Not long after Xu Yong arrived at the training hall, Cooksix followed.
After training with Xu Yong for two months, he is more familiar with Xu Yong's training habits than Harden.
After Xu Yong saw him coming, he directly returned the Xbox 360 to him.
However, Cooksix did not reach out to take it, but said: "Xu, you have trained me for so long, this is what I want to thank you for."
Xu Yong was stunned for a moment, this Cooksix is quite understanding of human nature~
But he shook his head. He understood Cooksix's family conditions. His father abandoned his wife and son when he was young, and his mother raised him alone. It was a classic African American family.
With such family conditions, I must have paid a lot to buy this Xbox360.
Moreover, it is better to say that he led Cooksix to train, but it is better to say that the other party acted as a moon boy for him.
"Then leave it to you. I have to work part-time on the weekends and I don't have time for this." Cooksix still didn't answer.
Xu Yong was also quite emotional when he saw this.
It was Cooksix who took the initiative to find him at the beginning. He thought that the other party would give up after a period of time, but he didn't expect that two months had passed in the blink of an eye.
He then suggested: "If you don't need it, then put it in the locker room for entertainment before training. As for the money you spend, I will let people who want to play share it equally."
Cooksix looked slightly disappointed, but still nodded.
If Xu Yong insists on refusing to accept it, this is indeed the best solution.
After putting the Xbox 360 on the stool aside, Xu Yong then said: "My training method may not be suitable for you."
Cooksix was overjoyed when he heard this. He could tell that Xu Yong intended to give guidance, and immediately said: "Then what should I do?"
He was impressed by Xu Yong after witnessing Xu Yong's impressive performance when he first joined the team. Later, he trained with Xu Yong, and he even admired Xu Yong.
This is no exaggeration. He has never seen anyone as perseverant as Xu Yong before.
And more importantly, Xu Yong's clear career plan was something he had never seen before.
"I can only make some suggestions, but the choice depends on you." Xu Yong said after careful consideration.
Cooksix nodded.
Seeing this, Xu Yong also sat down first, and Cooksix followed suit and sat aside.
"Your biggest problem is that you came into contact with basketball late, and your skills are rough, especially your poor shooting. Your advantage is that you have height and a good wingspan. Before you improve those problems, my advice to you is to focus on defense and focus on defense. Elevate yourself to the NCAA elite level and ensure that you get playing time." Xu Yong said.
His proposal did not come out of hand, but was based on many successful cases.
Players such as Leonard, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and other less well-known swingmen all started on defense and then established themselves in the NBA.
This reason is also very simple. Defense is a thankless job, and most contributions will not be reflected in the data. This has also led to many stars being unwilling to invest too much on the defensive end.
But there is always someone to defend, so rookies who have just entered the league, especially those with obvious flaws or deficiencies on the offensive end, will use defense to gain playing time.
Because although defense will not be reflected in the data, the team's head coach can see it. Every team needs stars, but it also needs hard-working defensive players.
The same applies to Cooksix.
But the disadvantage of doing this is that you really won't get much data, especially in the NCAA. Without data, it is difficult to be noticed by NBA scouts.
So Xu Yong can only say that it is a suggestion. As for how to choose, it depends on Cooksix himself.
Cooksix was lost in thought. This was not an easy choice for him.
Seeing this, Xu Yong stood up and started stretching, preparing to start training.
Just after Xu Yong finished warming up, Cooksix also made his choice.
"I have four years to improve my defense first, and then slowly develop my offensive skills. It's completely timely."
Xu Yong smiled and nodded when he heard this. If Cooksix has this patience, even if he can't enter the NBA, he can still make a living in basketball.
And Cooksix's choice is also a good thing for the Devils. The team's defense will not be much worse with Ayers and Xu Yong on the inside, but Glasser and Harden on the outside are not good defensive players, especially Harden also needs to invest heavily in the offensive end, and the only one who can bear the heavy defensive responsibility is the small forward.
As for Shipp, he lacks size, and as a veteran, he is unwilling to invest too much on the defensive end. If Cooksix can finally step up, it will be an improvement to the Devils' strength.
"Then what are you waiting for? Come on." Xu Yong reached out and greeted.
…
The Xbox 360 was finally placed in the locker room. There is also a TV in the locker room, and you can play after you connect it.
Everyone on the team has shared this Xbox 360. For them on campus, there are not many ways to provide entertainment.
And after sharing, the contribution required by each person actually becomes very little.
This is just like the country building aircraft carriers in the future. One person only needs one cigarette, and aircraft carriers can be built non-stop.
Harden soon bought the latest version of "Halo 3", a popular first-person Star Wars shooting game.
In the Xbox360, its image quality changes have also been reflected to the greatest extent.
This also allowed it to quickly replace 2K8 and become popular within the Devils.
In order not to delay training, the team members made a rule that they can only play for 15 minutes before training.
Then Harden can always explode during this period of time, beating the entire team's invincible opponents.
The trend of the Devils Invitational Tournament is also the same as Harden's performance in the game.
After getting off to a good start, the Devils played 16 invitational games in about two months, with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses!
This record is compared to the 6 wins and 9 losses in the same period last season, which means that the second senior brother has changed his appearance after meeting Miss Gao.
And among the opponents they defeated, they included Kansas State University led by Michael Beasley, the University of Texas Longhorns led by DJ Augustin, and Indiana University led by Eric Gordon. They are the team that received extra points from the NCAA Organizing Committee.
The combined performance of Harden, Xu Yong and Ayers has also shown a continuous upward trend.
After 16 games, Harden averaged 17.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, Xu Yong averaged 15.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.5 blocks per game, and Ayers averaged 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The three of them accounted for half of the team's scoring.
And more important than data is tacit understanding and complementarity.
Harden has a gentle and introverted personality, Ayers is mature and stable, and Xu Yong is confident and outgoing. When they play together, they will neither lack passion nor lose control due to excessive passion. In addition, the three of them play on the court. The position looks a bit like a mini version of the Celtics.
It was in this atmosphere that they finally reached the official regular season stage.
Their opponent in the regular season opener is the rival University of Arizona in the same city.
