Yanhao can be next rung on the ladder for China

At almost 2 metres tall, the young guard can scale the heights for his country.

China’s Yanhao Zhao sheilds the ball from Mohamed Mohamed at  Al  Ahli Arena in Dubai yesterday. Satish Kumar / The National
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Dubai // If players such as Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian were genetic lottery-winners that put Chinese basketball on the map, then a mere 1.93-metre guard might represent the evolution of the game in China.

Yanhao Zhao, a lanky, surprisingly quick shooting guard, has been China’s best scorer in the tournament. He scored 12 points on five-of-nine shooting against Egypt in a breezy 84-58 win yesterday and, before that, had 31 points in China’s five-point loss to perennial basketball power Argentina.

Unlike previous luminaries Yao and Yi, what Yanhao illustrates about the Chinese game is its increasing sophistication and, perhaps more importantly, diversification.

As Yao was a 2.29-metre athletic freak and undeniable generational talent, and Yi a skilled, similarly towering successor, so the overwhelming bulk of the impact the Chinese have had on the NBA can be traced back to height.

If Yanhao, 16, advances far along the professional ranks, it will rather be heavily because of his skill – and he appears to have plenty of it.

“He is a very good player for our team,” said China coach Liu Jizeng through an interpreter after the win over Egypt.

Through three games, Zhao has averaged 19 points per contest and shot 34.8 per cent from three. He is probably China’s most aggressive and creative player. He has shown a willingness to charge into the lane to rise up and draw a foul or dish back out for an open shot.

He has good shooting form, evident in his three-point percentage – though his field goal percentage is just 40.9 – can get in the air for a dunk and even showed a little floater. His offensive range is genuine and defensively he uses his length to keep wings in check and can float around the key with good spatial awareness.

The whole package looks a little bit like a smaller Klay Thompson.

An NBA scout said yesterday Yanhao played with “flair, a natural ability, a little easier and more fluid which you like to see with a young kid”.

He is not programmed or mechanical and is neither a genetic freak or a unique talent. He is simply a very skilled basketball player.

For China to take a step up as a basketball nation, he represents the sort of prototype the Chinese will need to replicate until they have a full team of players who are highly skilled and can complement the giants that have pushed their game forward.

Those, of course, are still here.

The Chinese boast a 2.06m centre, Hu Jinqiu, who is 16. He had 18 points and 16 rebounds against the Egyptians and is actually the player that NBA scouts have primarily come to Dubai to see. He is still very raw, but his footwork and feel for scoring around the basket are where they need to be.

If he grows a little taller he could be the next big export to the NBA from China.

He is joined at the big end of the spectrum by strong 2.05m power forward Fu Hao and 2.08m Fan Ziming, both 16.

China still does big men exceptionally well.

But if they are ever going to become a basketball power, they will need a few more Zhaos to go with the occasional Yao or Yi.

jraymond@thenational.ae

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