He wasn't in attendance all decked out in a tailor-made suit, but the Houston Rockets still got their man.
The Houston Rockets surprised no one by making Chinese center Yao Ming the first pick of the 2002 NBA draft Wednesday night, after having logged more flyer miles and placed more long-distance phone calls than any NBA team just to get the China Basketball Association's stamp of approval to take the 7-foot-5 Ming.