Reporter Liu Ruiping
On May 6, the list of winners of the 2022 Cai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship was officially announced, and six award-winning student players will study in the United States this autumn, including Gong Juntong, the son of basketball star Gong Xiaobin.
Talking about his son's opportunity to study in the United States, Gong Xiaobin said: "This is a good opportunity and a good platform, as for his future development, it also depends on his own efforts. ”
The 6 young players selected this time are from well-known basketball middle schools in China, which is an important aspect of China's basketball training system.
These basketball teenagers will explore another possibility of their basketball life in a new way.
Who are theyThe Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship is a public welfare project initiated by NBA Nets owner Cai Chongxin, whose predecessor was the "Chinese Basketball Association Elite Program" launched in 2019. At that time, the Chinese Basketball Association selected Four team members, Li Xinyi, Wang Furao, Zhang Yijiong and Sun Xiangxiang, to study in the United States. This program selects young people of the appropriate age who aspire to become outstanding basketball players to study at a boarding high school in the United States for the whole society, and provides comprehensive scholarships including tuition fees and residential school fees during the study period until high school graduation.
Through the selection, the first 4 students went to the United States to study in 2019, after studying, the 4 students' studies and basketball have been significantly improved, of which Li Xinyi represented Shandong in the 14th National Games in 2021, and also had a good performance.
The selection began registration in September 2021, and nearly 500 application materials were received from more than 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country. Through the preliminary screening, 32 student players were finally selected to participate in the interview and training camp.
On December 2-5, 2021, the 2022 Cai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship Training Camp was held in Beijing. The coaching team is led by Former National Men's Basketball Head Coach Wang Fei and serves as the head coach, and the coaching team members include Han Deng, head coach of the Chinese National Men's Basketball Second Team, Jiao Jian, deputy secretary general of the Beijing Basketball Association and president of the Youth Federation, Liu Hongwei, coach of the Beijing Shougang Youth Men's Basketball Team, and Gianmarco Sapio, coach of NBA China.
Kuang Lubin, deputy director of the Coaching Committee of the Chinese Basketball Association, Song Xiaobo, director of the Youth Committee of the Chinese Basketball Association, and Wang Fei, former head coach of the national men's basketball team, served as expert judges, and conducted a comprehensive assessment of the applicant's basketball level, physical fitness, language ability, and comprehensive quality through physical testing, training, competition, interview and other links.
In the end, Feng Ao, Gong Juntong, Gao Sifeng, Hao Sinan, Song Yijia (female), Yang Junxi stood out and won the 2022 Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship, if there is no accident, they will leave for the United States this fall.
Why themAble to stand out from the nearly 500 people, these 6 players can be regarded as one of the best in the hundred.
Some people think that the base number of choices is a bit small, in fact, this selection has many restrictions, such as birth time in 2006-2008, English reached a certain level, these two points limit a lot of players, plus there is no certain level and do not dare to register, the starting point of this selection is still relatively high.
Among the 6 players, Gong Juntong is 1 meter 97 tall, his father is Chinese basketball star Gong Xiaobin, 2 meters 05 tall Gao Sifeng and 2 meters 10 Gao Sinan, his mother is Ma Chengqing, a former center of the Chinese women's basketball team, and the other 3 players, Feng Ao is from Changchun, 1 meter 93 tall, another defender Yang Junxi is 1 meter 91 tall, Song Yijia is the only girl among the selected players, and her parents have no basketball background.
Speaking of these players, Song Xiaobo, a member of the expert group and a famous chinese women's basketball team, said in an interview with the Qilu Evening News reporter: "The characteristics of these children are still relatively prominent, and they can be selected and have their own advantages. ”
"For example, Feng Ao, he is not very tall, but his skills are more comprehensive, and the other is that his mind is clearer, and some of the opportunity balls on the field are handled better. Another defender, Yang Junxi, his physical fitness is outstanding, whether it is explosiveness, or speed, bounce is particularly prominent at a glance, the technique is also good, but also more comprehensive. ”
"Song Yijia is not tall, only 1 meter 68, but she is very hard, the ability to fight is relatively strong, although short, but the body is relatively strong, the physical fitness is not bad, in the confrontation will not be too bad, the technology is still relatively comprehensive."
