Freddy Adu has incredible skills and he can take the mental pressure of being the next big thing certainly shoudl excel.
If this kid is 6 feet 11 inches tall and he can touch 11 feet 6 inches on a jump, he should have a vertical from 35 inches to 40 inches. That's pretty impressive for a big kid like him.
Here's some stats on Yi for the 2003 Junior World Championships Name Height Age Min FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% Reb Pts Ha Seung-Jin 7'3" 18 19.2 27 42 64.3% 10 21 47.6% 9.3 11.0 Tang Zhengdong 7'1" 19 27.6 21 42 50.0% 19 27 70.4% 8.6 12.2 Yi Jianlian 7'0" 16 35.0 46 85 54.1% 32 41 78.0% 12.7 21.0 Hu Ke 6'10" 17 14.6 9 17 52.9% 5 9 55.6% 2.6 4.6 http://www.asiansportsnet.com/articles/junior_bball.html
Yet another article hyping Yi... http://www.basket.gr/wcj2003/press.asp?id=339 Yi Jianlian charms the Atlanta Hawks [15/7/2003] China’s “heavy artillery” wears number 14, and has many scouts interested in him, who have come to Thessaloniki and to the World Championship in quest of talents. According to the American scout Mark Crow, the Chinese giant is expected to be drafted by the NBA in a two years and that’s why a lot of eyes are fixed on the said player. Yi Jianlian was born in 1987, is 2.12 m. tall and plays the power forward position, while during the next couple of years he will be at his home country and with the Guantong team, where he will be playing under close scrutiny….
Yi Jianlian (China, Forward, 15, 7-0) Stats: 18.9 pts, 11.5 rbs, 1.6 bl, 55% 2FG, 25% 3FG The next big thing from China. In a world where it doesn't take more than talent to be picked in the draft, if it was possible, Yi would be drafted already, before many other players. He's only 15 years old, 3-4 years younger than most of the players in the WC, and in these ages there's a huge gap, but Yi was one of the best players in the tournament. He's still too thin, but certainly a top athlete, that reminded me a lot of Yao Ming. He's not a center like Ming, Yi is a forward no matter how you turn it, but whatever Yi does on the court has so much grace. It's all so smooth, so flowing, so simple. Has a very stable and soft midrange shot, he can nail the 3 if you don't pay enough attention. His variety of moves is very impressive and fun to watch, he's a great rebounder (3rd best in the games), and I'll remind again. Only 15 years old. It's scary to think what this kid will be able to do a few years from now. By Yarone Arbel - SalNews.com
