Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 188: All kinds of people, watching with cold eyes
A shoe bag and a big suitcase. Those who didn't know would think Chen Fang was going on a trip, but he was standing at the Los Angeles exit, holding up a sign.

The sign reads: Welcome China Dragon Team.

Yes, Chen Fang, who had been thinking about it for a day, planned to reunite with the national team in this way, and to lower his attitude first to avoid unnecessary trouble.

He calculated the time precisely, and before long, a group of people wearing the regular red national team sportswear appeared at the exit.

The transatlantic flight was very tiring, as we had to endure more than ten hours in economy class. Even though Chen Fang held up the sign, no one paid attention. But Chen Fang was very patient, as he knew someone would definitely see it.

Sure enough, a middle-aged man wearing glasses was surprised at first, and then laughed.

"Are you running here to meet up?" He walked to the guardrail.

"This is the most convenient way, hehe." Chen Fang didn't know who the person in front of him was, so he could only smile apologetically.

"I'm Chai Wen, the leader of the national team and a good brother of your boss." Just one sentence made Chen Fang smile. Look, he found the organization.

"Come on, I'll take you to see Coach Gong."

Coach Gong was walking at the back and just as Chai Wen turned around after finishing his speech, he ran into him.

"Teacher Gong."

Coach Gong stopped as soon as he saw it, and he also saw Chen Fang.

"Very good, good attitude." Even though he said this, there was no smile on Coach Gong's serious face.

"Let's go, and follow closely." Chai Wen said something with two meanings, and Chen Fang obediently followed the main force.

After getting on the bus, Chen Fang was arranged to be at the very back, with only one entrance. Chen Fang walked backwards while greeting his teammates.

The first person he saw was Brother Yi. Chen Fang did not change his expression and called out respectfully. The latter was a little surprised and did not respond for a while. It was Zhou Peng next to him who touched him and said, "Chen Fang for Sui Ran."

"Come on, go sit down first." Yi Jianlian was also tired and had no energy.

Walking to the back, Chen Fang recognized all the familiar faces and called them "brother" affectionately, regardless of their attitude. Finally, he sat down next to Xiao Ding. As soon as he sat down, he said to Xiao Ding: "Excuse me, you didn't recognize me at the exit just now."

Ding Yanyuhang was startled and woke up. He stared at Chen Fang with wide eyes for several seconds and said after a while: "Where did you come from?"

"Teleported out!" Chen Fang said unhappily.

"Damn, sure. How do you know what time we'll land?"

"Guessed!" Chen Fang snorted. He had known Xiao Ding since the youth training. Xiao Ding was Chen Fang's only fulcrum in the team, although Xiao Ding was still young and had no status.

He only started to show his brilliance in this year's CBA and was recognized by the league. After two years of highlights, he is considered the strongest scorer in the national team's back line.

In the 15-16 season, he averaged only 9 points per game, which was too common.

In the 16-17 season, he directly reached 24 points and won the regular season MVP.

"Is it so powerful now?" Ding Yanyuhang was no longer sleepy, and the two of them started whispering in the back of the car.

"There's no problem in beating you!" Chen Fang and Xiao Ding were not humble, but instead boasted like friends.

However, Li Muhao, who was also a younger brother, glanced back, and Chen Fang said sweetly: "What are your instructions, Brother Hao?"

"What can I do, Chen Fang? Don't be so polite. I don't dare to speak." Li Muhao looked at the young face of Chen Fang with complicated eyes. He tried to impact the NBA draft two years ago, but became a draft pick.

You asked him whether he had a chance. The answer is yes, but his own skills became the main reason that restricted him from pursuing his dream. A training class was specially arranged for him, and 21 NBA teams and more than people came to watch him, but he ended up being an undrafted candidate. It can be seen how badly he taught this class.

But then again, he was born in 92 and at the age of 22 he still has the courage to try it, so he does have some guts. He is also a down-to-earth person and there is no scandal about him over the years.