Song Xiaobo was impressed by Gao Sifeng and Gao Sinan: "These two children, especially the second eldest (Gao Sinan), I think his athletic talent is good, these two children have very good physical fitness, the ability to run and jump is very strong, and very coordinated, although thinner, but more flexible." The two of them are more outstanding here, one is more than two meters tall, the other is good physical fitness, bouncing is very easy, explosive power is good, and now because of thinness, so the strength confrontation is slightly weaker. In the future, I think these two children are still quite promising, especially the second eldest, I think he is more coordinated, and he has a good brain, he can play the fourth position, and even the third position, this height is very advantageous. ”
The 6 players selected this time are Gong Juntong from the Second Affiliated Middle School of Shandong Normal University, Feng Ao from the Fourth Middle School of Changchun Automobile Economic and Technological Development Zone, Gao Sifeng and Gao Sinan from the Affiliated Middle School of Tsinghua University, Yang Junxi from the Affiliated Middle School of Peking University, and Song Yijia from the Second Experimental School of Shenzhen. Unlike the traditional sports school training model, they all come from ordinary secondary schools.
At present, China's basketball reserve talents mainly come from three systems: sports school system, club system and school system, this time 6 players to the United States for further study, will open up another possibility for them, but also for Chinese basketball to cultivate more talents.
Before that, there were many young players in China who played in high school in the United States and then returned to China, such as Zhang Zhenlin and Yu Jiahao, who are currently performing well in the CBA, and Song Xiaobo also hopes that through this activity, Chinese young players can make progress: "For example, Gao Sifeng and Gao Sinan, they are now relatively thin, and as they grow older, plus training in the United States, their strength and physical fitness may be better." I believe that the training conditions in the United States are better, and they can improve faster. ”
The challenge of youthAmong these 6 players, the most concerned by Shandong fans is Gong Juntong, because he is the son of Shandong basketball star Gong Xiaobin.
Gong Juntong comes from a basketball family, but he did not start systematic training since he was a child, after graduating from primary school, Gong Juntong chose Shandong Normal University Sophomore High School, which is the official son to inherit his father's business.
The school's training is obviously not comparable to vocational training, but Gong Juntong has made very rapid progress, and in less than two years, he has become famous in the industry. Among the players selected this time, Gong Juntong is the youngest one.
"Gong Juntong is relatively young, 1 meter 97 tall, a little bit of baby fat. I think his basic skills under the basket are still well practiced, especially his footsteps. This time to the United States, I believe that after the training over there, his weight should be able to lose some, gain some muscle, and play a number four position should be no problem. In fact, he can combine inside and outside, pull out can also throw, I feel that his hand feels good, the outer line should have a basket, the inner line can use the footsteps, turn, itself he is also very good at using the body to fight, if you can practice well, the inner line should have a certain lethality. Song Xiaobo said.
This time to study in the United States, 6 players belong to 6 high schools, Gong Juntong chose the Bishop High School of Montgomery in California, this school is one of the most influential schools in Southern California, basketball program has been prestigious, in the past 50 years, the men's and women's basketball teams have won 40 league championships, in the past 20 years, won 12 California High School League championships, and 8 state championships.
At present, Gong Juntong is in the second year of junior high school, which is equivalent to the 8th grade in the United States, this fall, Gong Juntong went to school in the United States, which is exactly the first year of high school in the United States, and is ready to go through 4 years of high school in this school, which is also a challenge for a child who is less than 14 years old.
"Now, Gong Juntong's language is OK, the general dialogue and exchange is no problem, the other party also provides a lot of favorable conditions, and the life is not very worried." Boys have to go out and break in, I told him, to cherish this opportunity, learn more, whether it is playing ball or culture, more understanding, more contact, I hope to learn something. Gong Xiaobin said.
Gong Xiaobin believes that Gong Juntong has a certain talent in basketball, predicting that his height can reach 2 meters to 2 meters 05, and there is a lot of room for development.
"He is still in the development period, he has not undergone systematic training before, a little fat, I estimate that after three months of systematic training, he can slim down, and then after training, the confrontation can be improved, and by the age of sixteen or seventeen, he should be able to set the shape." This boy is very good, some are energetic, and he also loves to learn, such as his footsteps, some people say that I taught him, in fact, it is mainly his own watching the game. The back wave of the Yangtze River pushes the front wave, how the future is not easy to estimate, what height can be reached depends on his own efforts, but he has certain conditions, and there should be no problem in taking the road of basketball in the future. ”