SHENZHEN (China) - Local media crowded the mixed zone at the Longhua Cultural and Sports Center here even before the final buzzer sounded on China's dominant conquest of Indonesia in their FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2024 opener.
For that particular night, that small section of this venue was filled with much anticipation among scribes covering the meet, wanting to see up close the towering presence that is Zhang Ziyu as she had just made her national team debut.
A few steps away from the mixed zone were the bleachers, which, even after the game, still had a number of fans present, lauding her as they were left impressed with the way the 17-year-old center performed in the wire-to-wire 109-50 win.
Zhang came off the bench and finished with 19 points on a perfect 9-for-9 shooting from the field, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.
No doubt a solid outing from a national youth team first-timer who has drawn so much attention - way before the continental tournament raised its curtains.
In recent years, basketball has seen an influx of talents possessing unique physical attributes. But it's extremely rare to see a 7-footer in women's basketball.
Thus, the hype that's been surrounding Zhang, who stands at 2.20 M, most especially when news broke out that she's become part of China's youth team.
Inevitably, the world would take notice. Since her game highlights were posted online, major sports media outlets such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, CNN, and SB Nation, to name a few, picked it up, giving her more exposure to a much wider audience.
The attention grew further after balling out against a tough New Zealand on Tuesday night, where she finished with 36 points and 13 rebounds with 4 blocks for an efficiency of 44 to power her side to a 90-68 win to stay perfect in the tilt.
She's now becoming known globally and with that comes the expectations on her career moving forward, which could be overwhelming for someone as young as her.
Zhang's hardly bothered, though. "I don't think too much about the future, because I need to experience every step by myself. I should be better firstly," she said.
It's quite a mature response for a teenager and the humility she has, perhaps, comes from the guidance of the most influential people in her life: her parents.
"My parents are both basketball players. And then I came into contact with the sport when I was in elementary school," said Zhang, who netizens first took notice of and talked about during the local U15 National Basketball League Final back in 2021.
According to reports, her father stands at 2.13 M and her mother, Yu Ying, a former member of the Chinese national team, is at 1.98 M.
"My mother encouraged me to play basketball," recalled the Shandong-born athlete, who also practiced long jump and high jump events in track and field.
It was no longer a surprise that her mom would push her to play the game. She was already standing at 1.6 M (5'2") in first grade, and then reached 2.11 M tall by sixth grade. The basketball instincts were there as well.
As she played more organized games, the national media subsequently took notice, and Zhang eventually hit nationwide attention back in 2021 when she was just 14 - so much so that Chinese fans called her the next Yao Ming given her size.
"Life is a wonderful journey. There are some things we can't control. I regard it as a gift to me," she said about her height. "And it's OK. Everyone is different."
Indeed, she has made great use of that gift. From turning heads in the domestic scene, Zhang is now living the dream of playing for Team China - all while giving fans and pundits across the world something to watch out for in the coming years.
Yet she isn't one to get crazy with all the craze and whatnot. The soft-spoken hooper is just out there to play and, most importantly, learn as much as she can. And that's exactly what she's been doing in the ongoing U18 Women's Asia Cup.
"I have to be better," the Tsinghua High School student said. "I can easily reach the basket. But basketball is definitely more than that. I have to learn a lot."
FIBA