Wang Yi said, "I haven't come across any exceptionally talented young people with organizational skills back home in recent years."
Yao Ming nodded too.
"I've been keeping an eye out for the past few years as well. This year, I even spent six months traveling around the country to scout for talent, but I still couldn't find anyone like that. Some are talented but lack organizational skills; others are good at organizing play, but their limited talent makes it hard for them to go pro."
Yang Yi had probably drunk a little too much baijiu earlier. His mouth felt dry, so he took a few more sips of plain boiled water.
He burped, then said, "We haven't found anyone like that yet, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. We've heard foreigners mock us for years, saying that with so many people in China, we can't find eleven who can play soccer or five who can play basketball."
"The truth is, it's not that China lacks talent. Our selection and development systems were immature, and there were other reasons everyone knows about. Take soccer, for example: you need money to make the cut. Even if you do, you need even more money to get on the field."
"As a result, many people with exceptional physical gifts but ordinary family circumstances were overlooked."
"That's how we ended up with the saying that China's 1.4 billion people can't find eleven who can play soccer or five who can play basketball."
"But in recent years—let's leave soccer aside and talk about basketball—with the reforms in Chinese basketball and the strong development program at Magnificent Basketball School, a lot of talent has emerged in China."
"Pang Bo and Zhang Yu, for example, both came through Magnificent Basketball School. Wang Le and Shan He were