AMMAN (Jordan) - We always like to look back at previous classes of these FIBA youth events and think "that was special" and it usually was special.
But the FIBA U18 Asia Cup Alumni Class of 2012 could well be a whole different level. Some might even say it could end up being one of the best ever.
Here's a quick look at that group of players.
Wael Arakji (Lebanon)
Let's get off to a strong start.
Wael Arakji led Lebanon through to the Quarter-Finals with averages of 20.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in his first FIBA competition. Among some of his most notable performances was a personal tournament-high 33 points against Syria to clinch a Quarter-Finals spot, later followed by 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists against Saudi Arabia to secure 7th place.
Of course, we all know now that was only a glimpse of what was to come from the budding superstar. He emerged to debut with the senior team at Asia Cup 2015, a competition in which he would make the Final and win the TISSOT MVP award later in 2022. There is no brighter star in Lebanese basketball at the moment and Arakji has thrust himself in the G.O.A.T conversation at the very least.
Other than his accomplishments with the national team, Arakji has also had plenty of success in club competitions. The 1.93M (6'4") guard recently was named MVP of Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia) 2024 where he won his second Asia club competition title with Al Riyadi. That's the icing on the cake that includes multiple domestic league titles, stints in club competitions all over the world from the NBA Summer League, Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), Basketball Africa League (BAL), as well as leagues in Qatar and Tunisia.
And we all got a preview to that at the U18 Asia Cup 2012 in Mongolia.
Zhelin Wang (China)
Arguably the best player in the U18 Asia Cup that year was another one of China's "Next Big Thing", Zhelin Wang.
The towering seven footer was a force to be reckoned with in his second U18 Asia Cup appearance and averaged 24.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per game while shooting 69.1 percent from the field. It's hard to pick out a signature Monster Zhelin performance out of the pile that includes a 30-point, 13-rebound game in the Final against Korea, 31 and 10 against Japan, 33 points and 14 rebounds in a double-overtime win in an earlier game against Korea, 22 and 11 against Syria, tournament-highs 36 points and 17 boards against Japan, or a light 28-point, 10-rebound game against Hong Kong, China.
By the time Wang played in U18 Asia Cup 2012, he was already a known and highly regarded prospect. It was already his second U18 Asia Cup, had already played in a U17 and U19 World Cup, and was already on the senior national team radar. He'd made his senior national team debut at Asia Cup 2013, winning it all in 2015, and making a return in 2022. Of course, he's also been a main part of China's World Cup teams, but in 2019 and 2023.
In club competitions, Wang has been a CBA Rookie of the Year and was then selected with the 57th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft - the same year as Qi Zhou. While he has yet to win a league title with either his former CBA club, Fujian Sturgeons, or his new club, Shanghai Sharks, he has been named league MVP while playing for both teams in 2019 and 2023.
Qi Zhou, Qian Wu (China)
Wang was the main attraction for China in the second act of that U18 Asia Cup three-peat, but they also had a few more big names in the roster as well whether it was Qi Zhou or Qian Wu.
We were still two years away from Zhou coming into his own, but that didn't stop the then-16-year-old from going for 4.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. Again, better check out what how he dominated the competition at U18 Asia Cup 2014.
For Wu, on the other hand, it was his second time playing in the U18 Asia Cup. He played the perfect role of a supporting perimeter player to China's towers down low and averaged 7.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per contest.
Even at the senior national team level, Wu has continued to assume that role, ever since making his Asia Cup debut in 2017. Moreover, just like Wang, Wu has also been named league MVP (2021) and has made a Final appearance along with an appearance in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in 2023.
JongHyun Lee (Korea)
Mainly due to injuries, it might be easy to forget just how big of a deal JongHyun Lee was in that Class of 2012.
The 2.06M (6'9") big man was the guy for title contenders Korea who pushed defending and eventual champs China to a double-overtime game. He'd end up going toe-to-toe with Wang in the running for the best player in the competition with 18.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, and a monster 3.4 blocks per game while shooting a skyhigh 63.5 percent from the field. With 21.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game against China and a 26-point, 18-rebound, 6-block outing against the Philippines, Lee was near unstoppable.
This was more than expected as Lee had already been a stable for the team since the U16 Asia Cup in 2009 as well as the previous U18 Asia Cup and U17 World Cup in 2010. Even before this U18 Asia Cup in Mongolia, Lee had already made his senior national team debut, playing for Korea in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament just a few weeks earlier. He'd make his Asia Cup debut (the first of three) in 2013 and then play in his first World Cup in 2014 - leading all players including Pau Gasol and Anthony Davis in average blocks.
Lee generated enough buzz and decided to put his name in the 2015 NBA draft and while he did not end up getting selected, there was a lot of excitement in the air for his future at the time. A year later, he would head the Korean Basketball League draft class that was primed to be one of the best ever as the first overall pick.
