Chapter 400
, First Training Session
Chapter 400 First Training Camp
In its original history, the first full training camp for the Chinese men's basketball team began on February 16, 2008.
The training camp at that time aimed to focus on evaluating young players and role players, and to build up their physical fitness and develop basic tactical coordination for the designated core player.
This time, due to the huge uncertainty surrounding Fang Xinghe, the training camp not only started a year earlier, but its main objective was to build the team lineup.
The only thing that is completely confirmed at this time is the coaching team.
Head Coach: Jonas Kazlauskas (Lithuanian, known as the "Kaiser of Europe")
Team members: Guo Shiqiang, Gong Xiaobin, Nelson (Lithuanian assistant teacher), and the logistics team.
When Fang Xinghe arrived in Hainan in his private jet, You Zi led a team to pick him up and immediately presented him with the roster.
"Fang, you can discuss any ideas you have about the lineup and tactics with me."
The 24-man roster includes Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, and all the others are under consideration.
"Fang, you have complete control over the starting lineup and the substitutes, so you must get back into form as soon as possible..."
Wow, that power!
Fang Xinghe glanced at the list, made no comment, and simply replied casually, "My tank is full."
The convoy arrived at the entrance of the training base, where it was already packed with people.
A quarter fans, a quarter media, and half a sky full of stars.
Yu Zi frowned subconsciously, somewhat annoyed: "What's going on? Didn't we warn them that this is a secret training camp?"
Coach Guo wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a wry smile, "Where there's a master, there are no secrets."
Youzi, you don't live in China, so you don't know the power of the Starry Sky.
Even Fang Shen's travel by private jet couldn't be kept secret from those incredibly powerful informants at the airport; they could easily leak information to him through their insiders. This was even more true for large-scale events like this.
"How to do?"
Coach Guo looked expectantly at team leader Zhang Xiong, who hesitated before replying, "How about... we ask Teacher Fang to roll down the car window and show himself?"
"No way!" You Zi immediately objected vehemently. "This is a secret training camp! I must ensure that my team members are not subject to any outside interference!"
Compared to his predecessor, the Silver Fox Harris, Yu Zi is a typical "European academic iron coach".
Compared to his successor, speaker Deng Huade, You Zi only communicates with everyone with a harsh and cold demeanor.
—The arena is my territory, and you all have to listen to me!
Zhang Xiong and Coach Guo exchanged a glance, shook their heads with wry smiles, and abandoned their original idea.
"Alright then, let's have the security guards clear a path and go straight into the base."
And so, the bus carrying Fang Xinghe and his team drove directly to the training center inside the base.
As we passed the main gate, the road was packed with people, and cheers suddenly erupted.
For the first time, the line welcoming Fang Xinghe included so many men.
"Fang Xinghe, keep it up!"
Shouting and waving small national flags vigorously, this is a classic example of a non-Fang fan.
"Fang Shen, Fang Shen, you absolutely must lead the Chinese team to win a medal!"
With the addition of a nickname, this is the classic Fang Xinghe fan.
"With Fang Shen on the scene, everything will be shattered!"
The slogan goes a step further, clearly indicating his status as a fervent basketball fan.
However, this group will not be counted among the true Level 4 hardcore fans. Their attributes are closely related to basketball, and they usually do not participate in Fang Xinghe's other topics, nor do they actively support his works.
This group, which was initially the biggest supporter of the Galaxy series basketball shoes, has become less important now.
The Galaxy series of sneakers has broken into the mainstream so quickly that it now has a strong fashion appeal and is no longer just a basketball shoe, but a regular shoe.
If they don't perform well in this Olympics, they might even become a new source of haters for Fang Xinghe.
The remaining third of the roadside area is filled with girls.
The main body consists of a core and an outer periphery.
The core group consists of fans who travel all over the country to meet Fang Mantianxing (a popular online figure), and they are incredibly wealthy. They frequently participate in various activities, including several beautiful and wealthy women.
The surrounding areas are mostly local fans, whose conditions are not as outstanding or whose time is not sufficient, so they can only support fans within the province.
Together, they form the core of Fang Xinghe's offline activities, easily attracting over 5000 people. The final number of attendees depends solely on the secrecy surrounding the event.
The fact that only a little over 300 people came this time proves that the confidentiality was well maintained.
Let's wait until tomorrow or the day after; the area outside the base will be completely blocked.
Their cheering slogan was very simple: "Fang Fang, keep going! Fang Fang, keep going!"
Repeat the sequence 1, 2, 3 until the bus completely disappears into the wall.
Fang Xinghe didn't open the window, but the deafening noise had already reached the training hall.
"Holy crap! That's awesome..."
