Yang Hansen: I tried basketball because my dad asked me to lose weight. I once wanted to give up completely

Washington Post reporter Ben Golliver published a long article about Chinese player Yang Hansen, which described Yang Hansen's experience in learning basketball:

Although Yang Hansen is tall and his father is also well-known in his hometown of Zibo, his basketball prospects are not very bright from the beginning. He first came into contact with basketball when he was 3 years old and followed his father to play games. But the first two varsity teams he joined were disbanded within a few days.

Yang's father once asked about the local basketball circle around and finally helped him gain a position in a junior high school team. Yang was only 8 years old at the time, and the team was training outdoors in hot weather. Just two days later, he was reluctant to get out of the car for training. After his parents sent him there, he refused to get out, and even wanted to give up completely. Yang's father adhered to the traditional concept and hoped that his son would master a skill that would help him go to college; so Yang tried table tennis, swimming and taekwondo, and finally returned to basketball.

"I was not very good at studying in school, and I was a little fat at that time. My father asked me to try some exercise, figure out what I wanted to do, and lose weight. He said to me, 'Don't get fat.'"