Lee ended up being a very good player and even won a KBL title in 2019 with Ulsan Hyundai Mobis, even if injuries slowed him down. And we have the U18 Asia Cup 2012 to remind us of just how good he was.
JunYong Choi (Korea)
Lee might have been perceived as Korea's big star, but it might have been as an exhibit 1A with JunYong Choi as exhibit 1B, tangled at the top.
The versatile forward did a little bit of everything and averaged 15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 57.9 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from the three-point line. He was consistently good throughout the tournament, but it was the 38-point, 8-rebound performance in the Semi-Finals to help edge Iran 96-93 that cemented his status as a star of this class.
Choi went on to make his senior national team debut in Asia Cup 2013 and has played in all editions of the competition since, including the 2017 bronze medal campaign.
He went 2nd overall in the KBL draft after the aforementioned Lee, before going on to win three KBL titles in 2018 and 2022 - where he was named league MVP - with the Seoul SK Knights and 2024 where he went on to play in the BCL Asia with Busan KCC Egis.
Hoon Heo (Korea)
Born in 1995, Hoon was a year younger than most of the players in the competition. Still he held his own and went on to average 9.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game as lead guard for Korea. Arguably his best game was against the Philippines where he recorded 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Hoon, the younger son of legendary Hur Jae, had even more impressive campaigns at the global youth level whether it was at the U17 World Cup in that same year where he dropped 37 in an overtime loss to Lithuania or the year after at the U19 World Cup where he scored 39 points in a win over Czechia.
At the senior level, Hoon played in the World Cup in 2019 and was a key part of the Asia Cup 2022 squad where he averaged 9.7 points and 5.0 assists per game.
To further solidify the case for this class as one of Korea's best ever, Hoon was also a first overall pick in the KBL draft (2017). Like Lee and Choi, he also was named league MVP, winning the award in 2021.
Yuta Watanabe (Japan)
Of all the players to come out of this class, Yuta Watanabe might have went on to have the most prolific career.
In Mongolia, he averaged 12.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game for Japan who made the Semi-Finals. He had a string of strong games from getting 23 points and 8 boards against Iran as well as 21 points and 11 rebounds against Lebanon.
He put on display his versatility and defensive chops convincingly enough to earn a spot for a debut at Asia Cup 2013 in Manila. After a brief hiatus, Watanabe returned to be an essential part of the national team moving forward from 2019 onwards, including an Asia Cup, two World Cups, and two Olympic Games appearances - all tournaments of which he averaging double-digit scoring.
Watanabe is, of course, well known for his career in the NBA which started when he signed on with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018. He has since played in over 200 games for the Grizzlies, the Toronto Raptors, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Phoenix Suns. Since July 11, he was announced to be set to return to Japan to play for the Chiba Jets in the B.LEAGUE - a historic transaction for Japan basketball.
Yudai Baba (Japan)
Another player from Japan's Class of 2012 that has ventured the world in his basketball career is Yudai Baba.
He had already starred for the U16 Asia Cup 2011 bronze medalists and continued to put his game on display here, averaging 9.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. Baba's best game was against Iran in the Semi-Finals where he put up 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists while shooting 8-11 from the field.
Along with Watanabe, Baba has been a key part of AKATSUKI JAPAN. His professional career has been just as impressive, ever since he turned pro out of college in 2017 with Alvark Tokyo. He's since won B.LEAGUE titles in 2018 (which led to a Final appearance in the Asia Champions Cup) and 2019 (where he won Finals MVP). From there, he made the leap to sign on and play in the G League with the Texas Legends as well as in Australia's NBL with Melbourne United which resulted in him winning an NBL title, too.
Behnam Yakhchali (Iran)
As the golden generation of Hamed Haddadi, Samad Nikkah Bahrami, and co. began to transition into the later stages of their careers, Iran needed to find players to take on the next wave along with Arsalan Kazemi.
And, boy, did they have one in Behnam Yakhchali.
The uber efficient guard has been consistently producing ever since the U18 Asia Cup in 2012 where he averaged 17.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.2 steals while shooting an absurd 63.0 percent from the field, 43.5 percent from downtown, and 89.3 percent from the free-throw line as Iran went on to win bronze.
He's gone on to play in virtually every competition possible for Iran from Asia Cups (two medals in 2015 and 2017), World Cups, and Olympic Games since 2014, being a consistent threat to average double-digit scoring while shooting the lights out from everywhere on the floor.
Like the other players in this class, Yakhchali has also had a great professional career - both domestically and abroad. He's won titles playing in Iran, including the Asia Champions Cup 2018 with Petrochimi. He's played outside of the country, both in China with the Nanjing Monkey Kings and in Germany with the Rostock Seawolves, Mitteldeutscher BC, and Gladiators Treves.
FIBA