1. Xu Mingzhong, who is now galloping in the CBA arena, is only 1.79 meters tall, but with his excellent technical and tactical awareness and eye-popping mobility, he is well-known at home and abroad as a "little man".
The hot-blooded young man from Huizhou, Guangdong Province, showed an unrivalled basketball IQ and excellent agility, and with his fearless courage, he often challenged the interior defense, eclipsing the large interior defenders.
Whenever the game is in full swing, Xu Jie is always able to adapt quickly and quickly integrate into the fierce competition. He is well aware of the characteristics and habits of each member of the team, and knows the offensive strategy and defensive position of the whole team.
He is a smart observer of the opponent's defense, quickly finding a breakthrough, and once he finds a hole in the defense, he will act like a magician to skillfully pass the basketball to his teammates in the open position, thus creating a steady stream of opportunities for the offense.
Xu Jie's style of play is calm and sophisticated, but his sharp reflexes are equally impressive. He is always on his toes in the penalty area, keeping a close eye on his opponent's movements, ready to respond to any surprises.
Once he successfully snatches the precious rebound in the front court, he can make accurate decisions in an instant, quickly pass the ball to the scorer or complete the stunner attack himself At critical moments, Xu Jie can always unexpectedly break the deadlock, launch a counterattack for the team in a difficult situation, and set off a new offensive frenzy.
The player, known as the "Pixie", makes it difficult to associate him with his height of 177 cm. His performance on the court is mature and sophisticated, and at the same time as alert as a cat, which makes people admire him.
2. About the reason for being obsessed with basketball since childhood
Xu Jie's love for basketball comes from the influence of his family. His father was a veteran basketball enthusiast who used to take him on the court for a run since he was a kid.
Seeing his father sweating on the court, the young Xu Jie was determined to surpass his father's achievements in this sport.
Looking back on those years, Xu Jie can still feel the blazing passion for basketball. In order to realize his dream, he practiced various shooting skills at home, eager to study the art of basketball to the fullest.
From the time he was only 4 years old, his father was keenly aware of his extraordinary talent and talent in basketball, and decided to lead him into the door of professional basketball training, hoping that he would shine in this field.
Xu Jie was deeply influenced by his father's love for basketball since he was a child, and developed a deep obsession with this sport. He has lofty ideals and hopes to one day surpass his father on the basketball court, and then pass on this passion for basketball to more people.
It is this unwavering passion that has become a powerful driving force for him to continue to pursue a career in basketball.
3. The road to study in a sports school
When he was 10 years old, Xu Jie was fortunate to join the youth class of the sports school, and thus officially embarked on his basketball journey. The moment he first entered the sports school, he was like a little fish thrown into an unfamiliar environment, and his heart was full of tension and anxiety.
Surrounded by tall peers, Xu Jie looked so small in front of them. However, in the face of tremendous pressure, he did not flinch, but strengthened his belief - never give up easily! The coaches recognized his studious and persevering qualities and quickly selected him as a student to stay at the school.
Since then, he has given it his all, closely following in the footsteps of his coach, moving forward step by step.
Time flies, Xu Jie spent two years in the sports school. At this time, Mr. Ding Wansong, a well-known basketball coach, came to Dongguan to coach. Xu Jie's cousin happened to be studying table tennis here, and when he learned about it, he immediately shared the good news with him and encouraged him to try his skills.
Despite being only 1.4 meters tall, Xu Jie still did not hesitate to devote himself to it, and surprisingly, Coach Ding Wansong was full of praise for his talent and happily accepted him.
Since then, Xu Jie has followed Ding Shuai and absorbed more abundant guidance and skills. The sports school implements strict militarized management, but Xu Jie enjoys it, he regards hard training as fun, and regular work and rest as the norm.
In addition to conscientiously completing the training tasks assigned by the coach, he will also take the initiative to practice and meticulously complete every requirement.
In 2013, Coach Ding Wansong joined the Guangdong men's basketball team No. 3 as the head coach, and Xu Jie was able to successfully enter the Hongyuan youth team. The coach of the youth team, Qu Zhaobin, favored Xu Jie, and often personally guided him in a one-on-one manner, corrected his irregular movements, and taught advanced technical and tactical concepts.
Even when participating in fierce competitions, Qu Shuai often takes Xu Jie to watch the game together, so that he can understand the mystery of controlling the rhythm on the field. During the arduous learning journey of the sports school, Xu Jie not only received careful guidance from two teachers, but also tempered his firm will and exquisite skills in the harsh training, laying a solid foundation for the future leap into the professional league.
