After the age of 45, he went south to coach, and Guo Shiqiang led the Guangzhou team step by step. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
On the evening of April 5, the CBA playoffs scored 12 into 8 in the third game, Guangzhou lost to Shanxi 93-114, and lost 1-2 to the opponent, ending the season.
After two consecutive seasons of reaching the playoffs, the former CBA "fish belly" Guangzhou team is quietly changing, all of which must start from the coaching of "uncle" Guo Shiqiang.
This is Guo Shiqiang's second season in charge of Guangzhou. Since taking office in August 2020, he led the team to the playoffs last season, ranking in the top eight of the regular season this season, winning the first playoff win in team history, leading a group of young players like diligent snails, "climbing up step by step".
That night, at the last post-game press conference of the season, Guo Shiqiang was reluctant but determined, "My goal is to bring Guangzhou into the ranks of CBA teams." ”
Two goals
On the morning of August 8, 2020, the CBA Guangzhou men's basketball team officially announced that Guo Shiqiang became the head coach of the team.
More than a month ago, because of the successive losses of the team, Guo Shiqiang resigned from the Liaoning team.
From the northeast to the south, from the championship team to the league fish belly, Guo Shiqiang and the Guangzhou team held hands, and at first no one was optimistic.
In the first public interview with the Guangzhou team, Guo Shiqiang said two goals. First, we must create a new Guangzhou men's basketball team. Second, bring Guangzhou into the ranks of CBA teams.
In just two seasons, Guo Shiqiang made a significant change in the Guangzhou team. The first goal has been achieved, and the second goal is steadily advancing.
Guangzhou team, full name Guangzhou Dragon and Lions Basketball Club.
To this day, Guo Shiqiang still clearly remembers the long conversation with Zhong Naixiong, chairman of the Dragon and Lion Club. As for what kind of team to build and what height to take, the two have the same goal - to become a strong CBA team in the future.
"Professional people do professional things." After a long conversation, Zhong Naixiong confidently handed over the team to Guo Shiqiang.
Investors have given the lead in training and competition to the coaching staff, which is a great trust. Guo Shiqiang can feel the determination of this team that has been wandering in the lower CBA for many years and wants to take off the "weak" hat.
"As long as a team is together, it must unify its thinking, discipline and execution."
After picking up the Guangzhou coaching whip, Guo Shiqiang decided to start by shaping the spiritual outlook of the team. He stressed the importance of cohesion to the whole team, training sessions and competitions require team members to show a spirit of fighting to the end and never giving up, "a good game temperament and style must start from cultivating good habits." ”
In daily training, Guo Shiqiang asked the players to cherish every right to fight for the ball and go all out to fight, so that they could form a habit on the field.
Two seasons later, Guo Shiqiang is proud of the improvement of the boys' spirit.
At every stage of the regular season, Guangzhou has had at least one game of the ball turning against the wind.
In the second leg of the second leg against Zhejiang, in the first three quarters of the 8 points behind, Guangzhou in the fourth quarter played a 19-0 attack wave, flipped in one fell swoop.
The team's first playoff win in history is also a magical script. Guangzhou first carried the tug-of-war with Shanxi, and in the last 3 minutes, Zhu Mingzhen, Chen Yingjun and Li Fu stepped forward to open up the point difference by double digits and drag the series into the final battle with a reversal.
Starting from the details of training, followed by the improvement of technical and tactical capabilities. Since Guo Shiqiang took charge, guangzhou's overall defense has been raised to a higher level, the offensive rhythm is better controlled, and the three statistics of 100 rounds of scoring, missing points and net win points this season are in the upper reaches of the league.
The Guangzhou team's game is "material", which is the most intuitive impression of the spectators. An important reason for the improvement of the quality of the team's matches is that the players understand and implement the tactical concept of the new coach better.
When Guo Shiqiang first took over the Guangzhou team, there were less than two months left before the start of the league, and the team's understanding and adaptation time to the new system of attack and defense was limited. After preparing for last season and a full offseason, the players have a deeper understanding of the new system this season, and the tacit understanding between the coaching team and the players is better.
