Greatest basketball player in the World Cup: Like an experiment

There is something strange about the immense attention that Ziyu Zhang is receiving in Berlin these days. Because it has less to do with her extraordinary achievements and more to do with her extraordinary height. The 2.23 meter tall center player, who is a head taller than even her tallest opponents, will be the focus of attention at this World Cup. The Chinese woman is being stared at like a natural phenomenon in Berlin's two World Cup arenas. The cell phones are pulled out. There is hardly a player who has been photographed more often these days. But it's not easy to look past her either. After the Chinese were eliminated against France on Thursday afternoon in the second round (61:90), other players will come into focus again.

It doesn't take much imagination to imagine how difficult it must have been for the tournament's third-youngest player - she turned 19 in May - to come to terms with this. So on Wednesday evening, after the narrow win against Puerto Rico (75:72), she raised her hand slightly in defense in the interview zone that she had to pass through and smiled sheepishly. Or was it a wave? In any case, she knew that everyone wanted to talk to her again, even though only one of her teammates had spent less time on the field than she had.

Ziyu Zhang was always listed as one of the stars of the tournament in advance in order to prepare the less knowledgeable audience for this World Cup. And there isn't a press conference after games involving her where the Chinese reporters don't demand a few words of assessment about her. Zhang only received very limited playing time from her trainer Gong Luming. At least 18 minutes left for the start against the USA, and at most 10 minutes against the Czech Republic, Italy and Puerto Rico. In China's last World Cup appearance against France, she was allowed to play a little longer.

When Puerto Rico coach Jerry Batista was asked about Zhang, he raved. "She's a fantastic player and she's going to be great. What I particularly appreciate about her is that she has a lot of patience. When she gets the ball, all the opponents attack her. That's the only way to defend her." In fact, Ziyu Zhang was not easily deterred. Against Puerto Rico she only missed one ball from the game. She scored 13 points in just nine minutes. It couldn't be more efficient. And their substitutions fundamentally change the character of the game. Usually two opposing players try to disrupt their small radius, which is mainly limited under the basket, which creates space for their teammates.

What is striking is her special treatment within the team. During the warm-up phase before the game, Zhang always prepares for the upcoming encounter separately from the others. She has to hold onto the ball while the athletic trainer, who is half a meter shorter, repeatedly tries to get her off balance with little pushes and grabs in the arm. Meanwhile, her teammates throw at the basket.

Rehabilitation and nutrition experts are reported to be at her side. In Chinese basketball there was already a national player with an exceptional body, the former NBA player Yao Ming (2.29 meters). At the age of 31, he ended his career in 2011 because he had barely been able to play in the previous five years due to massive injuries and complaints.

The careful and exclusive treatment of Ziyu Zhang is perhaps also due to these experiences. At the World Cup games in Berlin she wears bandages on both knees. She holds the left one for a while after the game against Puerto Rico, her face contorted in pain. It certainly helps to protect the joints that it hardly bounces. She only gains additional height by standing on her toes. She once said that she suffered from back pain.

And another vulnerability needs to be taken into account. "Everyone thinks I'm tough because I'm so tall. But to be honest, I'm still a young girl," she said in a post by the world basketball association Fiba.

The special treatment given to Ziyu Zhang seems a bit like an experiment. Your prerequisites are promising. Her trainer Gong Luming describes her as a “talent of the century”. She is certainly not yet a star on the field. She still needs to work on her mobility, says the coach. Their basic speed can also be improved. And her resilience is likely to be a key to whether she will be introduced as a star player before the next World Cup in 2030 in Japan.