Chinese men's basketball coach talks about the selection criteria: not the best, but the most appropriate

China Daily, December 26 (Reporter Sun Xiaochen) Watched the game and drew stars. Since coming to China on the 18th of last month, the new head coach of the men's basketball team, Alexander of Serbia· Jorjevich I have been watching the CBA League in Hangzhou and inspecting the players.

The famous coach's habit of drawing stars and rating his impressive players' faces after every game also aroused heated discussion among fans after media exposure. Today, in an exclusive interview with the Chinese media, Jorjevich openly talked about his criteria for selecting national team players and his expectations for future work.

"According to the performance on the spot, I gave some players one to three stars, which is so simple. I and the team have only come here for more than a month, and now is not the time to make any formal evaluation. This is just my way (remember some players)," Jorjevic said this morning in Beijing The basketball association office area of Longtan Lake introduced to the media.

"Today I won't mention which player specifically, but the players selected for the national team must first understand the weight of their jerseys, which is the highest honor a player can get. They must have professional quality and correct attitude."

"From Basketball From the point of view, the investment in defense is a prerequisite, and then the offensive end must be aggressive, which is necessary for basketball today. The basketball I advocate should also be smart enough. Players should be able to read the game and understand their roles. They should not only play well in the club, but also adapt to the requirements of the national team. They should be able to accept the different roles and importance in the national team from those in the club. "

"I always believe that building a national team does not necessarily require 12 best individuals, but 12 players who can best integrate into the team and maximize the competitiveness of the team. This is also the way I set up the Chinese men's basketball team."

Qiao Erjevich was interviewed (photographer: China Daily Wei Xiaohao)

Joining Jorjevich in China are two partners who have worked with him for more than 10 years - assistant coach Glen and fitness coach Mikhail Lavezzi. These two are the right assistants of Jorjevic during his coaching in Germany Bayern Munich, Turkey Fenerbahce and Serbia national team.

As for the level of Chinese basketball, Jorjevich said that he had a relatively full understanding. In the next year, he and his team are facing the challenge of leading the Chinese men's basketball team in 2023 World Cup And strive for Paris in 2024 Olympic Games The responsibility of directly qualifying. Time is limited, but Jorjevich said he would not lower his goal.

"For a professional basketball coach, this is really a huge and attractive challenge," Jorjevich said. "I understand how high the expectations of the fans here are for the national team. I have higher expectations than them."

"This is not to show off or talk big, but as long as I take over a team, I will prepare in accordance with winning games and medals, which must be the goal. Before each game, I will not admit that the opponent is stronger than us. Of course, I will also hold hands to congratulate the opponent the first time after losing."

"For next year's World Cup, there should be no upper limit to our goal."

Men's basketball coach Alexander Jorjevich is interviewed in Beijing (photographer: China Daily Wei Xiaohao)

In addition to the professionalism derived from his courage to accept challenges, Jorjevich also said that the Chinese Basketball Association has Yao Ming Such an expert leader is also an important factor in attracting him to China.

"We have spent a lot of time together, and he helped me understand the system and players here," Jorjevic said of the support of President Yao Ming.

"I will work with his wisdom, listen to his opinions and help him achieve his goal of achieving good results. I don't think it is necessary to say more about Yao Ming's position in the international basketball world. He is a big part of the reason why I accepted this job without thinking. He is very valuable to me and my work."

As for the next training focus and preparation plan, Jorjevic stressed the importance of physical training and overseas training. He said that under the rules of modern basketball, physical ability is the basis of all techniques and tactics. "30 years ago, perhaps talent and technology accounted for 80% of the dominant factors in the competition, and physical confrontation accounted for 20%. Now it is completely the opposite. Physical ability can often dominate the competition. So physical training will be a very important aspect."

Jorjevich also plans to negotiate and communicate with the Basketball Association, and try to arrange enough international warm-up matches for the national men's basketball team to prepare for the World Cup if the epidemic prevention and control policy allows.

"If you want to defeat the world's strong teams, you must always face them and adapt to their intensity and competition characteristics by playing against them. The Chinese men's basketball team also needs to play against the strong teams more often, and only by knowing themselves and their opponents can it be possible to defeat them."