Transforming the "tacit understanding" between the coaches into one victory after another, the confidence of the players was born, and the team began to get rid of the vicious circle of "habitual losses" and greeted every game with a strong desire to win.
Cui Chuang, president of basketball operations at Dragon Lions Club, is a basketball player who knows that the difficulty and time spent transforming a team is far beyond personal projects, and it is difficult to achieve results in the short term. Even when Guo Shiqiang first proposed two goals, the club's people often joked, "This is an impossible task." ”
But in the past two seasons, in Cui Chuang's view, "the team has performed better than ever." ”
Directing the game on the sidelines, Guo Shiqiang devoted himself. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Bole
When Guo Shiqiang took over, Guangzhou ranked third from the bottom of the regular season in the season just concluded.
In the past two seasons, the team of local players in Guangzhou has not changed much, and even a younger "blood" has been injected, but the team has come out of the bottom of the standings.
The Guangzhou team has not changed, but the way people are used has changed.
In Guo Shiqiang's team building concept, talent training is an important part, team members have the desire to improve progress, the next step must be implemented in training, "practice basic skills, techniques and tactics, but also practice the spiritual level of willpower." The fighting spirit and energy of the Guangzhou players have made many people in the industry praise when explaining the game.
In his first year of coaching, Guo Shiqiang put Peking University rookie Zhu Mingzhen into the starting lineup, averaging 33 minutes of playing time per game.
In Guo Shiqiang's view, whether it is a college player or a youth team talent, the "origin" of the player is not important.
"As long as you work hard, you will be given a chance." Zhu Mingzhen has always remembered Guo Shiqiang's words.
After the training of the rookie season, Zhu Mingzhen not only continued to climb his personal data after he was promoted to the "second grade", but also showed his ability to play key goals.
With two wins over Shanxi in the regular season and playoffs this season, the mixed-race striker has stepped up in a run-back victory. His performances are becoming the norm, becoming more and more comfortable with the role of the provocative beam.
When Guo Shiqiang arrived at the team, Center Li Yanzhe, who was still "playing soy sauce" the previous season, quickly entered the rotation lineup, and became the team's starter later last season.
At first, Li Yanzhe did not adapt to such a change, and often made mistakes due to nervousness in the game, but Guo Shiqiang did not abandon the post-00s young player, but patiently explained and gave him time to correct his mistakes.
This season, Xiao Li has grown into an important member of the Guangzhou team's inner line, often scoring in double figures. In the second stage against Jiangsu, he scored 22 points and 8 rebounds in 29 minutes, initially showing his basketball dominance.
In Li Yanzhe, some people saw the shadow of Han Dejun, the liaoning team's home striker, when he was young.
Guo Shiqiang admitted that including Zhu Mingzhen and Li Yanzhe, many young players in guangzhou are inexperienced and there is still a gap with the outstanding players of the CBA, "but they have a strong desire to improve, and it is the responsibility of our coaches to let them improve." ”
As long as the players can endure hardships and put more energy into training, the room for improvement in the future will be very large, "Some people are fully equipped to become good athletes." ”
Guo Shiqiang joined the Guangzhou team, and there is another player who benefits, that is, Chen Yingjun.
Unlike the rookie youngsters, this defender from Baodao Taiwan joined the Guangzhou team in 2017 as a champion, and after several years of experience, the technical style has basically taken shape. In the past two seasons, Chen Yingjun's biggest change is his role positioning - how to be a good leader of a team?
Knowing that Guo Shiqiang is coming to the team to coach, Chen Yingjun is very excited, and he is looking forward to learning from the famous coach. 'He's been telling me what defenders should do on the pitch, to keep communicating with their teammates, to get familiar with the characteristics of their teammates and to keep their heads clear.
Chen Yingjun believes that being given heavier tasks is an advance in his career. In addition to the gorgeous statistics of averaging 19.1 points per game (6th in the league) and 9.2 assists (2nd in the league), Chen Yingjun's greater gain is the maturity and stability of mentality.
