After 12 years, it has once again reached the final four of the CBA playoffs, and the Shanghai men's basketball team has made an outstanding answer sheet in this season's league, and the "soul of the team" Wang Zhelin has contributed a lot.
"Step by step, into the playoffs, impacting the championship, has always been my highest goal." In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai men's basketball captain Wang Zhelin gave his career goals.
Change: Feathered into a butterfly
Wang Zhelin's name on social media is "Wang Zhelin Change". Just like the English word meaning "change", the 2021-2022 season is a word for "change" for Wang Zhelin.
On August 3, 2021, Wang Zhelin left the Fujian team that had played for nine seasons and went to Shanghai. "It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but through day-to-day training and communication, it quickly got into shape." Wang Zhelin said.
From the regular season statistics, Wang Zhelin averaged 27.3 minutes per game in Shanghai this season, scoring 17.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocks, and his three-point shooting rate reached a high of 40% in the past four seasons.
Compared with the offensive end, Wang Zhelin is more satisfied with the improvement of his defensive end, which is mainly due to head coach Li Chunjiang. "Our style is to emphasize the defense and counterattack, the first thing you have to pay attention to is the defense, he has the same requirements for every player."
Li Chunjiang also praised his beloved disciple, "The 'king' is our 'team soul' in the team, and he works very hard in the process of the series. He can bring the whole team together and play the role of an old player, and he does a very good job."
In the two series of matches against Shenzhen and Guangsha, Wang Zhelin's performance on the field was worthy of the trust of the head coach. Grab rebounds, card slots, sacrifice yourself to grab the ball, dribble from the backcourt to the opponent's basket. As a 2.14-meter-tall center, Wang Zhelin showed his desire for victory to the fullest.
"Being able to reach the playoff semifinals this season has given me a lot of confidence, the experience of winning, and making myself more mentally positive." Wang Zhelin said.
Qi: The future can be expected
Looking back on the whole season, what impressed Wang Zhelin the most was the experience of turning defeat into victory, and the key to the reversal was in two words: unity.
'There are games where you lose almost 20 points in the first half and in the second half everyone goes all out to chase them back, so it feels like a great unity." Wang Zhelin said, "When the score is behind, the coaching staff has always emphasized unity and defense. Everyone didn't give up because they were behind in the big score, and they could hold on to our defensive intensity. ”
Coming to the Shanghai men's basketball team is the first cooperation between Wang Zhelin and the famous coach Li Chunjiang. Wang Zhelin revealed that during the training, Li Chunjiang's coaching will teach the players the shooting posture and shooting skills by himself, and cut the details a little bit, "Li's guidance shooting rate is very high, the coaches are so high, we must practice well."
From the initial strangeness to the current familiarity with each other, Wang Zhelin and Li Chunjiang have injected fresh blood into the Shanghai men's basketball team, and also injected the foundation of unity and hard work.
"The technical and tactical content of Director Li's words is always easy to understand, and it is not wrong to listen to him on the field." Wang Zhelin said.
As the focus of attention on and off the field, the discussion around Wang Zhelin has not stopped for many years. Nowadays, the "veteran" Wang Zhelin is more calm in the face of noise, and he has become accustomed to settling down in the noise of the outside world and speaking with basketball.
"There's no way you can get everyone to like you. In fact, no matter how I perform, these voices have always existed, and what I can do is to do myself, focus on the court, and do my job. Wang Zhelin said.
Looking at the performance of the whole season, the young players of the Shanghai team have made remarkable progress, and Guo Haowen, Li Tianrong and Dai Hao, the three "post-00s" newborn calves, are not afraid of tigers and shine on the stage of the playoffs. Such a team that relies on the whole and the team, masters different tactical changes, and has no obvious shortcomings, makes fans full of confidence in the future.
Wang Zhelin said: "They are all players with high talent, inside and outside the field, we will often communicate and share experience. ”
Carry: Dreams don't change
The defeat to Guangsha stopped the semi-finals, which further aroused Wang Zhelin's desire for the final stage and the championship.
"It's really exciting to be in the final four and it's the first time in my career. At the beginning of the season, the team's goal was to make the playoffs, and now it's done. But neither I nor the team will be satisfied with that. As a professional player, you will definitely pursue higher goals. Wang Zhelin said.
In the official promotional film where Wang Zhelin first joined the Shanghai men's basketball team, he walked into the home of the Shanghai men's basketball team at the end of the film - the Oriental Sports Center. Unfortunately, due to the epidemic, he has not had the opportunity to appear in this stadium so far.
"I hope to be able to restore the home-and-away format as soon as possible, and hope that more Shanghai fans can come to the scene to watch the ball." Wang Zhelin said.
Wang Zhelin launched an initiative for Shanghai fans in the fight against the epidemic, hoping that everyone would maintain a good work and rest, exercise appropriately to maintain health, and after the epidemic, watch him lead the Shanghai team to stage a wonderful game at home.
(Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Dongyuan)