BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The newly-appointed head coach of Beijing Aolong Basketball Club, Stephon Marbury, met with the team and expressed his plan and goals for the next season.
Earlier this week, 42-year-old Marbury signed a 3-year contract with Beijing Aolong to be the head coach of the CBA team.
Marbury had already formed his coaching staff, which seemed to be a good start of his coaching career. "I brought people that I knew, that I was familiar with. Everybody pretty much knows me. They know how I operate," he said.
Beijing Aolong is one of the youngest teams in CBA league. The team had been targeting the playoffs at the beginning of the last season, but only won eight games in the 46-game season.
"I can't stand here and promise to anyone that I'm going to come in, I'm going to help, teach the team to championship and win a championship, or, lead to the playoff," said Marbury about the goal for next season.
"I can say we will train like champions, we will think like champions, we will move on the court like champions, we will practice like champions."
In order to do a better job in the coming season, Marbury has already started his search for quality players, including former Miami Heat shooter Dominique Jones. "One person I am bringing for sure is Dominique Jones. He is a tough player. More importantly he can defend. He has a big heart. I think it's time for him to play in a big stage," Marbury revealed.
When he was asked about the coming CBA Draft and the hottest candidate of No.1 pick Wang Shaojie from Peking University, Marbury shows his appreciation.
"It looks like he is definitely the priority unless somebody else comes out. I visit him when he is playing. I think he is definitely capable to come into our team to play."
As former NBA star, Marbury continued his career in CBA from 2010, and served for a total of four teams in CBA. He helped Beijing Ducks to win three championships in 2012, 2014 and 2015, and then joined his current club, Beijing Aolong, where he retired as a player.
For his new role, Marbury admitted that he is a bit uneasy. He said he hesitated when receiving the invitation, because he didn't know if he was ready. But he made his decision because Beijing Aolong told him that "we need you", not "we want you."