Speaking with reporters<\/a>, Hansen also discussed the learning curve he\u2019s beginning as he adjusts to a new pace, physicality and playbook in the NBA.<\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m a new rookie, so for sure I need time to get used to everything,\u201d Hansen said through his translator, adding that there are a lot of new things to learn at once. \u201c … I might make a lot of mistakes [in Summer League], but I\u2019m lucky I\u2019ve got games to get more experience, so I will follow the flow of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Responses like that on Saturday served as a healthy reminder \u2014 and, perhaps, a slight recalibration of expectations for those swept up by the hype \u2014 that this is the start of Hansen\u2019s developmental journey in the NBA.<\/p>\n
Passing Acumen and Summer League Scheme?<\/p>\n
When asked about what gets him most excited about basketball, Hansen opened with business-like answers that would make a high school basketball coach blush. Winning, he said. Doing the things that help the team, he continued. Then he added a bit of color at the end of his answer:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I make a great pass that day, I may go back and check the highlight,\u201d Hansen said.<\/p>\n
Rupert also highlighted Hansen\u2019s passing ability when asked to give his first impressions of the rookie after practice No. 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s great. He\u2019s a great passer,\u201d Rupert said. \u201cHe\u2019s running very fast, I was pretty surprised, and he has great footwork. He\u2019s very good. He\u2019s going to be great.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an annual tradition for reporters to ask NBA players about their thoughts on their new rookie teammates. With Portland\u2019s last two first-round-pick rookies, their teammates collectively zeroed in on one or two qualities. For Scoot Henderson, his teammates raved about his speed at training camp. For Donovan Clingan, players gawked about the center\u2019s size and shot blocking. After listening to general manager Joe Cronin and Rupert\u2019s early reviews of Hansen \u2014and watching the highlights \u2014 I\u2019m guessing Hansen will continue to receive special recognition for his passing.<\/p>\n
Already, Rupert said he knows to be ready to cut when Hansen is operating with the ball on the wing or during dribble hand-offs on the perimeter.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time you cut from the baseline from the corner, you can get the ball,\u201d Rupert said. \u201cHe\u2019s a great passer. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
So how will Burrell utilize Hansen and those passing abilities in the offense in Las Vegas? After just one practice, he said they\u2019re still formulating the schemes. Whatever they wind up doing, he just knows it\u2019ll look unique.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very rare that you get a guy with that skillset at his size,\u201d Burrell said. \u201cObviously, that\u2019s going to make your team offensively and defensively look a little bit different than the normal NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he jumps from the Chinese Basketball Association to the NBA, Hansen said he\u2019s prepared to adjust his game accordingly early on. That means focusing less on scoring and more on doing the little things like defense, playmaking and rebounding. He also said he may be a little more cautious with flashier passes.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the highlight passes, I can\u2019t try them every time,\u201d Hansen said. \u201cOtherwise Coach Chauncey will curse me out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Navigating the Language Barrier<\/p>\n
The first Summer League practice carried the unique challenge of navigating the language barrier with Hansen \u2014 a challenge that the Trail Blazers will have to navigate all season. Burrell said the practice looked a little different since Hansen has his translator helping out, but so far the process has gone smoothly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like we have to hit the brakes and go really, really slow for him,\u201d Burrell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor sure it\u2019s difficult, and I try to use the English I know\u201d Hansen added. \u201cI know more basketball words than daily life, so I can talk more and try to use more words to communicate with my coaches and teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Burrell mentioned, Hansen is getting a lot thrown his way right now. He\u2019s adjusting to a new league, a new country and a new language, while dealing with the pressure of high expectations. So far, the coach is impressed by the young player\u2019s ability to work through it all.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t imagine being in his shoes,\u201d Burrell said. \u201cThis is all new to him \u2014 the language, the culture, at his age \u2014 and he handles it amazing. I\u2019m highly impressed with him so far. The kid has maturity, and he\u2019s got character. He\u2019s picking up things fast, and he\u2019s going to have a really good Summer League.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rookie Yang Hansen and the rest of the Portland Trail Blazers Summer League team held their first official…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":43024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[11091,11086,11092,16220,1075,204,33759,2968,33760,33761,196,62,1176,33757,11085,67,132,68,33758],"class_list":{"0":"post-43023","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-blazer","9":"tag-blazers","10":"tag-edge","11":"tag-first","12":"tag-from","13":"tag-front-page","14":"tag-hansen","15":"tag-league","16":"tag-practice","17":"tag-practice-report","18":"tag-s","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-summer","21":"tag-takeaways","22":"tag-trail","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-yang"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114805604637463829","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}