Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 86: Stay Calm in Times of Crisis

On the train from Jinan to BJ.

Chen Fang was doing his homework on the small dining table. When he heard that he was going out to play a competition, all three main subject teachers assigned him homework.

The team members sitting opposite and next to each other started out looking at each other in confusion but then pretended not to see anything.

In fact, everyone in the youth training has cultural courses, but no one takes it seriously, until Lu Yun said, "You have 550 points, why are you still working so hard? Write in the morning, write at noon, write at night, and now write on the train." This directly shattered everyone's three views.

He comes first in both football skills and culture. It is also through Lu Yun’s big mouth that the whole team knows that Chen Fang almost never rests all day, and he is either in training or in class.

So now, when people look at Chen Fang, there is not only awe, but also a hint of unnaturalness.

The result is that few people dare to look Chen Fang in the eye.

The train took two hours and I just finished half of my homework. I'll see if I have time for the rest in the evening.

After getting off the bus, the Shanti Youth Training Team lined up on the platform. Their uniform jerseys and tall stature attracted the attention of many passers-by.

Under the leadership of Zhang Ruihua, the entire team left the station and got on the bus that had been waiting for a long time. After confirming that everyone was correct, they drove towards the Miyun Basketball Training Base.

They drove for an hour and a half and were still on the ring road, which was almost the same time as the journey from Jinan. Some players began to doubt their lives, but Chen Fang understood.

In my previous life, I played basketball and came to BJ once. I flew for 2 hours and it took me hours to get to my destination.

The congestion in Beijing and the BUFF created by its huge area can make you feel miserable. If it rains or snows again, you might as well get off the bus, find a place to stay, and leave tomorrow morning when it is not rush hour.

Lu Yun yawned. He had taken a nap and his neck was uncomfortable, so he was bending and rubbing it left and right.

"I hate coming to Beijing the most. There are too many cars." He muttered.

"So arranging for us to play the game directly at the base, isn't that very thoughtful?" Chen Fang smiled.

This time, a total of 32 teams from five provinces and municipalities gathered at the Miyun Basketball Training Center which covers an area of 12 acres. The schedule is very tight, and judging from the parameters of the team names, they are of very high quality.

Among them, BJ and Tianjin account for half. Privately, everyone muttered that they were just sparring partners for the local teams.

Tsinghua High School, BJ No. 4 High School, Miyun No. 2 High School, Shijiazhuang No. 2 High School, Tanggu No. 1 High School, Nankai Middle School, Binhai Middle School, and Jizhou No. 1 High School are all well-known in the high school world. These are all traditional high school powerhouses in the north, especially Tsinghua High School, which has won consecutive championships.

Chen Fang really didn't expect that they would meet under such circumstances. It would be fun if they could be grouped together.

The clubs and provincial sports bureaus also sent their own youth training teams, all of which were U18. For example, Shanti brought a four-man U18 team this time.

The name of this invitational tournament is also very appropriate, called the Future Star Cup.

It's not wrong. Basically, in the five provinces and municipalities, the superstars of the next ten years will basically come from these 600 teams, nearly people.

Looking at the participating teams, basically half of them are high schools, and the other half are clubs, sports bureaus, and university teams.

The age limit is 18.

So the university teams are all composed of freshman teams.

"I heard that BJ King is here too." Several teammates in front were chatting.

"Which king?" Lu Yun interrupted.

Yu Haisheng looked back. He was quite wary of Lu Yun, not only because he got along well with Chen Fang, but also because this man had an unspeakable evil nature that always made people feel wary of him.

"Wang Tianjie from Tsinghua High School."

"Wang Tianjie?" Lu Yun said disdainfully, "I haven't heard of him. Is he as powerful as our Shandong King Chen?"

No one dared to say anything, but fortunately the assistant in front shouted, "Get ready, we're here, check your luggage, don't leave it behind."

Chen Fang was too lazy to blame Lu Yun, this guy often roasted him over the fire.

Wang Tianjie, of course, knew that in his previous life, he was still very popular in Peking University, surpassing Tsinghua University. He was the top pick in the draft and joined Beijing Enterprises, but after so many years of glory, he began to lose popularity in the CBA. In terms of intensity and competition level, he was not among the best.

But the name reminded him that during this time period, almost all the household names in the past were from this era.

Hu Jinqiu, He Xining, Sun Minghui, Zhang Ning, Zhao Yanhao, Hu Mingxuan, Xu Jie, Zhao Rui and others are all frequent players in the national team. Their national youth teams of 97 and 99 are considered the most talented group in history.

When I think of these names, I feel inexplicably excited.

