Chapter 750 - 675: This Is the Tactic That Suits Us Best

Chapter 750: Chapter 675: This Is the Tactic That Suits Us Best

Since they were at a top global training facility, a tour was naturally in order.

Chen Yu decided not to go with them, letting Zhang Yongjun and the others take the lead.

For Chen Yu, this tour was also a kind of sales pitch.

’Once they saw firsthand just how professional Chen Yu’s team was, how could they not be tempted? How could they not want to change their own team’s abysmal training conditions?’

"By the way, Coach Zhang, is that group of kids training here?" Li Chunjiang asked as they walked.

Everyone in the circle knew that Chen Yu, representing the Sports Bureau, had selected a group of kids to train in the United States.

Moreover, these kids were slated to go straight to the National Team in the future.

This meant replacing all the current players on the National Team, which was why Bartel and the others were so unhappy.

Li Chunjiang was also worried. After all, the Hongyuan team made up half of the National Team, with several of its key players.

Zhang Yongjun nodded. He guessed what Li Chunjiang was getting at, and a strange expression crossed his face. "To be honest, I really don’t understand how they’re developing this group of kids," he said. "They’ve been here for half a year, and they’re still focusing on basic physical conditioning and overall physical development."

"Logically, this is a critical age for them to be honing their skills. I can see it for basketball, maybe, but take soccer for example. If you don’t build those foundational skills from a young age, you’re just wasting their talent."

He voiced his doubts, then added, "But I have to admit, when it comes to physical conditioning, they really have a system. It’s only been half a year, and every single kid has transformed. They’re frighteningly strong."

Since they were learning alongside them, they had witnessed the changes in Song Jun and the other kids firsthand.

Take Zheng Zhun, for example. He used to be as skinny as a rail. But after these six months, he’s finally put on some muscle. Now he can really run and jump.

Li Chunjiang said, "That must be related to their diet, right?"

The media back home reported that these kids were living the good life in the United States, feasting on rich food every day.

And in their traditional way of thinking, American kids were stronger because they supposedly ate beef at every meal.

"Not entirely." Zhang Yongjun shook his head. "I’ve taken a Sports Nutrition course. According to them, meat is meat. There are differences, yes, but the impact isn’t as significant as people think. The key is a scientific diet that’s coordinated with training and tailored to their growth cycles and so on. In short, it’s quite complex."

Li Chunjiang nodded. He actually wanted to ask for Zhang Yongjun’s opinion—whether he thought this group of kids could really replace the current National Team in the future. But on second thought, he held his tongue.

’They’ve only been working on their bodies for half a year. What could anyone tell from that?’

The training facility was already massive, having undergone several expansions.

Li Chunjiang had long heard about this kind of foreign, high-tech training equipment.

But hearing about it and seeing it in person were two completely different experiences.

The all-digital-screen basketball court, in particular, was a real eye-opener for him.

Compared to the courts back in China, it looked like something out of a futuristic sci-fi movie.

"Is this thing expensive?" Li Chunjiang asked, tapping his foot on the floor.

According to the introduction, it was made of a special, high-strength transparent acrylic integrated with a vast number of pressure sensors.

The effect was surreal. When players ran on it, the court could actually collect massive amounts of data, like their speed.

It could also be integrated into training, using the display to guide players along tactical routes.

It seemed like you could run daily training sessions with just a few clicks on a computer, no need for a head coach to be yelling through a megaphone.

"What do you think?" Zhang Yongjun said, holding up four fingers. "They say this court alone cost nearly four million US dollars."

"Whoa!"

Li Chunjiang was taken aback. Four million US dollars... that’s over thirty million!

Suddenly, he felt reluctant to even step too hard, afraid he might break it and not be able to afford the repairs.

Beside him, Chen Haitao was left speechless.

’Even if you’re rich, you don’t just throw money around like this,’ he thought. ’A regular court works just fine. Did they really need to go this high-tech? What a waste.’

’Over thirty million... That’s enough to cover the Hongyuan team’s expenses for several years.’

"Right, Coach Zhang, what was it you were going to tell me earlier?" Li Chunjiang asked again.

Zhang Yongjun said, "It’s about this. You’ve probably heard about the Pioneer’s style of play, right?"

Li Chunjiang nodded.

This year, the Pioneer made history with an eighth-seed upset, and they rode that momentum all the way to the West Finals.

Their run-and-gun offense became famous practically overnight.

At least, everyone in the basketball world knew about it.

"As you know, Dr. Chen’s team helped the Pioneer with their rebuilding. So they’re very familiar with this ’run-and-gun’ system. They explained it to us in detail while we were studying it."

"The tactics themselves are one thing, but some of the underlying concepts are what I find incredibly valuable. They share a remarkable similarity to Coach Liu’s ideas."

Li Chunjiang’s expression grew more serious.

The Coach Liu that Zhang Yongjun was referring to had to be Liu Guiyi.

He was a legend in the Chinese Basketball Community.

If Qian Chenghai was the one who made the "fast, accurate, and agile" style of play world-famous—so much so that FIBA changed its rules—then Liu Guiyi was the one who originally created it.

After retiring, he coached the E Province men’s basketball team and led them to a national championship using that very system.

And that was back in the 1970s.

The Lakers’ ’Showtime’ era hadn’t even begun.

And Zhang Yongjun was Liu Guiyi’s star pupil. He was also famous for his deadly-accurate three-pointers, earning him the nickname "The Crooked Machine Gun" on the National Team.

At the 1986 Asian Games in Han City, with six minutes left, the China Team was trailing the South Korea Team by 11 points. It was Zhang Yongjun who sank four consecutive three-pointers to complete the comeback.

At the time, head coach Qian Chenghai had specifically instructed Zhang Yongjun to use Liu Guiyi’s system.

"I truly believe that this system is the one that’s most suitable for us."

Zhang Yongjun didn’t need to explain further; Li Chunjiang already knew all of this.

"Furthermore, during our studies, Dr. Chen and his team shared many of their insights on the evolution of basketball. He’s part of the NBA Alliance, so he understands the NBA’s development and trends far better than we do. In his words, the NBA is gradually shifting its focus to the perimeter."

"The defensive three-second violation and the elimination of hand-checking were both implemented with this shift in mind."

"And what’s the underlying logic? He said it’s because centers are too difficult to develop. They not only require a high level of natural talent, but they also have a long development cycle and a low success rate."

"So the investment isn’t proportional to the reward."

"But it’s different for perimeter players. If you lower the height requirement for recruitment from 2.1 meters down to 2 meters, or even 1.9 meters, then your talent pool expands many times over."

"A wider talent pool means a higher probability of finding prodigies and developing successful players. For the team, it means a smaller investment and quicker returns."

"Unlike with a center, where you might need several years to see if they’ll pan out, you can often tell if a guard has potential after just one season, or even a single tryout."

"Add to that the fact that a faster pace makes the game more exciting to watch, guards have flashier playing styles that sell more shoes, and all the other factors... he believes the pace of basketball will only get faster in the future."

Chen Haitao, who had been listening intently beside them, cut in, "So what?"

"Hongyuan has accurate outside shooters." Zhang Yongjun still felt an attachment to his old team. "So you have the foundation. I think when you’re picking foreign players later, you should consider choosing more fast perimeter players. Then you can push the pace of the game and play just like the Pioneer."

"Shoot more threes, run more fast breaks. Just have Yi Jianlian play center—he has the height and the speed for it."

"And I’ve heard rumors that in the next year or two, our CBA might follow the NBA’s lead and introduce a defensive three-second rule as well."

"When that happens, slow, towering centers might not be so effective anymore."