Fang Jiachen plays for Tsinghua University in the Chinese University Basketball Association. [Photo/zgtww.cn]

The Chinese Basketball Association 2023 Draft was held in Chengdu on July 15, where the Sichuan Men's Basketball Team selected Yiwu guard Fang Jiachen from Tsinghua University as the second pick in the first round.

Fang, a student in the Public Administration program at Tsinghua University, stands at 1.82 meters tall and plays as a point guard.

In the current season of the Chinese University Basketball Association, he averaged 12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.7 steals per game. He had a shooting percentage of 43.7 percent and a three-point shooting percentage of 23.4 percent.

Fang's father, Guoliang, said that his son is about to graduate from Tsinghua University with an undergraduate degree and has already been accepted into the university's physical education master's program. They plan to discuss how to balance his academic pursuits and basketball career.

Fang is a native of Yiwu and was once hailed as the "No.1 high school student." Now, he is set to become the first Yiwu native to grace the nation's top basketball stage.

Fang Jiachen poses with late NBA star Kobe Bryant. [Photo/zgtww.cn]

Born in Yiwu in 1999, Fang grew up in an ordinary family with no particular interest in sports, let alone a basketball lineage. However, Fang disliked playing video games and found his sole passion in basketball.

After graduating from junior high school, Fang enrolled at Huipu High School. In the 2016-17 season of the China High School Basketball League, he clinched the championship and was named Most Valuable Player at the finals.

During his sophomore year of high school, Fang Jiachen successfully passed the tryouts and winter camp at Tsinghua University, becoming the first student in Zhejiang to be admitted to Tsinghua University through the basketball talent recruitment program.