The three were chatting quietly when a young man came up behind them and asked, "Are you Chen Fang?"

I looked up and saw Guo Ailun.

Wow, wow, the two people that Chen Fang wanted to see most when he came to the national team showed up.

In terms of qualifications, Guo Ailun has a good background and has been working his way up to the national team since the national youth team. He was born in November 93 and joined the national team in July 11. In terms of the time of joining the team, he joined the team three months earlier than Chen Fang.

They all joined the national team before they were 18 years old. Based on this attribute, it is worth comparing them by the media. I don't know if he takes it to heart.

Furthermore, both of them are defenders, Chen Fang is a substitute for Sui Ran, and the former is a substitute among the national defenders.

Speaking of the lineup, Chen Fang actually thinks it is really amazing.

The 16-man roster for the 12 Olympics, whether by accident or intentional, was exactly 543 from the inside to the forward line to the back line.

5 inside players: Yi Jianlian, Wang Zhelin, Li Muhao, Zhou Qi, and Zou Yuchen.

4 forwards: Zhou Peng, Zhai Xiaochuan, Ding Yanyuhang and Li Gen.

3 guards: Guo Ailun, Zhao Jiwei, Chen Fang (Sui Ran).

It is not clear what Coach Gong is thinking, but with this configuration, the team hopes to score points through physical attacks in the paint and jump shots from the forwards, while the three guards are all based on the standard of crossing half court.

This shows Coach Gong’s requirements and positioning for defenders.

Judging from Chen Fang's vision from his previous life and his current experience, this basketball theory is too low IQ. If the opposing coach's IQ is over 80, he will just strangle the guard and the whole team will be ruined.

(This is indeed the case. The high-intensity confrontation with Guo Ailun and Zhao Jiwei resulted in the two having basically no physical strength to connect the team in the second half. There were a bunch of inside players but none of them could catch the ball. Since this time, the national team has started to use 5 guards and 3 centers as the standard. It can only be said that the Chinese team's losses over the years have a lot to do with outdated tactics and ideas.)
"What's wrong? Are you distracted?" Guo Ailun was very surprised.

"Brother Allen, you are my idol, I must have been distracted!" Chen Fang woke up and quickly tried to smooth things over.

Hearing this, Guo Ailun was amused. He was a man with a one-track mind and a straightforward personality. He quickly waved his hand and said, "I am your idol? If you tell others about it, you will be scolded."

"Don't you know how popular you are now?" Ding Yanyuhang said with a smile.

"I can't access the domestic network even in the United States." Chen Fang explained himself with just one sentence.

"Anyway, he is more popular than me. Your 53 points are really amazing." Guo Ailun said with emotion. He watched this game several times. Chen Fang's performance was really great. His jumping ability and three-point shooting were really powerful.

"Hehe, it's hard to have such a sudden burst of energy in your life." Chen Fang didn't dare to agree with the words and blocked them with one sentence.

Seeing that Chen Fang was low-key, others thought he was a good guy and their impression of him improved.

Ding Yanyuhang also said appropriately: "I have known Chen Fang for a long time. He is very modest and knows his limits."

Before coming, several bigwigs had a talk with him, including Coach Gong, asking him to take good care of Chen Fang and not let him cause trouble in the national team.

The four of them all had childish personalities and started chatting later, mostly asking about things in the United States. Chen Fang handled the situation with ease, and when the bus arrived at the booked hotel, the relationship between the four of them was already very harmonious.

Chen Fang also felt relieved. The first step was successful.

He was arranged to share a room with Ding Yanyuhang. Before that it was Sui Ran, and now it is naturally Chen Fang.

As soon as I put my luggage away, there was a knock on the door.

Chen Fang opened the door and saw that it was Chai Wen.

"Let's go, Coach Gong is looking for you." After hearing these words, my heart lifted again and I followed him obediently.

Chen Fang had some guesses as to why he wanted to talk to him, but he hoped he wouldn't be right.

