Ryan continues to demand attention in NJ, despite his coach refusing to give him real minutes.
Tonight, Ryan actually led his team in rebounding, with 9 total, including 3 offensive, in his meager 16 minutes. The starting PF (Yi) had only 4 rebounds, in his 31 minutes. Good game overall for Ryan actually, putting in 11 points on 9 shots, plus an assist and a block.
Ryan is an all-around player, a great shooter and rebounder, a rare combo in the typical NBA big man. What is not to like about this rookie, who, surprise surprise, went undrafted? Despite being first team all-PAC-10 as a sophomore, averaging 21.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, in fact, leading the whole conference in scoring.
And he has to ride the pine behind a Chinese guy who is totally unproven? How do you justify that?
How do you explain how Yi was the 6th pick in the first round of the draft last year? And Ryan goes undrafted? How do you explain that?
Unless you realize one key fact: the NBA is an entertainment product, driven by marketing, and is NOT a pure sporting competition based on basketball excellence. When you realize that one key fact, it all makes sense, because highly-skilled pale-skins like Ryan just aren't part of the NBA international marketing plan.
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