Trail Blazers scouts traveled thousands of miles to the CBA to see Yang Hansen, and the last time NBA scouts came to China was 16 years to see Zhou Qi
On December 5, it was reported that in the 11th round of the CBA regular season on the evening of December 4, the Qingdao men's basketball team lost to Tianjin 83-100 away. In this game, two scouts from the NBA watched the game, they came for Qingdao team rookie Yang Hansen, the 18-year-old scored 10 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists.
On the evening of December 4, the Qingdao team played away against the Tianjin team, and two scouts from the NBA came to the scene to watch Yang Hansen's game. On the left is Mike Schmitz, assistant general manager of the Trail Blazers and former ESPN draft specialist, while on the right is Sergi Oliva, another assistant to the Trail Blazers.
Since they came to China to watch Yang Hansen, it means that they are fully prepared for the youngster, and they must have seen many videos of Yang Hansen before. And they are not ordinary scouts, they have a certain say in the Trail Blazers.
In this game, Yang Hansen played 36 minutes, shot 5 of 8, contributed 10 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. 14 rebounds and 8 assists can also show Yang Hansen's technical characteristics.
Currently, the Trail Blazers have two picks, the 32nd and 45th picks in the second round of the 2024 draft, while the last time a Chinese player was drafted by the NBA was Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin in 2016.
While the arrival of these two NBA scouts doesn't mean that Yang Hansen will definitely be able to enter the NBA in the future, it can at least cheer up Chinese fans.
Because the last time NBA scouts came to the CBA to see players or watch Zhou Qi, it was on January 20, 2016, in the 31st round of the 2015-16 regular season, Guangdong Hongyuan defeated the Xinjiang men's basketball team 101-84 at home.
It was very lively, the Suns, Hawks, Pelicans, Spurs and other seven or eight foreign scouts gathered at the Dongfeng Nissan Cultural and Sports Center to watch the showdown between Zhou Qi and the United Arab Emirates, and in the end, Yi Jianlian scored 26 points and 11 rebounds, while the 20-year-old Zhou Qi scored 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.
In this regard, netizens have said, "Looking forward to a better future"
"It's a pity for Zhou Qi"
"What's going on with this scout, why don't you go to see the Finals Most Valuable Player Zhang Zhenlin, he is also 24 years old, and he is more suitable to play in the NBA than Yang Hansen"
"Yang Hansen will only turn 19 years old next summer, and Zhou Qi at the same time has won the scoring and rebounding, and the assist ability is even more crushing, and the blocking belongs to the same level, it should be said that Yang is definitely better than Zhou Qi in the ability to protect the frame, but the athleticism is average, and it is still necessary to strengthen basic skills training, especially projection"
"The Trail Blazers really can't look down on Ayton anymore and plan to replace Ayton with Hansen Young!!"