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Li Yueru: C, 6’7, China 

College Stats in 2018: 

N/A

Where she’ll go: 

Yueru will be a second or third-round selection.

The Rundown:

Like her Chinese National Team teammate Xu Han, Yueru is another somewhat unknown young center prospect.

The one thing that is for sure is that Yueru is a promising passer. Though she doesn’t have as much shot-blocking and scoring upside as Han, Yueru is much stronger and she does have a good shooting touch. The encouraging thing about Yueru is her developing strength and ability to bang in the paint with the best of the WNBA.

Yueru averaged 7.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in the 2018 FIBA World Cup, and had her best performance against Japan in a game to reach the quarterfinals. She scored 12 points and added eight rebounds in that contest. In her next game she was matched up against Liz Cambage and scored 12 poitns with six rebounds. That competition was both a learning experience and a coming out party. Yueru gained recognition through her play, but also realized that she needs to get stronger and took it upon herself to make that happen. Yueru is young—she will turn 20 at the end of March—and any team that drafts her can afford to be patient, or even hold her rights while she develops overseas.

While it’s a little difficult to predict what exactly Yueru will become, if she’s available late in the second round or anywhere in the third, she’s certainly worth a flier. Players in that range rarely even make WNBA rosters, so if Yueru becomes a productive player she could be incredibly valuable.

Check out the rest of our prospect profiles, plus more Lynx-related draft coverage at lynxbasketball.com’s Draft Central.