Deal with the current ones first, you will have to meet these people sooner or later.

The next ten years will be the decade when Chinese basketball will head towards the abyss. These guys may be good in the domestic arena, but actually none of them can play well, and they are completely useless in foreign wars.

Chen Fang couldn't help but feel a surge of heroic spirit, and his hands and feet began to itch.

"What are you thinking about? Why are you smiling lewdly?" Lu Yun bumped into Chen Fang.

"I miss you so much that you will get sick." Chen Fang snorted.

"Sick? Damn, what disease could I have?" Lu Yun was angry.

"The disease below." Chen Fang quickened his pace and said, "I pray that I don't have to share a room with you."

"I pray that you won't get what you want, and I will pollute you today."

All I can say is that Lu Yun’s words were blessed, because when the rooms were assigned, the two of them were really assigned together.

"Fuck." Chen Fang didn't want to be special, so he could only spat in hatred.

The room was OK, with a desk, so at least I had a place to do my homework, but not much else. While I was cleaning up, someone knocked on the door.

Lu Yun went to open it. It was the assistant who came. He said, "Chen Fang, the coach asked you to go."

"Okay. I'll be there in a minute." Chen Fang responded quickly.

"Go early and come back early. I'll wait for you to take a shower together." Lu Yun lay on his side on the bed, posing coquettishly.

"Get out of here, you pervert!" Chen Fang raised his middle finger, closed the door and walked out.

When they arrived at the coach's room, Zhang Ruihua was looking at some information. When he saw Chen Fang coming, he waved, "Sit down for a while. I'll finish looking at this one."

After waiting quietly for a few minutes, Zhang Ruihua put down the information, rubbed his eyes, and said, "I called you here to tell you the basic situation of this competition."

"Coach, tell me."

"Well, this competition was temporarily organized by multiple parties. Of course, the intention was there in the summer. It was originally a four-party competition among Shanxi, Hebei, Tianjin and Beijing, but Shandong was temporarily included."

"We also hope that this cup competition can be held for a long time. This is the first time, and everyone hopes for a good result, otherwise it will be difficult to hold the next one."

"The venue is limited and divided into four groups. In principle, different areas are not in the same group,"

"The top four teams in each group will play in a crossover match, followed by an elimination match. The remaining eight teams will be divided into two districts, the left and right, and the top teams in each district will play in the finals."

"I calculated that if we reach the finals, we need to play 11 games."

Chen Fang's scalp was tingling. There were really too many competitions.

However, it is also in line with the significance of this competition system, which is to improve the players' abilities through a large number of games.

Training is the foundation, competition is the improvement.

To give a very vivid example, if you want to grow taller, the three meals a day are your training, and the process of your growth takes place during sleep.

That sleep is the game.

If you sleep more and eat more, you will naturally grow taller and faster.

Of course, this presupposes that you have the tall gene.

"We will stay here for seven days, and the subsequent time will depend on the situation of the knockout rounds. The competition will start tomorrow, and we will have a meeting after dinner."

"Understood, coach."

"The second thing." Seeing Chen Fang wanted to get up, Zhang Ruihua waved his hand to signal him not to move.

"This competition is also an opportunity for you." Zhang Ruihua looked at Chen Fang meaningfully and said, "Did Director Zhang tell you?"

Chen Fang recalled the conversation between them last Sunday. Zhang Ruihua understood what was going on when she saw his expression. She snorted, "I actually think that letting you know in advance is not a good thing. He just likes to play tricks on me. Humph."

Chen Fang was very embarrassed and had to lower his head.

"That's right. The coaching staffs of the two levels of the National Youth Team will also use this cup match to observe the players. Isn't this cup match called Future Stars? You can also think of it as the National Youth Team Cup."

Seeing that Chen Fang remained silent, and knowing that Chen Fang could not mention his benefactor, he softened his tone: "U16 and U18 are both hurdles. I now have an understanding of your level. I believe that Shanti will impress many people in this cup competition."

"That's why I need to remind you now."

"Chen Fang." Zhang Ruihua raised his voice.

"Coach." Chen Fang raised his head.

"It's okay to perform well, but don't get carried away. Your future will definitely be bright. Use your brain when playing, don't act on impulse, and don't perform to the limit just because you want to join the national youth team."

"I know, coach."

"I will build this team with you as the core."

"Tonight, I will announce you as the first captain. You cannot shirk this responsibility."

Chen Fang stood up in shock and said, "Captain, you are giving me such a heavy burden?"
"Surprised?" Zhang Ruihua narrowed his eyes.

"A little bit." Chen Fang calmed down and sat back down.

