On April 9, Beijing time, the NCAA finals came to an end, and the University of Connecticut defeated Purdue University 75-60, winning the NCAA championship for the sixth time in team history, tying the University of North Carolina, where Jordan is located. And what is more amazing is that the University of Connecticut team has reached the finals 6 times in its history, and has never lost 6 championships, which is worthy of being a famous basketball school. In this game, Purdue University's Chinese-American center Zhou Zhihao received widespread attention, and he scored 37 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks on 15-of-25 shooting, accounting for more than 60% of the team's scores.
Looking back on Zhou Zhihao's NCAA journey, it is indeed true that people can't help but feel his talent. In the round of 64, Zhou Zhihao scored 30 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks, and after entering the round of 16, he got 27 points and 14 rebounds, and the most explosive was in the top 8, Zhou Zhihao hit 40 points and 16 rebounds, and in the finals, he got a super double-double again. Zhou Zhihao is 22 years old this year, which is a relatively old rookie, and he should lock in the first round rookie in 2024, and has a chance to enter the top 15, which is also a good addition for many teams, after all, Zhou Zhihao is very strong, and he can contribute as long as he enters the team.
It is worth mentioning that Zhou Zhihao is a Chinese center, he is now a Canadian athlete, and his grandfather is from Guangdong, China, and has a quarter of Chinese ancestry. Zhou Zhihao's family moved to Canada in his early years, and his grandfather was from Guangzhou, Guangdong, so Zhou Zhihao has Chinese ancestry, and he also meets the naturalization conditions of the Chinese men's basketball team, but it is still relatively difficult to let him join.
Zhou Zhihao will enter the NBA draft next, and will compete in NBA games next season, and when it comes to the international break, Zhou Zhihao is currently playing for the Canadian team, and in last year's Basketball World Cup, Zhou Zhihao was selected into the squad, but because he is relatively young and has many NBA-level stars in the team, Zhou Zhihao's tactical status in the Canadian team is not very high, and the overall performance is relatively average.
The Chinese men's basketball team can treat Zhou Zhihao as a potential naturalized player, but the actual operation will be more difficult, and the most important point is that Zhou Zhihao needs to take the initiative to show favor to the Chinese men's basketball team, just like Li Kaier of the Timberwolves. Li Kaier has one-eighth Chinese ancestry, his maternal great-grandfather is a Hakka in Guangdong, in 2018, Li Kaier also came to Shenzhen, China to find relatives and worship ancestors, since then he hopes to play for the Chinese team, in July 2023, Li Kaier officially naturalized, and represented the Chinese men's basketball team in the 2023 Basketball World Cup.
Although he failed to lead the team to achieve outstanding results, Li Kaier's attitude is in everyone's eyes, and he really wants to help the Chinese team succeed, and Li Kaier will definitely continue to participate as a Chinese athlete in the more important international competitions in the future. In terms of strength, Zhou Zhihao is stronger than Li Kaier, and he is very young, if the Chinese men's basketball team can naturalize him, his strength will definitely be greatly improved, and it will be possible to return to the Olympic stage.
In fact, in the past few years, more and more naturalized players have represented the Chinese team in competitions, and they have performed very well. Fernando, Jiang Guangtai, Li Ke, Exxon and Alan of the national football team, Gu Ailing, the frog princess in the skiing field, and Liu Shaolin and Liu Shaoang in short track speed skating. At present, the Chinese men's basketball team has only naturalized Li Kaier, and if you want to gain a foothold in international competitions, you may need more Li Kaier.