After Wu Dao carefully looked at the business card of the North Carolina coach in his hand, he raised his eyes and stared at the scout sitting far away for a while. Under the other's kind smile, Wu Dao received the business card into his backpack.
Again, although he has tentatively set his goal to skip college and participate in the draft after high school.
But who can say for sure what will happen in the future, and so far, for some unknown reason, he has obviously performed well in the state competition, but there are only a few universities that have contacted him.
In addition to Duke University sending him a trial invitation, a scout from Syracuse University also contacted Wu Dao, hoping that Wu Dao could go to Syracuse University for a trial training. It's just that the trial training over there was rejected by Martial Arts. It was not because Martial Arts looked down on Syracuse University, but simply because the dates of Syracuse University and ABCD training camps conflicted.
He is only a sophomore in high school now, so he doesn't need to rush to participate in college trials and get an offer from the university. Training camps that can improve one's own standards and horizons are more worth spending time in martial arts.
only.
Although Martial Arts is not in a hurry to get invitations from universities for trial training or commitment offers from universities, this does not mean that Martial Arts does not want them.
You can think of the invitation from the top NCAA schools as an "official seal". Only after you get the corresponding offer can you say that you have corresponding value.
Otherwise, for something like martial arts, no matter how high it ranks on ESPN's list of the top 100 high school students in the United States, it doesn't make any sense.
Because even universities can't recognize your ability and talent, do you still expect NBA scouts and teams to be interested in players like you?
Normally, as long as someone is rated as a star by ESPN, NCAA universities will pay attention. It is actually abnormal for a top ten high school student like Budo to not have many contacts and invitations from schools.
It's just that Wu Dao now doesn't know what his problem is. He doesn't know where he is not recognized by others.
In terms of scoring, he averaged 40+ per game in the state competition, and his assists and steals were also good. This year's game data is enough to prove Wu Dao's talent and ability.
In terms of defense, Wu Dao does not have a tacit understanding with his current teammates, and his performance is slightly worse when defending in a zone. However, Wu Dao believes that his defensive attitude is not a problem. At least he will not show his hands after a failure, right?
In addition, Wu Dao's single defense ability can be regarded as top-notch across the United States.
I think I'm all-around, but there's no way to get recognition. Now I'm sitting on the sidelines watching Duke University practice martial arts in the team's practice match. It's like going back to my junior high school days, sitting on the bench and watching Hisashi Mitsui and the others playing on the court. , I suddenly felt a little confused.
However, he quickly found the answer and found a way to become stronger. In just one year, he became an indispensable player at Takeishi Middle School.
And now, he hasn't found the answer yet.
He will come to Duke University for a tryout, actually to find his own answer.
Isn't it? He is not strong enough.
Do the college coaches think that martial arts style of play will not work in college?
Budo himself also wants to know where his weaknesses are, and whether his current playing style and approach are really not recognized.
Sitting on the sidelines, Wu Dao's pupils lost focus. The game in the stadium became a little boring as the game progressed. Kobe's game was targeted by Duke University's players. The opponent began to adopt a zone defense and shrink the inside area.
Kobe, who is good at breakthroughs, was successfully interfered by his opponents in two consecutive strong attacks, and the referee's whistleblowing standards were also relaxed.
Some defensive actions that could or should not be praised were directly ignored. The intensity of the defense that Kobe encountered suddenly reached a higher level. For a while, even a player like Kobe felt a little uncomfortable.
At the 16-minute mark of the first half, Duke University's main players already led their opponents by 14 points, 47:33.
Kobe's teammates seemed to be completely unaware of the current situation on the court. When attacking, they just moved around, except for shooting when they received the basketball in the open space. Most of the other times, the "hard solution" method similar to singles will not be used.
From Martial Arts' point of view, Kobe's teammates seemed like soulless NPCs, running in a step-by-step manner without any subjective initiative.
Kobe, who had just arrived, wanted to maintain his "humble" image and did not dare to direct his teammates, that is, he dared to signal his teammates to pick and roll when he got the ball.
