He is 158 meters but was selected for the national team, known as the Chinese Curry, where is the little genius now?
* The guy who is as tall as the tower, you must know it, is Yu Jiahao, who is called "Little Yao Ming". At that time, he was only 14 years old, and he was already more than two meters tall, and his teammates around him were only 1.58 meters, which seemed to form a stark contrast.
This photo was taken in 2017, and both of them are players in the U14 national junior men's basketball team. According to the general selection criteria, it is understandable that Yu Jiahao, who is super tall, was selected for the national junior team, but how did Zhang Mingyu, who is only 1.58 meters tall, get in?
Zhang Mingyu is a native of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, born in 2004. He is not the second generation of balls or stars, but a child of an ordinary family. Since he was a child, he has loved basketball, and basketball is his favorite thing, and he can play all day with a basketball in his hand. When he was 6 years old, his family sent him to Oriental Daystar Training Camp for basketball training, and his own hard work and systematic training quickly made him stand out from his peers.
In 2016, at the age of 12, he played in the CAAU League (China Youth Amateur Sports League). He doesn't have any advantage in terms of height, but he is far ahead of his peers in basketball skills. His Deron Williams-style continuous direction changes, Dwayne Wade-like consecutive breakaways, Chris Paul's dummy layups, and Curry's accurate mid-to-long-range shooting ability are extremely impressive.
It is really jaw-dropping that a young player who is only 12 years old can easily show the skills of a top NBA guard. He's like a deft elf, navigating through that group of defenders with ease, no hand can break his control, once he rushes to the basket, he can easily score with both his left and right hands, and he can easily shoot and score after dribbling away from defense. In particular, his three-point shot is so accurate that he is known as "Chinese Curry" and "Three-point 'Yu'".
His performance not only amazed the audience, but also caught the attention of NBA trainer Marcus Hodges and NBA star CJ McCollum. Hotges excitedly said: "Zhang Mingyu is expected to be a great basketball player, and I am very excited about him!McCollum inspires Zhang Mingyu with his own story, he was only 1.57 meters tall when he was a freshman in high school, but he was never discouraged by his height, and insisted on training every day to hone his basketball skills. Eventually, his height skyrocketed and he made it to the NBA. He expects Zhang Mingyu to be like him and chase his dreams bravely.
After receiving this encouragement, Zhang Mingyu performed even better in the ESBA National Finals, which also earned him the recognition of the head coach of the U14 national junior team. He was quickly promoted to the squad and became the shortest player in the Under-14 squad. He not only broke the height limit, but also broke through the shackles of the system. In the history of the Chinese men's basketball team, such a rare player can be described as unique. So, where does the striking youngster go in the future?
After the trip to the national junior team, Zhang Mingyu was selected by Beijing Shougang's Young Eagles Program and embarked on a journey to the United States to study and receive basketball training. At the same time, Zeng Fanbo is also a member of the Eagle Project, but unlike Zhang Mingyu, Zeng Fanbo has excellent physical talent. Zhang Mingyu's height only grew to about 1.80 meters before he stagnated, his body was thin and weak, his athletic talent was average, and it was difficult to stand out in the fierce competition in the United States, and he finally had no choice but to return to China.
After returning to China, he entered Hengshui Middle School and graduated successfully last year. As a sports student, he successfully entered Beijing Sport University and joined the school team to participate in the CUBA competition. Although he has the potential to participate in the CBA draft, he does not have what it takes to establish himself in the CBA at the moment. Although the technique and rhythm are good, due to the lack of height and thin body, the confrontation ability is seriously insufficient. In some folk basketball activities, it is difficult for him to show dominance and become a CBA player. His basketball growth story reminds people of the legend of "Hurt Zhongyong", and once again staged a helpless life drama.