Brian Gore, although he stayed in Australia, but his heart was split, on the one hand, he was holding his kangaroo army's 2022 men's basketball Asian Cup tour in Jakarta, Indonesia, and on the other hand, he also remembered Jack White, the beloved disciple who fought in the NBA Summer League on the other side of the ocean.
No matter how ups and downs the final process may be, Australia's defense of the Asian Cup is to be expected.
Jack White, who suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury 15 months ago, completed an amazing curve overtaking through the 2023 Men's Basketball World Cup Qualifiers and the NBA Summer League!
This summer, the Philippines' Kay Soto, South Korea's Lee Hyun-chung and China's four stars Zeng Fanbo, Yu Jiahao, Zhang Zhenlin and Guo Haowen rushed to the United States early for training, so they failed to participate in the third window of the World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup main event.
In contrast, Jack White was the last to go to the United States, and after playing the second game of the World Cup qualifier against the Chinese men's basketball team, he rushed to the airport overnight to board a flight to the United States.
Jack White, who hit the Chinese men's basketball team with three three-pointers in the 4th quarter, didn't have much time to be interviewed after the game, and he told reporters angrily -
"I have to be at the airport in 12 hours!"
When the former Duke Blue Devils captain appeared in the Summer League, it really surprised the American media familiar with him.
Yesterday he watched him play world cup qualifiers in Melbourne, and today he ran to Las Vegas?
The NBA doesn't talk about first come, first come, and it is better to rush early than to be coincidental.
In fact, being late for the World Cup qualifiers became the key to Jack White's overtaking in the corners.
His performance in three World Cup qualifiers, especially the Chinese men's basketball team, with 16 points and 14 rebounds, just caught the attention of the Denver Nuggets and local media.
While the Nuggets have given 1 of their 2 two-way contracts to Villanova University guard Colin Gillespi, Denver journalist Sean Carroll predicted two weeks ago —
Jack White could win the Nuggets' final two-way contract.
Carroll writes—
Before reporting to the Nuggets in Las Vegas, White played for the Australian men's basketball team for the first time in the 2023 Basketball World Cup qualifiers. The Kangaroo Legion won easily, while Jack White's energy was on full display. The Australian NBL is a very mature league for players entering the NBA, and with his experience playing against those professional players in the NBL, White should be very comfortable against rookies in the summer league. ”
Unsurprisingly, Jack White seized the opportunity —
Against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he contributed 8 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists and 1 steal;
Immediately after against the Clippers, he shot 5-of-6 and 2-of-2 from three-point range, scoring 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block;
In 5 summer league games, he averaged 17.2 minutes per game, contributing 7.8 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 steal, shooting 73.7% from two-point range and 50% from three-point range.
Because of their all-around performance, the Nuggets did not hesitate to sign this standard 3D player.
Denver Post reporter Mike Singer revealed that the Nuggets management is very satisfied with Jack White's efforts at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, especially in the scramble for rebounds.
The reason why American journalists dare to make bold predictions, and the reason why the Nuggets can decisively shoot, there is another level of factor, that is, they firmly believe that -
Produced by Duke, it must be a boutique!
Jack White was captain of the Duke University Blue Devils, his college teammates were Zion Williamson and Jason Tatum, and his college mentor was Mike Shashevsky, the world-famous Coach K!
Talking about his former beloved apprentice, Coach K was full of praise -
"Jack is a model worker and works very hard every day. He was one of the easiest kids I've ever met in my 45 years of college coaching. He has top-notch defensive ability, rebounding ability and blocking ability, and he is willing to do all the dirty work. On the offensive end, he can also contribute, opening up the interior space with his long-range shooting ability. ”
In Jack White's view, 4 years of college and NBL experience is the key to his successful landing in the NBA.