Small forward Zhu Fangyu was incredibly envious, muttering dreamily, "When will I have so many fans?"
The world's number one power forward mocked him on the spot—even though he was just a sparring partner, he thought he was high enough to comment on anyone.
"Give me a break! You want to compare everything, but look how much worse your face is than theirs!"
Young Zhou Peng, who greatly admired Fang Xinghe, blurted out, "Brother Zhu is lacking in more than just his looks, haha!"
Zhu Ba wasn't angry, but another veteran, Tang Ge, was displeased and muttered, "When did the national team become a place where whoever has the most fans is considered powerful? We've been here for two days and he's only just arrived to join us..."
The atmosphere in the gym suddenly turned cold, and Yao Ming quickly changed the subject: "Let's train, the coach should be back soon."
Another veteran chuckled softly, "The coach abandoned everyone to personally pick up the players... Ha!"
"Don't say anything. Our coach doesn't have a good temper. If he comes back and sees that we're not training, he'll definitely yell at us."
Then everyone dispersed in twos and threes to resume their training.
But the atmosphere in the stadium was always a bit strange, as if something was brewing.
The national team has never been particularly harmonious and united; it has always been rife with factions and constant conflicts. Fans can vaguely sense this, let alone the members themselves.
How to describe it?
This is a traditional program under the current club system, so there's not much of a problem; at most, it's just a little annoying.
In this respect, the basketball team is actually much stronger than the football team.
Before long, the blue team leaders, the national team leader, and the coaching staff escorted Fang Xinghe into the stadium. These proud and fierce players finally saw Fang Xinghe in person.
"Wow, he's even thinner than I expected!"
"With shoes on, he's probably around 185cm tall, right?"
"Your skin is so nice."
"You came in such a hurry, do you need to be tested?"
Instead of introducing the trial members to Fang Xinghe, You Zi initiated a data test.
"Don't be shy, don't hold back, show them your manners, Fang."
This one sentence reveals that Youzi understands everything, but she has never taken it seriously or dealt with it.
"Okay, let me warm up."
Fang Xinghe took off his outer sportswear, put on his red national team home jersey, and began to warm up.
The remaining team members gradually stopped their training and stood on the sidelines with the assistant coaches to watch.
During the warm-up, Fang Xinghe meticulously completed the entire 20-minute routine.
During the event, Yao Ming came over on behalf of everyone to welcome him and chatted with him for a while.
"Welcome, welcome!" A sheepish face broke into a憨笑 (a simple, honest smile). "With you leading the team, our chances have increased so much!"
"I will do my best."
Fang Xinghe was neither polite nor in a hurry to make any pronouncements; he remained calm.
Once the test began, the gasps of surprise from the group never stopped. Barefoot height: 184.5 cm
Arm span: 192 cm
Weight: 79 kg
Palm length/width: 20.2/21.5 cm
Standing vertical jump: 114 cm
Running vertical jump: 128 cm
3/4 sprint: 2.75s
84 kg bench press: 20 sets
……
"Holy crap! This is pure animalistic!!"
"Is this really data that Asians could produce?"
What other weaknesses does he have?
The group of people stared at each other, completely dumbfounded.
But actually, Brother Fang held back and didn't go all out.
For example, his bench press data suggests his limit should exceed 250 kg, though the exact figure is unclear, as he has never tested it at full strength.
No need to test it, it's too freakish.
Even the current data on the reduction of force has made the coaching staff so excited that their eyes are red.
"Where's the data comparison table? Is he even better than he was in the NBA?"
"That's right, a comprehensive improvement!"
"Damn, is this even reasonable?"
"How is it unreasonable? When he played in the NBA, his body was still developing and he was far from his peak. Isn't it normal for him to be even stronger now?"
"Yes, yes, back then, NBA experts all believed that he could continue to grow."
"Holy crap, we have a Superman in our house now!"
It's no wonder they were surprised and shocked. Judging from the data alone, Fang Xinghe's speed is on par with that of a 170cm potato like Little Flying Mouse, his strength is at the level of an inside player, and his jumping speed and agility are the best in NBA history. He can be called a hexagonal bug at the point guard position.
"With that added passing and playmaking, our team's defensive problems are completely solved!"
Upon hearing Coach Guo's words, You Zi tried her best to keep a straight face and pretend to be calm.
"Don't rush to celebrate. The Olympic rules are different. The inside is too crowded, and Fang Xinghe's best skill, penetration, is extremely limited. It will still be very difficult to play against Spain, the United States, and Lithuania."
Zhang Xiong, who also knew basketball, smiled broadly and replied, "Doesn't Fang Shen also have a three-point shot? With that spot pinned to the outside of the arc, it'll be tough for anyone to handle, right?"
