Chen Jianghua () (born March 12, 1989 in Panyu, Shawan, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China) is a Chinese former professional basketball player.

Basketball career

Early years

Chen first came to the U.S. in February 2002, with 3 teammates from Weilun Sports School in Guangdong, after winning the 3-on-3 Nike China

Streetball Streetball (or street basketball) is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players ...

Championship in Shanghai a year before. Wang Zhizhi, who watched the 4-membered team play in Dallas, remarked to

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

reporters about a kid who could dunk with ease at, "such a young age". After that, Chen spent six months at a U.S. Basketball Academy in Eugene, Oregon, with fellow Chinese prospect Tang Zhengdong. In an article by the Oregonian, former Oregon Ducks point guard Luke Ridnour, was reportedly impressed by Chen's quickness. Chen first became well known in 2003, when a ''New York Times'' front page article was written about him. That article was then followed by a ''Boston Globe'' article, and an article on ESPN Magazine. Chen played in the 2005 Reebok

ABCD Camp The ABCD Basketball Camp was a youth basketball camp founded by Sonny Vaccaro that was held from 1984 to 2006. The camp gathered the highest ranked high school players of the United States, and was considered one of the top events of high school b ...

, where fellow camper Will Harris said that he was "the best unknown prospect in the world".

Chinese national team

Chen was picked to play on the senior men's

Chinese national basketball team The China men's national basketball team (nickname ''Team Dragon'') represents the People's Republic of China in international basketball tournaments. The national team is governed by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Based on the numb ...

at the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

, despite being only 17 years old. He averaged 3.5 points and 1 assist a game, in 10.3 minutes a game. However, both

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champi ...

and Mike Krzyzewski commented positively on his play. Chen was also selected to be on the Chinese national team for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, at the age of just 19. He played for China again at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

References

External links

FIBA.com ProfileAsia-Basket.com ProfileChen Jianghua Draftexpress.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Jianghua 1989 births Living people Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Guangdong Sportspeople from Guangzhou Guangdong Southern Tigers players Olympic basketball players of China People from Panyu District Point guards Street basketball players 2006 FIBA World Championship players