For two seasons, Guo Shiqiang has been meticulous on the field, to the point, following the rules and temptations off the field, pushing the heart with the players, and leading the team to educate people.
Cui Chuang revealed that whether it is personal training or overall training, Guo Shiqiang must have hand-in-hand teaching in each training class.
Some things have to be taught from scratch, often have to talk about some truths, and feel tired at first, but Guo Shiqiang sees that these children are getting better every day and every year, and as a coach, he has a sense of accomplishment.
On March 3, Guangzhou's main defender Chen Yingjun broke through with the ball in the game. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
habit
In Cui Chuang's eyes, Guo Shiqiang in life "has no other hobbies", except for his family is basketball.
The CBA has played two seasons of the tournament system, the Guangzhou team traveled through 4 divisions, no matter where it went, on the hotel floor, Guo Shiqiang's room was the most recognizable - the smell of coffee wafted in the room, and the game screen was broadcast on the screen.
Being in a closed environment for a long time will inevitably cause people to have negative emotions, and most of the closed-loop personnel will relax and decompress through various entertainment methods, while Guo Shiqiang, who "can't play games", still revolves around the basketball.
Studying the video the night before and after each game is Guo Shiqiang's habit.
Even if it is a late game, when it is close to midnight when you return to the hotel, you have to watch the next opponent's video, often staying up until two or three in the morning. "He will summarize the problems of the day's game while studying the opponents for the next game and making very detailed records." Cui Chuang said.
If the team arranges training the next day, Guo Shiqiang will shout from the beginning to the end as long as he is on the field, making people feel that this is a person who has just stayed up overnight. Even in strength training, he would take the lead in requiring all coaches to be present and fully involved.
More than one team member mentioned Guo Shiqiang's appeal in the training session. As soon as his dedication came up, the whole team, including the staff, tightened the strings.
The impassioned explanations during the suspension of the game often became the material for the "Coaches' Original Soundtrack Collection". Sometimes, Guo Shiqiang still holds a tactical board in his hand, but he has already made a defensive posture of lowering the center of gravity and opening his arms.
Cui Chuang observed that the whole team would follow Guo Shiqiang's rhythm, "because everyone knows that this is right, and if you keep sticking to it, you will see the results." ”
Famous coaches all have their own unique styles, which is the case when Guo Shiqiang coached the Liaoning team. In the past, when playing away from home, he would use his time on the road to delve into business. Because of long-term high-intensity work, Guo Shiqiang has white hair in his early 40s and two sideburns, and in the past two years since he went south, he is still thin and his hair is like snow.
"It's no easier to lead a young team to a turnaround than to lead a championship team."
In Guo Shiqiang's view, the performance indicators of each team are different, but the pressure on the coach is the same, "for example, our Guangzhou team, the goal will be different every year, as a coach, we must lead the team to continuously improve." ”
Guo Shiqiang's goal is very clear, that is, to bring guangzhou team into a CBA strong team in the future, this goal requires him and the team to "self-pressure" and continue to pay year after year.
In recent years, the concept of "entrepreneurship" has risen in the sports circle, and some gold medal teams have put forward slogans such as "secondary entrepreneurship". When it comes to entrepreneurship with Guo Shiqiang, he laughs and says that although his coaching career has opened a new stop, he has not understood it as "entrepreneurship".
"From my experience, I played in Liaoning as an athlete and coach before the age of 45; when I came to Guangzhou after the age of 45, this is my second team." Guo Shiqiang said that no matter where he is, he is engaged in coaching work, the identity is still the same, in the final analysis, it is to cultivate more outstanding athletes for Chinese basketball, which is the responsibility and mission of coaches.
On November 24, 2019, while coaching the Liaoning team, Guo Shiqiang laid out tactics for Guo Allen (left). Figure/IC photo
"Great Uncle"
Fans who are familiar with Guo Shiqiang like to call him "uncle".
"I love the title 'Uncle' because it was called out by many fans of Allen (Editor's Note: Guo Shiqiang's nephew Guo Allen)." Guo Shiqiang said.
