By Zhao Rui (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-17 09:35

My 16-year-old cousin is a hoops nut. He queues up outside the Oriental Plaza at dawn to buy a pair of special-edition KG Bounce (Kevin Garnett's sneakers). He saves three months' worth of pocket money to buy an authentic Hakeem Olajuwon jersey. And for the New Year he wants nothing more than a LeBron James bobblehead.

For fans like my little cousin, those tough and rugged players are always the most exciting to watch, while these "sweet shooters" hiding on the perimeter are a bore. Ditto for NBA coaches and general managers - just like no one wants to spend hard-earned money to buy J.J. Reddick's sneakers, you can rest assured Portland coach Nate McMillan wouldn't start a softie like Raef LaFrentz in the playoffs.

As for Yi Jianlian, the Bucks' lanky sharp-shooter, the worst title his fans could image is "sweet-shooter Yi".

No offense to the kid's smooth shooting touch, but for someone who said he patterns his game after the gritty Garnett, he sure has looked a lot more like the cowering Reddick lately.

January has been Yi's worst month in the NBA by far - he has crashed hard into the so-called rookie wall. He has just completed his worst four-game scoring streak of the season with only 21 total points on 9-for-32 shooting. And 29 of those attempts were mid-range jumpers, hardly the powerful slashing that has earned LeBron his legions of fans.

Some say Yi still lacks strength, especially in his upper body. That may explain some of his reluctance to go to the rim, but getting tough is a frame of mind. No matter how many bench presses or dead lifts he does, he won't intimidate anyone lofting shot after shot outside the paint. His 29-point explosion last month got people's attention, but his play has been too consistently weak to justify staying the course.

Wang Zhizhi, China's first NBA player, who also fell hopelessly in love with his jump shot, never scored more than 21 points. He was a poor shooter, and even though he claimed he could bench press 140 kg, his insistence on taking only jump shots and refusal to drive the lane finally resulted in his getting sacked by the Mavericks, as he returned to the CBA with his tail between his legs after four unpleasant years in the NBA.

Yi has said on many occasions that he admires Wang "very, very much". It's good of Yi to respect his predecessors, but Wang is a perfect example of a path Yi should not follow.

So be tough, Yi.

Do it before you get cobwebs on your shoes from standing around the perimeter for too long. And while you're at it, give Reddick a little elbow in the ribs for me next time the Bucks play the Magic. Let's see how just tough that kid really is.