On February 1, the Chinese men's basketball team began a new training camp, which is also the first training after the new coach Jordjevic took the helm. There are 205 days left before the opening of the 2023 Basketball World Cup (August 25), and these 205 days may also determine the fate of Chinese basketball in the next few years.
From the 18-man training list of the national team announced by Qiao Shuai on January 19, it is not difficult to see the different criteria for Qiao Shuai's selection. Compared with his predecessor Du Feng, Qiao Shuai seems to favor players with outstanding physical qualities.
In this 18-man roster, only Wu Qian and Zhao Jiwei are less than 1.9m tall, and they almost represent the ceiling of Chinese defenders' playmaking ability and three-point projection. Xu Jie, Jiang Weize and other traditional small guards have been defeated, and it is not difficult to see that Qiao Shuai's "Europeanization" and "high personalization" transformation of the Chinese men's basketball team has begun.
In recent years, forwards with operational control and outstanding athletic ability have become the trend of world basketball development, and Doncic, Tatum, and Alexander are all the best representatives. The new men's basketball newcomers on the list seem to have such attributes, and Cui Yongxi and Zeng Fanbo are the best examples.
Different from China's traditional guard 3D players, Qiao Shuai seems to be more favored for big 3D players, Zhang Zhenlin, Zhu Junlong, Zhu Mingzhen, Zhu Xuhang and many other 3D players in the 3rd and 4th positions were selected, although many of them may not be able to enter the final list of the Men's Basketball World Cup, but such a selection method undoubtedly reflects Qiao Shuai's selection ideas and determination to transform the style of the Chinese men's basketball team.
In 2019, the pain of the Chinese men's basketball team losing the qualification for the Tokyo Olympics at home is still in front of us, and it has come to the World Cup year, and the men's basketball team cannot withstand the pressure of missing the Olympics again. It is unknown what kind of changes Jordjevic can bring to the men's basketball team, but with less than a year of preparation, he has to face such a big test, which can be described as a tight time and heavy task
From today to the 19th, the Chinese men's basketball team will conduct intensive training at the Shanghai Competitive Sports Training Management Center. Subsequently, the Chinese men's basketball team will depart for Hong Kong to participate in the matches against Kazakhstan and Iran on February 23 and 26. Although he has obtained a ticket to the men's basketball World Cup, these two games are not only Qiao Shuai's debut after taking charge of the team, but also the last real training opportunity before the Chinese team World Cup.