Umm.......Last time I checked, Luther was a 6' 2'' shooting guard ..... He has good, but not Eric Gordon athleticism
He played in high school in USA for one year, but didn't manage to get into NCAA. It seemed that his high school team was not very good. So he got back last year. His shooting ability isn't as poor as it seems. At least, he is a better shooter than Sun Yue. There are too many dunks in vids just because his leaping ability is too amazing to Asians that they just put these dunks in the vids.
While we wait for the next big Chinese prospect to emerge, perhaps the most intriguing stuff coming from a youngster in the CBA this past season has been delivered by Yong Xu, an athletic wing who plays for Shanghai Sharks. Not precisely a new name in the basketball world, Yong was selected MVP of the Adidas Asia Camp back in 2005, spending the following season in the States at the Bush School in Seattle. This past summer we could take a look at him at the U-19 World Championship, where he emerged as the most interesting player on a very weak Chinese team, while averaging 15.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Back in China, he has been able to translate that nice summer effort to the CBA competition, going for 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists throughout the regular season. He has even shown nice progression during the season, improving in the five-game span that closed the campaign for 25.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5 assists. Yong has little competition in his country in terms of physical promise. Fluid and fairly quick, he easily gets off the floor showing good elevation that allows him to often play above the rim, quite a rare feat for a perimeter player in the Asian country. And not only is he athletic, but he also enjoys solid length for a wing player. There are controversial reports on his size, listing him up to 6-9. He’s not by any means that tall, most likely around 6-7, although he might very well stand a legit 6-8 in shoes. Rather skinny, his frame is noticeably better than your average Chinese player still. Despite his offensive production, Yong still hasn’t been able to emerge as a go-to player on the Shanghai Sharks (by the way, a below-average team in the CBA these days). Not the greatest ball-handler around, he struggles working with his left hand in traffic, while his right-hand can only be described as just decent. So it’s not common to see Yong attacking his opponents in one-on-one situations. When he does, he usually goes right, and still he struggles to get rid of his defender, mostly because he’s not lighting quick off the dribble, and he barely shows any ability to change directions on the move to answer his match-up’s reaction. Therefore he’s not a player you can consistently trust to create offensive opportunities for the team. Still, Yong stays pretty active on the floor looking for opportunities. He’s a fairly aggressive player who shows a certain tendency to visit the paint, either cutting from the perimeter, on slashing moves taking advantage of an unbalanced defense, trying to cash in off his superior size in the low post (although his hook shot seems to need a lot of work), or sometimes looking for good position to crash the offensive glass. Certainly the general softness of the CBA helps him in this regard. A very average shooter, Yong still hasn’t been able to develop a consistent jumper. He can knock down open spot-up treys, even off-the-dribble perimeter attempts if it doesn’t mean having to change directions sharply, but hardly on a regular clip (he has failed to break the 30% mark this season). He shows nice elevation his shot, but his point of release looks inconsistent. He looks a bit better from mid-range distances, showing also better ability to connect on wilder attempts, sometimes a profitable solution for those drives when he can’t get rid of his defender. A nice open court player, Yong thrives in transition, exhibiting his solid quickness, while he loves to finish with powerful dunks, thanks to his excellent leaping ability. He loves to play above the rim, and not only is the dunk his favorite scoring option, but he’s often pretty active on defensive rotations trying to block shots on the other end of the floor. To be more precise, Yong’s team defense rotates between disinterest and flashy activity. This seems especially true with the Shanghai Sharks (with the National Team he looks more devoted to the cause), being more in tune with a CBA league where defensive rotations are not particularly emphasized. When it comes to one-on-one defense, he’s not as effective as his tools should allow him to be, lacking aggressiveness on the ball, and perhaps better footwork to translate his athleticism into lateral quickness. We’re yet not especially sure about where his basketball IQ stands. It often looks like he could take better advantage of his tools, but anyway he’s proving to be pretty effective in the CBA at his young age (supposedly born in 1989). Besides, he shows some signs of intriguing passing ability, with arguably the most common dishes coming off his driving attempts, often feeding continuations to his left while he attacks the basket with his right hand. It doesn’t get much more interesting anywhere else in the CBA, and yet Yong has a very long way to go. For starters, he will need to seriously work on his ball-handling skills, actually on his general off-the-dribble game, and his shooting ability. If he managed to become more consistent in those departments, as well as continued to fill out physically, he would likely become a serious NBA prospect http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/International-Blog/
Not that great. I guess great for China. Here in the states, most high school kids can dunk. He's 6'7" but it doesn't look like he gets up. It looks like he barely manages to get the ball over the hoop. Like devin harris and d. williams they can dunk but nothing special.
not a good shooter, subpar ball handling skill, above average athleticism. For a wing, he needs to extend his shooting to NBA three point line to even have a chance to be drafted. and He doesnt even have a consistent 18-20 footer yet.
all i see are dunks. and hes 6'8" 195lbs? he would get abused in the nba. he looks quick, but i dont know if he could laterally move with most 6'6" guys in the league. but he looks like alot of young guys in the league today. lots of athleticism and thats it.
