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Shanxi Brave Dragons
League	CBA
Founded	2001
History	Henan Dragons (2001–2006) Shanxi Dragons (2006–2007) Shanxi Brave Dragons (2007–2018) Shanxi Loongs (2018–present)
Arena	Riverside Sports Arena
Capacity	5,331
Location	Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
Team colors	White, Orange, Black
Head coach	Hsu Chin-tse
Ownership	Shanxi Fenjiu Company
Championships	None

The Shanxi Fenjiu Loongs (山西汾酒猛龙) or Shanxi Fenjiu or Shanxi Loongs are a professional basketball team based in Taiyuan, Shanxi, China, which plays in the North Division of the Chinese Basketball Association. The Shanxi Fenjiu Company is the club's corporate sponsor, while its mascot is a dragon.

The team was known in English as the Shanxi Brave Dragons from the Summer of 2007 until September 2018, when a rebranding ceremony was held, unveiling a new logo and nickname. Loongs is the Cantonese term for Dragons, although the vast majority of people in Shanxi do not speak Cantonese.

History

Originally known as the Henan Renhe Dragons (河南仁和) due to corporate sponsorship by the Henan Renhe Group (河南仁和集团), the team rebranded as a result of an agreement signed with the Henan Jiyuan Iron & Steel Group (河南济源钢铁集团) in early November, just before the CBA's 2004–05 regular season began (jigang is an abbreviation for jiyuan gangtie or Jiyuan Iron & Steel).^[1]

In conjunction with this change -- the club moved from its original home city of Zhengzhou to Jiyuan -- in the middle of its first season.^[2] From 2004–2006 they were known as the Henan Jigang Dragons (河南济钢猛龙) or Henan Jigang or Henan Dragons, and were based in both Jiyuan and Luoyang, Henan.

During the 2004–05 CBA season, the team's first in the league, the Henan Dragons finished in seventh and last place in the CBA's North Division and out of the playoffs. In the 2005–06 CBA season they suffered the same fate yet again.

Before the 2006–07 CBA season, the team headed to Taiyuan, and changed its name to the Shanxi Yujun Dragons or Shanxi Yujun or Shanxi Dragons. They signed with a new sponsor the following year, and became known as the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons, but the club has fared little better on the court since its relocation.

In January 2010, the Brave Dragons signed former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury.^[3] He only stayed with Shanxi through the end of the 2009–10 CBA season, before leaving for Foshan, and eventually Beijing.

In August 2011, the Brave Dragons played an exhibition game against the Georgetown University Hoyas during the Washington, D.C. squad's two-week summer trip to China, but lost by a final score of 98-81.

Playing in the IBL

The Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons participated in the 2008 season of the International Basketball League. The IBL is a spring/summer league based in Portland, Oregon. They were housed at the United States Basketball Academy.

Roster

Shanxi Zhongyu roster roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. C 7000500000000000000♠5 Hou Xingyu 7000214000000000000♠2.14 m (7 ft 0 in) 7002122000000000000♠122 kg (269 lb) G 7000700000000000000♠7 Yuan Shuai 7000191000000000000♠1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 7001870000000000000♠87 kg (192 lb) F 7000900000000000000♠9 Yan Pengfei 7000211000000000000♠2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 7002110000000000000♠110 kg (243 lb) F 7001100000000000000♠10 Ren Junwei 7000200999999999999♠2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 7001990000000000000♠99 kg (218 lb) F 7001110000000000000♠11 Li Jingyu 7000197000000000000♠1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 7001960000000000000♠96 kg (212 lb) F 7001120000000000000♠12 Xing Zhiqiang 7000202000000000000♠2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 7002104000000000000♠104 kg (229 lb) G 7001130000000000000♠13 Wang Hong 7000182000000000000♠1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 7001740000000000000♠74 kg (163 lb) G 7001140000000000000♠14 Josh Adams 7000185000000000000♠1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 7001840000000000000♠84 kg (185 lb) F 7001150000000000000♠15 Shabazz Muhammad 7000198000000000000♠1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 7002103000000000000♠103 kg (227 lb) F 7001170000000000000♠17 Liu Guancen 7000199000000000000♠1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 7001882000000000000♠88.2 kg (194 lb) G 7001190000000000000♠19 Sun Weibo 7000192000000000000♠1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 7001840000000000000♠84 kg (185 lb) C 7001210000000000000♠21 Ge Zhaobao 7000213000000000000♠2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) 7002115000000000000♠115 kg (254 lb) G 7001230000000000000♠23 Ban Duo 7000180000000000000♠1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 7001700000000000000♠70 kg (154 lb) C 7001240000000000000♠24 Zhang Zelong 7000200000000000000♠2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 7001990000000000000♠99 kg (218 lb) G 7001550000000000000♠55 Ren Pengpeng 7000185000000000000♠1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 7001800000000000000♠80 kg (176 lb)	Head coach Hsu Chin-tse Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: November 6, 2018

Notable players

Current International players

• 
  Shabazz Muhammad (2018–present)
  


• 
  Josh Adams (2018–present)
  

Former Chinese players

• 
  Shan Tao (2007–08)
  


• 
  Shang Ping (2010–12)
  


• 
  Wang Lei (2005–07)
  


• 
  Wu Tai-hao (2015–2018)
  

Former International players

Trivia

The team and their former coach Bob Weiss are subject of the book Brave Dragons, A Chinese Basketball Team, an American Coach and Two Cultures Clashing which is about the experience of Weiss while he was coaching the team during the 2008–2009 season.

References

External links

• United States Basketball Academy Website


• Shanxi Zhongyu in asia-basket.com Website


• 
  Shanxi Zhongyu in sina.com Website (in Chinese)
  


• Team page on IBL Website