The first high school student who was once as famous as Zhang Zhenlin attracted attention because of his strange girlfriend, and broke out after his fall
In 2017, at the age of 18, Qi Lin led Beijing No. 4 High School to win the Nike High School League, and he won the series MVP for his outstanding performance, when he was the national No. 1 high school student, and he was admitted to Tsinghua University early in the same year. A year later, he was selected for the CBA All-Star Xingrui Challenge college player list, and after being favored by the Xinjiang team, he was awarded a training contract.
After studying at Tsinghua University for a year, Qi Lin chose to drop out of school to compete in the CBA. In the 2019-2020 season, he averaged 7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game, shooting 45.3% from the field, which is remarkable in 18 minutes per game.
He improved over the next two seasons, doubling his scoring average (14.2 points per game), and Zhang Zhenlin, who returned from the United States, averaged 14.2 points per game in his first season, when they were both seen as the future of China's forward line.
Both were born in 1999, both are forwards with explosive athletic talent, and their static talent is also excellent - Qi Lin is 1.99 meters tall, Zhang Zhenlin is 2.08 meters tall, speed and agility are not bad, and both have three-point shooting ability, and many advantages make fans look forward to them.
However, when Zhang Zhenlin continued to improve and contributed 15.7 points per game and was selected for the national team, Qi Lin did not advance and retreated, his average points per game dropped from 14.2 points to 11 points, and the shooting rate was only 39.6%, and the three-point shooting rate was as low as 29.3%, and he also changed from a starter to a bench player.
The decline in form that season was partly due to injuries, and partly due to the strange girlfriend, who was slim, with very thin arms and legs, a particularly doll-like face, and a particularly pointed chin, which at first glance was due to technology.
During the period of recuperation, there was no update during the period, but he often appeared in his girlfriend's social account, the two often went out to play, and took many photos and videos.
At the end of the season, he was determined to catch up with his high expectations, training with peace of mind, losing some weight to make his body lighter, moving faster, and constantly refining his technique to make his performance more consistent.
At the same time, he seems to have broken up with his Internet celebrity girlfriend, and there is no longer a photo of the two on the woman's social account, nor does he have any information about Qi Lin.
So far this season, he has averaged 16.6 points per game, with a three-point shooting rate of 38%, and in the last game of the first stage, he shot 8 of 10 in the half against the North Control men's basketball team, including 5 of 7 three-pointers, and scored 27 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, helping the Xinjiang team lead the opponent by a large score and set the tone for victory.
And Zhang Zhenlin averaged 16.8 points per game this season, shooting 32.7% from three-point range, and the two seemed to be back on the same running line. Qi Lin was selected into the men's basketball talent pool with his outstanding performance, and I hope he will continue to improve and one day fight for the country like Zhang Zhenlin.