After the game ended, He Ximeng, though disappointed, magnanimously congratulated Gang Leader Qiao. After all, this honor rightfully belonged to Gang Leader Qiao. However, the fact that he, who shouldn't have been a mere background character, had become one left He Ximeng quite dejected.
But Gang Leader Qiao was unaware of He Ximeng's inner thoughts. He mistook He Ximeng's dejection for disappointment over losing the championship trophy. Thus, he patted He Ximeng on the shoulder and "kindly" consoled him, "This is the most difficult championship trophy I've won so far! You know, I don't usually go to Game 7! The fact that you pushed us this far is already outstanding and worthy of admiration! You are still young, and the future ultimately belongs to you young folks..."
He Ximeng didn't have the mood to listen to Gang Leader Qiao's motivational talk at the moment. After exchanging greetings and a hug, he hastily bid farewell and left the sorrowful arena with Kobe.
The 1997-1998 season thus came to an end. This season, in the end, still belonged to Gang Leader Qiao.
Whether it was He Ximeng, Kobe, or O'Neal, they were all still growing. The era of the Lakers had not truly arrived yet...
He Ximeng, "heartbroken," returned to his small villa, declined Kobe's invitation to practice, and chose to "nurse his wounds" at home.
"Nursing his wounds" was more about a temporary farewell to Kayla.
Long before the playoffs began, He Ximeng had received an invitation from China to join the Chinese men's basketball team for the 13th FIBA World Championship to be held in Greece in August 1998!
In the original historical timeline, the Chinese men's basketball team failed to qualify for this World Championship because they lost to South Korea in the semifinals of the 1997 Asian Championship. The then head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team, Zhang Bing, resigned in shame.
This defeat sent shockwaves through Chinese basketball!
Just one year prior, the Chinese men's basketball team had reached the top eight in the world at the Atlanta Olympics, at the peak of their success!
Yet, they suffered a Waterloo on the Asian stage, a disastrous fall, and it was to South Korea... This was unbearable for fans back home!
To provide an explanation to the fans, Head Coach Zhang Bing, who took office in 1996, stepped down in 1997, making him the shortest-serving head coach in the history of the Chinese team.
The team had problems, and the head coach was certainly responsible. However, it would be unfair to place all the blame solely on the head coach. After all, when an avalanche occurs, no snowflake is innocent.
From the information later unearthed by the media, a sense of underestimation and arrogance had spread within the Chinese team. It was rumored that on the way to the venue, players even bet amongst themselves how many points they would win by against South Korea... No one took South Korea seriously, and no one treated them as an equal opponent.
Before the semifinals, Liu Yudong, Hu Weidong, and Wang Zhizhi all had minor injuries. These injuries were not taken seriously by the coaching staff, who believed that playing against South Korea even with injuries was a given...
And the "Daba" [a player's nickname] had been in conflict with the coaching staff since the training camp began! He repeatedly escaped from the training base, completely ignoring Zhang Bing, becoming the most troublesome among the many difficult players on the Chinese team... For this, Zhang Bing did not hesitate to call the administrative unit responsible for Daba at the time, the Inner Mongolia Basketball Association, and used administrative means to pressure Daba...
All these factors led to a chaotic situation. It would be strange for such a team to achieve any great success.
But in this world, the situation was not so dire.
This was because the Chinese team's coaching staff had an additional young and promising assistant coach: Zhang Yide!
Yes, Zhang Yide, the former physical education teacher at Zhuji Middle School. Due to his outstanding coaching performance in the national competition, he was scouted by Zhejiang Men's Basketball and joined the coaching staff as an assistant coach!
Subsequently, when Zhang Bing became the head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team, with a single order, he transferred Zhang Yide to the coaching staff of the Chinese men's basketball team, making him an assistant coach under Zhang Bing!
Logically speaking, Zhang Yide had only transitioned from a physical education teacher to an assistant coach for a professional team for a mere two years. What qualifications did he have to be selected for the national team?
Was it because of He Ximeng?
He Ximeng was certainly one of the hidden reasons, but not the most direct one. The most direct reason was that Zhang Yide and Zhang Bing were disciples of the same master, "Old Dragon" Qian Lao!
During the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games coached by Qian Lao, Zhang Bing was a favored disciple of Qian Lao and had a deep relationship with him. How much effort Qian Lao put in behind the scenes for Zhang Bing to take charge of the Chinese team was unknown to outsiders. However, Zhang Yide was indeed recommended by Qian Lao to Zhang Bing as his junior disciple, with instructions to guide and train him well.
Zhang Bing did not have high expectations for this junior disciple who had entered the field mid-career. Unexpectedly, this junior disciple provided him with a great deal of assistance in his subsequent work! Not in tactical arrangements, but in managing the players' emotions.
Zhang Bing was surprised to find that Zhang Yide had quite good relationships with several core players on the team!
Whether it was Liu Yudong, Wang Zhizhi, or Hu Weidong, even the hot-tempered Gong Xiaobin and others, they all respected Zhang Yide's opinion!
In a way, the respect they showed him was even greater than what they showed Zhang Bing!
Zhang Bing couldn't figure this out, and the only explanation was that Zhang Yide had coached He Ximeng! The first Chinese player in Chinese history to play in the NBA, the first Chinese player to reach the NBA playoffs, the first Chinese player to reach the NBA Finals, the first Chinese player to become a starting player for an NBA team, the first Chinese player to win Sixth Man of the Year, and the first Chinese player to become a starting player in the NBA All-Star Game...
He Ximeng had already become a miracle in Chinese basketball, and Zhang Yide was the domestic coach who had once coached this miracle player! The only domestic coach.
Before this, Coach Gong had invited He Ximeng, but He Ximeng had politely declined.
When Zhang Bing first took office, he had also invited He Ximeng, but He Ximeng had politely declined as well.
So, Qian Lao advised Zhang Bing and recommended Zhang Yide!
Qian Lao said, "The Chinese men's basketball team has already reached the top eight in the world. It will be very difficult for you to make a breakthrough! The only way is to recruit He Ximeng! That kid, even I misjudged him, I never expected his potential to be so great... We don't lack centers, we don't lack inside players, but we lack a point guard of soul-level caliber, and He Ximeng is the best candidate for the Chinese team! I know it's not easy to invite the current He Ximeng, as the Basketball Association has no jurisdiction over him. But as far as I know, this kid He Ximeng values loyalty and friendship, and people who value loyalty and friendship need to be approached with loyalty and friendship..."
This goes to show, ginger is spicier when it's older!
Therefore, after Zhang Bing recruited Zhang Yide to join the coaching staff of the Chinese men's basketball team, the first thing he assigned was to call He Ximeng, who was far across the ocean, to invite him to join the Chinese men's basketball team again!