And his teammates are quite cooperative with Kobe in this regard. Whenever Kobe needs help, others will provide help as soon as possible.
Kobe Bryant, who was in the game, played very hard, but Wu Dao, who was an outsider, understood the essence of this practice match after watching it for a while.
These teammates of Kobe's were deliberately arranged by Duke University. I'm afraid they were also instructed by the old coach K. In addition to being more conscious on defense, on the offensive end, they must completely revolve around Kobe and follow Kobe's instructions.
The purpose is probably to test Kobe's leadership ability and whether he can mobilize other players on the offensive end.
However, Kobe obviously did not understand the intention of the old coach K. He did not dare to yell at these assistant coaches. He only felt that his teammates were too weak, had no ability at all, and were counting on him for everything. It's like a person who has just learned to play ball. If you don't dial it, the opponent won't even move at all.
But even so, so far in the first half, Kobe has contributed 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.
The data alone is quite luxurious, but when combined with the number of his shots, it becomes a bit ugly.
In the ten minutes of the game, Kobe had already taken more than 20 shots.
Just as Martial Arts was showing off, he noticed a figure walking in front of him. His pupils slowly became focused. Martial Arts raised his head and saw Mike Krzyzewski standing in front of him with a smile. looking at himself.
"Martial arts..."
"You're here!"
"Are you tired? Can we have a practice match?"
Coach K saw Wu Dao looking up at him, pointed at the court behind him, and asked with a smile.
Hearing this, Wu Dao nodded slightly.
"Then you prepare, I will replace you in the second half."
"Just join the white team. Do you have a white training uniform?"
Coach K asked with a smile. After hearing this, Wu Dao also picked up the backpack he was carrying and dug out the white jersey of Oak Hill.
"Ten minutes, take the time to warm up."
Old Coach K said, turned and left.
The format used in this practice match is the half-time format that is more familiar to martial arts. This is a more popular name.
To put it simply, the entire game is divided into two halves. The total duration is 40 minutes. The first half is 20 minutes, and then there is a halftime break, which lasts from 15 minutes to 20 minutes. For example, in the NCAA Division I league, it is 20 minutes. The rest time, and this kind of intra-team practice match, often only takes 15 minutes of rest. After the half-time break, the second half of the game will continue until the end.
If the two teams are tied, there will be a 1-minute adjustment time, followed by a 5-minute overtime period until the winner is decided.
Under such a competition system, the physical requirements for players on the court are actually quite high. Kobe's physical strength obviously dropped a lot at the end of the first half. In order to improve offensive efficiency, Kobe began to attack the inside more times.
It's just Kobe's offensive choices that destined him to face the blockade of Duke University's inside players.
After all, it is the top school in the country. Duke's interior players are extremely talented. If they just block Kobe, these players can still do it.
At the end of the first half, Kobe only scored 3 points in four minutes, bringing his personal score to 19 points.
When the whistle sounded, Kobe returned to the rest area without saying a word. Although the game was frustrating, Kobe felt that his condition and performance were pretty good. He was also thinking about how many goals he had scored. .
Kobe has a rough idea of his own scoring.
It's just that Kobe didn't feel much happiness because of his outstanding performance. He sat on the bench with a dark face, wiping sweat and drinking water.
Ouch. Kobe’s face is already dark.
Coach K was quite satisfied with Kobe's performance. After seeing Kobe come back, he said some words of encouragement and praise, and the wrinkles on his face were already piled up.
"Bryant, you did a good job. Take a good rest and keep up the good work in the second half."
"I found a teammate for you. In the second half, you guys try to work together."
While speaking, Old Coach K said to Martial Arts who was flexing his muscles on the seat in the distance. Seeing that slightly familiar figure, Kobe also looked startled and murmured softly:
"Well?"
"Is that Wu from Oak Hill?" Kobe raised his eyebrows, and a smile appeared on his face.
After hearing this, Coach K nodded and said:
"Let him assist you and see if you can have any chemical reaction on the court."
As Old Coach K said, he shouted towards the martial arts in the distance: "Martial Arts! Come on!"
