Tianjin, which returned to the playoffs after eight years, has had a lot of success this season, which is directly related to the strong play of their defender Rochester. In the CBA, Rochester is a very special existence: he is 37 years old, he has long ceased to have strong physical fitness, his speed, explosiveness, confrontational ability, in all the CBA guard foreign aid, there is no advantage to speak of, but even so, Rochester still averaged 30 minutes per game this season, scored 23.9 points, 50% from three-point range, and also delivered 6.6 assists. Although Rochester's average per game has dropped to a certain extent compared with his first season with Tianjin in 2018-2019, he is still the most important core player of Tianjin team, and he is still the team's "strongest brain".
Rochester has never played in the NBA, having been in the NBA draft in 2009. After losing the election, he began to play in Europe, he has played in Germany, Turkey, France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Israel, Serbia and other national leagues, and has also played for many giants, including Turkey's Galatasaray, Italy's Siena, Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv and so on. In the experience of these European giants, he has helped the team win the Serbian league championship, the Italian Super Cup and the Israeli Cup. He also won the European Challenge and the MVP of the Final Four in 2010, the All-Star Game in the French League in 2012, and the Champions League scorer with an average of 18.9 points per game in the 2014-2015 season. In the 2017-2018 season, Rochester played for Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade, when he repeatedly received double-doubles and played the key man in the decisive moments of the game. It is for this reason that fans and the outside world have given him a resounding nickname: "The Strongest Brain".
"I've never played in the NBA in my career, and I don't have any regrets or bad feelings about it because I already knew that the NBA wasn't my path, so I accepted it with confidence. I see things as such, for things that don't belong to me, I never waste time, and I don't dwell on the past. I'm focused on what I have now, and what I've had in my life. I am very lucky because my path belongs only to me. Rochester told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter, "These years when playing for European teams, these experiences are very wonderful, different teams, different cultures, different environments, will have different feelings." Like I often think about my years with Olympiacos in Greece, it was a very special time for me and my family. At the same time, I also really enjoyed my days playing in Serbia because there were incredible, very fanatical fans there. In fact, every team is very special, they make up my career. ”
Rochester joined Tianjin in 2018, when the defender foreign aid, who was only 1 meter 85, set off a force in the league that could not be ignored. Rochester averaged 33.5 points in 41 minutes and 9.1 assists. This is a super foreign aid data sheet. If it were not for the fact that tianjin team received less attention from the outside world, Rochester might have received more attention. At the end of that season, Tianjin used the foreign aid priority renewal right against Rochester, but for some reasons, they did not succeed in renewing Rochester.
In the past two years, Rochester has played in Greece, Israel, France and other places. Until this season, he returned to Tianjin again. "After coming back, I felt like everything was different. Different team management, different environment, different coaches, teammates, in short, this is a new experience. Rochester told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter, "For me this season, the biggest challenge is two aspects, the first is to stay away from my family, and the second is to play in an environment without live fans." Basketball is a passionate sport, and the spectator is an indispensable element of the sport. I really miss playing in front of the audience. This year I have to be mentally focused enough while maintaining enough passion and energy in every game. ”
Rochester is back in Tianjin again this season, and while his average per game isn't as good as it was three years ago, his role in the team is still very important. Rochester remains Tianjin's most trusted player. At the same time, he can also play very strong performances, such as the first leg against Beijing Shougang, Rochester frantically cut a new season scoring record of 39 points. Shougang's individual technical development coach Lauren and Rochester are old acquaintances, and Rochester was in the team last year when Lauren was the physical coach of the Serbian team. "I know Rochester very well, and although he's no longer young, he still has great ability and his basketball awareness is getting stronger. I think he's one of the best scorers in the CBA this season. Lauren said this about Rochester to the Beijing Youth Daily reporter.
Rochester said: "The goals I set for myself are basically the same every year. I still love racing and I will treat every game I have now as if it were the last of my career. I'm still eager to keep improving myself, to make myself better, to make my teammates play better. ”
Why was Rochester able to maintain such an efficient and strong game at the age of 37? Rochester told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter: "I still feel very young, I attach great importance to my diet, sleep and training. These are very important to me. I have homes in Europe and the United States, and when I was in California, I ate very little meat, I only ate fish. Other meats, I don't touch at all, I will eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, which helps me a lot, so that my body can maintain full of energy. When I was in Europe and France, I often got together with my friends, but my diet was basically the same. In China, because it is a tournament system, I need to make some adjustments and changes in my diet. In terms of sleep, I generally don't take a nap, but I fall asleep as early as possible at night to get as long a sleep as possible at night. As for training, I will have a lot of methods and experience. For example, in the offseason, if I have a relatively long period of time, I will give myself a month or so off, and then I will gradually recover, when the season is approaching, I will increase the amount and intensity of training, I will train in the university near where I live and play some games, I am close to many coaches, so I will get a lot of training methods, use different equipment, I am a player who likes to absorb different training methods. Sometimes, I train with different gymnasts, sometimes I practice with different teams, I don't want to be rigid in a certain way of training, I want to be able to open my mind, learn a lot of new, useful things for me. For example, one time I was more impressed, the trainer used a video game-like instrument for me, tested my body, found my strengths and problems, and then I improved it to make my body stronger. ”
Rochester said: "But at the same time, as my age gradually goes up, I will also make appropriate adjustments in my training philosophy, I used to think that I had to train hard, but now I think I have to train smarter." For me, preventing injuries now comes first. I want to listen more to my body and adjust my training plan. Sometimes, I practice extra, but sometimes, I choose to rest. I will now put my body first and make my body better in every possible way. I take some vitamin tablets every day and I also do a lot of body stretching, which is very important for me. I had stretching instruments in my room and I spent a lot of time stretching my body. But at the same time, I would also like to thank our team doctors, who helped me a lot and kept me away from injuries. ”
"Do you have any plans for your career?" For example, decommissioning. The Beijing Youth Daily reporter asked Rochester, "Retirement, one day will come, but I will not set a specific time for myself, such as how many years I have to play, or how old I am, to leave the game." No one can predict the future, so all I can do is cherish the present and enjoy everyday life, race. But if I retire, I think I might teach kids to play basketball. Also, I wrote a book last year, and I plan to write another one now. I want to inspire and inspire others through my own experiences. I'm a constant inspiration from others, my wife, friends, coaches, teammates, etc., all inspire me and benefit me a lot, so I hope to inspire others and make them better. Of course, I also plan to spend more time with my children. I've spent as much time with my children as I can, and I don't want to miss anything about them growing up. At the same time, I also want to continue to travel around the world, go to different places, feel different cultures, the world is very big, I hope to be able to explore and feel as much as possible in my life. ”
Text/Beiqing Sports Song Xiang