JIANGSU (FIBA World Championship for Women) - Some who make the switch from player to coach do not find the transition easy.

Everything seems to be going well so far for Chen Nan, China's long-time center who finally called it a day with the national team after last year's FIBA Asia Championship for Women in Bangkok.

The three-time Olympian still had much to offer coach Tom Maher, averaging almost 13 points and more than four rebounds in seven games in Thailand.

She had 23 in a narrow semifinal defeat to Korea.

But Chen decided it was time for a change and Maher, knowing a good thing when he sees it, convinced her to work as one of his assistants with a China team that will compete at the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey.

She got her first real taste of the competitive fires of coaching in a recent friendly series with Cuba in the province of Jiangsu.

Chen admitted to the Chinese media that it was taking time to adapt to her new role, but also stressed that she cherished the opportunity.

One benefit to having Chen involved is that she has a lot of insight into her former teammates.

She believes the new generation is ready to make an impact.

"Sun Mengran and Lu Wen are shaping up extremely well," Chen said to the Chinese media.

Lu was an all-tournament selection at last year's FIBA Asia Championship for Women.

"The way these two played in the first two games on either end of the floor was very encouraging," Chen said.

"Of course there's a whole lot of things for them to improve. In terms of controlling the pace of the game, these girls have a long way to go, but I think given enough time and exposure they will improve."

Maher, in his second stint as China coach, has already called Chen a "big help" and sees only positives with her involvement.

The Australian coach knows that China have a lot of work to do from now until the start of the World Championship in Turkey if they are to make much of an impact.

"We don't have a superstar," Maher said.

"Lu Wen is a world-class player, she will star on the world stage.

"We hope some other players like Shao Ting, who have just come from nowhere, can be world-class players. We will see what they've got."

The national teams that Maher coached before like Australia, New Zealand, China and Great Britain have been known for their combativeness.

He says there are still a lot of unknowns with the current China team.

"[We're] still developing our style, they are all young players, there's no on-court leadership really, so we are developing slowly but coming along," he said.

"What I have to do is to identify international talent, players who can play at international level, not just the best players at the moment, but in the future who can represent China and win."

At the FIBA World Championship for Women, which tips off 27 September, China will compete in Group D against Angola, Serbia and the United States.

FIBA