ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (22nd FIBA Asia U18 Championship):  Lee Jonghyun has always looked conspicuous on the court – for his abilities as well as his height – right from the day he made his debut at the inaugural edition of the FIBA Asia U16 Championship at Johor Bahru (Malaysia) three summers ago.

He logged an average of 12.9 point and 7 rebounds per game leading Korea to a silver medal finish. A year later took his team a similar result at the 21st FIBA Asia Championship at Sana’A (Yemen) in 2010, where he scored at the rate of 7.4 points and rebounded at 6.2 collections per game.

But the most attention-grabbing instance in Lee Jonghyun’s fledgling career came, when he collected a mammoth 42 games in a single game playing for Kyongbok High School last year.

That performance was good enough to throw the 206-cm player into the limelight and soon he was packing for the trip to the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Caracas (Venezuela).

Stats-wise Lee Jonghyun didn’t have much at Caracas, but the very fact that he pitted his wits against strong teams like Russia and Dominican Republic was an important step in his experience trip. That Russia went on to win the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics eventually adds credence to Lee’s exposure credentials.

With such accolades to back him, Lee Jonghyun is for sure one of the prospects for the future in FIBA Asia. His performance, therefore, at the 22nd FIBA Asia U18 Championship starting in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) on Friday will be watched with much interest.

Watch this space!

FIBA Asia