After hearing the coach's shout, Wu Dao, who had changed his jersey, carried large and small bags to the rest area of Duke University. After nodding towards Kobe, he walked to the old coach K and lowered his head slightly.
"Bu Dao, wait a minute and you'll play power forward."
"Be in a team with a few of them. In terms of tactics, there are no tactics. You can just play freely."
"Wu, I'm very optimistic about you, let me see your strength."
Coach K said, patting Wu Dao's arm and saying with a smile.
Now the martial arts in the second grade of high school has entered the final stage of development. He doesn't know whether his development is normal or something else. Anyway, his current height increase has become very small.
As the training progressed, Wu Dao's weight increased somewhat. When he first came to the United States, he weighed "only" 101kg, but now his weight has reached 104kg, although there has been no obvious change in his body shape.
But Martial Arts himself is also aware of the weight gain.
For Jinguji Budo, a player whose bare feet reach 204cm, Coach K actually did not regard Budo as a small forward or point guard from the beginning.
He positions Wu Dao as a power forward with excellent physical condition. He feels that Wu Dao, a sophomore in high school, will still grow taller and has no final shape.
Although the current technical characteristics of Wu Dao are not in line with the power forward in the mind of old coach K, he believes that with his training, the opponent will definitely be able to become a qualified inside player.
I will definitely be able to assist players like Kobe in the future!
Hearing that he was playing power forward, Wu Dao didn't say much. He just nodded and then stretched out his hand towards Kobe.
"Hello, see you again!"
Kobe also has a cheerful personality and said with a smile.
The two chatted on the sidelines for a while, and then Wu Dao picked up a basketball and went to the court to warm up. He was the only one in the audience warming up, and Wu Dao didn't feel embarrassed at all. After casually shooting two balls, Wu Dao had a rough idea of how he would feel today. Then he practiced dribbling on the court.
Back dribbling, crotch dribbling, the rhythm is not fast, but the range is large, activating the muscles and bones of the body to the greatest extent.
On the side of the court, Duke University players gathered together and pointed at the yellow man practicing on the court.
"Grant Hill, you can go up and have some fun in the second half of the game."
"Beware of that kid from Lower Merion who came over for a trial."
"But be careful not to get injured. If you, the 'star player', get injured, I will be guilty."
"Just put a little pressure on your potential future juniors."
After a brief exchange with Kobe, Old Coach K said to a "substitute" player on the sidelines. As for why he is said to be a substitute, it is because he did not play in the practice match just now.
When Grant Hill heard the coach's words, a bright smile appeared on his face. He turned to look at Kobe, who scored 19 points alone in the first half, and nodded:
"Good coach, I let him feel the intensity of college basketball firsthand."
"Otherwise, if a high school student scores so many points, he will think that our Duke University is not strong."
"Oh no, it's the intensity of the NBA!"
Grant Hill, a graduate of Duke University, is 203cm tall and weighs 102.1kg. He was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the third overall pick in 1994, last year.
And in his first year after joining the Pistons, in the 1994-95 season, he averaged 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.77 steals per game, and shared the title of Best Rookie with Jason Kidd.
It's just that at the moment, the season is not over yet. On the 8th of this month, Grant Hill's Pistons just defeated the Washington Bullets 114:105 in an away game.
Grant Hill started the game and played the entire game, scoring 25 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals.
You know, he can only be considered his rookie season now.
Since joining the NBA in June last year, he has only played with the Pistons for more than half a year, and he has already grown into an outstanding player.
Coincidentally, the Pistons did not have a game in the past two days, and Grant Hill also asked for leave from the team to go back to his alma mater to relax. It only takes just over an hour to get from Washington to New York.
Tomorrow, Grant Hill will return to Detroit to prepare for the home game against the Nuggets.
Wu Dao did not recognize Grant Hill who was communicating with the old coach K off the court. He was not familiar with the characters from the "ancient times"
When he was watching the game, Grant Hill was seriously injured and played GG. For a "role player" who has passed his prime, Martial Arts certainly doesn't pay much attention~
Martial Arts knew nothing about the strength of the opponent their team was about to encounter.
(End of chapter)
