Next-gen thinking puts trust in youth

The CBA says the camp will help the team prepare for the Olympic basketball qualifying tournament, where China will face five much stronger contenders in a battle for one Olympic ticket, as well as next year's FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.

With China's current aging roster no longer competitive enough, rejuvenating the program with new blood is now the priority, said head coach Du Feng.

"We called up a lot of young players and many new faces this time, which is quite unusual for a national team camp," said Du, who took the reins in October after China finished 24th at the World Cup, its worst ever ranking.

"It offers us a chance to learn more about them and develop these young talents. It's time to take the future development into consideration," added Du, who is also coach of CBA champion the Guangdong Southern Tigers.

Young Guangdong guards Hu Mingxuan and Xu Jie are included in the camp after the back-court combo played a major role in helping the Southern Tigers win their 10th CBA title earlier this month.