"Hey!!"
"Wu, can you step a little faster, squeeze out of the defense and catch the ball in the low post!"
"You have the advantage of weight, stay low and go for singles!"
On this day, the sun was shining brightly outside, and the breeze was blowing, bringing a touch of clarity. It was obviously a pleasant day, but in the Group B arena of the ABCD training camp, coach Phillip Saunders was very angry and shouted loudly towards the court.
However, on the court at this time, Budao stood in the corner outside the three-point line and quickly started an air cut. After squeezing his opponent away, he made a deft reverse run and returned directly to the three-point line.
The players on the back line had already tried to break through the opponent's defense before Wu Dao ran into the space, but they were unable to break through the opponent's defense. At this time, they saw Wu Dao's running back and there was an opening, and they thought of getting an assist if they couldn't score. Quickly passed the ball to Budo.
After getting the basketball, Wu Dao turned around without aiming at all. He turned over and shot a three-point jumper.
The defensive player raised his arms high and rushed directly in front of Wu Dao, but the basketball flew directly over his head and fell towards the basket.
"Uh-huh!!!"
The basketball hit the net directly and made a crisp sound.
However, when the basketball scored, Coach Phillip Sanders' breath was stagnant, and he choked on the curse words he wanted to say. However, after regaining consciousness, he still called a timeout and replaced Wu Dao with a black player. Come down.
Seeing the coach's action, several players who were relatively close to him realized that something was wrong, and sat a little further away, and then looked at Wu Dao walking towards the court in amusement.
As soon as Wu Dao's front foot stepped out of the court, Phillip Sanders shouted directly at Wu Dao:
"Wu! Didn't you hear what I just said?!"
"Penetrate! Punch!"
"Thompson doesn't move as fast as you at all. Why are you running instead?"
"Those two inside can't stop you at all."
"Come in, ask for the ball, dunk it for me!"
Listening to Coach Phillip Saunders' reprimand, Wu Dao just nodded without arguing. What Phillip Saunders said is actually not wrong. If the player passing the ball dares to pass the ball, Budo who cuts in can still score the ball after getting the basketball.
In terms of selection, there is no problem.
It's just that Wu Dao subconsciously thought about saving some energy and running out to get an open three-point opportunity, and Wu Dao was quite confident in his shooting ability.
"Go, go down and rest, think about how to fight, and then go on the field!"
Phillip Sanders pointed towards the dugout and shouted. Although that is what he said, in fact, Wu Dao has been playing on the court for more than thirty minutes, and the practice match of their group of players has actually come to an end.
On the side of the court, there happened to be a few scouts watching the game. When they saw Philip Sanders reprimanding martial arts, one of the "red-necked" middle-aged men smiled at his partners and said:
"Coach Phillip Sanders is really strict about martial arts! He scolds him every day."
"Actually, isn't that kid playing very well? From the first half to now, he has scored a total of 31 points."
"Among this group of kids, he is one of the best players!"
"Coach Phillip Sanders, doesn't he like that yellow player? Does he have personal emotions?"
Next to the "red neck" middle-aged man, there was a younger black man wearing a peaked cap and a loose sweatshirt. While his partner was talking, he picked up the camera and walked towards the rest area. I went to Budo and took a photo.
"The harshness is true, but I don't like it, but I don't see it."
"Coach Phillip Sanders obviously admires that player called Martial Arts very much."
"He was promoted from Group C to Group B. During the previous team selection in Group B, Philip Sanders strongly recommended him as the MVP."
"And if you look at his jersey, the number has become No. 62."
"He's in the top 10 of this group of players."
The black scout silently took a photo of Wu Dao and then said to his partner with a smile.
"When you put it like that, it's true that Coach Phillip Sanders seems to take him very seriously."
"But the jersey number No. 62 actually doesn't mean anything, right?"
"I think a player like Budo can be at the top even in Group A."
After the "red neck" muttered, the middle-aged man jotted down something on the notebook in his hand, and then turned his attention to the stadium.
The two of them are scouts from the University of Kentucky. Every year the ABCD training camp is held, they come here to inspect players.
Of course, people from the University of Kentucky are not the only ones who come to inspect players. In fact, other NCAA teams also send scouts to the training camp to inspect players.
