Interview/Wen Yiyi
Videography: Zhang Xiuyuan
When the CBA playoffs were hot, it had been a month since the end of the season in Beikong. After the Olympic Sports Center, I saw Liu Xiaoyu again at a basketball hall in Beijing, where he took Beikong's player Kaiwen Luo for offseason recovery training.
In the glass room on the second floor of the stadium, only the sound of shooting the ball downstairs can be heard, Liu Xiaoyu faced the camera of Tencent News, from the commentary experience to the men's basketball World Cup, from the Hongyuan Dynasty to Shougang's career, the memories were turbulent, but from Liu Xiaoyu's mouth to tell those stories, it seemed light and breezy.
Since his promotion to the Hongyuan First Team in 2006, Liu Xiaoyu has completed his 17th season. 17 years of career, think back to the story, the Beijing-Guangdong war, the Beijing derby, Marbury coaching, so many ups and downs, he seems to never be in the whirlpool, as he himself said: "Grudge is a continuation on the court, but as I get older, these don't affect me too much." ”
Just like he was ridiculed for more than ten years of unchanged appearance: "If you have a good mentality, you will be young." ”
(The following is the full text of the interview)
Wait until the moment you retire to know what you are going to do
Tencent News: Fans haven't watched you play for a while, tell me, what are you busy with in the offseason?
Liu Xiaoyu: Hello everyone, recently because the team has been on vacation, I also went to Hainan, just because my parents were there at the time, go to relax, and then other times have been training, now during the NBA playoffs, sometimes go to talk about the ball.
Tencent News: Brother Yu didn't actually do the commentary this year, in fact, he did it a few years ago, right? How does it feel to do commentary?
Liu Xiaoyu: I said it last year, in fact, I said it many years ago in the offseason, I was still young, and now I have this opportunity after the league is over.
I feel that the commentary is another way to understand basketball, and I think it's interesting to see these other NBA high-level athletes playing on the court and be able to put themselves in their shoes at that time. Although everyone plays at different levels and people are relatively high, many things happen on the court and on the team are more similar, how to adjust, adapt, these are very attractive parts of basketball games.
Tencent News: In fact, we have many familiar players who have been commentators after retiring, does Brother Yu have this plan after these few attempts?
Liu Xiaoyu: I think it's actually an attempt recently, but I still want to cherish the last few years to play, play as many years as possible, and maybe really wait until the moment when you decide not to play before thinking about whether to do or not to do commentary.
Tencent News: Do you want to do anything other than not playing?
Liu Xiaoyu: I think that no matter what you do, you can't do without basketball, coaching, commentary, including maybe doing things related to the surrounding area, maybe going to a stadium? These are all things related to basketball.
Tencent News: With Brother Yu's appearance, it is not impossible to enter the entertainment industry, have you ever thought about it?
Liu Xiaoyu: I'm already an old bacon (laughs), and I had the opportunity (to go to the entertainment industry) when I was young, but at that time I wanted to play the ball first, so I didn't go, so now I don't have to think about it, now I want to cherish the time of playing, and think about things related to basketball in the future, to help teenagers, and do some things that are powerful for the development of basketball.
Tencent News: Let me ask a question that everyone is curious about, why is your photo exactly the same as it is now, Brother Yu?
Liu Xiaoyu: I think the main thing for me is that fat and thin don't change much, because my weight has basically not changed, and then the remaining facial features are that you need to get closer to see the change clearly (laughs).
Tencent News: I don't think anything has changed when I'm closer!
Liu Xiaoyu: It's true that there hasn't been that much change (laughs), but for myself there must be traces of time, I think I'm still rough, sometimes I don't care very much, and I don't have much to wipe anything.
Tencent News: Athletes have always maintained a healthy state, which is also an important reason for maintaining their appearance, right?
Liu Xiaoyu: I think that a good mentality is young, and the main thing is to have a good attitude to always engage in the sport you like and do what you like.
A long-term career, lifelong benefit
Tencent News: You have been in Hongyuan for ten years, and in those ten years, let you think back, what kind of existence was it?
Liu Xiaoyu: First of all, I would like to thank Hongyuan very much, and thank Guangdong Basketball for nurturing me and giving me the opportunity to learn. I came directly to the Hongyuan team from school to high school, at that time it was true that the big brothers around me were members of the national team, there was a lot to learn, including vision and some things on the court, all of which belonged to that kind of rapid extraction, may grow faster than normal people, but also came to a higher platform, the second year also went to the national team, if not for the platform of Hongyuan, there would not be such an early opportunity to contact the national team these players, I think these are all lifelong benefits for me.
Tencent News: I was only 18 years old when I first joined the first team in '06, now if you say anything to Liu Xiaoyu at that time?
Liu Xiaoyu: I have already got a lot, in fact, quite greedy, but how to do an injury prevention and mentality adjustment, may not only be for me at that time, but also for every young athlete, potential athlete is very key, how to make yourself smarter to avoid injuries, how to make yourself have a good attitude to face this ups and downs, especially when you become famous at a young age, there will always be some setbacks later, how to get back up, or to be able to improve yourself again, this is quite critical.
Tencent News: Actually, this is what you want to say to your juniors, right?
Liu Xiaoyu: Yes, in fact, after I came to Beikong this year, I also told Liao Sanning and these young players in the team that when they encounter some difficulties, there will be certain ups and downs and changes in their mentality, and it is indeed difficult to adjust.
Tencent News: Hongyuan has five champions, what year did I win the championship the most?
Liu Xiaoyu: I think it's the first champion. My first year on the team, when we lost to Bayi team and won the runner-up, the second year after a season of training, including the summer to the national team grind, looking back to play again, I feel that I may be more mature, that year's finals also played a very important role, when the first time to win the championship, it was indeed very exciting, and the sense of achievement was very full.