"Against the talented guys (Williamson, Tatum) and constantly challenging myself, I realized how much room I could improve. Back in Australia, the physical fitness of NBL players may not reach the same level, but these players all have the strength of adults and are more experienced, which is a completely different game experience. However, I learned some things here, such as how to play by experience, rather than relying solely on the body. These two experiences taught me to look at the game differently and thus become a more complete player. ”
Knowing that his disciple became the third Australian player to land in the NBA this year after Dyson Daniels and Luke Travis, Brian Gore, who is also the coach of the Bay Area Pterodactyls and Kangaroo Army, was overjoyed.
"I'm ecstatic for Jack (White), who has all the good that a coach wants from a player. He will be a valuable asset for the Denver Nuggets. In his recent games for the Australian men's basketball team, Jack played a very good teammate role and had a very high basketball IQ. I would like to give him the highest level of evaluation and hope that he is all right. ”
Melbourne United, which won the 2021 NBL championship with the help of Jack White, was also the first to congratulate, and the team's CEO Nick Trulson said -
"We couldn't be more proud of Jack. We know how much he put in for that, and with his ability, we felt like he really had a chance when he was selected for the Summer League. We look forward to his performance in the NBA. ”
At present, the NBA Summer League has ended, let's talk about the situation of several other Asian players who have attacked the NBA -
Philippines' Kay Soto has a high probability of returning to NBL's Adelaide 36ers next season and will most likely represent the Philippines in the 4th window of the 2023 Basketball World Cup Qualifiers with Jordan Clarkson;
South Korean god pitcher Lee Hyun-jung was injured during a trial and the road to impacting the NBA ended without a problem;
South Korean defender Lu Junxi, who gave up the Asian Cup and went to the United States to participate in the G-League exhibition match, is still like a stone sinking into the sea, and there is no news;
Incidentally, Keisuke Tominaga, a 21-year-old Japanese teenager currently studying at the University of Nebraska in the United States, scored a game-high 33 points in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup against Australia, and is expected to become another Japanese player who will impact the NBA in the future;
In the summer league, three Chinese stars were sharp, and none scored in double figures.
Zeng Fanbo got the Indiana Pacers Exhibit 10 contract and got the most playing time -
Played 14 minutes in the first game and scored 4 points and 2 steals;
Game 2 against the Sacramento Kings failed to get a chance to play;
Game 3 against the Detroit Pistons was compressed to 4 minutes to score 2 points;
In the last two games against washington wizards and Phoenix Suns, Zeng Fanbo had 7 points in the account, including the Chinese derby against the Suns, Zeng Fanbo's playing time was increased to 14 minutes.
Zhang Zhenlin played 4 games for the Phoenix Suns -
In the first 3 games, Zhang Zhenlin played more in non-important time periods, although the victory or defeat has been determined, Zhang Zhenlin has been very positive, in his words -
"The coach gives me 10 seconds and I'm on the pitch for 10 seconds."
In the game against the Dallas Mavericks, he scored nine points in just seven minutes, including 7-of-8 free throws;
In the match against the Kings of Sacramento, Zhang Zhenlin did not play;
In the final China derby against the Indiana Pacers, he played only 6 minutes and only scored 1 assist.
Guo Haowen missed the first two summer league games after spraining his left ankle during training.
In the Chinese derby against the Phoenix Suns in game 3, Guo Haowen won 15 minutes of playing time and scored 9 points.
Since then, Guo Haowen has missed the summer league with the Bucks; The last game against the Lakers also played less time, only 1 point was credited.
Neither Guo Haowen nor Zhang Zhenlin will return to China immediately after the summer league, but will continue to stay in the United States to find trial opportunities.
In addition, an Australian website called Aussiehoopla posted an article titled "Zeng Fanbo, Zhang Zhenlin and Guo Haowen Have Entered the NBL Radar" that attracted the attention of Chinese fans .
I read the original English manuscript in detail and found that this article is just a title party, the author only describes the performance of three Chinese players in the summer league, and analyzes the possibility of them joining the NBL at the end of the article, and there is no substantial progress at present.