The U.S. press has discovered Yi Jianlian en masse today….the New York Times and USA Today both filed stories on Yi. T minus three days to the draft. Best quote comes from the USA Today article:

*****

Broadcaster [Don] MacLean, the former UCLA star and NBA forward, worked with Yi for a week recently.

“People say, ‘Oh, he’s good for a Chinese player.’ No, he’s good for good,” MacLean says.

*****

Thank goodness somebody’s finally picked up on the fact that saying that someone is good “for a Chinese player” is pretty damn insulting. He’s just good, the same way Yao is just good. Props to MacLean, and best of luck to Yi in the draft. (I’ve got the club picked out that I think will take him, but I’ll wait to see what happens Thursday before saying anything…)

The NBA and China hope they’ve found the next Yao (New York Times - available free online for one week)

China’s Yi brings wow factor to NBA draft (USA Today)