Fourth, the training of the national youth team
After two years of hard training in the Hongyuan youth team, in 2014, Xu Jie finally got his wish and joined the ranks of the national youth team. However, facing the energetic group of athletes in the national youth team, he once again experienced the same fear as when he entered the sports school.
The tall and mighty teammates are heroic, and he is still the shortest member of the team.
Although he was once reduced to a bench player, Xu Jie was not discouraged by this. He gave his best and gave his all in every minute he played. At the 2018 Asian Youth Championships, he achieved the third highest scoring stats in the team with his perseverance.
After the game, the leader of the Guangdong team personally invited Xu Jie to the office, congratulated him warmly, and announced in public that he would be officially included in the first-team lineup. In this way, despite the limited physical condition, with his tenacious will and outstanding performance, Xu Jie finally realized his dream for many years.
Looking back on the experience of the national youth team, Xu Jie was full of emotion. Even in the face of many difficulties, he never gave up his love and pursuit of basketball. Every drop of hard sweat and every unremitting effort has finally turned into fruitful fruits.
It is with this firm perseverance and tenacious fighting spirit that he can stand out in such a harsh environment and win the favor of the Guangdong first team. Although his congenital disadvantage made Xu Jie have to wait patiently on the bench for his opportunity at first, he never lost confidence.
Instead, he learned how to reach his full potential with his limited playing time.
It is this never-say-die fighting spirit that finally helped him show his amazing strength in the Asian Youth Championships and won high recognition and reuse from the Guangdong team.
5. Join the Guangdong men's basketball team
After joining the Guangdong first team, Xu Jie's figure does look a little thin compared to other teammates. Privately, his teammates jokingly referred to him as "The Little Man" and questioned his ability to establish himself in a team that is home to many top players.
However, Xu Jie did not lose confidence because of this, he knows that only by proving his self-worth with real actions can everyone impress him.
For this thin young man, coach Du Feng paid special attention. He not only gave Xu outstanding trust and full support, but also severely criticized every mistake he made in the process of training and games, and always guided him, hoping that he could grow quickly and contribute all his strength to the team.
In the face of such strict requirements from the coach, Xu Jie has never flinched in the slightest. On the contrary, he became more and more resilient in the face of setbacks, and firmly worked hard to learn and improve in the direction guided by Du Feng's mentor, eager to comprehend Professor Du Feng's basketball wisdom as soon as possible.
Finally, the moment the opportunity came, Xu Jie shone like a bright star, fully demonstrating his extraordinary talent.
It was a fierce competition with the Fujian team. With the interior pillars of the Guangdong team unable to participate due to injury, the door on the defensive end was wide open. The Fujian team has three strong interior players, forming a strong siege.
Faced with the sudden predicament, Xu Jie was fearless and resolutely stepped forward.
In this thrilling battle, Xu Jie faced a strong interior team alone. I saw that his thin body was walking on thin ice surrounded by tall team members, but he always remained calm and rational.
He skillfully weaves his way through the crowd, sometimes dribbling and feintting to induce his opponent to make mistakes; From time to time, he braked sharply and threw a precise three-point shot.
After a series of wonderful tactical uses, Xu Jie finally found a way to break the enemy. He was seen cruising around with the ball in the penalty area, looking for weak links in the interior defense at any time. Once he finds a flaw, he doesn't hesitate to pass the ball to an open teammate or personally perform a decisive dunk to push the offense to the climax.
In this matchup, Xu Jie vividly demonstrated his outstanding skills as a point guard. He was quick-witted, sharp in attack, and always had a firm grasp of the rhythm of the game.
It was through this game that he won the trust and love of the entire team with his outstanding performance, and since then he has gained a firm foothold in the Guangdong men's basketball team and become an important member of the main rotation lineup.
In the next game, Xu Jie became more and more courageous, and his performance became more and more eye-catching. At critical moments, he is always able to break the deadlock in time and create more scoring opportunities for the team; And in the crucial stages that determine the outcome of the victory, he can always grab precious frontcourt rebounds, laying a solid foundation for the final victory.
In the alternation of each season, Xu Jie is fully committed to carving himself in the league, sweating together with his teammates, fighting for honor, and finally helping the Guangdong men's basketball team achieve the feat of winning the championship year after year!
He, once a questionable little man, has now transformed into the soul of the team, known as "The Elf". With his perseverance and extraordinary performance, Xu Jie has successfully won everyone's admiration and praise and become a real basketball superstar!