"Haven't you ever been one before?"

"No."

"Then let's go through it." Zhang Ruihua waved his hand: "Go out."

"Then coach, I'm leaving." Chen Fang quickly stood up and quietly closed the door.

Back in the room, Lu Yun was lying on the bed chatting, and when he saw Chen Fang coming back, he said, "After chatting for so long, the coach won't kneel on the ground and beg you to exert your strength. Take him to fly."

"Don't talk nonsense, it's just a simple chat."

"Heh." Lu Yun turned over and faced his butt towards Chen Fang's bed.

"Buh!" He farted loudly.

"Fuck you!" Chen Fang picked up the pillow and threw it at him.

"Look, you don't believe anything." Lu Yun didn't resist. The pillow was purely a sex toy.

Chen Fang had no other choice but to pick up his schoolbag and start doing his homework.

Lu Yun was actually very sensible. He never disturbed Chen Fang when he was working and always turned the volume of his cell phone to silent.

Half an hour later, someone knocked on the door and shouted through the door: "Everyone come out and have dinner together."

Arriving at the cafeteria, you'll be struck by the visual impact.

The huge cafeteria, covering several thousand square meters, was filled with teenagers of similar age wearing various jerseys. In addition to the coaches and support staff, there were about 700 to 800 people hanging around.

"Wear your badge and use your credentials to get the cutlery," a staff member reminded at the door.

They lined up obediently, got their cutlery, and walked towards the buffet with their plates in hand.

Everyone was looking around and talking in low voices.

"That's tall. Shit, maybe 2.2 meters tall."

"This one is so strong, it must weigh 200 kilograms."

Similar words keep appearing.

It can be said that a quarter of the best basketball elites in the country aged 16-18 are here.

Chen Fang lowered his head to choose food. Among the more than 600 people here, after ten years, perhaps not even one-tenth of them would actually become professionals, and most of them would go to the baseball field.

This kind of cruelty is something they don’t know now.

At this moment, each of them has a dream and love for basketball.

Anticipation, excitement, and excitement are the norm.

In Lu Yun's opinion, Chen Fang was disdainful. Sometimes, what you say cannot always be confirmed by your actions.

I have to say, after these days of contact, Chen Fang and Wu Zhen are very different.

Chen Fang keeps his ambition deep in his heart and constantly proves it with actions, which is completely different from Wu Zhen's undisguised ambition.

It’s hard to say that he admires him very much, but Lu Yun is very clear about one thing: people like Chen Fang will succeed sooner or later.

Because successful people all have this kind of personality.

You are observing others and others are also observing you. All the teenagers present know one thing: everyone here, except those on their own team, is an opponent.

Look at each other and ponder each other.

As for Chen Fang, the most inconspicuous one, he was hiding in the corner, eating his dinner slowly.

Zhang Ruihua, who was not far away, couldn't help but nodded secretly.

The reason why we chose Chen Fang is because of his calm and unhurried temperament.

Just as Lu Yun thought, in Zhang Ruihua's mind, only with this kind of temperament can one cross the single-plank bridge, break through the siege, and become a truly professional player.

It is definitely not the kind of team that has a shallow presence, is eliminated after a few years in the CBA, and disappears quietly.

After dinner, Zhang Ruihua brought the entire team of 14 people to the meeting room that had been reserved for fifteen minutes, not only because everyone needed it, but also because of his personal character.

He got straight to the point: "Three things!"

"First, make the rules clear. During these seven days, you are not allowed to go out without my permission. Those who violate the rules will be expelled and must buy their own tickets back to Shandong, and then be sent back to their hometowns."

"Second, Chen Fang will be the first captain, and Song Xuan will be the second captain."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a slight ripple in the audience and a buzzing sound appeared.

"Who has any objections?" Zhang Ruihua looked around the audience.

They were quiet all of a sudden, and he said in a loud voice: "One more thing, from now on, unless I call your name, you should shut up. If anyone has any opinions, raise your hand and tell me in person."

Now, the meeting room became even quieter.

"The third thing is that the draw will be held later, so the time of the pre-match meeting will be notified later."

"Chen Fang."

"Yes, coach."

"As captain, you have three things to do."

"First, discipline, including but not limited to the team's collective activities under any circumstances. You are in charge of this. I give you this right."

"Second, attendance. Every day here, wake everyone up at six o'clock on time, and check on their bedtime at ten o'clock at night. You don't have to report to me. If I find anyone violating your standards, I will punish them. You decide how to punish them. If you can't handle it, come to me."

"Third, morale. As the captain, you need to do things to boost morale on and off the field. If anyone gets cowardly or gets carried away, you need to deal with them."