Half an hour later, Chen Fang came back with a normal look on his face. Ding Yanyuhang asked him about it with concern, and Chen Fang replied, "It was just a casual chat. Coach Gong likes me."

While Ding Yanyuhang was busy with his own business, a gloomy look flashed across Chen Fang's face.

Gong Luming's conversation this time has three meanings.

1. The national team started training in November last year. Except Chen Fang, all the other 11 people have been selected through screening. It is fair and just to respect everyone's contribution.

2. After more than half a year of tactical training, everyone except Chen Fang has adapted to and understood the current tactics. I hope Chen Fang can seize the time to understand the tactics and integrate into the system.

3. This is a young team with an average age of 23. The unanimous opinion in this Olympics is to train the team.

Chen Fang understood these three meanings immediately. He is not a fool and his emotional intelligence is also outstanding in the team.

Coach Gong simply gave a big stick and then dangled a carrot. First, he told Chen Fang clearly that since he did not have a starting position, he should forget about it. He should watch his teammates play more on the sidelines and understand the tactics as soon as possible. Finally, he said it was a training exercise, so he would also have a chance to play.

Chen Fang had anticipated this result because he knew the national conditions too well.

How to understand this national condition? It’s really magical.

This country takes performance as its goal in everything and judges success or failure by results, but the process is full of unity, stability, harmony, and consideration for the overall situation.

No matter what your level is, you must take care of the emotions of the entire team and make unity your primary goal.

So when we look at it this way, it seems very magical. We can achieve both results and unity. Only we Chinese people think that this paradox is possible.

This is fine. Chen Fang gave up his last bit of hope and just considered going to the Olympics at public expense.

It’s a pity that the Apple Watch2 that I carefully bought for Coach Gong was rejected by him as he said he was not used to it.

Well, last year I gave a watch as a gift, and also gave a calendar as a gift, but I failed before I could accomplish my goal.

Then use it yourself, it’s pretty useful anyway.

On that day, the whole team was resting due to fatigue from the long journey. Chen Fang discovered that the floor of the hotel where the Chinese team was staying was sealed off, and they could not go out or come in, and could only transfer to each other's rooms.

Chen Fang took advantage of this time to build some relationships, but everyone's attitude was just vague and lukewarm.

Especially Grandma Wang and Zhou Guanbing, who were selected by the Grizzlies and Rockets in the second round of the draft on June 6 this year respectively, and really brought good news to the national team.

I don't know if it broke his record, but Chen Fang greeted Grandma Wang, who didn't even raise her eyelids. (I won't talk about Grandma Wang's court life, but her character was revealed when she cursed her national team teammates in the locker room after the game. We were teammates, so why did she curse so badly?)
Zhou Qi is better, but maybe that’s just his personality. Chen Fang won’t say much, just show your attitude.

One was ranked 43rd and the other 57th. Chen Fang really didn’t consider them as his dishes. To be honest, he was too embarrassed to bring them out to his circle because he thought it was shabby.

What's more, one of them doesn't dare to go, and the other can't bear it if he goes. They have no intersection, so Chen Fang certainly won't take it to heart.

As for the eldest brother Yi, Chen Fang hesitated and didn't approach him. Before his rebirth, Brother Yi's affairs were still confusing, and he didn't know the eldest brother's true appearance, so he kept his distance to avoid criticism in the future.

Fortunately, there were three of us in the car before, so the four of us played poker in the room and our relationship immediately improved.

The next day, I started my daily training, focusing on recovery.

Chen Fang also experienced what it meant to have a low status.

Although there are 28 players in the national team's warm-up match in the United States, each player has his own responsibilities, and there is a lack of people who can pick up the balls. So, the caddy that seems to be a hot topic on the Internet is actually true. (You can think about it yourself, whether they can pick up the balls or not. Even in the CBA, some young players will be asked to pick up the balls. Regarding the mechanism of sparring, the domestic government does not attach much importance to it.)
Chen Fang spent the whole morning picking up balls. He hadn't done this since he started playing ball. He worked patiently while Gong Luming watched silently not far away.