I am unable to agree with you that he is weak because of these natural characteristics. The question is- is he strong, is he determined to be the best he can be? He can be saintly and still be a great basketball player.
I saw the video and he was not bad. He can dunk. But he weights 195lbs. It's not pretty heavy for a 6-9 guy.
I don't know if he is good but he certainy looks cocky to me. These Generation Y Chinese teenagers are very different from Yao's generation.
The 18 man roster listed has been surprising yet still as predicted. One bright side is that the CBA is willing to understand the importance of developing new generations for the post Yao era, which may come sooner than expected. Out of the players listed, amongst youngsters such as Ding Jinghui, Liu Xiaoyu, ZhangKai, Xu Yong, Chen Jianghua and Wang Lei. Apart from Chen, whom I think have earned himself a spot from the performances in the World Champs, and his brilliant plays in the CBA playoffs, I think the most interesting player to watch out for is Xu Yong. Altho I have heard Zhang Kai displaying some freak of nature potentials. He is currently too thin for the international comps. I have watched numberous games by Xu Yong. He is my take for making the cut alongside with Chen in the final twelve out of the youngsters. Here are some of my evaluations and 10 reasons to why Xu will be on the final roster and 4 to why he would not. 1) Xu is one of the most if not THE most athletic wing player China has ever produced so far. The closest athletic player in the past might have been Hu Weidong, however injury to his knee prohibited his chances to display his talent. Zhu Fangyu was considered athletic when he first came out, however on international comparisons, they were no match. Xu could be the Yi Jianlian version at the wing spots in terms of athleticism. His physical abilities is much need for CNT both for offensive and defensive reasons, in the games that I have watched, he was one of the only players that could stay infront of foreign imported wing players. Now, I'm not saying hes a great defensive player yet, but he definetely has potential in that category. He could be useful when facing USA, against players such as Bryant and James, again I'm not saying he's capable of defending them, nobody is, but he definetely is the best wing player China can use for one on one defense. 2) Xu plays an 'Americanized' western basketball, similar to Yi and Chen Jianghua, I'm glad China is finally moving away from its conservative bball roots, i.e. spot up shooting. As a result, he COULD be better equiped for international competition. 3) Xu plays plays in the same time as Liu Wei (Shanghai Sharks), the proposed starting point guard for CNT in the Olympics. This has many advantages as Liu is familiar with Xu's strengths and weaknesses hence it'll take Xu alot quicker to fit into the senior team. 4) Xu plays with passion and emotions. The two areas Coach Jonas is desperately looking for in his players (might be a reason why Mo Ke, Tang Zhengdong and Hu Xuefeng were not added to the roster, despite their individual strengths). Jonas is not afraid of using young talents that could ignite the team, e.g. Chen Jianghua in the world champs. I definetely think Xu Yong has that fire and attitude in him to earn appreciation from the coaching staff. 5) Xu is 6'8. I have stood next to him in Shanghai. He is not skinny like most Chinese players, he is quite muscular as a fact, obviously not up to the NBA standards, but it is impressive amongst the Chinese players. I think he will grow to at least 6'9 in the future. His long wingspan is definitely another advantage. 6) Xu is a 'consistent' mid range shooter, not a great one, but consistent enough as he can elevate his body to release his ball due to athletic ability. Another quality China essentially needs. Chinese wing players are known for their 3 pt shooting, Xu adds diversity into the game plan. 7) Xu is a jump shooter, not a set shooter. This is one thing that caught my attention while watching him play, unlike most other Chinese, who sets their feet to release the ball, Xu has enough air time that can shoot in the air, hence may release a shot while being heavily defended. Creativity. Xu has the ability to create his own shots. Much like Chen, it will be needed once the stagnant Chinese offense breaks down, esp. if Yao would not be playing. 9) China is very weak on the wing areas. Jonas will be more than willing to try anything to improve that department. Wang Shipeng is too inconsistent and poor shot selection tendencies. Zhu Fangyu is too slow and inconsistent, does not perform well under intense defense, however by winning both the CBA season and finals MVP, he might elevated his level. Du Feng is injury prone. Li Nan is too old, but useful for locker room veteran presence. 10) I have to emphasise this again, this Xu kid is freakishly athletic, it is absolutely crazy to see that in a Chinese body frame. Nickname as the Chinese Mcgrady (I know its an exaggeration) Weaknesses: 1)Inexperience (only 1year of pro experience) 2) shoot-first type player 3) May appear to be arrogant in Chinese eyes, however in the west, we call it confidence. 4) Lack of fundamentals, spectacular first type of player. Overall I hope and thinks that Xu deserves to be given a spot on the final roster. He may not see alot of minutes, but he is definetely good enough to play. One thing that is for sure (mark my words), in the next few years, if no future injuries occurs, Xu will DEFINETELY be: 1) Starting SF on the CNT 2) First round pick in the NBA draft 3) Future of Chinese bball along with Yi
With a population of 1.2 billion people to draw from you'd think they can come up with an NBA quality guard or two eh?
doesn't look impressive to me at all. I don't see him having the ability to change his shot if needed, nor does he have a mid-range game.
