Foreign Coach Backs Huang Mingyi’s Rise as Guangdong Team’s New Season 12-Man Roster Emerges

The CBA league is currently in a key stage of offseason warm-up adjustments. Recently, news that Guangdong defeated Shenzhen 86-80 has drawn widespread attention. What stood out was that Guangdong secured the victory through strong performances from young players such as Yang Yi, Wang Hongze, and Chen Jiazhen, while new foreign coach Yakovlevich continued to focus on developing young wing prospect Huang Mingyi. From the game, the overall strength gap between Guangdong and Shenzhen was not significant, as both teams competed with depleted all-Chinese lineups. The reason Guangdong was able to win at crucial moments was that young wing Huang Mingyi delivered a surprising performance.

After Guangdong’s only interior player Wang Hongze fouled out with five fouls, new coach Yakovlevich boldly used Huang Mingyi. Huang did not disappoint the coaching staff, using his defensive coverage ability to almost single-handedly support the defensive system across the center, power forward, and small forward positions in the paint, becoming a key turning point in the game. With Huang’s defensive pressure, Shenzhen was almost unable to execute effective offensive plays in the final moments and even committed several unnecessary turnovers. Huang’s defensive performance in this game largely eased fans’ doubts about the decision to keep him on the roster. Many fans have predicted that traditional powerhouse Guangdong could see this talented wing break out next season, with Huang becoming an important option for the team’s two-way wing positions.

It is well known that during this summer offseason, Huang Mingyi once sought a loan move to Jilin and hoped to follow talented center Xu Xin’s example by joining a mid-to-lower ranked team for development. However, Guangdong’s new head coach Yakovlevich boldly kept Huang and provided him with certain development commitments. Although Huang made mistakes in this game and was criticized by Yakovlevich, the coach still gave him sufficient playing time and tactical importance. In addition, Guangdong has designed tactical approaches around Huang, something that did not exist during Du Feng’s tenure. After all, Huang had largely been overlooked by Du Feng in previous seasons.

Now, Guangdong’s new foreign coach Yakovlevich is supporting Huang Mingyi’s rise, and Huang has also enhanced his value through a series of warm-up games. Huang’s help defense recovery speed is quick, his defensive coverage area is large, and his rim protection efficiency is excellent. Therefore, Guangdong’s 12-man roster for next season is beginning to take shape. In addition to the three foreign players and seven key players including Jiao Boqiao, Hu Mingxuan, Xu Jie, and Cui Yongxi, four players including Wang Hongze, Chen Jiazhen, Zhou Peng, and Zhang Wenyi are also likely to make the 12-man roster. With Zhang Haojia struggling completely in warm-up games, Huang Mingyi, who has gradually found his form, could become the final choice for the remaining spot.

It must be said that the reason Guangdong did not collapse after Wang Hongze fouled out in this game was Huang Mingyi’s outstanding defensive coverage ability. Without doubt, Huang’s physical attributes and defensive instincts are indispensable advantages for Guangdong’s future wing positions, and he is currently the only domestic player on the roster with this type of defensive coverage ability.