Woke up for an early breakfast with some western food available. It was ok. We then had a video session and off to the stadium for practice. Another police escort today. It is fun to watch.
After practice we grabbed lunch and then I went for a walk with our team manager. We walked to some different spots in the city and found some unique shops. The temperature during our walk was approximately 46 degrees. It is warm here.
We came back to the hotel to prep for the game and get ready to hit the bus at 6pm. We exited the hotel and their were people waiting to see us and the police had another escort waiting. It is cool to see all of the officers along the way stopping traffic to let us go. We feel almost like we are big time.
At the arena the people were very nice and about 4000 people came to see the game including a small contingent from Canada waving the Canadian flag. Watching the Chinese team warm up was a sight. Their coach is one of the best in the world and their conditioning coach came and introduced himself to me. He worked with the Sacramento Kings and came to China to help them get ready. They are investing a lot into this Olympics. There were 13 TV cameras shooting the event, more than an NBA game. They were doing a practice run for the Olympics with overhead cameras and the whole nine yards. Very cool except for the fact that the TV guy who was shooting in our time out huddles didn't understand the game and was getting between Coach Marquis and the players.
The Chinese players are big and skilled. Their starting post player, Nan Chen, is one of the best in the world. She is about 6'7" with long limbs and moves really well. They also have another big girl inside who takes up space well.
The game featured a bit of an opening ceremony where gifts were exchanged and the teams were announced. When they finished our team they played the National Anthem. That was a moment that I will never forget as long as I live. What an unbelievable feeling that was. To represent your country and hear that anthem was amazing.
The game was much better than we anticipated. We ended up losing 96-70 but thought it could have been much worse. They are talented and are tuned up for the Olympics. We played hard in spurts and were nowhere near physical enough. They dominated us in one stretch for a 17-0 run that pretty much settled the game. When we played hard at both ends we hung with them. The key a this level is the little things. You need to screen harder, run harder, attack the basket harder and basically play TOUGH. Our posts need to play tougher in the next game and we need to play harder overall. The execution of the details is a must. China just displayed some awesome basketball at times that shows that they have been together for a while.
Tomorrow is an early wakeup and an 8am breakfast followed by an hour long bus ride to Zhangjiagang to get ready for game 2 of the trip. Hopefully it will be a better effort than tonight.
A nice side note about tonight's game were the fans. There is no home court advantage. they cheered for both teams and were very nice to us. They beat on their thunder sticks and some brought drums. There was non stop noise in the arena. They came down to the court after the game to get some autographs and take some pictures. It is fun to interact with the different people here. They are so nice and friendly.
So off I go to pack my bag and watch the video. Lots of work to be done and then some sleep. Last night I went to bed just before midnight and was wide awake at 4:30AM so hopefully I will get some rest tonight.
The Journey Continues
Coach
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