"Knowing deficiencies, then being able to reflexively also; knowing sleepiness, then being able to strengthen oneself also." --Zhang Ning.
Zhang Ning's basketball road is extraordinary, he did not take the conventional echelon route, but chose the campus, from high school to college, a little bit into the public eye, but such a growth trajectory, in the current domestic basketball environment, is still difficult to accept and be recognized.
Therefore, even if Zhang Ning led his alma mater 3 times, Shijiazhuang No. 2 Middle School broke into the national top four;
Even if he led Peking University, he won the CUBA championship for 3 consecutive years;
Even at the World University Games, he averaged 16.7 points per game for the first place in the team;
But the outside world still does not think that he can become a qualified professional player, especially when Zhang Ning participated in a variety show out of the circle, this voice is even louder.
Zhang Ning, who is already with the "black and red" attribute, completely liberated his nature in the show, which made him instantly circle countless fans, but also caused a lot of controversy, it is no exaggeration to say, those years, Zhang Ning is the top of the domestic basketball circle, he has millions of fans on social platforms, any topic, can attract hundreds of thousands of attention, hundreds of comments, popularity is not inferior to Zhou Qi, Guo Allen, Wang Zhelin these professional stars.
Of course, among Zhang Ning's many supporters, there are also some "black fans", and the reason why they pay attention to Zhang Ning is to verify the conclusion that "the latter can't beat the profession".
2020 draft, under the expectation of all, Zhang Ning finally stepped into the CBA Professional Basketball League as the No. 8 show, although the warm-up game performed well, but soon, Zhang Ning had serious soil and water dissatisfaction, eating ball rights, poor shooting, defense is not good, slow speed, etc., disappointed Shanxi men's basketball team, and even once put him down to CBDL.
Poor performance, in front of the huge traffic instant fermentation, those waiting to see the joke of the black fans, but also finally showed a proud smile, 'net red is internet celebrity, once to the professional arena will be wasted', a variety of hot stems are endless, but for the strong Zhang Ning, questioning has never been an obstacle to his progress, but the driving force for full sprinting, the second year of his career, with Yang Xuezeng's guidance to re-coach the Shanxi men's basketball team, Zhang Ning also has a clearer positioning, that is, the sixth person.
Zhang Ning, who has been valued, also lived up to expectations, handing over a report card that is far better than the rookie season, averaging 11.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists per game, shooting 57% from two-point range and 32% from three-point range, which is an important contributor to helping Shanxi return to the playoffs.
In the playoffs, Zhang Ning's performance can also be remarkable, playing in the third game of Guangzhou, he played 22 minutes, 9 of 11 shots, got 23 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists; and in the second game with Liaoning, Zhang Ning played 31 minutes, 6 of 9 shots, with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. In 5 games, Zhang Ning averaged 14 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, shooting 53.2%.
Of course, as a second-year student, Zhang Ning still has a big gap compared with the high-level guard of the CBA, but from him, can you feel the spirit of not being afraid of difficulties and fighting to the end, holding the ball again and again to impact the basket, concentrating on grabbing rebounds, desperately throwing floor balls, looking at Zhang Ning now, will you still question his inability to play professionally?