How about this for a Yao “Wow,” courtesy of a curious George:

“His size reminds me of Wilt’s size when Wilt (Chamberlain) had such a size advantage over everybody,” U.S. national team coach George Karl said.

Yao Ming of China signs an autograph for Xiaohong Sun last Wednesday in Oakland, Calif. Ming was the first player selected in the 2002 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets last June. He's leading China's national team at the world championships.

Visually, that was the first impression 7-foot-5 center Yao Ming left after his first appearance in the U.S., an 84-54 exhibition loss in front of a sellout crowd of 19,873 in Oakland.

Yao had 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, altering about five other shots when U.S. players drove against him.

“To my surprise, he was a whole lot better than I thought he was,” Ben Wallace said.

In sneakers, Yao is actually 7-614. His legs are thick with muscle, probably twice as thick as Shawn Bradley’s and four times as thick as Keon Clark’s.

The American players seemed to find that Yao looked even bigger in person than he did on film, and Karl was impressed with Yao’s solid fundamentals the perfect release on his turnaround jumper, his passing, his dominant defensive presence near the basket.

Karl prefaced his remarks by saying that Yao is not in Wilt’s category, but he couldn’t help but remember some of his earliest impressions of the NBA watching Chamberlain on television and seeing the most offensively dominant big man in the history of the game.

“Wilt used the fadeaway off the backboard. No one could ever block it. It couldn’t be blocked. That was the year he scored 50 points per game. He had the fadeaway and no one in the league could get near it because of his size.

“Wilt was more athletic,” Karl continued. “This kid is not a bad athlete, he’s more of a basketball player than an uncoordinated big man.”

Yao has been in North America for more than a week now with the Chinese national team, getting his first extended taste of an entirely different culture.

At different times, he has come off alternately as aloof, shy, bewildered, standoffish and humorous.

He also seems to be adaptable, a fast learner who says one of his main goals is to become proficient enough in English to be able to get by without a translator.

Yao will remain in the United States through Sept. 8 for the World Championships in Indianapolis, which begin Thursday. He will then return to China to prepare for the Asian Games before joining the Rockets in mid-October.

A few snapshots from Yao’s first few days on the other side of the world:

No Blings on Ming

Yao arrived at the team hotel in Vancouver wearing a Team China warmup suit and no jewelry. He carried his own bags to his room, then walked with the rest of the team about a quarter-mile to the arena.

He signed autographs without showing much expression, even to an enthusiastic middle-aged couple from Barcelona who were already well aware of exactly who Yao is.

At an informal meeting with reporters, Yao answered in English to the first five questions posed to him. His voice was soft, his answers spoken almost in a mumble. There were perhaps five or six reporters and two cameramen present, yet Yao later said he was overwhelmed by the media mob.

A week later in Oakland, however, he smoothly showed some humor while facing a postgame interview horde that has swelled to about 80.

“I hope when he fell on me it didn’t hurt him much,” Yao said of a play in Thursday night’s game when Wallace was pump-faked off his feet and came down hard atop Yao.

Buzz in Gastown

Yao’s first game in North America was an exhibition against Canada in which he shot 6-for-6 from the field and 5-for-5 from the line.

On the day prior to the game, Team Canada made a charity appearance at the Salvation Army in a rundown section of Vancouver. Steve Nash and his teammates served up plates of food, with the menu consisting of white chunks of something in brownish-orange sauce over white rice.

One of the older men being fed, a down-and-out fellow who had obviously seen better days, wore a black Vancouver Grizzlies t-shirt.

Another of the downtrodden called out to Canada coach Jay Triano: “Hey, Jay. You’ve got no big guys. How ya gonna stop Yao Ming?”

No 2 takes on No. 1

During the game in Oakland, the U.S. players’ eyes lit up on the few occasions when they were able to challenge Yao one-on-one.

Antonio Davis tried to dunk on Yao and had the shot blocked, while Jermaine O’Neal and Wallace had to twist and maneuver to get their shots over Yao’s outstretched arm.

Guard Jay Williams, who was picked second overall by the Chicago Bulls (Yao went No. 1 to Houston) in last June’s NBA draft, unsuccessfully tried to dunk over Yao at the end of each half.

The first time, the ball squirted out of his hand as Williams rose toward the rim. The second time, Yao didn’t step over to challenge the shot.

“I don’t think he was quite ready for it. His being 7-5, he probably didn’t think a little guy was going to challenge him,” Williams said. “I just tried to surprise him a little.”