Yu Zi imagined the scene, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Does anyone in the family understand this?
I took on a tough job for the money, but just as I was about to start, a huge surprise came my way!
Hmph, laughable. Who would use an SR as a pure assault unit?
Do you think I don't know his ability to draw defenders and his offensive threat on the perimeter?
I fucking know that!
Youzi had already watched all of Fang Xinghe's game recordings for the entire season and knew the SR user manual very well.
But his tactical ability isn't actually that strong, nor is he particularly flexible, so his mind is still a mess, and he doesn't know how to maximize his and Yao Ming's abilities.
But he was good at putting on a cool face, so he said coldly, "It's hard to say how well we can get along. Let's help him recover his physical strength first."
"Alright, all of this is yours to handle!"
Two hours later, everyone looked at Fang Xinghe, who was still lively and energetic, and was speechless.
"No, has he really not had any systematic training for several years?"
"Two rounds of the extreme endurance test have already been completed, is that correct?"
"Abominable beasts!"
……
The rest of the team members had already finished their physical training for the day and were scattered around the edge of the stadium, whispering among themselves.
"Brother, when are we going to go say hello?"
"Don't rush, don't rush, let's take another look."
"I feel like it's probably not our turn today. Look at the coaches, they're all gathered around there guarding it like it's a treasure."
"What? You have a problem with that?"
"No, no, Fang Shen's reputation is well-deserved; his strength is terrifying!"
……
After three hours, they still couldn't determine Fang Xinghe's true strength. To avoid any unforeseen circumstances, Youzi took the initiative to stop today's test.
"Alright, that's enough. You have the stamina to play two overtimes without any problem."
Fang Ge walked slowly along the sidelines with his hands on his hips, gradually reducing the intensity of his exercise. Upon hearing this, he looked up and smiled at You Zi.
"Can I have the captain's badge now?"
"..."
The entire venue was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The teammates stared wide-eyed, Youzi squinted, the team leader and leaders rubbed their hands together and smiled ingratiatingly, while the assistants and team doctors and other support staff did not dare to utter a sound.
No one expected that Fang Xinghe, who had worked so hard and cooperated with the test, would say this as his first words after the test was over.
"Awesome..."
Zhu Fangyu muttered something under her breath, then turned to look at her companions; everyone's expression was equally complicated.
A few seconds later, Youzi slowly nodded: "Of course, this is a condition that was agreed upon long ago. You deserve this status."
The so-called captain's badge is actually a white elastic band armband.
Putting a sleeve on someone's arm signifies that they have the authority of the national team captain, managing all 29 members of the national team roster and 8 former national team players as sparring partners.
Before today, this symbol was temporarily kept by Jonas and not given to anyone.
Now, he personally put the armband on Fang Xinghe.
"You can exercise your rights now."
He stared intently into Fang Xinghe's eyes and said with some unease, "But you must also ensure that you fulfill your obligations; this is relative."
"clear."
Fang Xinghe nodded, and then looked at Jonas, Zhang Xiong, and the leaders of the Blue Management Group in turn, confirming with them.
"Now, may I begin my first address to my team?"
"..."
The stadium fell silent once again.
To say they were completely unprepared wouldn't be accurate. Everyone present knew about Fang Xinghe's volatile and autocratic personality when playing basketball, and the various anecdotes about his struggle with Jordan for team dominance are still widely circulated among fans.
However, even if they were given another brain, they still couldn't imagine that Fang Xinghe would be so... well, so forceful and domineering.
Does this person never consider other people's psychological capacity?
The atmosphere froze for a few seconds, and the blue-collar leaders behind Jonas had already nodded impatiently.
Even You Zi, known for her "iron-willed," "tyrannical," and "cold-faced" demeanor, couldn't withstand the pressure of Fang Xinghe's gaze and stiffly nodded.
"Of course, that's...your right."
Everyone could hear the reluctance, confusion, and unease in his tone, but this did not stop Fang Xinghe from immediately turning around and striding towards the center of the court.
As he walked, the commander clapped his hands and shouted, "All personnel, assemble!"
The CCTV5 reporter accompanying the team was so excited that his scalp tingled and his hands and feet trembled, urging the cameraman to quickly record the scene.
The photographer nervously pressed, "We only have one camera, how are we going to shoot?"
The reporter glanced at Wang Bin's documentary team and urged, "Try to shoot something different. Their documentary team definitely has enough material. Hurry up, keep up!"
The first shot is fixed on Fang Xinghe's back, the second shot is a close-up of his upper body, and the third shot is an overhead shot from the second floor...
Fang Xinghe's first official appearance during the training camp was like something out of a movie...
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Happy New Year! Wishing everyone instant wealth!
(End of this chapter)