters, but from poles. If you stay and shoot, it's OK," Kazlauskas. "But who can do that after move and after break?"

According to the 50-year-old Lithuanian, there are still more problems with the Chinese team and that's why the Dallas Mavericks' Del Harris and he were hired by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

"If there are no problems, we will not be here," he said. "We have five months for work. It's very long time to go and we can do a lot of things."

Kazlauskas, who directed Lithuania to bronze medal at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, will take care of the Chinese team for over two months before Harris took over.

The 66-year-old Harris, currently a Mavericks assistant, was appointed the first foreign head coach of Team China, but he would not be available to take the helm until after the Mavericks' season, which could run as late as June.

The Chinese national team, which had been assembled on Monday for the build-up for the Athens Olympic Games scheduled for August, will have a training camp in Dallas in July and play some international friendly matches in Belgrade in the same month.

China, who placed 10th at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and 12th at the 2002 World Championships, eyed a top eight finish at the Athens.

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