After the Olympic Games were completely defeated again, Chinese basketball completely fell to the bottom, but this also means that a new round of rising period is coming, the management of the Basketball Association is adjusted, the palace director has obtained the real division of labor for the first time, and a series of reforms have followed, the national team has two training camps in the offseason, the CBA has restarted the full physical test, and the foreign aid has been increased to 7 times in the 4th quarter, and the foreign players have also sent good news one after another, Cui Yongxi signed a two-way contract with the Nets, and China's 19-year-old rising star shines OTE.
China's 19-year-old rising star shines OTE
In his OTE league debut, China's 19-year-old Zhao Weilun made a perfect debut.
Played 30.2 minutes, shot 4-of-11, 4-of-10 from three-point range, scored a double-double of 12 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals, and only had one turnover, but his Cold Hearts lost to Dynamic Prep 87-93.
Zhao Weilun, whose ancestral home is Shandong, was born in Italy in September 2005, is 1.83 meters tall and plays point guard.
When he was less than 5 years old, he signed up for the small basketball club of the Varese Basketball Club in Serie A, officially started basketball training, and then stepped into a professional basketball career step by step.
In November 23, with his outstanding performance, he was successfully promoted to the first team of Varese and participated in the FIBA European Cup, becoming the first male athlete in the history of Chinese basketball to compete in the FIBA European Cup.
In the same year, Zhao Weilun represented China in the U19 Men's Basketball World Cup, averaging 9.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
When the Chinese men's basketball team first announced the training list in June 24 (Djordjevic formulated), Zhao Weilun was successfully promoted to the national team and trained with the team for a period of time, but never got the opportunity to appear, coupled with academic pressure, Zhao Weilun missed the national team's follow-up training and returned to Italy.
Step in the footsteps of Rocket Amen?
After a brief adjustment back in Italy, Zhao Weilun signed up for the OTE League (Overtime Elite) draft and was eventually selected by the Cold Hearts team.
OTE is a professional basketball league for 16-20 year olds in United States, and the initial investors include former NBA commissioner David Stern, who has completed multiple rounds of financing of hundreds of millions of dollars, with participation from NBA stars such as Durant, Anthony, Booker, Klay, and Trae Young.
The current board of directors includes Pau Gasol, Carmelo Anthony and Jay Williams, and the head of development and training coaches are well-known names in the industry such as Kevin Ollie, with a solid training and development program.
OTE has produced a number of top talent for the NBA over the past few years, including Rockets rising star Amen Thompson and his brother Osar, both of whom were drafted in the lottery.
NBA 24 star Saar also played for OTE for a year, which made OTE famous in the NBA and the media, and also attracted more young players to join, plus young players can get paid after joining, which makes OTE is forming the ability to compete with American high schools and NCAA talents.
It is worth mentioning that because OTE started on the Internet and pursued a sense of lens, it has led to a large number of physical talents, but the technical details are very rough Puyu, and the projection performance is often very poor.
This may also be the main reason why Zhao Weilun chose to join THE, he is a player who is good at technology and projection, but he has become a rare player in the OTE league, and will get more opportunities and attention.
More importantly, the OTE league is closer to the "American law of the jungle" within the NBA, which will help Zhao Weilun adapt to the environment and rhythm in advance.
In addition, judging from the data of Zhao Weilun's participation in the OTE physical test, as well as some game footage, although the 19-year-old Zhao Weilun is only 1.83 meters tall, his bounce explosiveness is good, and he can complete a one-arm dunk in the game.