Why has Huipu High School dominated Zhejiang for over a decade? The reasons are twofold: firstly, they have consistently prioritized players' physical conditioning, making it a crucial standard for player selection; and secondly, they have always adhered to the team basketball development route, boasting a deep rotation and a strong bench.
He Ximeng's approach to improving Zhuzhong's team largely mirrors Huipu High School's team-building philosophy.
On one hand, he's significantly boosted his teammates' physical reserves. On the other, by implementing mixed lineups, he's moved away from the idea of relying heavily on the second and third-year players or the starting lineup, striving to maximize the energy of all twelve players...
After a month of He Ximeng's reforms, the Zhuzhong basketball team's strength might not have improved by leaps and bounds, but there has undoubtedly been substantial progress in their spirit and morale.
Although head coach Zhang Yide was a bit slow to realize it, he too noticed the team's improvement. Through conversations with Cui Tianci and Zhang Tian'ai, he learned that while he was busy with his off-campus tutoring, He Ximeng, acting as interim coach, had single-handedly elevated the team's performance by a notch...
"He Ximeng's coaching talent seems to be no weaker than mine," Zhang Yide mused.
"Since He Ximeng is so talented, let him orchestrate the initial games of this year's national tournament... I'll step in at crucial moments, to turn the tide and save the team from a desperate situation..."
Having made up his mind, Zhang Yide directly announced to the entire team that he was temporarily handing over the command of the group stage matches to He Ximeng.
The players of Zhuzhong had already grown accustomed to "Third Master" manipulating He Ximeng from behind the scenes. Even without the announcement, they were used to He Ximeng's in-game directives...
Upon arriving in Hangzhou, "Third Master" first led them to settle into the hotel designated by the organizing committee. For the sake of the players' health and safety, meals were all taken at the hotel. According to the organizing committee's schedule, Zhuji High School would have time to familiarize themselves with the venue from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM. 138 Reading Network.
The hotel was conveniently located right next to the Hangzhou Gymnasium, making it a short walk away.
The Hangzhou Gymnasium housed two standard courts.
Group A's matches would be held in Court A, and Group B's matches would take place simultaneously in Court B.
With both courts hosting games concurrently, there would be three matches in the morning and three in the afternoon at each venue.
This meant that while He Ximeng and his team participated in Group B matches, they would be unable to observe the situation in Group A.
After securing "Third Master's" approval, He Ximeng decided to send Cui Pangzi to Court A to gather intelligence. Knowing oneself and one's enemy ensures victory! Simultaneously, Zhang Tian'ai took over Cui Pangzi's role as the team's statistician.
Zhuzhong arrived at Court B of the Hangzhou Gymnasium ten minutes early. At that time, Changxing High School, the previous team using the court, had not yet finished their training.
Changxing High School was a new participant in the national tournament. The foundation of basketball in the Huzhou region was relatively weaker within Zhejiang Province.
Changxing High School had made several attempts in the provincial championship, and this year they finally achieved their goal, reaching the top 12 in the province and securing a ticket to the national tournament.
As a newcomer, Changxing High School was essentially at the "bottom of the barrel" among the top 12 teams. However, their ace player, point guard Yuan Zhangyang, didn't see it that way! He believed that while Changxing High School had a slight gap in strength compared to the seeded team Hangzhou Fourth High School, they held no disadvantage against other teams in their group. In other words, he believed that if Changxing High School played to their true potential, they had a very high probability of becoming the second-place team and advancing to the semifinals alongside Hangzhou Fourth High School.
And for Changxing High School to secure second place in the group, their must-defeat opponent was Zhuji Middle School, which was seemingly considered the second strongest team in the group!
Yuan Zhangyang had witnessed Zhuji Middle School's strength during the provincial championship. If not for their center Yan Hui being so difficult to handle, Changxing High School would have had a very good chance of defeating Zhuji Middle School...
As for He Ximeng, being a point guard himself, Yuan Zhangyang felt his own skills were in no way inferior to He Ximeng's...
As Changxing High School finished their training and the two teams crossed paths, Yuan Zhangyang didn't forget to provoke He Ximeng: "We've got our sights set on this year's advancement spot..."
He Ximeng returned Yuan Zhangyang's words with a fake smile and ignored him.
Zhang Zhenpeng, standing nearby, asked, "Who is this guy?"
"A kid who's always wanted to beat me..."
"Hoho! Ambitious, I like that! But to defeat you, you'd at least have to get past me first, wouldn't you..."
The familiarization session lasted for a total of one hour. He Ximeng simply organized everyone for a simple warm-up, followed by dribbling, passing, layup, and shooting drills. They went through each exercise, but none were high intensity. The main purpose was simply to get a feel for the floor, the backboard, and find their rhythm.
After the training, "Third Master" led the players back to the hotel, forbidding any unauthorized excursions.
He Ximeng gathered all the players in "Third Master's" room, as it was the most spacious and had a large TV.
What were they doing? Watching game footage from previous years!