Tencent News: How did you not become a Hong Kong Wing Dragon team last year?
Liu Xiaoyu: Mainly because of some visas, under the circumstances of the epidemic, there were many things that were inconvenient to do, and things that dragged on time, and finally the trip did not take place.
The Beijing-Guangdong battle and the Beijing derby grudge are just a continuation of the field
Tencent News: The longest time you stayed after Hongyuan was the Shougang team, what does the Shougang team mean to you in the past five years?
Liu Xiaoyu: I think Shougang is a period of great exercise in my mentality, from Shanghai to Shougang when I was in a very good state, at that time was also a national team, all-star level players, went to have great expectations, including fans and clubs also have great expectations for me, but after going, before the league started, I suffered a very serious injury, first an ankle injury, it took almost two years to adjust to a state where I could play, and then I caught up with a broken hand. In those two years, there were more injuries and more pressure, but I learned a lot from it, and then adjusted quite well, and I was able to slowly adjust my state back in the next two years, I think it is still quite difficult. Because I think many players, including many athletes, really can't adjust to their former or peak level at the level of injury, and finally slowly retire. It was a very difficult and gratifying journey for me to get through that time.
Tencent News: For fans, it is actually very interesting that Yu Ge experienced the Beijing-Guangdong war at that time, and then came to Shougang for five years, and now he is in Beikong in the same city, Shougang and Beikong are mortal enemies in the same city, and the head coach of Beikong last season is Marbury, how do you digest this complicated relationship yourself?
Liu Xiaoyu: Actually, I think as a player, I don't really care about this, because when you go on the court, when you start playing, all you think about is how to compete with the opponent and fight, and these so-called grievances on and off the court are actually a continuation of the game, and they are also part of the story, and the fans will be very relished and will like to say these things, and the very important thing as a player is the game itself. Especially as I get older, these don't affect me very much.
Tencent News: I remember the first game of the third phase of resuming home and away, I asked Yu Ge at the home stadium of Beikong when was the last time he played a game with spectators, Yu Ge quickly answered that it was the Beijing derby at the end of 19, I actually learned that the Beijing derby is very intense for the two teams, do you remember the two games at that time and the state of the team at that time?
Liu Xiaoyu: Because I actually played the Guangdong derby when I was in Guangdong, I actually predicted and understood the significance of the derby, including the intensity of the game on the field. For the Beijing derby, it was also very fierce at that time, I remember that season we killed Beikong in one Shougang, and then finally won Shougang in the last game before the epidemic, but everyone on the field did fight and compete, including the intensity of the entire defense, which was very sufficient.
Tencent News: As a member of Beikong next season, what expectations or expectations will you have when you face Shougang?
Liu Xiaoyu: Actually, as far as I am concerned, I have returned to my old club's venue many times to play, including to Guangdong and Shanghai, for me I enjoy this feeling very much, the fans will indeed be very enthusiastic and cheer for you, but when the game starts, you are an away player, whether it is a former teammate on the field, including the fans on the sidelines, will influence and interfere with you in the greatest way, which is also part of the game, and it is very good. The time I played at Wukesong, the enthusiasm of the fans on the sidelines every game, I felt that it was among the best in the country.
Tencent News: When Marbury coached you, what was your mode of communication and getting along? Liu Xiaoyu: Actually, the two of us are more familiar, we were opponents when we were players, and after he became a coach in recent years, there have been games between our two teams. When I came as his player, after I started training, he would make some demands on me, and he knew what I was capable of, such as what I could do, and he wouldn't ask you to do a lot of things beyond your ability, but you would need to do what you could do. The key for me is probably to be a role model for everyone on the defensive end and leadership, to communicate more with the young players and to be a good example.
Serbia, who has coached Qiao Shuai in 15 years, has a big difference in level
Tencent News: Speaking of young players, Liao Sanning is also training with the national team now, do you have any suggestions for young players who have just entered the national team?
Liu Xiaoyu: As a talented player like him, this season has encountered certain difficulties, there are ups and downs in mentality, I have given him a lot of advice, the most important point is to let him overcome these difficulties as soon as possible, these difficulties are not coaches or others can help you, are all need you to adjust your mentality after 100% effort, which is more important.
Tencent News: There is the men's basketball World Cup this year, and the grouping of the men's basketball team has also been released, have you paid attention to it?
Liu Xiaoyu: I'm not familiar with the South Sudan team, but I've heard some other people's comments, and then Puerto Rico is a difficult opponent to play. I don't think the grouping is good or bad, but we need to look at the state of the game and team cohesion, and how to deal with unexpected situations on the field, including the strain at key moments, these are the main things.
Tencent News: Can you look forward to this men's basketball World Cup?
Liu Xiaoyu: I definitely hope that the Chinese team can qualify smoothly and get a ticket to the Olympic Games, because it is indeed a very important event for our entire basketball community and children who love to play basketball. Being able to enter the Olympics is also crucial for Chinese players to show their level on the Olympic stage, and then for fans across the country to see.
Tencent News: Has Yu Ge's national team career ever faced Serbia?
Liu Xiaoyu: We played two games against Serbia in the summer when we were training, and I remember that I probably lost more than 30 points, and people were all the main players, going all out to fight us, and the level was indeed very different.
Tencent News: Was it Qiao Shuai at that time?
It was him, I remember it should have been 15 years, and the World Cup and the Olympics also saw him coach on the sidelines, and I was quite impressed.
Tencent News: Last question, I remember that you seemed to have injured your cervical spine in the last game of the Beijing Enterprises season, what happened now?
Liu Xiaoyu: Including the lumbar and cervical spine are relatively old injuries, I also hope to recover through this summer time, to train and strengthen more.