Yi JianLian (7-0, listed 1987 but...)
Projection: Lottery, how high will depend on workouts
In short: Athletic and mobile 7 footer.
Background:
Sun Yue (6-9, 1985)
Projection: Late 2nd round to undrafted.
In short: 6-9 point guard.
Background:
I will write my opinions later.
Projection: Lottery, how high will depend on workouts
In short: Athletic and mobile 7 footer.
Background:
- Both parents were former handball players (father 6-3 tall, mother 5-8)
- Picked up basketball later (in 1999 ~age 15) than most kids of his height in China
- Apr 2002: Albert Schweitzer Turnier: 15p 6r 2b. Received great reviews despite China's record.
- May 2002: MVP of Asian Adidas Camp.
- Jul 2002: Sole Asian representative in Adidas ABCD camp. All Star Game: 8p 5r. Scouts started to notice.
- Dec 2002: Helped China to reclaim Asian U18 Title
- 2003 CBA season: Joined the CBA in mid-season, and was a key player off the bench in the CBA Finals. Named CBA Rookie of the Year: 5.0p 3.3r on 58%FG. Also 2nd in dunk contest.
- Jun 2003: Probably the only bright spot for China in World U19 Tournament in Greece: 18.9p 11.5r 1.6b.
- Jul 2003: Invited to the Pete Newell Big Man Camp in Las Vegas.
- Aug 2003: Signed a 6 year deal with Nike, who just lost Yao to Reebok. The reported contract exceeded his salary.
- Sep 2003: Won the National City Games for his hometown Shenzhen, Guangdong. Also won most, if not all of the junior tournaments in China around this time.
- 2003-04 CBA: 6th man for champion Guangdong Tigers, 9.7p 5.9r on 51%FG. Selected to the All-Star Game. Named player of the week once. NBA scouts came afar to take notes.
- Apr 2004: Started (ahead of Barganani) in the Nike Hoop Summit: 7p 7r
- Apr 2004: Dominated the Mannheim Albert Schweitzer Tournament (though true age is over the U18 limit). Ranked #1 in efficiency, rebounds and blocks.
- summer 2004: Named to the Senior National Team. Del Harris made him a starter in the Athens Olympic Games, but his performance was not very good.
- Aug 2004: Asian U20 Champion.
- 2004-05 CBA: key starter for champion Guangdong Tigers: 16.8p 10.2r 1.4a 1.6s 1.4b on 56%FG.
- May 2005: Lost to Japan and Korea in East Asian Championship with "U21" teammates.
- Sep 2005: Asian Champion.
- Oct 2005: Runner-up in the National City Games (top teams are all CBA teams minus imports)
- Oct 2005: Lost to Japan to finish 3rd in East Asian Games with "B" squad.
- 2005-06 CBA: Finals MVP for champion Guangdong Tigers: 20.5p 9.6r 1.2a 2.0s 1.3b on 57%FG.
- summer 2006: Played so-so in the Japan World Championship behind Wang Zhizhi: 6.2p 5.7r 1.3b on 41%FG. Despite the less than impressive statistics, his stocks increased in NBA scouts' eyes. Lots of rebounds and blocks in limited minutes.
- Dec 2006: Asian Games champion.
- 2006-07 CBA: As the highest paid CBA player with 4-5 different endorsements, expectations were high and Yi for the most part met them: 25.0p 11.5r 1.1a 1.9s 1.8b on 62% shooting. However, Yi will leave China on a painful note: Wang Zhizhi recaptured the CBA crown the first year he came back and dominated Yi in the Finals, which was attended by 6-7 top NBA executives. However, his stock seems unaffected.
Sun Yue (6-9, 1985)
Projection: Late 2nd round to undrafted.
In short: 6-9 point guard.
Background:
- Member of a very unique club - Beijing Aoshen Olympian, the supposedly only privately owned basketball club in China. The owner has a deep pocket and his own idea of how to train his youngsters. He would hire imports just to practice with the team so his players can improve.
- 2002-03 CBA season: 1.8p 1.2r 0.9a 1.0TO on 37%FG
- 2003-04 CBA season: 4.8p 2.6r 1.9a 1.4TO on 38%FG as a key bench player.
- Summer 2004: Named to China's U20 team, first player from Aoshen to be called to the national program. Aoshen refused, saying that their own method of training is superior to the National Program's. The national olympic comittee, which also regulates the CBA, cited a previous written agreement and suspended Aoshen for the 2004-05 CBA season.
- Fall 2004: Aoshen players continue training in their Beijing compound.
- Dec 2004: First public appearance for Aoshen as they toured Taiwan. Sun Yue started and was the best player in the 7 exhibition games against Taiwan's semi-pro SBL teams, smashing every team.
- May 2005: With some Aoshen teammates, played in the National Games for Hebei province but were eliminated in group play. However, Jonas Kazlauskas, who was in the stands watching, picked him to the National Team. Aoshen agreed to release Sun Yue to the National Team.
- Sep 2005: Asian Champion, becoming a key backup in the National Team.
- Oct 2005: Lost to Japan to finish 3rd in East Asian Games with "B" squad.
- Oct 2005: Aoshen announces they would leave CBA to join the American ABA.
- 2005-06 ABA season: Named to the ABA 2nd team by the league after averaging 9.5p 7.0r 6.7a 1.9s 2.5b 4.3TO on 39%FG. Ranked #2 Minor Leaguer by Sam Amico of probasketballnews.com after many NBA scouts took trips to the tiny community gym in Maywood, CA
- Summer 2006: Average showing at the Japan World Championship. Assist to turnover ratio 3rd in the tournament with 4.0.
- Dec 2006: Asian Games champion.
- 2006-07 ABA season: Named to the ABA 1st team after averaging 13.5p 6.0r 10.5a 1.9s 2.0b 3.8TO on 46%FG and guiding the Aoshen to the ABA Final Four. Ranked #4 Minor Leaguer by Sam Amico.
I will write my opinions later.
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