It was he who arranged this matter, which was to train the young people, which made several assistant coaches a little worried.

Cui Wanjun, Yannis, Li Nan, Hu Xuefeng, and Wu Qinglong were assisting him this time. At this moment, Wu Qinglong (the head coach of the National Olympic Team), who happened to be next to Coach Gong, coughed and said, "I'm going to train Chen Fang and see his level up close."

"Go ahead." Coach Gong didn't insist on letting Chen Fang pick up balls for a day, so he just took advantage of the situation.

Wu Qinglong came with the earnest request from Master Fan, that he must protect Chen Fang at all costs. In fact, anyone with a discerning eye knew that Chen Fang would become a national star sooner or later, so he should not be messed with too much.

As soon as he went up, he pulled Chen Fang aside. The guys who were shooting the basketball couldn't say anything and could only watch the free caddy being abducted.

Wu Qinglong said as he walked: "Old Fan knew that you were on the national team and drank for three days. Did you know about this?"

Chen Fang was stunned and shook his head: "I don't know, the coach can drink so much?"

"A little worse than me." Wu Qinglong said and threw the ball to Chen Fang.

"Come, warm up too." He took Chen Fang to the other side of the court. This side was a special venue for young people. Guo Ailun and Xiao Ding were both here.

Seeing Chen Fang coming over, several people joked, and Guo Ailun laughed and said: "I thought you were addicted to picking up the ball."

Chen Fang was helpless. Coach Gong personally arranged for him to pick up the ball. What could he say? He could only hold it in and bear it.

In just one morning, Chen Fang planted the seeds.

Sooner or later, my will will become the will of the national team, and no one else will be able to change it.

Chen Fang swore fiercely in his heart, "Thirty years will pass, and no one should look down on me because I am young and poor."

It was precisely because of his emotions that when Chen Fang started warming up, he shocked the people around him.

After watching for more than ten minutes, Xiao Ding's face turned pale. Guo Ailun next to him became a caddy. Others stopped shooting and just watched Chen Fang shooting wildly.

He asked quietly, "How many shots were missed?"

"I remember, 121 balls, none of them missed!" Only then did Wu Qinglong realize that Chen Fang, this kid, had a temper. No wonder Old Fan gave him so many instructions and entrustment, it seemed that he knew his temper.

Chen Fang's amazing performance attracted a lot of attention, and Coach Gong also watched from afar.

So the second-best guard in the United States has to be at this level?

Look at the posture of combining with the ball, the elegance of dribbling, and the freehand shooting. As the saying goes, goods must be compared, and goods must be thrown. A group of people subconsciously dare not shoot.

Because Chen Fang's shooting was fast and accurate, Guo Ailun couldn't catch it by himself, so Xiao Ding had to go up to help, and finally Li Muhao had to fill in to help, and they were just able to keep up with the intensity.

Giannis is a fellow villager brought by the predecessor Yannakis. After Yannakis was driven away, he was retained with a high salary as the national team's tactical strategist. All systems are derived from his theories.

He was watching Chen Fang's shooting and became more and more excited. Now, his own tactical ideas became feasible, and he couldn't help but go to find Coach Gong.

"He is very important." Yannis called on translator Guo Weisheng to find Gong Luming.

“I know.” Coach Gong answered and nothing else happened.

The fact that Janis was able to stay showed that he had good social skills and emotional intelligence, so he understood and knew he couldn't continue.

"Let's start the physical training." Gong Luming would not let Chen Fang show off all the time. He planned to let this proud young man see what physical training of the Three Obediences and One Big is.

The "Three Obediences and One Big" was extracted from the ideology of military training, then popularized to sports schools, and then became the cornerstone for China to become a sports power. Its advantage is that it can produce results quickly, but its disadvantage is that it comes at the expense of the athlete's sports career, and it is common for athletes to retire before the age of 30.

