BEIJING (China) - China are still firmly holding on to their position as one of the best basketball nations in Asia. However, that does not mean they are content with that status and are actually always looking to improve and prepare for the future.

This is evident from the recent announcement made by the national team program, concerning the training camp which will be held from September 1-20. The purpose of the training camp is to prepare for future FIBA events ranging from the Qualifying Tournaments for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, to the Paris 2024 Olympics focusing on the young up-and-coming talents from China.

Newly appointed head coach Du Feng will be leading the charge in his first training camp with 24 rising prospects:

"The national team gathers every year," Du Feng addressed in an interview. "This is a tradition, so we continue the previous tradition. As you can see, this time there are many young players and new faces gathering in the national team training camp. We hope to know more about these young players through this opportunity and train them for the future."

The average age of the 24 players is only 20.7 years, where the oldest player is Wu Guanxi who is 26. None of the players are from the World Cup 2019 squad and all have different backgrounds prior to their call-ups.

Some such as Shen Zijie and the aforementioned Wu are established names in the China Basketball Association (CBA) for their teams. Others like Wang Shaojie and Rookie of the Year Hu Mingxuan are making a name for themselves as one of the brighter youngsters in the local league. Youth national team standouts like Xu Jie and Fan Ziming will get a closer look as they inch closer to a senior national team debut. Players from university programs like Zhu Mingzhen are also getting their chances here. Foreign-based prospects such as Zhang Zhenlin, Zeng Fanbo, and Wu Yonghao are interesting pieces of the puzzle which coach Du will get a chance to figure out.

(Xu Jie, FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2018)

"I have been observing these players for a long time," he said. "We also tried our best to include the relatively young and outstanding domestic players on the list. This time, the players are not only from the CBA, but also from colleges, NCAA, U17, and U18 teams."

The three-week training camp will be separated out into several stages, which will help the players adjust and develop at a similar pace with each other.

"Because the training time is relatively short with only three weeks, the training plan will be divided into three stages," Du revealed. "Due to the different physical conditions of each athlete, the arrangements for the first week is mainly for everyone to adapt and understand. In the second week. we are going to focus on physical contact, and the third week will focus on overall tactics."

"These three training processes will give the coaching staff a chance to know these players better."

While the listed players are lesser-known names as compared to the likes of Zhou Qi, Guo Ailun, an Yi Jianlian, coach Du does not want anyone to consider the group with less pride than that of any other China national team squad.

"The point I want to emphasize here is that although this national team includes a lot of young players, it is still the national team," he said of what is expected of the players from this training camp. "All members are wearing national team jerseys. Strict requirements and management should be implemented and I do wish everyone views themselves as a member of the national team."

"It is honor to join the national team. The good tradition of the national team should be inherited by these young players. Though 20 days is not long, I hope they can gain something, seize good opportunities, and grasp the future."

FIBA