CBA's top domestic scorer can't play in the NCAA? The coach says Lin Wei doesn't listen!

As last season's top domestic scorer in the CBA, Lin Wei faces a tough situation in the NCAA.

Excluding today's match against USC, he has appeared in 6 games for Oregon, averaging 10.7 minutes, 3.2 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, with a shooting accuracy of just 17.2% and a three-point shooting rate of 13.3%.

It’s hard to imagine that recently, whenever he scores from live play or hits a three-pointer, it becomes newsworthy.

And that’s not even the most critical issue.

Yesterday, I saw an interview with Coach Altman.

The reporter asked why Lin Wei didn’t get any playing time against Creighton University, marking his first DNP in the NCAA.

The coach was blunt:

“What I’ve said to him over the past month went completely unheard. His shooting percentage is very low because he often takes poor shot selections. Our players don’t even know when he’s going to shoot. I don’t understand why I can’t make him get it.”

Altman also revealed that he had a one-on-one meeting with Lin Wei on Friday and that his training performance improved over the next two days.

If this were the CBA, it’s unlikely any coach would dare say such things about Lin Wei publicly.

However, the NCAA is very different; the head coach is the absolute authority of the team. No matter how talented a player is, if they don’t listen, being benched is normal.

He did play against USC, scoring 1 point in the first half.

After witnessing China’s men’s basketball team lose twice to South Korea, naturally, we encourage our players to go abroad.

But given the current situation, whether from his playing style or the competitive environment on the team, it is very challenging for Lin Wei to survive at Oregon.

In the CBA with Nanjing Tongxi, Lin Wei enjoys unlimited shooting freedom; he is the team's "prince."

But in the NCAA, he needs to transition into a point guard role (his height doesn’t support playing shooting guard), taking on organizational and playmaking duties.

Can he handle the point guard position? It’s very difficult.

Here are a few reasons:

1. The U.S. is not short of players with his style at all.

2. The basketball habits and philosophies Lin Wei developed since childhood are vastly different from the NCAA — they are basically two different worlds.

Oregon plays a slow-paced, half-court style emphasizing teamwork and off-ball movement, which Lin Wei finds hard to adapt to in such a short time.

3. Language barrier.

The coach pointed out that Lin Wei struggles to understand basketball terminology, causing communication delays.

One thing to note: players like center Yang Hansen may not need to communicate much in English on the court (relatively speaking); simple gestures suffice for teammates to understand.

But Lin Wei is different; as a point guard, he must organize the offense and coordinate teammates... thus his need for English is much greater.

4. Physical condition.

NCAA defense is more intense, and opponents have superior physicality, which frequently disrupts Lin Wei’s shooting.

To cope with the physicality, he has bulked up noticeably.

However, that has affected his muscle memory and shooting mechanics...

NBA player Koo shared a similar experience recently: when he first entered the league, wanting to look better in his jersey, he tried to bulk up quickly out of vanity, but coach Neilson warned that it would ruin his shooting.

Since Lin Wei joined the NCAA, fans often comment:

“How can the CBA’s top domestic scorer not succeed in American college basketball?”

To this, I can only say many Chinese fans misunderstand the level of the NCAA, which sends dozens of players to the NBA every year... and also have wrong perceptions about their own league’s level.

It’s time to set aside that pride.

When Wang Junjie shines at the Asia Cup and is seen by Chinese basketball fans as a hopeful forward, and when we desperately miss him after China’s losses to Korea, have you ever thought about Wang Junjie’s level in the NCAA?

In his freshman year, he was on the bench; in sophomore year, he averaged6.2 points and 3.2 reboundswith a shooting percentage of 41.9% and a three-point percentage of 30.5%.

He is currently a junior.

What level is his school, the University of San Francisco?

According to the latest rankings, it is 121st (Oregon University is 192nd).

This is not to belittle Wang Junjie; domestically, he is a hidden gem player.

But if you pin the hopes of Chinese basketball making the World Cup or Olympics on him, it’s unfair to the player.

To give an improper analogy, it’s like American diving or table tennis champions coming to China...

The same applies to Lin Wei: support him, yes, but don’t constantly hype “NBA dreams” or “the guard answer”...

After so many years, Chinese fans have written so many wrong answers.