The first time I saw Liu Ziqiu, it was five years ago. On the afternoon of early autumn in Beijing, I played the first three-on-three match in the outfield. That afternoon when the sky was actually cloudy, I don’t know why it was beautiful in spring. Who won the contest has been forgotten, and the dunk champion is also vague. The only thing that is clear is Liu Ziqiu’s sunny smile. When I called Liu Ziqiu, his arm had just had its plaster cast removed. "Why do you call me’ sunny’? It sounds a bit like" Pig with Bright Spring "."
The legendary first handsome boy
Being called "Rukawa Kaede" is a kind of high praise in the era of Slam Dunk Master. If you happened to have studied in a university in Zhongguancun area in the first three years of this century, and you happened to be a girl who loves slam dunks, then you must have heard of the beautiful legend of "Tsinghua Rukawa Kaede". Who is the first handsome boy in CBA? In Xu Sanduo’s words, "what’s the meaning"? One hundred people have one hundred answers. But if you want to ask the first handsome guy in college basketball, it must be Liu Ziqiu. When Yang Chaoyuan didn’t appear, Liu Ziqiu was an absolute "killer", and all the women from seventy to seven were fond of him.
But there are rumors where there are people. As Liu Ziqiu became more and more famous, the legend became less positive. Even his girlfriend who has been stable for many years has been dug up by fans and fans. Those girls who were keen on waiting in Tsinghua Arena were no longer calm when they watched Liu Ziqiu leave hand in hand with his girlfriend. "His girlfriend is very ugly", "a person who is very proud is annoying to look at" and "seems to be a little squint" … all kinds of rumors are everywhere. When I first met Liu Ziqiu in that three-on-three competition, he was accompanied by his "demonized" girlfriend. In fact, it was a quiet and slightly ordinary girl. "It was her plain temperament that attracted me the most," Liu Ziqiu later said.
For boring rumors, Liu Ziqiu is very light. After all, the university is still a relatively simple environment. It is just a kind of talk after dinner, and no one is malicious. But the rumor didn’t stop, and it spread to the year when Tsinghua participated in the Super League. Liu Ziqiu’s performance in the team is dazzling, and most people are curious about his private life. Some fans sent gifts to his dormitory, "Liu Ziqiu is very greedy for money"; Someone invited him to dinner, "Liu Ziqiu is very stingy"; Seeing that he has a car, "80% is a dude"; His girlfriend is well-off, "another gigolo who eats soft rice." The more people praise him for being handsome, the more outrageous the rumors become. What kind of person is the "first handsome boy"? Until the summer of 2005, Liu Ziqiu was selected for the men’s basketball team of the World University Games, and he had the first friend-like talk with him at Shengtang Hotel, the resident of the training team outside the West Gate of the National People’s Congress. Liu Ziqiu is a handsome guy whose heart is as clear and clean as his smile.
Play low-key and be high-profile
Although coach Huang Yunlong still resents Dachao and the major sports associations, and has said that Tsinghua will never participate in Dachao League again, he has to admit that "the players who compete with the National People’s Congress for the championship are the best in Tsinghua in recent years, and I’m afraid it will be difficult to have such a good level in the future". And Liu Ziqiu is the pillar of those players. In the finals of the first Super League, Liu Ziqiu and Zhao Nan formed the Tsinghua Gemini against the Three Musketeers of the National People’s Congress composed of Yang Chao, Xie Libin and Hou Ye. The strength of the core players was 2-3, which doomed Tsinghua’s failure from the beginning.
At the award ceremony, Zhao Nan threw the silver medal put on him by the leader into the stands to vent his resentment. Liu Ziqiu was calm, and he was upset at home. He also had too much reluctance. He was no less miserable than anyone on that frustrated night. However, Liu Ziqiu didn’t appear in the famous "Ximen Chicken Wings" in Tsinghua that night, so he couldn’t see his teammates as drunk as a fiddler, and wept bitterly after being drunk. Later, he said, "Huang Dao didn’t go that night. He didn’t like us getting drunk, and he didn’t want a group of men to use tears to relieve their pain. Besides, everyone was in a bad mood when they lost the game, knowing that the scene would be terrible, they shouldn’t have done that." In fact, Liu Ziqiu was right. Those big men who were drunk almost got into trouble on campus, and they were also criticized by the coach the next day. Liu Ziqiu said, "In school, especially in an institution of higher learning like Tsinghua, you are a student first, then a player, and you should keep a low profile when playing."
Liu Ziqiu, who has always been "going his own way", made his teammates complain about him. Although he is still Huang Dao’s most important warrior, he often faces the dilemma of not having the ball on the court. His teammates would rather make a mistake than pass it to him. Therefore, Liu Ziqiu became very independent, and the team gradually declined. Tsinghua men’s basketball team, which once dominated the Super League, is now difficult to qualify in the Northeast Division of CUBA. Faced with such a dilemma, Liu Ziqiu was heartbroken, but he was unable to change the status quo of the team, and even more unwilling to give up the principle of being a man. "I admit that my temper is a little hard, but sometimes I think it’s wrong to look at their attitude of fooling around. Sports students can’t embarrass Tsinghua!"
Beijing men who are homesick
"My family conditions are ok. I don’t need to earn money by playing basketball, but after practicing for these years, I feel that my level is ok, so I want to prove it." Seeing that "Little Brother" Yang Chao has gained a firm foothold in CBA, Liu Ziqiu made up his mind to go to the professional league when he graduated. Immediately, I met with the basketball agent introduced by my friend and made a detailed training and trial training plan. "I want to go to the Beijing team most," Liu Ziqiu said at that time. But surprisingly, after nearly three months of hard training, the Beijing team didn’t give him a chance, and Min Lulei didn’t even watch his training once. At this time, faced with the "olive branch" thrown by the Yunnan team, Liu Ziqiu said helplessly, "Let’s go, the Beijing team has no place for me."
Just a month on the plateau, Liu Ziqiu couldn’t adapt. "I regret that my intestines are green, and this place is very desolate!" Liu Ziqiu is an authentic Beijinger, but he is a Mongolian. "This has nothing to do with the nation. I have lived in Beijing since I was a child and I am really used to it. Although I used to play ball and often run around, I have never left home for such a long time, and I can’t go back for a long time." No matter how homesick he was, Liu Ziqiu persisted, and his CBA debut ended with 24 points. I thought it was time to show my skills, but I didn’t expect Liu Ziqiu to be injured in the second game, and the rest was three weeks. "It’s all my own inexperience. I insisted on blocking my opponent’s ball. My elbow joint was hit hard. I thought it was broken. Fortunately, it was only a soft tissue injury, but I also needed a plaster cast." Liu Ziqiu, who immediately returned to Beijing to recuperate, said, "This is also every cloud has a silver lining. It feels so good to be home!"
On the day when the plaster was removed, Liu Ziqiu said that he would definitely report back to the Yunnan team before November 23rd. After a brief greeting, he was a little silent and made a few remarks. He said, "When I left Beijing, I wanted to make great achievements, but now … maybe I won’t play next year. When I went back to school to participate in the basketball game in the courtyard that day, I still liked the feeling of campus. We Beijingers are all homesick!"
Editor: Shuo Yang
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