Chapter 188 Not a Rich Second Generation

Yao Ming had no reason to lie to Tang Tian. If Lin Huanyu said so, it was probably just because he didn't like being called a rich second generation.

After all, in this era, the meaning of many words had changed, with "broad and profound," "high noon," and "everyone can sleep with him" all being given new meanings.

"Rich second generation" was originally a neutral term, but it also had a slightly derogatory connotation.

"Hello, I'm Tang Tian."

Tang Tian also smiled and reached out to Lin Huanyu.

After shaking hands and exchanging greetings, the three sat down across from the coffee table.

After sitting down, Tang Tian took another look at Lin Huanyu.

He was a little curious as to why Yao Ming would suddenly bring a rich second generation over.

This wasn't something he had actively requested from Yao Ming, and frankly speaking, playing basketball in the United States, he didn't need to know wealthy people in China because they didn't have any intersection.

Yao Ming also knew Tang Tian's doubts, and after chatting for a few words, he cut to the chase.

"I want to pilot new basketball schools in China, and I'm also preparing to implement a CBA draft system to turn basketball into a profession."

Yao Ming's words made Tang Tian very interested.

The reason Chinese basketball was so poor wasn't just the physique of the yellow race, but more so the basketball system, or rather, the lack of a system.

And the so-called lack of a system meant there was no proper professional path.

To put it bluntly, Americans playing basketball had a goal. They knew they had a chance to play in the NBA.

And from junior high school to high school and college, it was a very standardized professional path.

If you wanted to play in the NBA, the main way was through the draft.

To be drafted, you had to work hard in college to get into a Division I NCAA team, or even a super powerhouse.

And to get into these schools, you had to make a name for yourself in high school, becoming a five-star or even higher-rated player.

And to make a name for yourself, you had to show talent in junior high school to get the chance to enter these high schools.

And to stand out in junior high school or even earlier, you had to start training hard from a young age.

This was a progressive, clear path to the NBA.

It seemed like studying, but it was actually a way of selecting basketball talent.

This was the professional path that China currently lacked.

China had 1.3 billion people, but only a million or so actually participated, and only a hundred thousand or even fewer could truly take the professional path.

So, to improve the level of Chinese basketball, it wasn't something that could be done overnight. The most important thing to do was to professionalize it.

Only when parents knew that their children could make a living by playing basketball would they let their children go down that path, rather than simply relying on love.

You always had to eat. Only by solving the problem of living could you talk about love.

The basketball school and CBA draft that Yao Ming mentioned were both very crucial points.

Most of the current schools were geared towards exam-oriented education, and it would be very, very difficult to promote basketball in these schools.

Instead of doing that, it would be better to make a new cake. As long as a few could be made and be successful, there would be more and more of these schools.

And in the future, perhaps they could cooperate with some famous schools.

At that time, CUBA could truly become the same as the NCAA.

And the draft was an even more crucial part of it.

Most of the current CBA talent came from the teams' own youth training and development.

Starting with children was the right way to go and suitable for the present.

But this shouldn't be the path after professionalization.

Because the talent selection mechanisms of each team were different, there were too many missed talents, and too many true basketball geniuses were buried.

Even during team selection, there would be money-power transactions, rigid training, and so on.

Many of the players trained in this way lacked emotional intelligence, which greatly restricted their potential.

So the draft was the fundamental way to solve this problem, giving missed talents the opportunity to enter the CBA.

Of course, basketball schools and the draft had to be combined to maximize their effectiveness, otherwise ordinary people would rarely be better than those trained by the teams.

This would be a long road, but if you wanted to revive basketball or even take it to the next level, this was the fundamental solution.

And this point was also perfect.

What was better now than before was that there was Tang Tian, the ultimate template.

Back then, when Yao Ming became the top pick in the NBA draft and made a name for himself, many centers emerged in Asia, and Yi Jianlian and Haddadi both played in the NBA.

This was the effect of role models and pioneers.

And now that there was Tang Tian, a swingman, the scope of this effect had been expanded.

Asians could play basketball not only because they were tall, which would make CBA teams and basketball schools not take height as the only standard when selecting talent.

Technique was also talent, effort was also talent, and ambition was also talent.

With the advent of the small-ball era, the saying that basketball was just a sport for giants was no longer applicable.

This was an opportunity for Chinese basketball to rise.

Yao Ming was indeed not just a player. His clear planning ideas coincided with what Tang Tian had done in his previous life.

It was also in their conversation that Tang Tian knew the reason why Yao Ming introduced Lin Huanyu to him.

To build a new basketball school, the most important thing was money.

This Lin Huanyu was willing to pay.

And as he said, he wasn't a rich second generation, but a super-rich second generation.

Yao Ming envisioned piloting five schools in second- and third-tier cities such as Hangzhou, Tianjin, Xiamen, Xi'an, and Guiyang.

The reason for not choosing first-tier cities was to temporarily avoid the problem of competing with CBA players for sources of students.

And Lin Huanyu was willing to fully invest in these five schools.

This was no small amount of money. If his family wasn't particularly rich, a rich second generation couldn't afford to play like this.

However, there were too many hidden rich people in China, and it was impossible to get to the bottom of this kind of thing, but it was enough that people were willing to pay.

"My family has mines."

This Lin Huanyu was quite humorous.

However, from Yao Ming, Tang Tian knew that the real reason he was willing to invest was his love for basketball and his admiration for him.

That's right, this Lin Huanyu was a fan of Tang Tian.

"I'll also contribute some money."

Tang Tian had used his money to buy yachts and houses, and his savings weren't that much.

But it was no problem to contribute a few million dollars.

Yao Ming acted quickly. The day after chatting with Tang Tian, the Basketball Association announced that it would launch a CBA draft system next year.

This was the first step, and this step had already attracted huge public opinion.

Many people supported it because it meant that ordinary people could play professional basketball if they worked hard.

Many people were also pessimistic because the gap between ordinary people and young professional players was too large, and current college students couldn't play in the CBA at all.

Some people also said that the Basketball Association was imitating others and doing useless work.

But in any case, this was the first step Yao Ming had taken for Chinese professional basketball after being elected chairman of the Basketball Association last year and integrating resources.

This meant change, and it meant a lot.