That was great to see. Awesome of you to do that. In today's NBA, Zhou looks like he could play PF right now. He's 7'2 and not lumbering at all - he's probably going to rebound and block shots just as well as any of the other backup big men currently in the league. Combine that with his shooting touch and I think you have a strong rotation player. Why are people comparing his CBA stats to Yao's CBA stats? Yao was the first pick in the draft, would routinely outplay Shaq and Dwight, and is in the Hall of Fame. This guy is a 2nd round pick. He looks really good for 2nd rounder. They need to get him out of China pronto and send him to the D-league. He will never develop in China.
Looks like he's been watching Harden at the 2:19 mark. But he looks fluid, moves very well for his size. He just need to add muscle. We need him next yr. Morey and MDA is going overboard on Small Ball.....we need size
On another note, the player who fouled Zhou was Carlos Boozer. I thought the guy up and retired...didn't realize he was still playing ball.
Good point on the competition. I hope Pelton is right about Qi. No doubt Morey knows how to evaluate potential. Mostly I was posting Yao's number to show how much of a beast he really was in the CBA. Granted Yao went 1st overall so expectations were high and for the most part he delivered. when Qi was drafted most thought it was a Le$ ploy. I saw it as taking a chance on youth, size, and future shooting touch. The video scolandry 1 dropped from game 1 was interesting, he is very mobile for 7'2.
Congratulations on Zhou Qi's CBA championship! He did it at about same age as Yao, and is led by Yao's CBA head coach.
What age is he, btw? Isn't he like 25? Still, I love his skill level. If anyone can make it work, it's D'Antoni.
He's 21. He's been followed by media since 15 years old, and his growth is well documented in China. Yi's age is questionable since there're conflicting documents found there.
Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowtzki are pretty good skinny guys. When we had Yao, I never liked Yao's legs, it is too bulky for his frame. Look at Mutombo, look how long he played with his sticks. The only question for Zhou is does he have the mentality to survive in the NBA.
We need to bring his ass over. Letting him play internationally was fine this year, but now with the designated D-league player(s) etc .. there is no excuse not to control his development as precisely as possible. He needs to be exposed to NBA summer league and D-league all while working on his body in the states where he can eat some Mc'Donalds to fatten his scrawny ass up ( but not too much ) Between Dekker, Harrell, Clint, Onuaku , and Qi the rockets have a stable of young guys all with physical talent and skills for the Modern NBA.
If you consider his feet a part of his legs then no way. I have bigger feet than him and I am over a foot shorter. His legs led to his early retirement.
Needs to gain a lot of strength. If you hit him, the contact is enough to completely change his trajectory. He's going to need to finish at the rim. He's got some game for sure, but any NBA longevity is going to require him to build some muscle. Hard to judge his defense from these clips, but bonus points for stuffing Carlos Boozer.