"Did you hear that clearly?"

"Understood." Chen Fang responded with gritted teeth.

But Zhang Ruihua didn't react and just kept looking at everyone grimly.

Lu Yun responded: "Understood, Coach."

Everyone suddenly woke up from their dream and shouted, "Understood, Coach."

"Dismiss, go back to your rooms and wait for notification." Zhang Ruihua glanced at Lu Yun without any emotion in his eyes. He walked out with his hands behind his back, followed by his two assistants.

As soon as the coach left, the atmosphere in the meeting room became strange. No one spoke surprisingly. However, those who knew each other were communicating silently through eye contact and verbal communication.

Chen Fang was still trying to figure out Zhang Ruihua's decision when he heard Lu Yun applauding: "Captain, please speak."

"Clap, clap, clap." His applause sounded harsh in the conference room, but soon, more applause came.

Chen Fang glared at Lu Yun angrily. If he hesitated even a little at this moment, he would be looked down upon.

He walked to where Zhang Ruihua was just now, turned around and looked at everyone.

"To be honest, I just learned about the coach's arrangement." This was Chen Fang's first sentence.

"But since the coach gave me this responsibility, I couldn't refuse."

"Here!" Chen Fang pointed at the ground below. "There are five or six hundred people of our age, sharpening their knives to deal with us."

"What we have to do is to unite together and play every game well together."

"I, Chen Fang, will naturally rush to the front. Even if I am not the captain, I will not allow anyone to make trouble, whether on or off the court."

"This is my attitude towards playing. I like strong players and look down on weak ones."

"Of course, it's normal for someone to be dissatisfied. Just stand up and compete. You can come to me anytime, on or off the court."

There was silence below. Everyone was shocked by Chen Fang's aura and lowered their heads slightly.

Outside the corridor, Zhang Ruihua nodded with satisfaction, then tiptoed out.

He made a good choice as captain.

In the conference room, Chen Fang continued to speak.

"Since no one is talking, I'll just assume that I have no objection. Do you need me to repeat the three things the coach just said?"

"No!" It was Lu Yun who supported him again, and then sparse voices of "no" were heard in the conference room.

"Then from now on, I will be responsible for these three tasks. Please give me some face and don't make things difficult for me."

"Disband." Chen Fang was also straightforward and was the first to walk out.

He walked quickly and went to the bathroom to wash his face as soon as he returned to the room.

"Captain, captain, wait for me." Lu Yun followed in with a shrill voice.

"Are you comfortable being a lackey today?" Chen Fang asked after wiping his face.

"Comfortable, super comfortable." Lu Yun answered sincerely.

It was Chen Fang's turn to be unable to speak any more. He walked to the desk helplessly and tried to use studying to dispel the silence in his heart.

"I really admire you for being able to study like this." Lu Yun jumped back onto the bed, making the floor creak.

Chen Fang ignored him, took out a math test paper and was about to start working.

Lu Yun was out of ideas, so he took out his cell phone and started chatting with someone.

Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door.

"Chen Fang, the coach wants you to come over."

When he returned to the coach again, Zhang Ruihua didn't let him in, but just stood at the door and handed him a form.

"This is our group's opponent. Take it back. Wake everyone up at 6 o'clock tomorrow and gather downstairs at 6:15."

"Got it, coach."

"Go back and check for bedtime at ten."

"clear."

Zhang Ruihua then closed the door.

Holding the group list, Chen Fang did not rush to look at it, but returned to the room first.

"You're back so soon?" Lu Yun was a little surprised when he opened the door.

Chen Fang ignored him, returned to his desk and looked carefully.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but curse: "FUCK!"

Lu Yun came over and took a look at the list with an interesting expression.

After a while, he said, "This is going to be fun."

Tsinghua High School, Shijiazhuang No. 18 Middle School, Nankai Middle School, Taiyuan No. 18 Middle School, Shanxi Fenjiu U18, Beijing Enterprises U18, Hebei Sports U, Shandong Sports U.

There are exactly 4 high schools and 4 youth training schools.

A definite death group.

Only the top four can enter the knockout stage, and without winning four games, it is difficult to have any hope.

Chen Fang also understood what the coach meant. Simply showing it to him was to tell him how difficult this cup competition would be.

After thinking it through, Chen Fang pushed the form aside, picked up the pen, and continued working on the test paper.

For the first time, Lu Yun was really shocked.

Whenever there is a major event, there is calmness.

This ancient poem suddenly became concrete in Lu Yun's eyes.

Wu Zhen, you were right about the guy. Chen Fang is more than capable of matching you.

(End of this chapter)