As the most famous pair of uncles and nephews in the domestic basketball world, Guo Shiqiang and Guo Allen are the same as the core defenders, and their heights are similar, but the style of play is very different. The uncle is agile and ethereal, and the breeze is shadowless; the nephew is as fast as lightning and has strong ornamentation.
During his time as a player, Guo Shiqiang played for Liaoning for the rest of the season, except for a brief loan to Sichuan for two seasons. He was a CBA assists champion and was selected for the national team in 1999, competing in two consecutive Olympic Games in Sydney and Athens.
'I think he's the best defender in China. Yunas, the "European Caesar" who coached the Chinese men's basketball team, commented on Guo Shiqiang during the player period.
Guo Shiqiang retired from the rapids at the age of 30 and transformed into a coach.
In his coaching career, he coached the Liaoning team most of the time, and also had the experience of the national team coach and the assistant coach of the national youth team.
It was under Guo Shiqiang that Guo Allen grew into a star defender.
Not only Guo Allen, but also Yang Ming, the current head coach of the Liaoning team, and players Zhao Jiwei, Han Dejun, Li Xiaoxu and others were all cultivated by Guo Shiqiang.
In the past two seasons, Guo Shiqiang has led Guangzhou team against the old owner many times. Each on the field is its master, but off the field is a warm pulse.
On November 9, 2020, Guo Shiqiang led guangzhou team to Liaoning team for the first time. After the game, Yang Ming led the team members to line up to walk in front of Guo Shiqiang, shaking hands, hugging, "touching the head to kill", and the "old uncle" was full of smiles and satisfaction.
In the 2020-2021 regular season, Guangzhou and Liaoning were in the same group, and the two sides met 4 times. At every press conference, Yang Ming mentioned that the teacher was full of respect. After the last game in the regular season, Yang Ming said bluntly: "Guo Dao is my master, the Liaoning men's basketball team can have today, Guo Dao's credit is the greatest." ”
In the last two seasons, Guangzhou has not won a single six times against Liaoning. Guo Shiqiang is very aware that the young team is currently very different from Liaoning, but from losing 35 points in the first game to the tight score in the last half of the game, the quality of each meeting is improving.
These changes, fans in the eyes, many Liaoning fans have one more "home team".
"Old Uncle" emotionally thanked the hometown fans. Produced by the Sports News Department of the Beijing News
"Old Uncle" himself knows that in the past two seasons, the Guangzhou team has rapidly "increased its fans", many of which are from Liaoning. "Whether I was in Liaoning before or in Guangzhou now, I always think that Liaoning fans are very professional fans, they love basketball very much, support us coaches, athletes, and they are very tolerant and warm." Guo Shiqiang said.
The most recent match between the two teams was in the Changchun division, which was also the only game in Guangzhou that had an audience.
More than 3 months later, Guo Shiqiang still remembers seeing the banners raised for him by The Liaoning fans in the stands after entering the stadium.
"Uncle, Liaoning fans are coming"
"Guo Dao takes care of himself, Liaoning fans think of you"
"Uncle, no matter where you go, Liaoning fans love you"
"The Liaoning fans did not give the Liaoning team a banner to cheer, but they put a banner on me and sent me blessings." The actions of the Liaoning fans made Guo Shiqiang both surprised and moved. He told the Beijing News reporter, "I want to say to the Liaoning fans, thank them, they are really hard. I love Liaoning fans very much. ”
Due to the epidemic situation, Guo Shiqiang arrived in Guangzhou with the team after finishing this season's mission, and did not return to his hometown for the time being. In a little more than half a month, the team will officially assemble and start preparing for the new season. He has begun to sum up the gains and losses of this season, solve problems during summer training, think about how to help players improve their personal ability, accumulate experience in actual combat, and step by step towards the goal of joining the ranks of strong teams.
Liaoning fans, and even fans across the country, are looking forward to the fact that "Old Uncle" can one day lead the team to meet with Liaoning at the peak.
Beijing News reporter Liu Chen
Edited by Wang Chunqiu
Proofreading Liu Jun