9+4! The Gemini duo shines in their debut! The future two core players of China’s men’s basketball team

The NCAA new season regular games have begun,with Division I team University of San Francisco crushing Division III University of California, Santa Cruz 98-53.

In this match, Wang Junjie, a junior forward at University of San Francisco (born 2005, height 2.07m), started again,playing 15 minutes with 4 made shots out of 6 attempts, including 1 made three-pointer out of 2, and 0 made free throws out of 1, scoring 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist, though unfortunately he had 3 turnovers.

This summer, Wang Junjie played for China’s men’s basketball team at the Asia Cup, averaging 23.5 minutes per game, with 13 points and 4.2 rebounds, shooting 56.1% overall, 47.8% from three, and 75% from the free-throw line, helping the team to finish as runner-up and earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team; he may enter the NBA draft next summer.

Freshman Zhao Weilen (born 2005, 1.83m, guard) from University of San Francisco,came off the bench for 13 minutes, shooting 1 of 3 from the field, missing both three-point attempts (0 of 2), and making 2 of 2 free throws, totaling 4 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 1 steal.

Last season, Zhao Weilen was the third overall pick and represented Cold Hearts in the OTE league, appearing in 14 regular season games with an average of 29.2 minutes, scoring 13.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game, with an impressive 42.5% three-point shooting percentage.

Another Chinese player to watch this NCAA season is Dan Houran (born 2005, 2.08m, interior), who plays for Seattle University; he also started in the season opener,making 1 of 6 shots for 2 points, along with 7 rebounds (5 offensive), helping his team to an 84-73 victory over University of Denver.

It is worth noting that Wang Junjie (averaging 12.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals), Zhao Weilen (averaging 9.9 points, 2.6 assists, 1.9 rebounds), and Dan Houran (averaging 4.9 points, 3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks) all played important roles together for China’s men’s basketball team at the 2023 U19 World Cup, and now they are all striving toward their dreams, aiming to reach the level of their former leader Yang Hansen (averaging 12.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 5 blocks).

It’s wonderful that more and more young talents are emerging; Chinese basketball has hope and will eventually return to its rightful place.