CHN – Donewald & Co out to prove doubters wrong

BEIJING (FIBA Asia Championship) - Anyone that has followed China’s national team since the arrival of American Bob Donewald as coach before the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey will know one thing.

The players, coaches and fans of his sides should always fasten their seatbelts.

Donewald-coached teams take a similar path to that of a rollercoaster.

There are ups, downs, thrills and scary turns.

No one knows what’s going to happen to Donewald’s China this summer at the FIBA Asia Championship, the qualifying tournament for the London Olympics.

His team, without the giant, veteran presence of Yao Ming, unexpectedly reached the Eight-Finals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey and followed that up with the title at the Asian Games.

China did not cover itself in glory in an on-court melee that occurred against a travelling Brazil team during a friendly in October, but they seem to have recovered from that unsavory episode which brought fines and/or a suspension for Donewald, some players and the Chinese Basketball Association.

The punishments have been served and Donewald is now keen to stress the positives as China.

The team that wins will earn a ticket to the Olympics.

The sides that finish second and third will be invited to the 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament where three other spots for London will be up for grabs.

Donewald once coached in London and has fond memories of his time in the country. He is excited about being the coach of a team that has a chance to win titles, and play at the Olympics.

"We've been together for a couple of months now," Donewald said to FIBA.com.

"They start early here. We had a list of 37 players and they brought in some young guys, took them through the skills developments for a few weeks, took them through some basketball stuff and gave them a few games and then let a lot of them go. We brought in the vets (veterans) after that."

"We went down to an island down here to do some conditioning for 10 days, then came back and started basketball stuff and went off to Australia and we played Australia once, then played them once in Singapore."

He has since trimmed his squad to 16 players.

The long journey

Donewald, who just coached China in a four nations tournament they hosted and led the country to wins over Australia and Montenegro, also coaches in China’s CBA.

Despite all the pressure and media attention, he says the job of leading Asia’s biggest national team is not a burden.

In fact, he enjoys it more than ever.

"No doubt about it," he said.

"It's a fun group to work with. It's a group that really works hard and they have a lot of fun together. We're kind of in this situation where it's just us.

"Our living quarters have been in the Olympic Village, so they couldn’t leave, and we’d eat together and have curfew. We’ve slept in the same area, practiced twice a day. Some of that brings a lot of chemistry, a lot of camaraderie."

"We film all practices and it's just a lot of basketball. We're certainly loving it and loving being with this group."

Donewald has plenty to take out of China's 16th place finish at the World Championship.

"Last year was huge for us," he said.

"Everyone here was doubting that we could do anything. Yao (Ming) wasn't playing, and back here in China no one thought we had any future at all. Lithuania was a great game, sort of a stepping stone - a great learning experience."

"We came off that and went into the Asian Games here in China. It's Asia's Olympics and the year before, on our own soil, Iran had beaten China by 18 or 20 points so people were doubting us again - even though we had done well at the World Championship - and we went in there and took the gold medal. "

"So we have a lot of confidence right now, heading into our FIBA Asia Championship, which is our Olympic qualifier, but we also are cautious. We know there are five or six teams that can win this thing, but we know we're one of them."

"We are kind of looking at it a little different right now. Instead of being full of doubt, we've got a lot of confidence but we're looking forward to a lot of challenges."

That China is cautious should surprise no one. This country loves basketball, but it has been humbled by Iran at the last two FIBA Asia Championships.

"Within our small little circle of players, coaches and leaders, we certainly have a healthy respect for these other teams," Donewald said.

“And we know we're in for a very tough competition. Outside our little circle, I think most people are not certain that we can win it.

"And the Iran coach (Veselin Matic), even though we beat them last year in the (Asian Games) Semi-Finals, has said, which is true, that they were without (NBA center) Hamed Hadadi and Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, their leading scorer who wasn't playing because of a knee injury."

"And he's put a lot out there that they can play better and we agree with that. He didn't have his best players for that competition."

“We have a healthy dose of respect for them, and I think the Chinese population has a dose of doubt (in us), but we're looking forward to the competition.”

The Lockout

If international basketball is now living in a state of unease following the decision of the NBA owners to lock out the players and shut down league operations until a new collective bargaining agreement is signed, there is no sign of panic in China.

Some countries are unsure about which players will be able to play because of the cost of insuring the stars with NBA contracts.

Donewald says there is nothing to worry about with China’s NBA player, Yi Jianlian.

"We're a little bit of a different animal over here because of the government," he said.

"These kids will play. They're not asked to play. They actually want to play. They're hungry to play. In China, the players play."

"So I don't have some of the same issues that other countries would have, that Argentina or Spain or Germany would have - even though I hear Dirk Nowitzki will play. Our kids want to play and they're really proud to play.”

What was the first thing that came into Donewald’s mind when he heard the NBA owners had locked out the players?

"What the lockout does do is that it throws a bit of a monkey wrench into our league because these owners want those players over here playing," Donewald said.

"What we'll see is that some of those free agents - I'm not talking about superstars - but free agents may trickle into the CBA League."

So the issue of Yi Jianlian being a no-show for China is an impossibility, at least related to the lockout.

"I don't get involved in those things," Donewald admitted.

"But related to Yi, there are two things happening with him right now. Number one, he's a free agent. I talked to Yi and he's excited, he's been in Florida working with his skills people, strength and conditioning people."

“We've got him on the same timeline as last year, which we felt worked well for him. Around the 14th is when he was due back in China but we'll not get him in camp until about the 19th or the 20th and he's raring up and ready to go. He can't wait. It's just a different outlook on these things. These kids, it's just what they want to do.”

So to repeat, the lockout insurance anxiety has thus far had no effect on Donewald or China.

"When you asked me about the lockout, it never even dawned on me," Donewald said.

"I am just in a different job. It didn't dawn on me at all. The only thing that struck me was, ‘Oh boy, I wonder what players are coming over here next season?'

"I actually just changed teams and I'm going to one of the bigger budget clubs in this league. I'm heading to Xinjiang.”

FIBA