The Asian Basketball site reports that Xue Yuyang of Hong Kong Flying Dragons just declared for the NBA draft. Xue, the 20 years old 7 foot center, is a native of Henan Province of the People's Republic of China. Won the CBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2001-2002. Last year was drafted by the Hong Kong Flying Dragons, but had a very mediocre year in 2002-2003. His team had one of the poorest records in the CBA, and was dropped to a lower division after a season. Xue claims he will declare for the NBA draft this coming june. Well, there you have it. He doesn't sound that good. But a young 7 footer from China is always a worthy project. He'll likely be drafted in the second yound. Should the Rockets be interested? A 7 footer played behind Yao, we can trade Cato to the East for a future first round in order to create some cap space so we might play in the FA market. Just an idea without too much thought into it.
Being 7 foot does not make you a good backup. If all we had to back Yao up is this guy, if Yao goes down to injuries or gets in foul trouble, we're pretty screwed.
I say waste a six round draft on him, fly him out for a try out and maybe a training camp, if he can play keep him, if not discard him, not that big of deal.
he is young, but really raw. he defintly won't contribute for like 2 or 3 yrs. but he might turn out pretty darn good. I say he would be gone in late first round
is he fast? can he run the court well? what is special about him? just because he did good in the CBA doesn't mean much
Does not sound like he is very good. Said his team was one of the worst in the NBA. I would look into him, not sure I would draft him though.
Chinese agent Xia Song confirmed to Chinese media that his client Yuyang Xue (213-C/F-82) has entered this year's NBA Draft. Xue became the first U-22 Chinese player to apply for the NBA Draft early. Xia Song, who's also the agent of Mengke Bateer, claimed there are still four NBA teams are interested in Xue. Other new reports show that the Chinese authorities are not very happy about the decision, claiming the timing isn't right for Xue to apply for the Draft. Yuyang Xue (213-C/F-82) played for Hong Kong Flying Dragons this past season, averaging 21.9p, 8.4rb, 1.12 blk and 1.58s in 26 games. In 2001-02 season he played for Jilin Northern Tigers and was named CBA's Rookie of the Year. Xue was also named best rookie in Division-II in 2001.
Xue Yuyang may just be testing the level of interest that NBA teams have in him rather than actually intending to be drafted this year. The NBA has not yet put out a list of foreign players who asked for early entry. This may be because last year 15 foreign players applied for early entry but 10 withdrew their names before the draft. On the other hand, 41 of 55 players from the U. S. who applied remained in the draft. But the five foreigners who remained in the draft were indeed drafted. According to Xue's agent, Xia Song, Detroit, Phoenix, Dallas and the L. A. Lakers are interested in Xue. Because of trades, Phoenix and Dallas will not have second-round draft picks and the Lakers choose 32nd, which is too early to take Xue. Only Detroit, which has San Antonio's pick, selects at the tail end of the draft. Perhaps Tony Ronzone, Detroit's director of international scouting, who has spent much time scouting China, has promised to take Xue. But even then Xue is likely to be left in China for next year. All of last year's second-round foreign selections were left to spend another year abroad. But I believe it is inadvisable for Xue to leave his name in this year's draft. None of the mock drafts I've seen have him being selected either this year or next. Last year he was projected as a second-round pick in the 2004 draft. Hong Kong's 1-25 record likely has something to do with this. If a U. S. college player's team was 1-25, the player would wait another year unless he was flunking out. Fortunately, Xue does not have to worry about flunking out of China. Chinese authorities should not let any of their players enter the NBA early, if they are thinking long-term. As the NBA is more popular in China than the Chinese league, the CBA's best hope of progress is to be seen as a development league for future NBA stars. Eventually, five to 30 Chinese players per year could be drafted by the NBA. As young Chinese players begin to play the aggressive, physical style that is played by the rest of the world, this will happen. One reason Guangdong is producing so many top players is that its youngsters may have adopted NBA-style play faster than northern China. Guangdong often is faster in development than the more rigid northern provinces. Last year 10 European-born players were drafted and China has double Europe's population. If five Chinese players a year are drafted, this will mean that China is producing top players at only one-quarter of the rate of Europe. If 30 are drafted, this would mean China is producing top players at 1 1/2 times Europe's rate. If I am right that advantages in average quickness, jumping ability and body control more than offset China's disadvantage in average height, then the latter number is quite possible. If China keeps players until they are 22, it will not have to use its NBA players for competitions like the Asian games. Chinese players need to attend NBA training camps to maximize their playing potential. China should not be asking its players to choose between their country and their career, as Wang Zhizhi was forced to do last year.
I am sorry, but there is no way that there will EVER be 30 Chinese players entering the NBA. Hell, there will never be 30 asians playing in the NBA in the same season. Yao Ming is a freak (a good freak though). He is considered the best that China has to offer, there may be scrubs here and there a la Bateer and to a certain extent Wang, but China will never outnumber the US and Europe in terms of producing players. SORRY
The NBA announced yesterday that a record 31 foreign players have applied for early entry in the 2003 NBA draft, including China's Xue Yuyang. Most of these players are likely to withdraw their names before the June 19 deadline, when they find that the NBA has little interest in selecting them this year. Xue was the only Chinese player to apply.
