Beijing Olympic Village, China Men's Basketball Training Center, Preparation Room.

There are three positions of people sitting in the room, one is the core player of the national men's basketball team, who may not necessarily be the strongest Chinese player in terms of personal ability, but it is definitely a combination that can give full play to the greatest combat effectiveness, especially the combination that maximizes the strength of Yao Ming, the world's top center.

The second type is the staff, and as the Olympic competition approaches, the men's basketball competition, as one of the key events of the 2008 Olympic Games, is also getting more and more attention. This has led to an increasing number of staff members needed by the men's basketball team, and now only a small part of the room is occupied, and most of the staff are constantly busy preparing for the upcoming game.

Therefore, such as Lao Hu, who was originally only the coach of the local youth team, and at the highest was only an assistant coach of the national youth men's basketball team, an insider has become one of the staff. If it weren't for the fact that there were too many people needed, it would not be easy to get an official position here with Lao Hu's ability and connections.

The third type is the coaching staff.

Younas-Caslauskas, Chen Mu is very familiar.

However, this familiarity is familiar because in the original timeline, Chen Mu, a "fan who pays attention to the Chinese men's basketball team", is familiar with it after watching a lot of reports. It was the first time I had been coached by him in the team.

Younas's basketball resume is rich to the explosion, from the junior team to the senior national team in the former Soviet Union, Younas was selected for all the national teams, and is the main point guard of the former Soviet Union.

Younas's coaching journey began after the upheavals in Eastern Europe. He coached the Lithuanian junior basketball team, which won the world championship in 1995. In 1996, he became an assistant coach of the adult team, and the Lithuanian team won a bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics. After that, he was promoted to head coach and led the team to win the bronze medal in the Sydney Olympics.

As for the league titles, European champions, best coaches and the like on the professional stage, the list goes on.

Year 2004. Younas became the assistant coach of the Chinese men's basketball team, and assisted Harris, known as the Silver Fox, to help the Chinese men's basketball team achieve the quarterfinals.

The following year, Younas became the head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team.

Younas's most praised ability is not the rigorous and meticulous coaching style, nor the shining championship titles, but the bold use of newcomers and the willingness to give newcomers a chance forward-looking.

If nothing else, let's just say that during the coaching of the national team men's basketball team, Younas boldly used Chen Jianghua and vigorously supported Yi Jianlian. It has cultivated a lot of fresh blood for the national team.

Now, another jade is unfolding in front of Younas, waiting for him to be discovered.

"The first thing to note is that the list released today is not the final list. Everything can change before the game starts, so be prepared. Don't feel that you can sit back and relax if you are selected today, and don't be discouraged because you are not selected today. A lot of things happen on the basketball court, and it's the same off the court. I will not change my decision because of any outside pressure. No one is completely safe. ”

Younas's words are undoubtedly a shot in the hearts of the players. Prevent players from having bad emotions because of selection or defeat, which will affect the overall performance of the team.

"I hope that this atmosphere of competition can be maintained forever, it is a healthy competition. It doesn't matter about personal relationships, as long as you can contribute to the team and can prove it in front of me, you have the potential to turn things around. ”

Younas's eyes were like knives. "We don't want injuries or illnesses, but there are things that you can't avoid without mentioning them, so everyone has to be prepared." Someone can be replaced at any time. ”

Around Younas, team leaders Hu Jiashi, Bai Xilin, Chinese coaching staff member Guo Shiqiang, as well as Gong Xiaobin, Sun Jun, Nelson, Er and other members of the coaching staff, as well as scientific research coach Zhao Jiexiu all looked serious. Obviously, the list that is going to be talked about is already known to them, and it must be the result of their long discussion.

And the importance of this list for the athletes is naturally self-evident.

"The shortlist will be announced below."

Younas picked up a piece of paper in front of him.

"The list of twelve people is: Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Chen Mu, Yi Jianlian, Zhu Fangyu, Wang Lei, Li Nan, Sun Yue, Wang Shipeng, Liu Wei, Chen Jianghua, Zhang Qingpeng."

After reading the list of Younas, there were a few happy and a few sad people in the preparation room, but everyone didn't show it too obviously, only the expressions on the faces of the three people were a little surprised.

One is the selected Wang Lei, although Wang Lei was also a player that Younas liked quite a lot, but in terms of technology, the gap between him and his predecessor Du Feng is not small. His footwork and ability to run and jump on the defensive end may have some advantages, but the competition for his forward position is so fierce that even he doesn't believe he can make the cut.

Wang Lei can play the third or fourth position, and in this position, the Chinese team's reserves are quite deep.

