Chapter 523: World Championship Champion?
Isaiah Thomas' words were nothing short of arrogant. He was simply disrespectful and acted as if he were an emperor ascending the throne.
This made Miami Beach's Pat Riley very upset. He directly launched into a fight: "Isaiah, it's not your turn to be arrogant now. Miami will continue to strengthen its lineup. Do you think you can be invincible just because you have Super Yang? We have LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Together, these two are enough to blow Yang away in minutes."
When the two general managers' criticisms were directed at Yang Mo, as the person involved, what reason did Yang Mo have to avoid it? When pressed by reporters on this issue, he replied dismissively, "Really? Let them try."
Yang Mo's domineering rhetorical question instantly ignited New York City's morale. Pat Riley's simultaneous use of Wade and James would have completely crippled anyone else, but Yang Mo wasn't alone. He wasn't afraid of these two top-five players teaming up. He was the top player in the league, and it was impossible for the two of them to defeat him. Of course, Yang Mo couldn't defeat them both instantly. A mutual defeat was more likely, but there was an 80% chance that Yang Mo would be the last laugh.
Pat Riley fell silent in response to Yang Mo's question. He couldn't quite grasp the extent of Yang Mo's power. But the regret he felt was unspoken. Everyone now knew Yang Mo was stronger than LeBron James, and the situation was no longer the same as it had been a year ago. A year ago, he had made the decision to expel Yang Mo in order to curry favor with James. Now… although he had secured James, he had incurred even greater trouble. This trouble was likely to hinder everything he had done, preventing him from successfully completing his championship quest.
The sound from Miami went silent. Not wanting to bash someone when they were down, Yang Mo simply told Isaiah Thomas to get back to work. He then headed off to film his second film. Meanwhile, the Chinese Basketball Association sent a message, requesting Yang Mo come over for a practice session. Yang Mo replied directly, "I will personally select the eleven players and send them the list in two days. All you have to do is send them to New York. I'll arrange training and matches for them. All those chaotic training camps and friendly matches in China are canceled."
Regarding Yang Mo's reply, the Basketball Association seemed a little embarrassed: We have already received money from sponsors, and we will not be able to report without the game.
"Then you should organize a national team to play in those money-making games."
Yang Mo's reply was simple and straightforward. The officials from the Basketball Association slapped their heads and thought that this was indeed a good plan, so they agreed.
Yang Mo sent his list around the third day. It was almost entirely made up of players born in the 1990s, with no national team veterans besides Yi Jianlian. When the list was placed on the table at the Basketball Association, officials couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. How could they possibly handle this? The factions behind these domestic basketball giants were so powerful, it was difficult to deal with them.
The Basketball Association was suddenly in a difficult situation. They tried to squeeze in one or two veteran players, but Yang Mo told them bluntly: If you don’t follow my list, I will withdraw and you can let them play.
When Yang Mo was compared to the other domestic players, even a fool would have known which one to choose. The Basketball Association had no choice but to grit its teeth and agree to Yang Mo's request. At this point, Yang Mo made a second request: No coach , no coach at all. The New York coaching staff would handle all the work, and the national team would only need to subsidize the Knicks coaching staff's overtime pay.
The Basketball Association officials were overjoyed at Yang Mo's second request; it was exactly what they had been hoping for. How could the coaches they hired be as good as those from NBA teams? And these second-rate coaches were incredibly expensive. Now, the Knicks were being kind and only asking for overtime pay. It was fantastic.
Yang Mo didn't think too much about it. He simply wanted to improve the technical and tactical skills of the young domestic players, nothing more. When the national team's chartered plane arrived in New York, Isaiah Thomas immediately sent a bus to take them to the Knicks' training facility, where they underwent scientific and systematic training.
This is a stark contrast to the traditional methods of steelmaking back home. With systematic, scientific training, everyone improves. This is a list Yang Mo specifically selected to ensure only players with potential are present. The national team needs to cultivate a new generation of players. If the old guard keeps hogging the spots, preventing newcomers from making a breakthrough, it will be a disaster.
Yang Mo successfully wrapped filming The Hangover 2 in just twenty days. Afterward, he returned directly to the training hall to train with the national team players. These players were roughly the same age as Yang Mo; some, whose ages had been altered, were even older. But they also knew that Yang Mo was the absolute authority here, and they had to obey.
"Do you know why I chose you eleven people?" Before the team started tactical training, Yang Mo specially called them together and started to give them a speech.
Everyone shook their heads. They were also surprised. Many of them hadn't even played in the CBA, yet now they were being called up to join the national team. This question had been bothering them. However, after arriving in New York, they didn't slack off in training at all. They didn't want to waste such excellent training conditions.
"It's because you're not seasoned veterans. You're young and full of energy, and this is the time in your lives when you crave victory the most." Yang Mo said calmly, "And at this time, you need a leader to lead you into battle. And that leader is me. I will show you what real basketball is, and what real fighting is."
There was silence below, but everyone's expressions were serious as they were digesting Yang Mo's words.
