On the morning of September 20, 2011, Wang Changhai drove his son to the Jinjiang Zuchang Gymnasium.
Covering over 17,000 square meters with a 4,000-seat main arena, the complex served as the home venue and primary training facility for the Fujian Sturgeons.
Walking through the familiar corridors of the training wing, Wang Zhelin followed his father into the main gym, where a group of senior figures was already gathered around the center court.
The first person to catch Wang Zhelin’s attention was a broad-shouldered man with a crew cut and a sharp, welcoming smile.
“Coach Fan!
Good to see you,” Wang Zhelin greeted warmly.
“Zhelin!
Look at you,” Fan Bin, head coach of the China U17 Youth National Team and current manager of the Fujian first team, laughed as he stepped forward to embrace him.
“You’ve grown taller since last year, and you look broader too.” A few steps away, Wang Changhai was already exchanging warm handshakes with a broad-chested, thick-browed veteran over two meters tall—Liu Yudong, the legendary “God of War” of Chinese basketball and a two-time Olympic flag bearer.
“Uncle Liu,” Wang Zhelin said, stepping over to greet him respectfully.
“Let me take a look at you,” Liu Yudong said, slapping Wang Zhelin’s shoulders and upper back with a firm palm.
A grin broke across his face.
“Solid.
Your upper body frame has expanded nicely.
Looks like you’ve been putting in serious work on your own.” Wang Zhelin greeted the rest of the group with equal respect.
Nearly everyone present was a prominent figure in regional and national basketball history: Ma Lianbao: Former Fujian head coach and U17 National Team assistant manager, who had been among the first to advocate for Wang Zhelin’s early national youth call-up.
Gong Songlin: Known as the “King of Fujian Basketball,” a iconic national wing player entering his final professional season before retirement.
Xiao Guangbi: A legendary mentor who had coached Fujian basketball since the 1970s, having personally developed both Liu Yudong and Gong Songlin.
With Gong Songlin set to retire at the end of the 2011–12 season, Fujian was actively searching for its next franchise anchor.
Given his family background and exceptional youth trajectory, Wang Zhelin was the natural focal point for the club’s leadership.
“Alright, everyone,” Fan Bin interrupted, clapping his hands together as he brought over a heavily built American trainer.
“We have business to take care of today.
Xiao Wang, this is Tom Bruce, our club’s chief strength and conditioning specialist.
Your father mentioned your goal is to make it to the NBA, so we’re running your physical evaluation using full NBA Draft Combine specs today.
Any objections?” “None at all,” Wang Zhelin replied.
“Great.
Bruce, take him through a warm-up and let’s get his numbers.” Ten minutes later, Tom Bruce walked back toward Fan Bin and the coaching staff with a clipboard in hand, a surprised look on his face.
“Gentlemen,” Bruce said in English, tapping the paper.
“You’ve got a rare physical specimen on your hands.” FUJIAN STURGEONS / NBA COMBINE METRIC REPORT Player Name: Wang Zhelin Age: 17 Barefoot Height: 212 cm (~6’11.5″) Height in Shoes: 215 cm (~7’0.6″) Weight: 112 kg (~246 lbs) Wingspan: 227 cm (~7’5.3″) Hand Length: 27.9 cm (11.0 in) Body Fat: 9.6% Standing Reach: 283 cm (~9’3.4″) DYNAMIC ATHLETIC METRICS 3/4 Court Sprint: 3.88 seconds Standing Vertical: 32 cm (~12.6 in) Max Vertical (Running Jump): 46 cm (~18.1 in) 185 lbs (84 kg) Bench Press Reps: 7 reps Max Bench Press: 115 kg (~253 lbs) TRAINER EVALUATION: Historical-tier static physical profile.
Exceptional frame width, standing reach, and hand size for a seventeen-year-old center.
Dynamic vertical metrics are low, but raw upper-body power baseline (115 kg max bench) is exceptionally high for his age bracket.
Reading through the report, Fan Bin, Liu Yudong, and Xiao Guangbi exchanged stunned glances.
Fan Bin’s eyes lit up immediately.
We have to lock this kid into a first-team contract today.
In terms of static physical specs—height, wingspan, and hand length—Wang Zhelin’s measurements at seventeen put him in elite territory compared to historical domestic center prospects.
While his vertical burst was noticeably modest, his functional strength was eye-opening.
A max bench press of 115 kg (253 lbs) at seventeen was almost unheard of among domestic prospects, where average frontline players routinely benched under 100 kg.
For comparison, Yao Ming’s peak bench press during his NBA career reached approximately 160 kg, while Yi Jianlian hovered around 120–130 kg.
For a seventeen-year-old high school prospect to hit 115 kg with under 10% body fat meant his physical foundation was already capable of holding its own in professional paint battles.