Chapter Forty-Two: We Are Not So Different (Part Two)

The atmosphere grew silent following Wang Lei’s words. Although this young head coach was only a few years older than the players and usually seemed quite easygoing, at this moment, no one dared challenge his authority. After all, they were just students, not seasoned veterans of the game.

“Come on, fight! Why aren’t you making a move? Just use your fists—it’s at most a brawl, not a crime. Go ahead and fight!” The only voice in the venue belonged to Wang Lei. Everyone was stunned by his actions.

Aili Maihaiti stepped up to explain the cause of the incident to Wang Lei. Just moments after Wang Lei had stepped away, the trouble began. Though not a major issue, its impact was serious—normal competition within the team was healthy, but anything involving ethnic tensions would never end well.

“Cai Aihong, do you think that my private coaching with Turgun is unfair to you?” Having learned the cause, Wang Lei didn’t let Cai Aihong, the instigator, off the hook.

“Yes. I came here to learn basketball skills and experience. I don’t think I lack physical fitness, but you only teach this kid and ignore the rest of us,” Cai Aihong replied, despite his classmate Wang Zhaohui giving him repeated signals to stop and even tugging at his sleeve. But Cai Aihong, ever straightforward, faced Wang Lei’s question head-on.

“Turgun, tell him what I’ve been teaching you.” Wang Lei, faced with Cai Aihong’s direct accusation, wasn’t angry. He simply asked Turgun to explain his training.

“The coach only taught me how to run…” Turgun answered, sounding a little aggrieved. He hadn’t expected his situation to cause such a stir.

“That’s impossible. You’re dribbling every day,” Cai Aihong protested, unconvinced. He’d seen Wang Lei privately teaching Turgun at the edge of the court, giving him hands-on instruction, which left Cai Aihong feeling unfairly treated.

“It’s just running while dribbling…”

“This…”

Cai Aihong had never imagined that all Turgun had practiced these days were such basic drills. It was too simple—every player could do it. After physical training, Cai Aihong and the others also practiced dribbling. He couldn’t make sense of it.

“Do you think I’ve given him some magical secret? Or some special technique?” As Wang Lei dealt with the situation, the opposing parties began to calm down. The Uyghur student, Hawul Pratt, who had stepped up to defend Turgun, now smiled, believing the coach was siding with the Uyghur players.

“Hawul Pratt, step forward. First, I want to thank you for defending Turgun. Whatever your reasons, I believe you were standing up for your teammate, and that’s commendable.” Wang Lei’s praise made Hawul a little embarrassed; if he hadn’t spoken up earlier, none of this might have happened.

“But…” Of course, Wang Lei wasn’t just going to praise him.

“But you must still be punished, because you contributed to the division of my team. That’s something I absolutely cannot tolerate.” Wang Lei’s expression turned serious. To him, the most important thing about this newly formed team was unity. In his future tactics, ball sharing would be crucial. If the team remained divided, no strategy, however brilliant, would work.

“Since it’s your first offense, I won’t expel you. However, your physical training load will double, and you’ll be responsible for cleaning duties every day for the next week.”

“What? Why me? Cai started the argument—I object!”

“Don’t worry, you won’t be alone. Cai Aihong will join you.”

“You all know your status on your school teams. To be blunt, everyone here is a loser, because none of you were valued on your school teams. That also means I lack influence; I couldn’t recruit any star players.”

“So, you’re all a bunch of disappointed souls.”

“Now that you’re here, I want you to let go of all your prejudices and burdens. Focus your energy on training and the coming games. If you have any concerns, come to me directly; I’ll answer you personally. Don’t treat your teammates with suspicion, because in the future, your teammates will be the ones you rely on most on the court.”

“As for the training, since you all have doubts, I’ll explain it to you today.”

After announcing the punishment for Cai Aihong and Hawul, the matter was temporarily settled. Yet division had already taken root, and it would not be easy to heal. Wang Lei decided to share his own approach with these young players, so they could at least have a basic understanding and focus better during training. As for how to mend the division, that would have to wait for a future opportunity.

“The prevailing tactics these days rely mainly on playing through the inside, but we can’t play that way because we don’t have a proper center. Cai Aihong, don’t think I’m belittling you—given your weight and height, it’s impossible for you to play as a pure center.”

“So, since we can’t play mainstream tactics, what should we do? Wait to be crushed at the National Games?”

“In my view, the core principle of basketball is to put the ball in the basket. The mainstream approach is that the closer you are to the basket, the greater the threat. That’s true—when the offense’s center gets the ball under the basket, it’s easy to create a scoring threat.”

“But is that all? I don’t think so. I believe everyone’s thinking has become fixed. To change our situation, we have to look at it from another perspective. How do we pose a threat to the basket from farther away?”

“Shooting, what else?” Wang Zhaohui, the Northeastern lad, couldn’t help but interject.

“Exactly, shooting. Shooting does have uncertainty—opponent’s defense, our own state, even sometimes the crowd can affect your shot.”

“So, if we want to threaten the basket through shooting, we need excellent technique and the right timing. The latter can be achieved with tactical movement, but the former depends on your solid fundamentals.”

“All my training for you will be geared towards building those fundamentals. I don’t need you to show off fancy skills in games; I just hope you can, through constant movement and finding an open shot, put the ball in the basket.”

“I know you’re skeptical about this approach, but since you’re already labeled losers, why not try something new here? Maybe you’ll shoot your way to a brand-new future.”

Whether Wang Lei intended to distract them with his explanation or not, his ideas did capture their attention. The conflict that had just erupted was gradually forgotten by these young men.