Chapter 106: The Intensifying Preliminary Competition

A boy not yet seventeen has not truly settled his outlook on life or his values. His understanding of the world is still incomplete. After all, during the more than ten years he has lived, a great deal of that time has been spent learning the basics. Moreover, the environment in which Turgun grew up was, to be honest, somewhat unfavorable, and there were still many wary and sidelong looks cast in his direction.

It can be said that the greatest influence on such a child’s way of thinking comes from his parents and relatives, and his principles in dealing with people are also shaped largely by his family.

For Turgun to say such things to the members of Golden Deer Men’s Basketball did indeed show that he had grown up. He had formed his own views on all kinds of matters, he had come to understand the people around him, and he was no longer the little fledgling sheltered under the wings of his parents and sister.

After a turbulent yet exhilarating victory, Turgun, having weathered the trial, now looked every inch a man with a sense of responsibility.

In truth, Turgun had not refused Golden Deer Men’s Basketball on a moment of impulse. Indeed, Golden Deer Men’s Basketball was very strong, with a complete training system, and if he went there, the financial rewards would also be far beyond what he could obtain now. But Turgun knew his own strengths all too well.

In a basketball world where inside play was overwhelmingly dominant, players whose game centered on perimeter shooting did not enjoy particularly high status on most teams. Even many point guards, whose job was to run the whole team, were reduced to little more than dribbling across half court and waiting to shoot threes. Turgun did not know whether he would truly be valued if he went to Golden Deer, and even with the chief scout of Golden Deer Men’s Basketball standing there in person, no one could guarantee that Turgun would necessarily be made the focal point.

Yet here with the Frontier Youth Team, in Wang Lei’s squad, Turgun knew he was the most important core. The entire team, even Wang Lei’s whole tactical philosophy, revolved around him. That was something Golden Deer Men’s Basketball could never match.

What is more, from the very beginning of his professional training, Turgun had followed Wang Lei’s basketball philosophy, and he now enjoyed playing basketball that way. If he went to Golden Deer Men’s Basketball, who could say what style the coaches there would use?

The chief scout from Golden Deer Men’s Basketball even tried to persuade him, and even wanted Wang Lei to talk Turgun into joining Golden Deer Men’s Basketball. But not only was Turgun unwavering, Wang Lei gave no sign at all.

In Golden Deer’s eyes, Wang Lei was nothing more than a coach who did not understand the world. They believed Turgun staying here would only waste his talent. Perhaps many people would agree with that view.

But Wang Lei knew very well that Turgun would only be able to play to his true strengths in his hands. Put him under a coach unfamiliar with him, and Turgun might only be used as a moving cannon platform.

With regret and puzzlement, and of course with some resentment toward Wang Lei as well, the people from Golden Deer Men’s Basketball left in a huff.

As the four rounds of the preliminaries came to an end, the situation in the various regions of this National Games youth basketball tournament gradually became clear.

Although this was the first time the National Games had held a basketball competition for the youth category, every year before there had also been cup tournaments involving young players from different provinces and districts. But this year’s National Games-level event was, all things considered, relatively the highest in standing, and it also drew the greatest attention. After all, it was a reform carried out by the Republic in response to the current state of domestic sports.

Compared with previous years, this year’s preliminaries produced quite a few upsets, and some traditional basketball powerhouses were surprisingly knocked out one after another.

Leaving aside the Frontier Youth Team and the Mongolian Special Zone Youth Team in the northern region, the central region also saw its share of shocks. The previously little-known Jingchu Province Youth Team upset the traditional sports powerhouse of Central Yu Province Youth Team. A suddenly emerging inside-outside duo on Jingchu’s side completely blew Central Yu apart, the two of them combining for fifty-eight points.

And in the fiercely contested southern region, there were likewise many upsets, along with the rise of many new stars. In that region, quite a number of perimeter players also posted eye-catching numbers, which brought them, like Turgun, a great deal of attention.

After being accustomed to the old style of traditional inside players battering one another, fans now suddenly found themselves applauding the dazzling performances of perimeter players.

Compared with the excitement of the domestic regions, the newly added overseas region was also quite lively. In major Chinese communities around the world, many teams had been formed to represent their respective regions in this National Games event, and the youth category received considerable emphasis as well.

Just in the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia alone, five teams were set to take part in the youth preliminaries. Since the overseas teams were all quite far apart, this preliminaries stage for the overseas region was held in Singapore. As a result, the overseas competition was relatively more compact in schedule. Right after the domestic preliminaries had finished their four rounds, the overseas region had already produced its first advancing team: the North American United Team, formed by Chinese communities in North America, won all six of its games and secured a place in advance.

The North American United Team was full of mixed-race players, with outstanding physical gifts, and their style differed greatly from the one popular in the mainland. They too were built around perimeter players, but those perimeter players relied more on their superior athleticism to attack the basket.

In the preliminaries across all regions, many games received television broadcasts and live streams. The fiery energy of the young players, along with the talent of the gifted ones, earned recognition from basketball fans, leading to rather impressive ratings. With solid ratings, attention for the preliminaries began to rise.

As interest grew, more television stations and online media started following the event. Some excellent young players who had finished the final stage of the college league also found a fine opportunity to make a name for themselves. A number of outstanding young players who had performed brilliantly in the games rose rapidly to fame through such a chance, and many professional clubs, both in the country and around the world, began paying attention to this preliminaries stage. By now everyone understood that through this National Games, Republic basketball would undergo a major transformation. Whoever seized the initiative in this change would reap great benefits. And as for what that initiative was, it was obvious: these new-generation young players were the initiative and the foundation.

The department managed by Li Weihong also became busy during this period, because as the preliminaries grew increasingly heated, the number of registrations for professional athlete eligibility had surged sharply, especially in basketball and football. These two sports had the widest appeal nationwide, and the increasingly hot market for teams was also drawing in more and more young talents.