clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

BYU basketball recruiting: Cougars pursuing Chinese big man Shengzhe Li

The BYU Cougars are on the trail for another basketball recruit with international ties.

By Robby McCombs
@SMCHSBasketball

BYU hoops missed out this offseason on Russian forward Agasiy Tonoyan due to entrance exam issues, but the Cougars are on the trail for another recruit with international ties.

2019 6’11” big man Shengzhe Li from Santa Margarita High School (Orange County, CA) visited BYU’s campus this past weekend. Li grew up in China before going to SMHS as a foreign exchange student last school year. Li was offered a scholarship by BYU on his visit this weekend, according to one source close to the situation.

Li put up modest numbers as a junior last season in his first year in the states (6.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.2 APG, 53.1 FG%, 66.7 FT%), but has caught the attention of scouts with his improvement in the AAU circuit this summer. He is now considered one of the best low-post players in Southern California.

Li’s connection to BYU is through Santa Margarita Head Coach Jeff Reinert. Reinert was a college basketball coach for nearly 25 years, including a stop in Provo as a BYU assistant from 1991-1994. After his time at BYU, he was the head coach at UVU from 1994-2002.

With a year of American high school and AAU ball under his belt, Li is positioned to take another jump during his senior year. He has a few other schools already recruiting him — including Rutgers, Denver, and a handful of California schools — and he would land on the radar of more schools with a big senior year.

Li’s highlights from this summer’s AAU circuit can be viewed below. The video says he is the “closest person to the next Yao Ming”, which is a bit much, but Li shows a solid touch on his shot and some offensive polish. With his continuing improvement and his size, Li offers enough upside and talent for BYU to take in and develop in the program. BYU doesn’t have many big men recruits in the pipeline, so adding Li would be a nice addition for this team.

Here’s another play from this summer which shows Li’s awareness around the basket:

We’ll continue to give updates on Li’s recruitment here at Vanquish The Foe.

More From Vanquish The Foe