There is nothing wrong with the guiding ideology, but scientific training has not kept up, especially in terms of rehabilitation and nutrition, which is even more lacking. After high-intensity training, athletes do not get recovery and supplements, resulting in physical damage.

Many minor injuries will become serious injuries and lead to illness due to overwork.

Of course, in 16, this idea has not been clearly understood in China, and people still believe in the practice of putting will first, which goes against human nature.

After three groups of shuttle runs, no one was left standing on the entire court except Chen Fang. Looking at Chen Fang standing out from the crowd, Gong Luming realized for the first time that he had underestimated this young man.

But at the same time, I was also wondering, why did it seem to be useless even though I had been training so hard in Haigeng?
(Throughout the warm-up matches and the Olympics, the Chinese men's basketball team began to collapse in the second half. The so-called Haigeng physical training became a joke. As for why the players from other countries have no physical problems, it's because this is very scientific. I will give a brief and clear summary later using the plot.)
The subsequent sprints, including the offensive and defensive transitions in the ball training, showed the difference even more. Both Wang Nainai and Zhou Guanbing failed to score from the vacant blue rim, and they failed consecutively. (As long as you have physical problems, your three-meter height does not necessarily guarantee that you will score from the vacant blue rim.)
As for Chen Fang, he was running with both baskets. Not only was he the fastest, he also never lost the ball when dribbling, and every ball ended with a slam dunk.

It wasn't that Chen Fang did it on purpose, but it was a special training by Garnett.

In order to consolidate his performance after the second half, Garnett's method was to sprint repeatedly throughout the game, scoring 20 points in a group, and ending with dunks.

Chen Fang would do five sets of devilish sprints in a row, totaling 100 points each time. So compared to the national team's sprint training, which also included a four-five second break, it was too easy for Chen Fang.

Gong Luming understood completely that if they continued to compete, the entire team would be ashamed.

After hurriedly finishing the training, Chen Fang began to recover. He didn't say anything, just lay there obediently, using the roller to press his thighs and comb the fascia.

"You are so awesome now!" Ding Yanyuhang had to admit that only a year had passed, and the little brother before had become mighty and strong.

"Just praise me too much. My physical fitness is considered poor here." Chen Fang told the truth, but no one believed him.

But that's the fact. Every time Chen Fang trains with Tatum, he collapses while Tatum is still alive and kicking. Even Trae Young can't compare to him.

It is a recognized fact that Chen Fang has the worst physical fitness in his circle.

There is no way. The cardiopulmonary function just cannot reach the level to work stably under high-intensity confrontation. If you ask a triathlete to play basketball, let alone the skills, he will be ruined in one quarter just because of the intensity of the confrontation.

Not to mention the ten seconds of real manly football. The ten seconds for a touchdown are truly ten seconds of extreme cardiopulmonary explosion. After a few rounds, even NBA-level players can't stand it.

The national team's training is very ordinary, at least in Chen Fang's eyes.

The rehabilitation after training is very casual. The team doctors only pay attention to and serve a few core leaders. These young people take care of themselves.

At night, lying on the bed, Xiao Ding chatted with Chen Fang.

Suddenly Ding Yanyuhang asked: "How do you feel about the first day in the national team?"

"Truth or lies?"

"Really? Of course it's true. Do you still want to play this trick on us?"

"Well, I'd better train more intensely myself." Chen Fang's words choked Ding Yanyuhang.

After a while, Ding Yanyuhang asked, "Do you think it's hard to get into the NBA?"

“It’s difficult. It’s very difficult.”

"But didn't Wang and Zhou also get in? I don't think they've trained hard enough."

Turning sideways, looking at Ding Yanyuhang's eyes full of curiosity and desire, Chen Fang thought for a moment, and then thought of the bumpy road Ding Yanyuhang would face in the next eight years, and his heart softened.

"Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?" Before he could finish his words, a pillow flew towards him. Fortunately, Chen Fang was agile and dodged it.