Yeah, 30 Chinese players entering NBA, the author is joking way too hard. In ten years, there might be 5 chinese in the same draft. Even that is highly unlikely.
actually, i read that article about the possibility of 30 chinese players entering the draft. it was written by Arthur Volbert. he isn't chinese, so the article is NOT biased. he's just basing it on evaluations of the talent level and the number of potential players in china. he's not saying there'll be 30 chinese players entering the draft, but with that huge population, ten-twenty years from now, the number of chinese players entering the draft will probably increase. depends on how popular basketball becomes and whether china changes its training methods and player development. as for this xue yuyang player, i haven't heard much about him, but i read somewhere xue himself claimed he had the ballhandling skills of penny hardaway. from what i read, it also said: "Has an all-around game. Much quicker than Tang Zhengdong. He is versatile enough to play facing the basket and put it on the floor." good quickness, but i don't think he's strong enough. here's another interesting article by the same author. More News on Young Chinese Prospects - May. 13, 2003 - by Arthur Volbert According to sources, Mo Guo-chao, born in 1988, has grown to 212 cm. This year he played for the Guangdong Junior Team. Next year he is expected to join the Guangdong senior team where he will play alongside Yi Jianlian(212 cm, 1987). Perhaps the Chinese will produce a top-flight athletic big man once a year now that young players are allowed to excel at NBA-like athleticism and are not almost exclusively judged on outside shooting prowess. Also slated for promotion to the senior team are Chen Dawei (202 cm, 1985) and Zhang Zhe (180 cm, 1986). Guangdong, a southern Chinese province of 86 million, appears to be a hotbed of basketball talent. My source also tells me that he saw Sun Ming-ming (227 cm, 1983?) play and was not impressed. Sun appeared slow and unathletic. The source notes that an American coach for Sun's "2008 Olympic Hope Team", who was once a coach for the Portland Trail Blazers, mentioned the team's quick guards as possible NBA prospects but did not mention Sun. However, while some big men like Yao Ming and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, develop quickly others develop late. 7-5 Mark Eaton, who starred along with Karl Malone and John Stockton in their early years with the Utah Jazz, was a little-used substitute while at college at UCLA. He was little used because he wasn't any good. But he began to improve when he joined the Jazz and became a very good pro. Sometimes co-ordination catches up with great height as a player gets older. Sometimes it never does. So we should wait another year or two before pronouncing final judgement on Sun Ming-ming. If Sun was only discovered last year, and previously played against inferior competition in his home province of Heilongjiang, he may need some time to develop. In a picture I saw of Sun he appeared soft and lacked muscle. Perhaps he could benefit from a weight-training regimen. And a lot may depend on how much he wants to excel.
This is another reason why Xue Yuyang Yuyang Xue (213-C/F-82), who declared for early entry, would be wise to withdraw his name from the NBA draft. For example, there are questions about Xue's true weight. We list him at 105 kg (about 230 pounds) while the pre-season Chinese schedule lists him at 95 kg, about 20 pounds lighter. Xue is practicing with the National Team, so I doubt that China will allow to come to America to show his skills. His agent is using good tactics if he is merely getting NBA scouts familiar with his player's name. But Xue is much more likely to be drafted if he waits until next year. If China places him on a good team, it will be interesting to see who gets drafted first next year, Xue or Mo Ke Ke Mo (209-C-82).
Nope. There might not be 30 chinese/asian players but don't be shocked to see the numbers rise. They have a ton of 7 footers and if they can develop them properly you might see a surprising amount more.
Xue yuyang(213-C/F-82) has left his name in this year's NBA draft, even though no mock drafts have predicted he would be selected. It is possible that he feels he would be no better off entering next year's draft and that he could always join the NBA as a free agent if his play improves. Mengke Bateer was originally signed by Denver as a free agent. It is also possible that a top team selecting at the tail end of the draft has promised to take him. As noted previously, the very last picks of the second round rarely make it to the NBA. Xue has very great upside. The NBA has an exaggerated attraction for 7-footers with upside. Look at the feeding frenzy that occurred over Pavel Podkolzine before he withdrew his name. If Xue can bulk up and learn to play defense, he has the speed and agility and shooting skill to be a very good NBA power forward. The NBA team can leave Xue in China for a year or two without having to pay him so he will not count towards the salary cap or contribute to incurring the luxury tax. If some team has agreed to take Xue, they will not let it be known lest another team selecting earlier will be influenced to choose him first. Therefore his name will not be mentioned to the draftniks who create the mock drafts.
if we gonna do that, i rather have that european kid that is like 7'11" .....he is predicted to grow to 8'2" ......he just signed w/ a pro team this yr in europe..and is having surgery to his back and knee....to make him more athletic......i read in the sporting news mag..... we can then play yao at PF like duncan.... 7'5" PF...and a 8'2" C ....that would be crazy...
