diskusbooks Chapter 538 Reporting to the National Team!
Chapter 538 Reporting to the National Team!
One day in July, a gentle breeze was blowing.
Yunnan, Haigeng Base.
Early in the morning, the area outside the basketball training base was already packed with people.
At a glance, there were at least several dozen people.
Without exception, all of these people had press passes around their necks, some were carrying cameras, and some were carrying video cameras.
"Brother Jia, are you sure Wang Xiucheng will come to report for duty today?"
A man who looked to be in his forties was squatting in the corner looking at his phone.
A number of people who looked rather young, seemingly new to the industry, surrounded him.
This middle-aged man is Liu Jia, a basketball reporter for CCTV Sports.
The men's basketball team has been at the Haigeng training base for some time now.
Although reporters wait here every day, today is undoubtedly the day with the most people, and the day when they arrived the earliest.
The reason is simple: it is said that Wang Xiucheng will be reporting for duty today.
The prestige of the name Wang Xiucheng in China is self-evident.
Whether in the arts or in sports, Wang Xiucheng is an absolute pinnacle of talent.
You may not watch basketball, but you can't be unaware of Wang Xiucheng.
Now, the name Wang Xiucheng is synonymous with top-tier celebrity.
"I've only heard about it, I'm not sure," Liu Jia shook his head.
That being said, those around them, seeing the smiles on the Liu family's faces, knew that the matter was most likely true.
After all, the Liu family works for CCTV, so it's perfectly normal for them to have inside information.
Just then, a bus drove up from a distance.
Everyone's faces lit up with joy, and they all stood up, setting up their cameras and microphones.
The bus stopped in the parking lot in front of the stadium. The door opened, and Guo Shiqiang, wearing a T-shirt with the Chinese dragon logo, was the first to get off the bus with a bag on his back.
All the cameras started snapping pictures of Guo Shiqiang.
As Guo Shiqiang got off the car, the coaching staff followed suit.
Finally, after these coaches, the first men's basketball player got off the bus.
With his head slightly lowered, Zhou Qi got out of the car carrying his package and then followed the coaching staff into the stadium.
Then, Yu Jiahao, Li Kaier, and even Zhao Weilun, who performed well in the U19 World Cup, also got off the bus.
Zhou Qi is alright; having been selected for the national team since he was 18, he has seen this kind of scene before.
But Zhao Weilun was somewhat surprised.
Why are there so many reporters today?
During their U19 World Cup, only a handful of reporters followed them.
"Hurry up, there's a traffic jam."
Zeng Fanbo patted Zhao Weilun on the shoulder from behind.
Zhao Weilun didn't delay any longer and finally caught up with the people in front of him.
Finally, just as the bus was about to be emptied, the figure everyone had been waiting for finally appeared.
Wang Xiucheng, who was listening to music with his headphones on, was the last to get off the bus, carrying a package.
Click, click, click!
All the cameras and video cameras started working.
Someone called out Wang Xiucheng's name first, and instantly more than twenty people surrounded him.
Wang Xiucheng was instantly blocked in front of the bus.
"Young Wang, how are your injuries?"
"Wang Xiucheng, a fan ran into Avril Lavigne at a nursing home. She said you invited her there..."
"Towns said in an interview that you called him personally, right?"
In an instant, more than twenty people and more than twenty questions came rushing at us.
Wang Xiucheng was instantly dumbfounded, as he hadn't heard a single word.
If asked one by one, Wang Xiucheng would actually be quite willing to answer these questions.
Even Wang Xiucheng frowned at the chaotic scene.
Just then, David Muoka and his group, who had already walked far ahead, immediately returned and, without saying a word, used their bodies to separate the crowd.
Wang Xiucheng smiled apologetically, waved to the reporters, and then quickly ran through the passage.
David Mullaka and Guo Haowen followed immediately, entering the stadium with Wang Xiucheng.
With a bang, the stadium doors slammed shut!
“These reporters are even more frenzied than the fans outside the base,” David Muoka said dramatically, wiping away sweat, in Cantonese.
When the bus entered the base, there were hundreds of people waiting at the gate.
Upon seeing the bus approaching, these people even held up a huge banner.
Although David Muoka was not very familiar with simplified Chinese characters, he still recognized the portrait of Wang Xiucheng on the banner.
What puzzled David Muoka was that, if those people were football fans, most of them were young girls.
You might call them fans, but they're all wearing Nets jerseys.
That's not all. On the way from the hotel, every private car that saw their bus rolled down its window, waved its fist at the bus, and said things like "Go for it!"
David Mullaka had never lived on the mainland, so he was somewhat unaware that players held such a high status here.
"This is nothing," Guo Haowen patted the dark-skinned guy on the shoulder. "Wait until we make it to the Olympics, then you'll see."
At this moment, Guo Shiqiang clapped his hands and shouted, "Everyone, come and gather!"
Everyone immediately put their things away, changed into their shoes and jerseys, and stood in place on the field.
Even Wang Xiucheng jogged over.
Guo Shiqiang nodded. These young people were at least much more obedient than the older team members.
"As you all know, Wang Xiucheng officially joined the team today," Guo Shiqiang said.
Everyone looked at Wang Xiucheng, who was standing at the back of the line.
They all knew that without Wang Xiucheng, they didn't know how long it would have taken them to make it into the national team.
It was because of Wang Xiucheng that they had the opportunity to serve the country.
Wang Xiucheng smiled and nodded, then looked straight ahead at Guo Shiqiang, just like an obedient child.
"In addition, I would like to introduce two other people today." Guo Shiqiang pointed to a bearded man in a row of people behind him.
The bald, bearded man holding a tactical board took two steps forward.
"Ben Sullivan, the Nets' lead assistant coach, will join the coaching staff immediately until the end of the World Cup," Guo Shiqiang said, his eyes subtly shifting.
He hadn't expected that Wang Xiucheng would not only return on his own, but also bring back Uduka's most important henchman.
Ben Sullivan, when he was with the Bucks, was specifically responsible for Giannis Antetokounmpo's offense.
He later joined the Celtics with Udoka and began to take charge of the offense for Tatum and others.
After Uduka's incident, he remained in Boston.
This year, with Udoka taking over the Nets, Ben Sullivan and a group of Udoka's cronies immediately reunited with him in New York.
Just as there is brotherhood in basketball in the NBA, there are also brother coaching teams, and even father-son coaching teams.
Father-son basketball will be available soon.
Ben Sullivan nodded slightly to the crowd as a greeting.
"This man is Carter, the Nets' team doctor, and he's joining the support team starting today," Guo Shiqiang continued, introducing another white man.
"Have you eaten?" Carter, who looked to be in his fifties, asked in broken Chinese.
Everyone laughed upon hearing this.
It's clear that Carter is more outgoing than Ben Sullivan.
Carter laughed and nodded at Wang Xiucheng.
He didn't want to come to China either. It's finally the off-season, and he should stay home and spend time with his family.
But Wang Xiucheng gave too much...
It's more than his annual salary!
"Alright, today's training is the same as yesterday. Everyone, run 50 laps first..."