Zhu stakes his claim in new look U19s

Impressing with his smooth ball-handling, acrobatic layups, as well as his overgrown afro hairstyle, the young guard looks no different to any of his American-born peers who pattern their game, and style, on NBA legends like Allen Iverson.

Except for the bold letters spelling out "CHINA" emblazoned on his chest, that is.

The player in the spotlight during a warm-up game between China's under-19 team and Serbian club IBC was Zhu Zheng, an intriguing prospect, who goes by the name Jacob in the United States, and who's gained wide attention across China's basketball community for having opted to represent his father's native country after developing his game in the US.

Born in Georgia to a Chinese father and Jamaican mother, Zhu, who made his desire to play for China public as early as 2023 in social media post, has seen that bold ambition come to fruition this week, after completing a three-game exhibition tour as a pivotal member of the host's U19 squad in Ya'an, Sichuan province.

After coming off the bench in his Team China debut against New Zealand on Sunday, Zhu started in the next two games against Finland's youth team and IBC on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, contributing 10 points, 4.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 18 minutes on average, helping the host secure three straight wins on the tour's first leg in the southwestern city.

The 17-year-old point guard acquired Chinese citizenship in December through his father, who hails from East China's Fujian province, and was called up to a senior national training camp earlier this month before the U19 exhibition tour.

The selection of Zhu, as well as Zhang Huafei and Feng Ao, two other biracial teen prospects, into the Chinese youth program in preparation for this summer's FIBA U19 World Cup has represented a more open approach, overseen by the new Chinese Basketball Association leadership, to scout, develop and recruit talent globally.

Zhang and Feng were both born in China, though, to Chinese mothers and Nigerian fathers, and boast the same exceptional athleticism as Zhu.

Standing 1.80 meters tall, Zhu possesses a combination of skillful ball-handling, aggressive attack and sharp 3-point shooting honed in the American high-school system, and has emerged as quite a playmaker — something China's national program, which traditionally excels in size, but lacks mobility and creativity on the back court, has been in dire need of.

Guo Shiqiang, head coach of China's senior national team, has shown great interest in Zhu's growth by traveling to the US to watch him play a couple of times over the past 18 months.

"We'd like to know more about them, and get them involved and familiar with our system as early as possible," Guo said of the youngsters' performance after the 10-day training camp last week.

"In Zhu's case, in particular, he's shown great potential, as well as all the other young talent. He's not fluent in Chinese yet, so we matched him in the dorm with a teammate who can speak English.

"Hopefully, he learns Chinese quickly and is able to understand our system better," said Guo, a former Chinese national team point guard.

"The training here is definitely different to that of the youth team and high school," Zhu said of his first experience practicing with Team China.

"Coach Guo, he didn't really put too much expectation on me. He just told me to have a positive mindset and work hard every day.

"My biggest takeaway from this camp was learning what it takes to be at this level, and I learned a lot of on-court Chinese. My Chinese is getting better every day, and I just want to keep improving.

"Playing for Team China has always been a goal of mine. I always talk to my parents about it all the time. I want to really know the culture there," said Zhu, who's committed, with the Bulldogs at Alabama A&M University, to play in the NCAA D1 tournament.

His high school coach Chuck Person, a former NBA player and former assistant coach with Auburn University, sees a striking resemblance to NBA All-Star guard Trae Young in Zhu's game.

"He's probably one of, if not the best, point guards in Georgia for the class of 2026," Person, NBA's 1987 Rookie of Year, said of Zhu's game during a 2023 interview.

"Jacob's best attribute is his basketball IQ, which is off the charts. He's very smart. He shoots the ball well, is a great pick-and-roll player, and he's very athletic."

Should he keep building chemistry with his U19 teammates, coached by Qu Shaobin, Zhu is very likely to become the second American-born player to represent China internationally at the FIBA youth showpiece in Switzerland, after NBA forward Kyle Anderson did so with the senior team at the 2019 World Cup in Manila.

Miami Heat's Anderson, known as "Li Kaier" by Chinese fans, became eligible to represent Team China at the FIBA marquee tournament as a naturalized player through his mother's family roots in South China's Guangdong province.

Unlike his senior counterpart Anderson, Zhu's early involvement with the Chinese program — having helped Shanghai's U18 squad qualify for the National Games youth tournament last month — is expected to help him make a real impact on Team China's future.

"We believe he will be a great complement to the national program should he keep improving," said the U19 Chinese team manager Zhang Bin.

"We appreciate his family's support, and that of all the parties involved in helping get this done and making him a member of our squad.

"He's a great addition for us on the back court."