After winning the silver medal in the Asian Cup! The first person in China s men s basketball team "departed" was born, Guo Shiqiang s vision of selecting people is harsh

On the competitive stage of international basketball, the emergence of young players often becomes a key signal for a team's revival. The Chinese men's basketball team lost to Australia by one point difference in the Asian Cup final and won the runner-up. 19-year-old forward player Wang Junjie was selected into the best team of the event with a stable performance of 13 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, becoming the biggest surprise of this event. This "summer vacation worker" player who is still playing in the NCAA became the first player to leave the team after the event, as the school start date approached. His short national team journey not only demonstrated the potential of the new generation of Chinese basketball, but also confirmed the unique vision of head coach Guo Shiqiang in talent selection. In the player channel of the Manila Asian Sports Center, Wang Junjie lowered his head and tied his shoelaces, and his fingers flexibly shuttled between the shoe holes. The sneakers on his feet are still old models from the NCAA season, and the wear marks on the sides record the battle process over the past year. When Coach Guo Shiqiang announced that he was on the 12-man roster in his last training session before the Asian Cup, the 19-year-old was stretching on the sidelines. The moment he heard his name, his movements paused for a moment, and then returned to normal, but his ears were quietly blushing.

All this came a little unexpectedly. Wang Junjie originally only joined the national team training as a sparring player, because forward players such as Zhang Zhenlin and Zeng Fanbo successively withdrew due to injuries, and the coaching staff temporarily included him on the official list. The day before he set out for Manila, he was still rushing for the University of San Francisco summer homework in his dormitory, with basketball tactical analysis and calculus formulas displayed side by side on the laptop screen.

The first game against Lebanon in the group stage, Wang Junjie's performance was a disaster. Within 8 minutes of his debut, he had two consecutive defensive misses and one pass mistake, with a plus-negative value as low as -11. During the pause, Guo Shiqiang slapped the tactical board to the ground, and the voice spread throughout the stadium through the training ground: "Wang Junjie, look at your defensive position! The opponents made three three-pointers in front of you!" He stood in front of the coach with his head down, and sweat dripped down his cheeks onto the floor, forming a small dark mark.

After that game, Wang Junjie practiced in the strength room until late at night. He practiced defensive slip steps repeatedly in front of the mirror, and the angle of his knee bent and the extent of his arms spreading were strictly adjusted according to the tactical manual. When the assistant coach came in and turned off the lights, he found that he was still watching the game video. The screen was marked with 17 defensive mistakes, and the improvement plan was written with a highlighter next to each point. The

twist appeared in the second game against India. After Wang Junjie made a substitution in the second quarter, his first three-pointer was hollowed into the net. The crisp sound of the basketball passing through the Nets made his tight shoulders obviously relax. Then he completed a tomahawk dunk in another fast break. When he landed, he took a special look at the coach's seat. Guo Shiqiang was nodding with his arms holding his head, with an undetectable smile on the corner of his mouth. He finally scored 21 points in this game, including 13 points in the third quarter, helping the team establish a 20-point lead.

Technical statistics show that Wang Junjie's shooting percentage in this Asian Cup reached 56.1%, and his three-point shooting percentage was 47.8%, ranking first in the team in both statistics. What's even more rare is his stability. He scored in double digits in five of his six games. In the critical battle against the Philippines in the knockout match, he scored 5 points in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, including a very difficult backward jump shot. When the basketball fell into the net while rubbing the backboard, the sideline timer showed 18.7 seconds left.

Wang Junjie's No. 10 jersey is hung in the basketball arena at the University of San Francisco. Last year's NCAA season, the young player from China only averaged 12 minutes of playing time and most of the time he could only play in garbage time. His coach once commented at the season summary meeting: "Wang Junjie needs to be more aggressive, he is too quiet on the court." These words were recorded by him on the first page of his training notes, with a grinning and roaring expression next to them.

The change happened this summer. When Wang Junjie received the invitation to train in the national team, he was attending a basketball training camp. He faced NBA player Zeng Fanbo in a confrontation game and successfully cut off the opponent's dribble three times in a row. This clip was taken by the assistant national team coach present on his mobile phone and forwarded to Guo Shiqiang. Three days later, he received a notice to report to the national team, and his suitcase was still filled with textbooks to be brought back to China.

Wang Junjie, who has just joined the national team, showed adaptability beyond his age. In the tactical learning class, he is the only young player who can draw all tactical running routes in full. Once, Zhao Rui joked with a tactical board: "Junjie, your notes are more detailed than those of the coach. Are you planning to grab my captain position? "He just smiled shyly and put his notebook in his arms. The four words "Diligence can make up for the clumsiness" on the cover are particularly eye-catching.

His training attitude impressed the old team members even more. During every day of shooting training, he is always the first to be on the court and the last to leave. Assistant coaches have counted, Wang Junjie has to make an average of 300 three-pointers a day before he finishes training, even on game days. On the morning before the final, other players were still resting. He had been practicing in the stadium for an hour, and the sweat-soaked training uniform could wrung out half a bowl of water.

This self-discipline translates into amazing stability in the competition. In the semi-finals against New Zealand, Wang Junjie was knocked through his eyebrow bone in a collision and blood flowed down his cheeks. When the team doctor gave him a simple treatment, he stared at the tactical board and asked: "Coach, should you play in the joint defense next?" When he reappeared with gauze, he immediately hit a key three-pointer. The Chinese fans in the stands held a placard "Come on Wang Junjie" and the red handwriting was particularly dazzling under the light.

Technical analysis shows that Wang Junjie's back-on-single success rate under the basket reached 62%, ranking third among all forward players in this Asian Cup.. "The most conspicuous position on the bookshelf is a World Cup schedule, and the highlighter circles the date of each game of the Chinese team. The announcement board outside the arena is posted with the schedule of the new season of NCAA. Wang Junjie's name appears in the starting prediction list, with the "Swingman on the Forward" next to it. A passing fan stopped in front of the roster and pointed at his name to discuss: "Is this the Chinese player who performed well in the Asian Cup? "The sunlight passes through the gaps of leaves and falls on the bulletin board. Among the dense names, Wang Junjie's name is gradually becoming more well-known.