Black Killer returns to save Zhejiang Autonavi： I am still the leader of Wanma

　　The CBA League is about to start. Zhejiang Wanma Men’s Basketball Team has played two warm-up matches in Xinchang and Tonglu with Jiangsu Nangang in the past two days, with one win and one loss. However, there were many Wanma fans in Tonglu yesterday

　　More concerned is Autonavi, who has returned to Wanma after three years –

　　Walking into Autonavi’s room, a plate of freshly finished shrimp fried rice and an unopened cup of egg drop soup were quietly placed on the bedside. Wide clothes and a white headscarf, a black beard, a hip-hop outfit lay on the bed staring at the laptop, and the whole room was surrounded by the characteristic American rap music – the most familiar old face of the Wanma team, Sam Autonavi, is back.

　　"Young teammates are very talented"

　　The topic started from the last few warm-up matches. Wanma won the Jiangsu Nangang team by 17 points in Xinchang the night before yesterday, and lost to the opponent by 10 points 82:92 after transferring to Tonglu last night. Since returning to Wanma, a few warm-up matches have given Autonavi, the "old Wanma", a clearer understanding of the team, and he also took the initiative to chat with reporters about the team that is familiar to him and unfamiliar to him. "Uh, you know, our team is really good. It looks balanced inside and outside, and everyone has their own strength. My old friend, Zheng Wu, he commands very well. If we work harder on defense, maybe we can create good results." Speaking about the team, Autonavi looked a little elated, and he then recalled his past in Wanma. "I remember three years ago, when I played in Wanma, it was always easy to get 40 points." At this point, Autonavi laughed confidently. "Of course, now I can still score 40 points easily, believe it or not. The problem is that this team doesn’t need me to score 40 points every game anymore."

　　"So what role do you think you will play when you come back to Wanma again?" Faced with this question from the reporter, Autonavi popped a word out of his mouth without any hesitation: "Leader!" To prove that he was not wrong, he repeated it again, "Yes, leader, I am the leader of this Wanma team now, I don’t need to score 40 points every game, but I want to organize this team. You know, as a leader, I will urge these young people to do their best in training and games. Of course, if the team needs me to score, I will also stand up and score, in short, everything is for this team." Speaking of the group of young people who have grown up in the Wanma team, Autonavi said that they are all very good and talented. He counted the young teammates he knew and did not know in turn, "Luo Zhi, Dawei (Liu Weiwei) are very good, Wang Nan’s shooting is very good, and our national team player (Ding Jinhui), I have met him, his shooting is very good, and his defense is also very active. His people are also good, and we cooperate well." After saying a lot of good things, Autonavi said solemnly: "You must know that these young people are really talented. I believe that as long as they work hard enough, there will definitely be several national team players in the future."

　　Of course, Autonavi has the most contact with Luo Zhi, who plays in the same position as him, and the Wanma team also very much hopes that Autonavi can help Luo Zhi improve his skills and awareness. When it comes to this hopeful star, Autonavi is very pertinent. He said that he often spends time with Luo Zhi and gets along well. He himself very much hopes to help Luo Zhi improve. "After the game, I often pull him [Luo Zhi] and talk to him about technical and tactical issues, and before the game, I also tell him: I will pay more attention to passing the ball to him." Autonavi said that the biggest problem with young players is instability, and only a lot of training and competition can help young players improve their stability.

　　"I am improving myself every day."

　　After talking about the team, it is natural to talk about himself. Autonavi now looks a little fatter than before, making people have to wonder how his current state is. Autonavi himself is not worried about this: "I am improving myself every day, but after the first day of training in China, I twisted my foot, so I didn’t practice much, but now I am much better, and there are no physical problems."

　　Of course, what makes Autonavi happiest is that he is back in Wanma, which he is most familiar with. When talking about his experience in the Shanxi team last season, he did not use words that are unforgettable to sum up, but commented very objectively: "There are big differences between these two teams. Shanxi’s team did not perform well. Last season, it belonged to the bottom team, but the players in this team are still very good. Maybe compared with other CBA teams, there is still a big gap in overall strength. In addition, the management of this club is not very good and there is some confusion. But whether it is in Shanxi or Wanma, the fans treat me very well, which makes me very happy to play in the CBA."

　　In addition to the fans, what makes Autonavi very happy to play in the CBA is that he has many friends here. "You know, Garnett (Guangsha’s foreign player, who played for Jiangsu last season) and I are neighbors in the United States, and we have a very good relationship. And the foreign player Jones hired by Yunnan this year is also my good friend. He was the scoring champion in the KBL league when he was in Korea. I am familiar with Rennes from Jiangsu and foreign players from other teams." After talking about CBA’s good friends, Autonavi did not forget to show off to reporters his good friends in the NBA – two big names "Wolf King" Kevin Garnett and Chauncey Billups, "Yes, I am very good friends with both of them, we often talk on the phone or something, you know, I was very concerned about NBA games when I was in the United States."

　　Looking at the shrimp fried rice on the table, the reporter asked casually, "How is it? Is the fried rice delicious?"

　　"Not bad. I’m used to the taste of Chinese food."

　　"Your headscarf is also very handsome!"

　　"Haha, yes, very handsome, but the beard is a little longer. In the United States, the pre-season training camp is very closed, so I have developed the habit of growing a beard at this time. When I return to Hangzhou in two days, I will shave it off."

　　Before leaving Autonavi’s room, he suddenly remembered that he should ask him what his goal for this season is. Autonavi’s answer is very American: "I want to win the championship no matter where, and for our team, this goal is not out of reach this year. Anyway, no matter where I go, I will do my best!"　

Editor in charge: Yang Shuo