"Don't throw it away, what a woman." Chen Fang thought of Lu Yun's pillow.

"First of all, the positions are different and the difficulty is different. Secondly, even if you choose them, you may not be able to keep them. I only know them today, but I took a look at their level, haha!"

Chen Fang's face was full of disdain: "With their physical fitness and strength, they have performed at this level. I can only say that they have not made any progress over the years."

"You will know the intensity of the NBA after playing one game. To be honest, at their current level, they can only be starters in a mid-tier D1 team and play for only minutes."

"In fact, if they play in D1 for two years and then go to the NBA, they will have a chance to stay, but there is no if, so in my judgment, they have no chance."

"Is that so?" Although Ding Yanyuhang still didn't quite believe it, he felt better after all.

"Then do you think I can play in the NBA?" Ding Yanyuhang still asked this question.

Chen Fang was also waiting for this sentence. He looked at Ding Yanyuhang for three or four seconds, and the latter felt scared.

"He can play, but he can't play." Chen Fang gave a prediction. Ding Yanyuhang's height, skills, and fighting spirit are all good, but he really can't play.

"What do you mean? Stop teasing me, okay?" Ding Yanyuhang got up, looking serious.

"You can play more than a dozen NBA-level games, but you can't play for a whole year, or even half a season before you have to recover from an injury," Chen Fang replied.

(None of the Chinese players who went to the NBA could last 60 games. 60 games is the judging standard set by the NBA. All the data and honors are based on this.)
"Why? Is it so easy to get injured in the NBA?" Ding Yanyuhang was confused.

"Well, you can understand it this way. If I explain it in more depth, I'm afraid you won't understand. Let me give you a score. Your muscles have never been scientifically trained since you started exercising. Until you became an adult, the muscles you trained are pseudo-muscles. They can resist but not endure. In fact, they can't even be said to be resistant. They are very brittle."

"The harder you try, the faster you get hurt and the more serious the injury will be." Chen Fang pointed at Ding Yanyuhang's right knee.

"Some injuries, such as ligaments and patellar problems, are essentially caused by the muscles losing their function and losing the ability to protect joints and ligaments. Often, these injuries occur during competitions. The muscles are still working in the first few seconds, and suddenly stop working in the next second."

"Why does muscle behave like this? Because it has its own load-bearing value. If it is constantly stimulated and used, it will be like a fuse in a switch, which will suddenly trip and cut off the power."

"For example, you must remember that technology is based on the body, and you should spend most of your training time on increasing the load value of your muscles."

(Ding Yanyuhang's right knee problem is that the inflammation of the quadriceps has completely rotted this muscle group, which in turn caused the patella and tendon to collapse. So it has not healed after several years of treatment. All the injuries of athletes are caused by this problem I raised.)
"Listen to me. If you believe me, come to the United States every off-season. It doesn't cost anything. You can just stay at my house. I'll find a trainer for you. At least I can guarantee that your career will be long-lasting."

This is Chen Fang's promise. He knows very well that Ding Yanyuhang is China's "Shang Zhongyong", which is such a pity.

"Okay, then, after the Olympics, will you return to China or stay in the United States?"

“In California.”

"Then can I come with you?"

"Of course!" Chen Fang was happy to see Ding Yanyuhang listening to his advice.

It is said that those who listen to advice are blessed.

From this perspective, it is already a good thing to have gained from this trip to the national team, which greatly offsets the unhappiness today.

Ha, let me see what expressions you stubborn guys will have after being beaten up by the American team.

Eat melons online!

　I really don't want to write about China, firstly because I'm afraid it will be blocked, and secondly because it may not be true. But the situation I'm describing is based on hindsight.

　　But we still have to go through it, and then the competition will come, and we will fast-forward all the way to the Olympics.

　　Please be patient. At the same time, I also talked about the underlying logic and nature of the frequent injuries of Cui Yongyuan, Ding Yanyudi and all the Chinese stars who play in the NBA in the article.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)