Champion Creed

So, currently no one knows what consequences this argument will lead to.

Looking at the series of news in the newspaper, Del Harris was a bit worried about today's training.

"Will there be a problem? If Roger yells at Bateer again, do you think that guy will kill Roger? Don't mix him up with those NBA losers who dared to challenge Roger. Have you seen how Bateer flipped Shaq with one hand? He's definitely a dangerous monster!

You know Jeff, I coached in the Puerto Rican league in 1969, served as an advisor to the Canadian national team in 1994, and now I've become the first foreign coach in Team China's history. I understand international basketball better than most NBA and NCAA coaches.

And I can assure you that, no matter in which country, conflicts within a team are the worst thing."

Jeff Hornacek was also very anxious. He had been teammates with Roger, he knew Roger's personality; Roger was used to handling things as the "ruler" in a team, automatically considering himself the leader of everyone.

In NBA teams, this is not an issue. Since splitting with Shaq during his Orlando Magic days, Roger has been the undisputed absolute ruler wherever he goes.

But in the national team, he's an absolute rookie, having only been here for two days.

Most players on this Team China have been playing together for a long time, while Roger is just an outsider.

Bateer was selected for the China National Team back in 1992 and played in the Olympics in 1996. This is his third Olympics wearing the national team jersey. And he was unceremoniously yelled at by someone joining for the first time.

Can he accept such criticism?

Can Roger successfully become the ruler of this team?

Jeff Hornacek had no answers, just like how he couldn't predict whom his daughter would marry in the future.

As for this Team China now, there are simply too many variables.

With a nervous heart, Del Harris and Jeff Hornacek walked into the training ground, both hoping today's training could pass peacefully without any major incidents.

At this point, there were still 10 minutes left before the training started.

Most of the team had arrived, but the two main characters, Roger and Bateer, were absent.

Five minutes later, Roger showed up on the training ground, but Bateer was still nowhere to be seen.

The coaches started to get nervous, but after two more minutes, Bateer pushed the door open and entered.

He didn't say anything and just immediately began to warm up with the trainer's help.

Roger didn't look at him either, continuing to stretch with Joe Abunassar's help.

It seemed like nothing had happened yesterday.

Throughout the subsequent training, Roger and Bateer almost had zero interaction.

They didn't exchange any words, nor did they make eye contact once.

Fortunately, there were also no more conflicts.

Roger didn't continue to trouble Bateer, and Bateer didn't cause Roger any problems over yesterday's scolding.

For Bateer, he no longer wanted to speak with Roger.

Because Roger had embarrassed him in front of everyone, making him lose face.

A person who hadn't done anything for Team China before, on the first day, used him as a warning to others, which he couldn't just ignore.

But Roger's strength, achievements, status, and his confident aura to control the whole team made Bateer wary of confronting Roger head-on.

Bateer knew very well that if Roger persisted, Del Harris wouldn't let him play, and he might even be cut from the roster of twelve.

Chinese basketball, like NBA teams, has one thing in common — the person who can help the team gets to speak.

The Warriors rely mainly on Roger for revenue, expanding their influence, so even Mikhail Prokhorov listens to Roger.

And for Team China to break new ground, Roger is fundamental. Sacrificing some other things to stabilize the base is acceptable.

Bateer didn't want to leave like a deserter just before the Olympics, with his head hung in shame.

In Mongolian, "Munkh" means eternal, and "Bateer" means hero. The significance of Munkh Bateer speaks for itself.

Who doesn't want to be a hero who makes history?

Who doesn't want to fight with this team destined to make history?

So he didn't escalate the conflict with Roger, but refused to express friendliness either.

As for Roger, as long as Bateer didn't slack off, he didn't want any more interactions; he was only focused on the task, not the person.

They were both very mature professional athletes, knowing what they should and shouldn't do.

For Del Harris, today's training was a relatively good outcome.

In a professional sports team, having everyone as close friends is, of course, ideal, but it's not a necessity for success; it's merely icing on the cake.

The crisis between Roger and Bateer seemed temporarily settled. Although the outside world still speculated about Team China's condition and imagined Roger couldn't collaborate with this group of "rabbits", the team was making tangible progress.

With a system established, everyone knew their role.

On the offensive side, Roger and Yao Ming dominantly handled most of the ball. They didn't deliberately contest offensive rebounds, and once someone took a shot, the others immediately defended to prevent fast-break opportunities.

On defense, Del Harris emphasized confrontation, having everyone stand in a 2-3 zone defense, focusing on collapsing and rim protection, using teamwork and positivity to make up for the lack of talent.