Everyone says home is a harbor to dock in, a sacred place to rest, but time spent at home is ultimately limited. Most of the time, we are either setting sail or on the way to set sail.
Departure is always a man's theme…
Before officially heading to Beijing, He Ximeng had a chat with Cui Tianci. Cui Tianci attended a vocational college, majoring in English, with a three-year program. He had completed the first two years of study and was about to start his internship in the third year. With sheer force, Cui Tianci persevered through the English-Chinese dictionary. Although his spoken English remained poor, his listening and writing skills were generally sufficient for communication with foreigners.
He Ximeng asked him if he was willing to become his assistant, with a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan and bonuses to be determined.
Cui Tianci nodded enthusiastically and agreed.
And so, Cui Tianci boarded the plane to Beijing with He Ximeng.
Zhang Zhenpeng, who was seeing them off, watched He Ximeng's receding figure and asked Zhang Tianai in the co-pilot's seat, "Are you sure you don't want to say anything to him?"
Zhang Tianai turned her head, pouting, and said, "Say what? His heart is all with that Kayla. What good would anything I say do?"
"Given up? That doesn't seem like your usual style…"
"Alas, I can't win his heart…"
At the training base in Beijing, He Ximeng met a host of old friends: Da Zhi, Liu Yudong, Hu Weidong, Gong Xiaobin, Li Nan, Sun Jun, Li Xiaoyong, Wu Qinglong, Wu Naiqun, Zheng Wu… and a few others, Adijiang, Ba’er, Chen Ke, Liu Tie, Ji Minshang, whom He Ximeng was relatively unfamiliar with.
As He Ximeng's personal assistant, Cui Tianci was initially not allowed to enter the training base.
However, He Ximeng already had quite a few privileges, so one more assistant hardly seemed like a big deal. Moreover, Cui Tianci was very familiar with Zhang Yide, and Cui Tianci nominally became an auxiliary member of the coaching staff, essentially free labor.
Since the national team didn't need to pay him, and he was merely given a temporary worker status, Zhang Bing decided to do He Ximeng and Zhang Yide a favor by bringing Cui Tianci in.
This World Championship campaign would also become Cui Tianci's best internship experience.
Indeed, later in Greece, Cui Tianci, with his not-so-outstanding English communication skills, genuinely provided a lot of help to the Chinese men's basketball team. This was because the English of the Chinese national team players was progressively worse… In comparison, Cui Tianci's bad English didn't stand out as much, because at least he could communicate with foreigners…
However, before officially heading to Greece, there were constant internal troubles within the Chinese team.
Originally, these veteran teammates were targeting the head coach Zhang Bing. Now, the resentment towards the head coach for his perceived insubordination was being redirected towards He Ximeng!
Why He Ximeng? Because He Ximeng, at such a young age, was receiving preferential treatment.
And what He Ximeng found most unexpected was that the instigator was actually the seemingly most simple and honest Da Ba!
But upon careful consideration, He Ximeng found it logical. In the original historical timeline, Da Ba had a particularly bad relationship with Zhang Bing. Now that Zhang Bing seemed to favor He Ximeng, Da Ba naturally wouldn't treat He Ximeng well.
Standing with Da Ba were other veterans like Adijiang, Chen Ke, Liu Tie, and Ji Minshang!
Wow, they had perfectly formed an "Alliance of the Unconvinced"!
Was this an attempt to put He Ximeng in his place? He Ximeng certainly wouldn't indulge these old colleagues! He immediately called upon Da Zhi, Gong Xiaobin, Liu Yudong, and Hu Weidong to lend a hand, forming the "National Tournament Alliance" and initiating a full-court suppression mode!
Just He Ximeng's strategy of having Da Zhi set high screens alone was enough to leave the "Alliance of the Unconvinced" in disarray!
If Da Ba stepped out to defend, He Ximeng would immediately drive past him and score a layup in the paint.
If Da Ba didn't step out, He Ximeng would directly pass back to Da Zhi, letting Da Zhi confidently shoot from mid-range or long-range, utilizing Da Zhi's steady shooting touch for open shots!
Coupled with He Ximeng's penetration and passing, assisting "cutting specialist" Gong Xiaobin, "mid-range king" Liu Yudong, and the versatile "all-around prince" Hu Weidong…
The "Alliance of the Unconvinced" was directly crushed by the "National Tournament Alliance" led by He Ximeng.
This was because He Ximeng not only knew all the strengths of his own teammates but also deeply understood all the weaknesses of the opposing players.
Da Ba's slow footwork, slow movement, and vulnerability to steals were amplified infinitely by He Ximeng, to the point where Da Ba was afraid to dribble at the edge of the paint…
After witnessing He Ximeng's performance, Zhang Bing, who had originally worried about whether He Ximeng could adapt to the Chinese team's rhythm, was completely relieved.
In this intra-squad scrimmage, He Ximeng played the full 48 minutes. After achieving double-digit assists, he switched to scoring mode, launching a barrage of three-pointers. He Ximeng could shoot threes from positions that the "Alliance of the Unconvinced" could and could not imagine, and his hit rate was remarkably stable! He was essentially making one out of two: 15 attempts, 8 made shots!
He Ximeng, who rarely went all out, unleashed his full potential in this game, scoring a sensational all-around stat line of 33 points, 15 assists, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, and 3 blocks, directly intimidating all the doubters!
Like a swift knife cutting through chaos! He Ximeng knew that staying in the national team wouldn't be easy! Whether it was the troublemakers within the team or the leaders in the administration, anyone could potentially interfere with the team's tactics and rotations. As a newcomer, He Ximeng had to subdue everyone from the outset. Only then would those with ulterior motives not dare to point fingers, allowing him to perform at his true potential during subsequent training and matches!
"Has this kid Ximeng always been this awesome?" Zhang Bing, standing by the sidelines, stared at the all-powerful He Ximeng on the court, asking Zhang Yide with disbelief. In his original understanding, He Ximeng, being Chinese, could at most be slightly more versatile than Hu Dong, slightly more stable with his three-pointers than Li Nan, or slightly more consistent in his organizational skills than Adijiang, perhaps even at Adijiang's level.
Zhang Bing had watched He Ximeng's NBA game footage, but recordings were not as impactful as seeing him in person. Moreover, NBA teammates were different from Chinese teammates. The stronger the teammates, the better a point guard's performance would be. Therefore, before truly witnessing He Ximeng's court control and three-point shooting abilities, Zhang Bing had considered He Ximeng to be a combination of Hu Weidong, Li Nan, and Adijiang. He hadn't thought that He Ximeng could surpass all three in any aspect…
Currently, He Ximeng in the NBA league had not yet reached a triple-threat level. His organization and scoring were already at a first-class standard, but his defense was not yet ferocious enough, not aggressive enough.
However, within the Chinese team, He Ximeng was already the all-around warrior the coaching staff could have imagined, a true triple-threat.