A new season of sports
In order to prepare for the Asian Cup qualifiers, the Chinese Basketball Association announced the latest national team training list, and Guangdong Hongyuan's point guard Xu Jie returned to the national team after a year.
Xu Jie, who just passed the age of 24 not long ago, has been the main force of national teams at all levels all the way from the national youth to the national youth. After the blessing of Guangdong's triple crown, he was selected for the national team coached by Du Feng for the first time in early 2021. In the following two years, Xu Jie became a frequent visitor to the national team and never failed.
After Djordjevic took over the national men's basketball team, Xu Jie was defeated in the list of 18-member national training teams announced for the first time at the beginning of last year. Because it was the men's basketball World Cup Asian region qualifier at that time, the opponent was not strong, and the outside world generally believed that Xu Jie belonged to Qiao Shuai's exempt player. However, when the list of candidates for the World Cup was announced in the summer, Xu Jie was once again defeated.
As for the reason for Xu Jie's defeat, the explanation given by industry insiders is that Qiao Shuai does not like short point guards, and prefers players who can not suffer in size when playing against the backcourt of Europe and the United States, such as Zhao Rui and Hu Mingxuan. Xu Jie, who is only 1.78 meters tall, suffered on the defensive end when facing tall point guards in Europe and the United States.
Whether this statement is true or not is worth considering. The height of Zhao Jiwei, the main control of the men's basketball team, is only 1.83 meters, and Sun Minghui, who was defeated due to injury, is only 1.84 meters, and he is also a small point guard. If there is an outstanding comprehensive ability, or extremely outstanding characteristics can make up for the shortcomings of the lack of size, the selection criteria in terms of body are not immutable iron laws.
In the 16-man training list of the national team, Qiao Shuai selected a total of 4 point guards. Zhao Jiwei and Hu Mingxuan, who have never been absent since Qiao Shuai coached, Xu Jie, who returned, and Liao Sanning, who was selected for the first time.
Liao Sanning is a tall point guard that Qiao Shuai likes, with a height of 1.89 meters and an arm span of 1.98 meters, with excellent static talent. Under the tutelage of Marbury and Min Lulei, two head coaches who were turned into point guards, Liao Sanning has made rapid progress. Half a month ago, Qiao Shuai's first game when he returned to the domestic scene for the first time was to watch the match between Beijing Enterprises and Shanghai at the National Gymnasium. In that game, Qiao Shuai focused on Liao Sanning and Guo Haowen.
Among the point guards who have often been selected for the national team in recent years, Zhao Rui, Sun Minghui, Wu Qian, Guo Allen and Fang Shuo have not been selected. Except for Wu Qian, the other four were all injured.
The oldest player in Djordjevic's 16-man roster this time is Wang Ruize, a college player, who will turn 29 in a few months. Without the assignment of the Olympics and the World Cup, it is difficult for players over the age of 30 to make it to the national team. Wu Qian, Guo Allen and Fang Shuo, the registration age is 30, 31 and 34 years old respectively. Although Wu Qian is still in his prime, he has been unable to serve as a core ball handler in the national team after several years of national team training, and his performance without the ball is not ideal. Guo Allen and Fang Shuo have already passed their peak, and injuries continue.
Zhao Jiwei, Zhao Rui, Hu Mingxuan and Sun Minghui are Qiao Shuai's favored point guard candidates. Among the post-00 point guards, Xu Jie, Jiang Weize, Liao Sanning, Guo Haowen, and Sun Haoqin are all among the best among their peers. Jiang Weize, who is about 1.8 meters tall, is also short and long in projection, and the organization is not his strength. Jones had been in charge of the ball until this season, and he took on more playmaking duties this season. Guo Haowen's growth has stagnated in the past two years, and Liao Sanning and Sun Haoqin are inexperienced and need more high-quality matches.
Among the point guards with the strength of the national team, Xu Jie's competitors are injured and old. For the national team competition cycle during the Spring Festival, Xu Jie's return this time is logical. In Asian-level competitions, height is not a weakness for Xu Jie, and even becomes an advantage when facing Japan's diminutive backcourt. But that doesn't mean he's going to be competitive for the national team in the future.