It's just that the scouts gathered at the training ground of Group A, watching the performance of Kobe Bryant from Lower Merion High School.
This year's training camp is full of talents. Kobe, who was ranked first when he entered the camp, is now unable to hold his position and has fallen to third place.
The two players in front of him are named Tim Thomas and Lester Earl, and under Kobe, there are Lamar Odom, Jermaine O'Neal, Elton Brand, etc. people.
The competition among players in Group A is fierce, and players such as Odom and O'Neal will be able to gain a foothold in the league in the future.
And Elton Brand is not a fuel-saving lamp. He was the No. 1 pick in 1999 and was selected by the Bulls. He was only one year younger than Kobe. In his rookie season, he was also the Rookie of the Year that year. .
He was selected as an All-Star in both 2002 and 2006.
Now a sophomore in high school, he is 202cm tall and weighs 101kg. He serves as a forward.
Oh, by the way, after Wu Dao and Kobe finished their trial training at Duke University, Old Coach K even made a special trip to New York to watch Elton Brand's game and was quite satisfied with this black player.
As for Tim Thomas, he was the No. 7 pick in 1997. He is currently 208cm tall and weighs 107kg. He can skillfully switch between the power forward and small forward positions. Like Martial Arts, his favorite position to catch the ball is outside the three-point line.
Currently, Tim Thomas has received an offer from Villanova University and has signed a contract. After high school, he will go to college.
It's just that Tim Thomas' NBA path is a bit dull compared to others. He was the seventh pick in the first round and became the most common "jobber" in the NBA league.
It's not that amazing, but it can stand firm.
The forward players in this year's training camp are all very good, and when Group A plays practice games during normal training, they all play very "good-looking".
Wouldn’t it be nice to see a group of young people flying and escaping from the ground?
When Kobe was chatting with Budo in the dormitory, he mentioned that his ranking was lowered. It was not that his performance on the court was not as good as others, but simply because Tim Thomas' "static data" was better than him.
The training camp ranks players not only based on their performance on the court, but also based on their static talent.
"I will definitely defeat these guys! Martial arts, you know, I am the strongest player!"
Usually when he was in the dormitory, Kobe would brainwash himself like this every day. Not to mention, it was still somewhat useful. Kobe's "Mamba" spirit was completely stimulated, and his personal data also soared rapidly.
But Wu Dao has been having a hard time since he entered the team in Group B. He is criticized by the coach every day, and even a gentle-tempered person like Wu Dao can't help but get very angry.
Within a week, the aura that Martial Arts exudes on the court has become very different. If the coach scolds him, he can't talk back to the coach, right? As a high school player, he really can't take the blame when there are scouts watching the game.
At the same time, he cannot scold his teammates. If he leaves an unfunny impression on the scouts who were originally interested in him, it will be a bad choice.
But the good thing about basketball is that when you are angry, you can vent your anger on your opponent.
Just play normally, as long as your ability is strong enough, no matter how much you ravage your opponent, no one else will say anything.
Martial Arts's split-and-duck attacks into the paint increased, and those who broke into the paint also made more layups after physical confrontation. At the same time, with the progress of high-intensity practice matches, Wu Dao's personal data is also far ahead of the second place in Group B, averaging 17 points per game.
However, when the third training week ended, Wu Dao was not promoted to Group A for training as he expected.
He still stayed in Group B and practiced with these players.
In this regard, Wu Dao was very strange, and his teammates who had trained with him for a week were also very strange. Even the two scouts at the University of Kentucky who had been paying attention to Wu Dao were also quite strange.
After all, the strength of martial arts is obvious to all, and he is simply invincible on the training ground of Group B. Such a person is fully capable of being promoted to Group A.
During training that day, two scouts on the sidelines also talked about this matter.
In the past few days, when the "Red Neck" noticed that martial arts was not "promoting" as usual, he went to coach Phillip Saunders privately to ask about martial arts.
The basketball circles in the United States are both big and small, and they have a close relationship. The "red neck" scouts found out about coach Flip Saunders, and the two had private communications.
"How? What did Phillip Sanders say?"