Needless to say, the No. 4 position, Chen Mu alone is enough to be proud of the crowd, just got the NBA a big forward super inside, can compete with any opponent, Wang Lei wants to compare with Chen Mu, it is a little too self-sufficient.

Yi Jianlian is also the No. 4 position, although there is no such a resounding name as Chen Mu for the time being, but everyone knows that with Yi Jianlian's potential and progress speed, he will become the pillar of the new generation of the national team, and it will definitely not be a problem to support the Chinese team in the next ten years with Chen Mu.

Although Dazhi is not young and has always played as a center forward before, his peripheral skills and organizational skills can allow him to top the No. 4 position in some special situations. It can be said that the strength of the Chinese team's big forward position is definitely an overflowing state.

There is also the aforementioned Du Feng, who can be three, four or even five, and is also an important competitor of Wang Lei.

As for the No. 3 position, the Chinese team is not ambiguous. Zhu Fangyu at the CBAMVP level and veteran Li Nanna are both good players who can take charge on their own. Their technical characteristics of projection on the outside line are also more suitable for the Chinese team's style of play, which focuses on strong points on the inside.

Although Sun Yue is nominally a point guard, with his height and skills, he can play the role of No. 3. Compared with Wang Lei, Sun Yue's ball control is better, and his mid- and long-distance shooting may be slightly inferior, but his defensive comprehensiveness and physical fitness are better, and he also has a hand of organization, and the breakthrough is not under Wang Lei.

If Younas wants to increase the thickness and increase the defensive ability in the No. 3 position, Zhou Peng and Zhang Kai are also no less choices than Wang Lei.

Why......

Why can I be selected over Du Feng's predecessors?

Wang Lei was a little surprised, and Du Feng was also a little surprised.

In recent seasons, Du Feng's form has indeed been declining, but as a spatial power forward, Du Feng's skills and mid-range shooting can still help the team.

Let's not talk about now, let's just say that about two years ago, when everyone was starting to think about the 2008 Olympic Games, when the men's basketball team would be selected, Du Feng was almost a member of all the prediction lists.

But now......

Is it because of this guy's sudden rise ......?

Du Feng slowly turned his head and looked at the guy who was sitting beside Younas not far away.

Chen Mu, also at a loss, looked at Younas, then at Du Feng, and then frowned and thought for a while, as if he had figured out something, and nodded slightly.

At first, when he heard that Wang Lei was selected instead of Du Feng, Chen Mu was also a little surprised. But after thinking about it carefully, I feel that this choice is really reasonable.

In terms of the composition of the team's position now, there are Yao Ming and Dazhi at the center, Yi Jianlian can also top one, and Chen Mu has also proved in the NBA that he has no problem at all when playing small ball.

With such a quadruple insurance, the center forward position of the Chinese team is definitely the top configuration in the world.

In the fourth position, the combination of Chen Mu and Yi Jianlian can be both inside and out. In contrast, Yi Jianlian is taller and more familiar with FIBA rules, while Chen Mu is already an international-level star, and his strength does not need to be praised too much, everyone knows it.

In addition, Dazhi, who has also been mentioned before, can also make a cameo appearance in the No. 4 position from time to time, and the big forward position of the Chinese team is also luxurious.

If a Du Feng is added to this lineup, with Du Feng's current athleticism, playing the No. 3 position is too slow, and he will only be devoured in the face of the small forward army full of birds and beasts on the world stage. Playing the No. 4 position and can't compare with Chen Mu and Yi Jianlian, the only technical advantage of three-point shots is a little worthless in front of Chen Mu's rebounding and organization, as well as Yi Jianlian's mid-range and basket impact.

Therefore, Du Feng was defeated, and Wang Lei was selected. In the third position, the plan given by the Chinese team is that the shooter cooperates with the defender, and the wheel battle is PK with the world's top masters.

After that, Younas and the coaching staff said some words of encouragement, telling the selected ones not to be complacent, not to be too depressed if they were not selected, to continue to train with the team, and that there may be changes at any time, etc.

After that, the regular training project was arranged, and after everyone's task was finished, Chen Mu and Yi Jianlian were left alone and had a more in-depth exchange with Younas.

In addition to running in tactics as soon as possible and familiarizing themselves with the running position, the two interior players who came back from the NBA were also added some individual training items, so that Younas could understand the current technical and tactical level of the two as soon as possible.

Time flies, after a few days of intensive training, Chen Mu and Yi Jianlian have gradually found their positions, and everything is going according to plan.

On June 29, 2008, the Capital International Airport welcomed a large number of media reporters, even more than when Chen Mu and Yi Jianlian returned.

Yao Ming, who had just recovered from a serious injury, returned to the team, and the strongest Chinese men's basketball team in history was assembled.

The bloody battle is about to begin. (To be continued.) )