Live broadcast, May 20-recently, Guangzhou men’s basketball coach Guo Shiqiang accepted an exclusive interview with New Express.
Q: To be fair, from the talent point of view, the players of Guangzhou Dragon Lion are actually not the best in CBA. If you use playing cards as a metaphor, your hand is just a pair of ordinary cards. But you play this card better year by year. What do you think is the reason why the team can reach a higher level every year?
Guo Shiqiang: indeed, since I picked up Guangzhou team in the first year, the players in the team may not have the best talent in CBA. At first, we didn’t have national team members or top stars. We have the most college players and the most players from the draft. We have to face this fact.
But I often say that no matter where you come from or what kind of players you are, after coming to the team, you have to do what I want.
To be honest, it is really a very difficult thing to enter the playoffs in three years. It needs to compete with strong teams for places. However, basketball is a team game. One person can’t win the game. It depends on the team’s efforts. In the past few years, I have built the cohesion of the team. This united fighting capacity and fighting spirit are also a manifestation of the sports spirit.
I told the players that playing basketball should be selfless, desperate and not relaxed on the court. Combine these together to make the team win more matches.
Q: It can be seen from the outside world that whether it is training or competition, your requirements for the team are very high. In three years, how do you make players meet your requirements on both physical and psychological levels?
Guo Shiqiang: First of all, of course, it is us (the coaching staff) themselves. We need to catch ourselves and use our working attitude and the charm of personality (laughter) to infect the team members. Because the players will also go to see the coach and see what the coach does. The requirements I put forward to the team, the team members must achieve these most basic things.
I took the Dragon Lion. I walked 7 people in the first year, 5 people in the second year, and 12 people in two years. This is equal to a team. The outside world or people in the circle said Guo Dao was too cruel, but I don’t think so. I still said that, not that I am cruel, but that he can’t meet my requirements, then leave my team.
Leaving these players, they have ideals and goals. They want to improve and improve every day in training, and they can stick to it no matter how hard they are on the court. This is consistent with our team’s goal, and all of us work hard according to this goal.
Q: For players who meet your requirements, you are never stingy with opportunities and will give young people a lot of playing time. Is this also a style you coach?
Guo Shiqiang: Generally speaking, young players have met my requirements. Last season, we had five players playing league for the first time, and it was normal to make some mistakes. We will definitely train young players and anyone will have a chance. For example, Liu Jiaxin, who came through the draft, signed up for him only after practicing with the whole team in less than two months before the league. His debut in the league was played first.
I always say that everyone has a chance to catch it. I will pass on all my experience to you, no matter my experience as a player or coach. I am almost 50 years old, and I will tell the players what to do when they are present in the league, how to enter the role faster, and how to play more smoothly.