The WCBA season is already halfway through, and Sichuan Women's Basketball Team still holds the position of "absolute hegemony". Many teams are not willing to be left behind. They have timely identified problems during the games and have started to strengthen their teams by recruiting a large number of new foreign players. Among them, Xinjiang Women's Basketball Team, Henan Women's Basketball Team, and Shanxi Women's Basketball Team have acted very quickly, and there is even hope that they can challenge the dominant positions of Sichuan and Inner Mongolia.
According to a well-known sports blogger, Henan Women's Basketball Team, ranked 16th in the WCBA, has invested 51 million yuan to build the team!
This summer, Henan Women's Basketball Team hired Park Myung-ju, an assistant coach of the Chinese Women's Basketball Team, as the head coach of Henan Women's Basketball Team. After that, they signed a large number of excellent domestic players as well as three powerful foreign players: Akindu, McDaniel, and Odyssey Sims. Later, they also signed the fourth foreign player Emma Gunn, becoming the first team this season to sign four foreign players.
In addition to Henan Women's Basketball Team, Shanxi Women's Basketball Team also signed a powerful foreign player, Mercedes Russell, who once played for the WNBA Seattle Storm.
After Liu Yutong left the WCBA, Shanxi Team had a huge vacancy in the frontcourt. The arrival of Mercedes Russell greatly strengthened Shanxi Team's frontcourt, making Shanxi Women's Basketball Team the second team this season to sign four foreign players.
Shanxi Team has performed outstandingly this season with a record of 14 wins and 5 losses, ranking second in Group A. With the arrival of Russell, the frontcourt player, Shanxi Team's weakness has been strengthened, and it is estimated that the subsequent schedule will go very smoothly.
As the absolute hegemon of this season, Sichuan Women's Basketball Team has achieved 19 consecutive victories. The double-core combination of Li Meng and Han Xu has made Sichuan Women's Basketball Team invincible. However, halfway through the season, Sichuan Women's Basketball Team's foreign player arrangements have not yet been finalized.
It is still unknown whether Cambage and Jones will return to Sichuan Women's Basketball Team. If they play all-Chinese lineup to the finals, it is uncertain whether Han Xu can withstand the pressure from the frontcourt when facing Shanxi Team with three foreign players.
For the current Sichuan Team, there is only one way to complete the defense of the championship, which is to find a reliable helper for Han Xu to share the pressure of the frontcourt of Sichuan Team. There is no other way.
Although Shanxi Team signed Russell, she is just a fringe player in the WNBA, and it is difficult for her to suppress Han Xu. Moreover, the current Sichuan Team's lineup is very high in terms of both tacit understanding and completeness. If this lineup is broken and new foreign players are added, it may have a counterproductive effect.
Therefore, Sichuan Women's Basketball Team now needs to find a stable frontcourt player. If Cambage can return, it would naturally be the best choice. If Cambage cannot play, then a substitute is needed to share the pressure of Han Xu.
This season, Han Xu lives up to the title of "frontcourt powerhouse," the No. 1 frontcourt in the WCBA, repeatedly scoring 20+10 double-double data, and his state is very stable.
As long as Han Xu is not injured, even if Sichuan Team enters the finals with an all-Chinese lineup, the probability of winning the championship is still very high!
