Liaoning Flying Leopards

Liaoning Flying Leopards
League	CBA
Founded	1995 (1995)
History	Liaoning Hunters (1995–2008) Liaoning Dinosaurs (2008–2011) Liaoning Flying Leopards (2011–present)
Arena	Benxi Gymnasium
Arena Capacity	4,500
Location	Benxi, Liaoning, China
Team colors	Purple, Gold, Black
Team manager	Jie Jun
Head coach	Joaquín Ruiz Lorente
Uniforms
Home Away

The Liaoning Flying Leopards (辽宁药都本溪飞豹) (also known as the Liaoning Scale Industry Flying Leopards or simply Liaoning Scale Industry) are a professional basketball team based in Yingkou, Liaoning, China, which plays in the North Division of the Chinese Basketball Association. Some home games are also held in nearby Benxi. The Liaoning Scale Industry Group is the club's corporate sponsor while its mascot is a flying leopard. In 2011, Scale Industry took over sponsorship from the Liaoning Panpan Group Co., Ltd. (辽宁盼盼集团有限公司).

History

During the 2004–05 CBA season, Liaoning finished in first place in the North Division, but lost in the Quarter-Finals of the CBA Playoffs to the South Division's Yunnan Bulls. The team would then go on to place seventh and fourth, respectively, over the next two years, before advancing to the CBA Finals following the 2007–08 CBA season. Although Liaoning eventually lost to the Guangdong Southern Tigers, the club did win the fourth game of the series. This was the team's first victory in the CBA Finals, despite multiple appearances. After finishing in fifth place in the 2009–10 CBA season, Liaoning would miss both the 2010–11 and the 2011–12 CBA playoffs.^[1]

Before the 2012–13 CBA season began, the roster received a massive upheaval. Liaoning made multiple changes including the signings of Josh Akognon and Alexander Johnson. Meanwhile, veteran Bian Qiang retired, and many local players were either transferred or loaned out to other CBA teams. One of the most significant player transactions that occurred was the decision to let go of Zhang Qingpeng.^[2] It would later be revealed that this move was made in the interest of developing sharpshooter Guo Ailun.^[3] On December 2, 2012, the Flying Leopards beat the Tianjin Gold Lions 100-81. This was Liaoning's sixth straight home victory against Tianjin.^[4]

The Flying Leopards have since become regular contenders for the CBA title again, powered by such players as Guo, big man Han Dejun, and multi-time CBA International MVP Lester Hudson. Liaoning lost to the Beijing Ducks in six games in the 2015 CBA Finals, and to Sichuan Blue Whales in five games in the 2016 CBA Finals. A brawl broke between players from the visiting Liaoning Flying Leopards and fans of the Sichuan Blue Whales after Game 3 of the Chinese Basketball Association 2016 Finals as described in Chuan-Liao Event.

Roster

Liaoning Flying Leopards roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. 1.5 !G 7000100000000000000♠1 CHN ! Gao Shiyan 7000185000000000000♠1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 7001740000000000000♠74 kg (163 lb) 1.5 !G 7000300000000000000♠3 CHN ! Zhao Jiwei 7000185000000000000♠1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 7001740000000000000♠74 kg (163 lb) 3.5 !F 7000400000000000000♠4 CHN ! Lian Ming 7000202000000000000♠2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 7001950000000000000♠95 kg (209 lb) 3.5 !F 7000600000000000000♠6 CHN ! He Tianju 7000202999999999999♠2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 7001920000000000000♠92 kg (203 lb) 3.5 !F 7001100000000000000♠10 CHN ! Cong Mingchen 7000199000000000000♠1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 7001810000000000000♠81 kg (179 lb) 1.5 !G 7001110000000000000♠11 CHN ! Liu Zhixuan 7000193000000000000♠1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 7001840000000000000♠84 kg (185 lb) 1.5 !G 7001120000000000000♠12 CHN ! Yang Ming (C) 7000193000000000000♠1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 7001800000000000000♠80 kg (176 lb) 1.5 !G 7001130000000000000♠13 CHN ! Guo Ailun 7000193000000000000♠1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 7001860000000000000♠86 kg (190 lb) 1.5 !G 7001140000000000000♠14 USA ! Lester Hudson 7000191000000000000♠1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 7001860000000000000♠86 kg (190 lb) 3.5 !F 7001150000000000000♠15 CHN ! Guo Xu 7000199000000000000♠1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 7001850000000000000♠85 kg (187 lb) 3.5 !F 7001180000000000000♠18 CHN ! Sun Kaiqi 7000206000000000000♠2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 7001920000000000000♠92 kg (203 lb) 3.5 !F 7001220000000000000♠22 CHN ! Li Xiaoxu  7000204000000000000♠2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 7001940000000000000♠94 kg (207 lb) 5.0 !C 7001240000000000000♠24 CHN ! Wei Meng 7000209000000000000♠2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) 7002100000000000000♠100 kg (220 lb) 3.5 !F 7001420000000000000♠42 USA ! Shavlik Randolph 7000208000000000000♠2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 7002107000000000000♠107 kg (236 lb) 5.0 !C 7001550000000000000♠55 CHN ! Han Dejun 7000215000000000000♠2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) 7002145000000000000♠145 kg (320 lb)	Head coach Guo Shiqiang Assistant coach(es) Joseph Wilton Zhang Qingwu Joaquin Ruiz Lorente Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: December 2, 2016

Notable players

Current

• Li Xiaoxu (2005–present)
• Han Dejun (2007–present)
• Guo Ailun (2010–present)
• Zhao Jiwei (2013–present)
• Lester Hudson (2014–present)
• Shavlik Randolph (2015–present)

Former

• Wu Qinglong (1984–1997)
• Wu Naiqun (1993–2000)
• Li Xiaoyong (1993–2003)
• Guo Shiqiang (1993–2006)
• Zhang Qingpeng (2001–2010, 2011–2012)
• Ronnie McCollum (2001–2002)
• Eric Riley (2002–2003)
• Ernest Brown (2002–2003)
• T. J. Cummings (2004–2005)
• Tommy Smith (2008)
• Awvee Storey (2008–2009)
• \ Olumide Oyedeji (2008–2010)
• Carlos Powell (2010–2011)
• Josh Powell (2011–2012)
• Rodney Carney (2011–2012)
• Alexander Johnson (2012–2013)
• \ Josh Akognon (2012–2013)
• Solomon Jones (2013)
• Vernon Macklin (2013)
• Dominique Jones (2013–2014)
• Hakim Warrick (2013–2014)
• Deon Thompson (2014–2015)

References

External links

• Club Profile at Sina.com (Chinese)