"The next training will be even harder. If anyone feels that they can't stand it, you can raise your hand now. I will immediately give you a ticket back home." Yang Mo continued, and his words were equivalent to giving the players a shot of prevention.
Ten seconds passed and no one raised their hand. Thirty seconds passed and still no one raised their hand. One minute passed and still no one raised their hand.
"Very good, since you're all willing to endure the hardship, then... let's begin the infernal training!" Yang Mo smiled faintly, clapped his hands, and called out the players from the Knicks' NBDL affiliate team. "Now, your mission is to defeat them. I hope you won't be like your national team predecessors, easily defeated by those rubbish star ."
As he spoke, Yang Mo walked to the side with a relaxed expression and studied mid-range shooting with Karl Malone. He was not interested in watching the Vipers players bully the weaker players.
The young men on the national team were initially beaten badly by the Vipers, and even dribbling the ball across half court was difficult. However, with the help of the Knicks coaching staff, they began to come up with some successful tactics. Although they still lost, it was much better than before.
Days passed like this, and the young men on the national team continued to improve. While the Vipers weren't a strong team, they were still a pack of wolves. The young men on the national team were at best like Pleasant Goat, but they continued to grow through their losses, their chemistry improving. Now Yang Mo had essentially thrown them into a den of wolves. If they didn't want to be eaten, they had no choice but to resist.
The greater their determination to resist, the more obvious their progress will be.
A month and a half slipped by unnoticed. Yang Mo found time to film a movie and, while on the side, traveled around East Asia, making some money. When he returned, he discovered that the national team had actually defeated the Vipers. While their individual combat capabilities weren't strong, they had formed a powerful team. Their defensive zeal and coordination were nearly the best of any national team Yang Mo had ever seen.
Yang Mo believed that even without her, these guys would definitely be able to achieve the best results in history in this World Championships, and at least reaching the quarterfinals would be no problem at all.
At this time, the big players in the country were in an uproar. They incited various media to hype up, thinking that they were in their prime and sending those green boys to Turkey was no different from asking for trouble. For the sake of national honor, they took the initiative to volunteer and expressed their willingness to fight for the country on the battlefield and return home in a shroud.
As domestic public opinion was somewhat swayed by their actions, Yang Mo returned to China with his new national team recruits and the New York coaching staff. His first act upon arrival was a press conference, where he stated clearly and precisely, "No matter how much the veteran players stir, I will not allow them into my national team. If they refuse to accept, they can challenge the current national team. If they can defeat a team without me, I will consider recruiting them. However, if they lose, they should shut up, be quiet, and get out."
Yang Mo's words immediately excited the bosses. Without Yang Mo's national team, what about those new recruits? They weren't afraid. They happily accepted the challenge and even asked for a live broadcast on TV.
Yang Mo agreed to their request very readily.
Then, on a moonlit night with few stars, the national team's internal battle was held in the Wukesong Sports Center in Beijing, and CCTV broadcast it live.
The national team's leaders were initially overconfident, confident of an easy victory. However, when they saw the rookies rush onto the court with such aggressive intent, they were stunned. Even more astonished, they encountered an impenetrable defense in the following game. They couldn't even make it past halftime under a full-court press. Meanwhile, the newcomers played with flying colors, combining for easy scoring.
In the end, the game ended with 99:51, and this was even with the newcomers giving enough face. If they hadn't relaxed their defensive intensity in the fourth quarter, the veteran team probably wouldn't have gotten even 40 points.
This was a resounding victory, a national victory even. With the exception of the elderly, no one in the country was unhappy. Everyone liked seeing the old replaced by the new, especially when this new generation was growing so rapidly.
At the press conference that evening, Isaiah Thomas confidently told Chinese reporters, "At least three players on this national team have NBA potential. Inside players Li and Wang are both very good players. Li's athleticism is better than many small forwards, yet he's nearly 6 feet 4 inches tall. And Wang reminds me of Yao Ming. Although he's a smaller version of Yao Ming, his inside game is very solid. Outside players Guo and Chen are both very good. Gao is also a very good shooting guard. If he can improve his defense and keep improving, he has a chance to be selected in the second round."
Isiah Thomas' words excited fans nationwide. The team had suddenly produced three or four NBA-caliber superstars. This was truly a golden age for Chinese basketball. The special training these young players had received in New York was truly worthwhile. The Americans were the best at training. If they could continue training with Yang Mo's team, who knows, their future achievements might be even greater.
After Isaiah Thomas praised the young Chinese players, Yang Mo said to reporters with certainty, "We are going to Turkey for the championship. The top eight won't satisfy us, and neither will a medal. We only want the championship. All of our players have reached a consensus on this."
"But our opponents include Germany, Britain, and the powerful American Dream Team," the reporter said worriedly.
"These are just a ragtag group of troops, nothing to worry about. The American team is no different from a compilation concert, there is no superstar at all, and the biggest star is actually Durant. It's wishful thinking for them to defeat our Chinese team with such a lineup. Wait until they bring out the entire lineup for the Beijing Olympics and then talk to me about the championship." Yang Mo acted arrogantly, as if he had already won the championship.
The Chinese people were naturally excited about this, but the US national team had a different reaction.