Early in the morning, the training of Group B went on as usual. Two scouts from the University of Kentucky bumped into each other in the auditorium on the sidelines and chatted about martial arts.
"It's not unexpected, it's just that Flip Saunders deliberately didn't let that young man go to the A team."
Hearing this answer, "Little Black in the Peaked Hat" tilted his head and became concerned. He couldn't help but sit up straighter and asked, "What's going on? Did you do it on purpose?"
"How can you do this as a coach?"
Xiao Hei was a little frightened when he learned the news. This kind of thing is a taboo for coaches. Although it is inevitable for all coaches to select players based on their own likes and dislikes, as long as they are normal people, they will not deliberately suppress their rapidly rising players.
Especially at the high school level, and Wu Dao was just a player who came to the ABCD training camp, and he, Flip Saunders, was just looking for something to do during the gap period. There was no connection between the two at all.
There is no so-called benefit to Phillip Sanders from doing this kind of thing.
"Shh!"
"Keep your voice down!"
"This time, I got big news."
"If you tell the media about it, you might be able to make a fortune!"
As he said that, "Red Neck" tilted his head toward his partner.
"Philip Saunders has no intention of suppressing martial arts for personal gain."
"He simply felt that if Wu Dao went to Group A, his playing time would be suppressed. You know, the coach in Group A only likes black players."
"and"
"There are many outstanding forward players in Group A. After this period of training, the players have gotten along with each other to a certain extent. Those forward players have also performed at a certain level and have basically gained trust."
"If Martial Arts goes to Group A, I think it's hard to get much playing time."
"Coach Flip Saunders means he doesn't have to go to Group A."
After the red neck said this, his partner frowned and said with some displeasure: "Even if this is the case, martial arts should not be allowed to go to Group A."
"Only by fighting against top players can you see his true quality."
"And can Group A's exposure be comparable to that of Group B?"
"These are completely two different things!"
Hearing this, the red neck showed some excitement in his eyes, put his arm around his partner's shoulders, and said solemnly:
"After listening to the next words, please stop talking nonsense!"
"Coach Flip Saunders will likely become the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves."
"The Timberwolves played a total of 82 games in the 1994-95 season and gained 21 wins and 61 losses."
"Management has lost confidence in Bill Blair."
"Do you know why Flip Saunders, the team manager of the Timberwolves, came to the ABCD training camp?"
"I came here first to find out what it's like to be a coach."
"After the start of the new season, if Bill Blair cannot change the situation, he will be directly fired!"
"In the draft at the end of this month, the Timberwolves will hold the No. 5 pick, let's see how they use it! Although it is impossible for Wu Dao to participate in this year's draft, training Wu Dao is definitely to assist the player they selected this year!"
"What I can confirm now is that Philip Sanders is very optimistic about that young man!"
After receiving such shocking news from his partner, Xiao Hei, who was wearing a peaked cap, was now completely uneasy.
Although Wu Dao is only a sophomore in high school now, he will become a senior in high school this year. If he participates in the draft as a high school student, he can log into the NBA as soon as 1997.
For NBA teams, it is completely normal to inspect a player two years in advance.
As long as a player with Wu Dao's level of talent is not seriously injured, his potential can be estimated. If Wu Dao develops smoothly, the Timberwolves will never mind using a low pick to give a player like Wu Dao a chance, just as a way of selling Flip Saunders.
Whether Flip Saunders will continue to be his manager in the future, or he will actually replace Bill Blair as the head coach.
With a rookie contract, Flip Saunders still has face!
Of course, the premise is that martial arts can develop as he expected.
In the stadium, Wu Dao, who was training today, had no idea what the people around him were talking about. His attention was focused on the stadium.
It's rare, maybe because the training camp is about to end, and coach Phillip Sanders has less to say. Wu Dao played much more smoothly in today's game.
In the court, Wu Dao grabbed the ball with one hand, jumped up slightly, pushed the ball against the defender, and poured the ball into the basket.
Coach Phillip Saunders on the sidelines looked at the martial arts on the court, his eyes sparkling.
High school student? The Timberwolves have already decided who they will draft this year! High school student? What we train is high school students!
(End of chapter)
