Thursday, February 15, 2001

Out of Nowhere: Scouting Report on Lin Chih-jay

NAME: Lin Chih-jay
BIRTHDATE: 1982/6/11
AGE: 19
HEIGHT: 192cm
WEIGHT: 90kg
POSITION: Guard/Forward
EDUCATION: Kee-lung Sea High School, Culture University
STATUS: Culture University Freshman, A-League Taiwan Beer
NT EXPERIENCE: 2000 ABC Junior Championship NT

BRIEF:
Lin Chih-jay, a Taiwanese native (Ah-mei Tribe) comes from eastern part of Taiwan, is a kid who came out of nowhere and made the Junior NT last year. Most observers believe he has the potential to be the best wing player in Taiwan, even better than hottest local star Chen Hsin-an.

In 1998, Lin teamed with 197cm center Lee Chi-yi (now with BCC Mars) to lead unheralded Kee-lung Sea High School into HBL's Final Four. However, all the attentions were on Lee and nobody noticed the bully forward. Following Lee's graduation, Lin tried to bring Kee-lung Sea HS back to HBL glory but failed. The school did not even advance to the 12-team playoffs.

Kee-lung Sea High School, which was not known as a basketball powerhouse, surprisingly closed its basketball program in the following year. During 1999 to mid-2000, Lin Chih-jay was left without a team to play on.

God takes care of those who take good care of themselves, they say. And it happened for Lin. He kept working hard on his game during his senior year in high school. In the summer of 2000, Lin was selected to the ABC Junior National Team that would compete in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Lin scored 12 points in Taiwan's 77-76 victory over Japan the bronze medal game and became the team's most reliable offensive weapon in crunch time. Although he wasn't the scoring leader in every game, his defense, hustle and the ability to score in traffic drew many attentions.

After enrolling in Culture University last September, Lin also joined A-League's Taiwan Beer and immediately made his way into the starting five.

SCOUTING REPORT:
Strength
Lin is a POWERFUL small forward...very good at scoring in traffic and putbacks...good one-on-one move...always gives 100% on defense and hustle...excellent rebounding ability for a 190cm player, especially on offensive boards...excel in crunch time, a rare asset for a player at this young age...very coachable...can pull down a rebound, starting fastbreak and finish all by himself...good mid-range jumper, fair passing ability...a very difficult matchup for opponents within 15 feet, since he can both power his way into the paint and knock down mid-range jumpers...

Weakness
Needs to work on his perimeter shooting...inconsistent on outside shooting, but that can be improved with hard work...have ability to pull down rebounds but needs to take care of the ball on outlet passes, getting stripped of the ball by opposing guards too many times...fundamental also has room of improvement...

* * * * *

Compared to hottest youngster Chen Hsin-an, who captures everyone's attention by his high-flying act, Lin has improved his game gradually and caught up with Chen. He is already ahead of Chen in terms of defense. With more experience in upper level competition and constant improvement, Lin definitely has the potential to be the most promising and versatile swingman in Taiwanese basketball.