This morning there was news from the United States that China's 19-year-old Zhao Weilun was selected by the United States OTE League with the third pick in the first round, and the young player who made it to the men's national team from the European League to the United States Professional League deserves our attention. Previously, Zhao Weilun was selected for the men's national basketball team training team in June this year, but did not participate in the training match with the team due to personal reasons.
Zhao Weilun was born in Italy on September 8, 2005 and has been growing up and playing in Europe ever since. In 2010, when he was less than 5 years old, his father took him to the small basketball club of Varese Basketball Club in Italy to sign up, and then began professional basketball training. In 2014, Zhao Weilun scored 49 points in a single game in Serie A U14 and led the team to victory, and in 2022, he led Varese Academy to win the Serie A U19 competition, and he himself won the MVP of the semi-finals. In January 2023, Zhao Weilun was selected for the men's national basketball team for the first time, entered the men's basketball (national youth team) U19 World Cup training team, and was officially selected into the men's national basketball team training team led by Guo Shiqiang in June this year. On November 9 last year, Zhao Weilun was promoted to the Varese team to play in the FIBA European Cup, becoming the first male player on the mainland to compete in the FIBA European Cup.
Zhao Weilun's height official data is 180.3 cm, and the arm span is also 180.3 cm, when the contemporary basketball guard develops to be tall, Zhao Weilun's height will suffer very much, even if he is selected by the United States OTE League high pick, it will be difficult to enter the NBA through the draft in the future. Zhao Weilun, who grew up and trained in Italy, although he has a European and American style of play and some scoring ability, has almost no playing time after being promoted to the first team of Varese, and more often plays in the youth league. Last season, Zhao averaged 22.1 points and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 44 percent from three-point range and 94.1 percent from the free throw line.
Of course, there is a big gap between the intensity of the youth league and the intensity of the senior team, which is not in the same dimension at all, and there is no more reference value. In last year's U19 World Cup, Zhao Weilun averaged 9.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, and was one of the main breakups of the U19 national team, and has already gained the attention of many CBA clubs. In the future, if Zhao Weilun is willing to return to China to play in the CBA, he will inevitably be contested by many giant teams.
About the United States OTE League, the full name is Overtime Elite, which should be translated as Overtime Elite League, which is a professional basketball league for players under the age of 20, founded and operated by the United States company Overtime, headquartered in Atlanta. Although the league has only been established for three years, it is already well-known in basketball circles in the United States, and Amen Thompson, the fourth pick in the first round of last year's (2023) NBA draft, and Osar Thompson, who came fifth in the first round, are from the league, and the league has been known since then. And this year's NBA star Alexandre Sarr has also played in the league, and such a high-quality youth league is still very attractive to young players who want to aspire to the NBA.
Overtime has attracted much attention in professional basketball circles in the United States, and many NBA stars have invested in the company, such as Durant, Booker, Anthony and Trae Young, indicating that they are still very optimistic about the prospects of the league. There are currently 8 teams of 11 players in each of the OTE League, mainly signed to high school students in the United States, but also to talented young players from all over the world. After a year of playing and growing up here, you can directly participate in the NBA draft, or continue to study in college, which is equivalent to giving high school students (young) players more options and transition time.
Playing from Serie A Varese to OTE in the United States is just a springboard, and Zhao Weilun's goal is still the NBA. If you fail to participate in the NBA draft and can't play the main team in Serie A, returning to the CBA in the future is the final choice, after all, there are not many guards like Zhao Weilun in China, and they are still very popular in various CBA teams.