Hanyi Jing Gears Up for the CBA Season Training at UPB

By: Andrea Aruino

Recently Hanyi Jing, a 25 year old small forward who plays for the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) visited the UPBasketball Training Facility with the goal of improving multiple aspects of his game. Just before coming to UPB, Jing suffered a serious injury that has pushed him to evolve his game in order to find a balance between remaining healthy while being competitive on the court. After injury, one's goal is always to get back on the court, no matter what magnitude and that is the mindset that Jing brought into the gym for his training sessions with Coach Garrett. 

During the 2023-2024 season, Jing played an essential role on the Sichuan Blue Whales averaging 13.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. Aside from that he has an outstanding shooting efficiency of 52% which illustrates explosive shooting and scoring on his end. Notably, he recorded a season-high of six steals against the No. 12 seed, Jiangsu Tongxi, who have star players like Wei Lin and Jalen Harris. His ability to be a threat on both ends of the court marks him as a player who possesses the knowledge and skill ready to make a meaningful impact whenever he steps on the floor. 

Jing is a big contact type of player, one that enjoys being able to draw fouls and create space for making plays in the post area. There’s no doubt that his body and motion were made for that type of physicality. Although after an injury, a heavy amount of contact can be damaging to parts of your body. Training with Coach Garrett allowed for Jing to further expand the skills he already had in his tool box, all they had to do was invest in those strong assets that Jing possessed, making them available to him and his teammates. 

“Jing came off of a significant injury so naturally his game has to shift following that, while still sharpening what he’s already been mastering. He wants to shoot more as well as work on his post moves. With his strength and size he could be really dangerous as a spot up shooter just as he already does damage being able to score off of blocks,” Coach Garrett said.

Welcoming new athletes who play for overseas leagues has always been an exciting mission for UPB Player Development Coaches. Coach Garrett is constantly tasked with training players who come from different backgrounds, have varying skill sets, and all come from different levels of play. Working with professional players is nothing new to Coach Garrett, he has developed a system that enables him to get to know his trainee enough to unleash their full potential. 

“Understanding what they want out of the session and feeling them out helps both of us to adapt quickly throughout the session. The level of play is especially important in getting to know them as well as taking feedback of what well and what I can change in the next session,” Coach Garrett said. 

The whole goal of this dyad relationship between player and coach, more specifically between Jing and Coach Garrett, is meant to create a foundation that will set him up physically and mentally to achieve all of his goals for the season. Post-injury for athletes requires deep reflection on what one hopes to accomplish entering a season and is a lingering question as they prepare their body. His answer to that was something that everyone dreams of achieving. 

“My main goal is to win a championship and play a crucial role for the team. Being ready for my teammates is important, I’m ready to be what they need in order to help them. Aside from that, I would like to be selected as an All-Star again,” Jing said. 

Coach Garrett’s guidance has helped him to focus on his strengths in all areas of his game from what he’s already familiar with like post moves, mid range shooting, spot up shooting, and more. All of these workouts have served Jing in a way that makes him even more confident entering the new season. Their work together is one that exhibits the goals of any UPB coach which is mutual trust and a shared commitment to growing and achieving the goals of the player. Jing is preparing heavily for the season ahead and he is one that is more than capable of achieving his goals.