15-year-old's huge potential exciting hoops community

Whenever and wherever Zhang Ziyu suits up for a basketball game, she is playing on a level of her own.

Standing 2.23 meters (7-foot-4) tall, the 15-year-old easily towers over all her peers, and most adults, on the court, with her dominating performances going viral on social media and drawing comparisons to hoops legend Yao Ming.

Born to parents who were both professional players, Zhang put her jaw-dropping talent on full display on Monday during the youth group final at Shandong's provincial games by registering a staggering 68 points and 24 rebounds representing her home city Jinan against Zibo.

It was Zhang's second 60-plus game in less than three weeks after she contributed 62 points and 13 rebounds at the national under-15 championship final against Changzhou, Jiangsu province to help Shandong claim the title on Aug 4.

Despite her team's 90-91 defeat to Zibo on Monday, the teenager's potential has attracted massive attention across the basketball community, with her highlight videos and photos racking up huge numbers of likes, shares and re-posts on social media.

With her intimidating size a game-changer at any level, Zhang can score lay-ups flatfooted or tiptoed, and block shots and collect rebounds with ease.

Her athleticism tends to be more evident in training than in competition. Zhang doesn't jump much in games simply because she doesn't have to, according to her junior high school coach, Luan Mingjie.

"It's not only her size, she also possesses a high basketball IQ, good hands and is so smart on the court," said Luan, who has been coaching Zhang at Jinan's municipal sports school since 2019.

"As for her athletic abilities, she can jump and run. She doesn't need to though at this level because defenders can barely reach her elbow when she raises both hands to shoot a basket or grab a rebound. She has much more to offer than she's shown at junior level," said Luan, also head coach of the national under-21 3x3 women's team.

To continue elevating her game, Zhang will need to focus on developing her all-around skills, conditioning and agility, according to Luan.

"She remains a raw talent, an unfinished product, who has a lot to improve for sure. As long as she keeps working hard, she's definitely going to at least make it to the national team in the future," said Luan.

Monday's defeat was proof it won't be all smooth sailing going forward, with Zhang's lack of speed and mobility during transition play exposed by a fast-attacking Zibo team.

Zhang's mom, former national team player Yu Ying, said the loss was all part of her daughter's learning curve.

"She needs some tough losses like this to keep her feet on the ground. It helps her grow and better handle challenges in the future," said Yu, a national team center in the early 2000s who stands 1.98 meters tall.

Zhu Yan, coach of Team Jinan at the provincial games, believes Zhang's talent needs to be nurtured delicately and responsibly.

"At the age of 15, she's been dealing with so much attention, compliments, concern and even criticism," said Zhu.

"Hopefully, we can offer her more protection to allow her to develop at a sensible pace to live up to her potential. If that happens, then the sky is limit."

Zhang will next month resume her academic studies at Shandong Experimental High School while continuing basketball training within the provincial sports system.

While she still has a way to go to reach the level of her elite compatriots－such as current WNBA center Han Xu and FIBA Hall of Famer Zheng Haixia－Zhang's rise extends China's tradition of producing world-class post players, in both the men's and women's games.

American magazine Sports Illustrated has been keeping tabs on Zhang's development in recent years, with an SI article published in July 2021 saying of the prodigy: "If you thought Giannis Antetokounmpo was a dominant force on the basketball court, wait until you see Zhang Ziyu."

Yet as Han, a 2.08-meter center who has impressed in the WNBA for the New York Liberty this season, reiterated during a recent interview, to prevail at the top of the women's game nowadays takes much more than just height and power.

"The game here is way faster and more physical than how we played in the domestic system," said Han, who has averaged 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 16.8 minutes for the Liberty up to date this season.

To help next-gen talents such as Zhang develop in a more scientific and measured way, the General Administration of Sport of China in May launched its "Star Selection "program.

The project is designed to draft, guide and train potential stars of all sports within a system that provides the very best professional support in conditioning, nutrition, mental development, physical therapy and performance analysis.

An integrated support team overseeing Zhang's development has been assembled by the national and provincial sports authorities, according to Xie Siyuan, an expert in sports rehabilitation at Beijing Sport University.