However, on Tuesday, only 24 of them came to train. Li Ao guessed that this meant that no one else in the club was able to enter the competition for the 18-man roster.
At least not yet, someone might make a huge improvement in training and squeeze someone out from behind.
Li Ao learned from the chat with Xavier Johnson that additional training is limited to the selection period for the roster. After the new season starts, even the main players will return to the prescribed training three times a week. Basically, Practice the day before the game.
Academics should still be the priority. If their grades are too poor, some people will not be able to get basketball scholarships.
Time passed day by day, and Li Ao continued to live at three o'clock and one line every day.
Go to class, practice, go home.
Sometimes he feels tortured. The progress of his mid-range shooting has slowed down. Part of the reason is that the length of a single training session has become shorter, but more of it is because he has reached the accumulation stage after learning how to practice.
He deeply felt that it was difficult to get started and even harder to pass. As for mastering, he estimated that it would be even more difficult.
But there are also happy moments - being a sparring partner for an hour every day.
Playing against more than 20 teammates, although there are teammates with similar characteristics, no matter how similar the characteristics are, the singles playing methods are also different. Moreover, these teammates are from 175 to 211 centimeters tall, and their playing styles are different. Some are good at defense, and some are good at defense. He is completely undefendable, but no matter what the situation is, he is quickly enriching his single defense experience.
There was just one thing that surprised him. After practicing his passing training a few times, he began to achieve acceptable performance.
It is true that he is practicing very hard. After using the 'Physical Therapy Function' on the morning jog the next morning, he dribbled and ran. He also gradually adapted to controlling the ball during confrontation. There was some progress, but it was not as good as when he just practiced mid-range shooting. Great improvement on defense.
On the contrary, it is the defensive end training that reaches qualified performance later than the passing and control training, and it is not always qualified.
But on the contrary, he has successfully learned the level 1 defensive training method and received a 20% bonus on training results, but there is nothing in terms of passing and controlling.
At this point, he understood that whether the training was qualified or not should depend more on the requirements of the coach who was guiding the training.
At this stage, he feels that a strict and demanding attitude like Sam Hayes is the most beneficial to his growth.
After all, he has worked hard and can only reach the passing level, which is only a difference of 50 achievement points.
The 'training result bonus' he received was based on the actual training effect.
Of course Henry Johnson's guidance will put him in a better mood.
It's hard to say whether Henry Johnson's encouraging teaching method is better or Sam Hayes' highly strict teaching method is better, but it is definitely better than Kevin Henderson's teaching method. .
It’s not that he felt that Kevin Henderson, the chief assistant coach, was perfunctory, it might just be that the other party didn’t have strict requirements on his ability in this area.
His own focus is also the same. When he first chose to practice mid-range shooting, he also wanted to focus on strengthening shooting + defense. He had the ability to make unique moves and strive to gain a firm foothold in the team.
…
The time has come to late October, the 21st, and a new week has arrived.
In class, Li Ao was still serious and hard-working. After school in the afternoon, he walked quickly to the Memorial Stadium. It was only 3:30, and all the "main candidate" teammates had already arrived.
Most of the other teammates who occasionally serve as sparring partners and practice basic skills most of the time are also here.
Not everyone is like Li Ao who never misses a class unless necessary. Two days ago, he heard Xavier Johnson say that counselors have complained many times recently about students skipping classes to play ball on the playground.
Since last week, Li Ao has felt that his teammates have become particularly active.
Because on Friday this week, the club will submit the 18-man roster to the NCAA.
Everyone has joined the club, who doesn’t want to be on the big list?
And everyone will feel that they are special and look forward to just in case.
Even he, who has always said to himself, "I'm still young, I've just started practicing, it's normal even if I don't make the roster," has had a lot of mental fluctuations recently.
Others have their expectations for a reason. In the past two weeks, there have been three more intra-squad games with nearly full participation, and the third time it was a 'mixed' lineup.
The purpose of the coaching staff's arrangement is naturally to conduct another screening.
In these three intra-team matches, he had no part in it, and he continued to be his sparring partner.
Therefore, he was both hopeful and a little frustrated.
Fortunately, this is the second time he has passed this age. Although he will not be much mature mentally if he goes to school again. After all, a man will be a boy until he dies. But in terms of eliminating distractions and focusing on doing one thing, he is far better than Absolute. Most of my peers are strong.
This was proved by the fact that after he knew he wanted to study in the United States, he spent half a year before coming to the United States to practice his spoken English to the point where he could communicate on a daily basis.
At the end of the one-hour shooting practice, Xavier Johnson was teasing him about how calm he was.
Li Ao rested for a few minutes and came to the main training ground. Another day of sparring began.
This is the happiest time for him after every training session.
Although it's just defense, at least it counts as playing ball.
Today's opponent is Sam Clancy again.
Henry Bibby came to the sidelines to watch.
Ever since he was tricked by Li Ao on the first day and he treated the winner to a meal, he no longer stared at the sidelines to avoid being tricked again.
He was so embarrassed that day that he took Brusenthal to a high-end restaurant for dinner, which cost him hundreds of dollars!
These young people are like animals, so edible.
He didn't know how to enjoy delicious food at all, so he just kept eating. However, the portions of the dishes were so small that his flesh ached for several days after paying the bill.
But this time, he still wanted to take a look.
Because of Sam Clancy's progress!
Letting Li Ao be a sparring partner was an idea he came up with after listening to Sam Hayes' words, "We are too soft."
As the saying goes, if it is too strong, it will break, but if it is too soft, it will become loose.
Technical flow, technical flow, technical flow, all the strong players in the team are so technical, so awesome! It couldn't be more awesome!
Using Li Ao's brutal defense to help others play tougher, this is his purpose.
This kind of training does not happen overnight. He does not expect immediate results. He just said that if this kind of thing is to be done, the sooner the better.
They started immediately because their established selection plan already included a sparring session every afternoon to strengthen personal abilities. It was not specially arranged for Li Ao.
Unexpectedly, maybe because they were too soft in the past, after more than 20 days, some of the players who mainly played singles, such as Brusenthal, have become much tougher.
Brusenthal is a white player with a thick body. His strength is actually very good, but he lacks explosive power and bullet speed. Therefore, he specializes in skills and does not use his body much. He mainly avoids and hits. Over time, he becomes very resistant to confrontation. .
Now Brusenthal is less resistant to confrontation in offense, which is a good sign from the coaching staff. If Brusenthal can display his skills after confrontation, his strength will definitely be further improved.
As for players of the White Mamba type, changes are not yet visible.
Among these people, there is one person who has made the most progress - Sam Clancy.
Another confrontation between Li Ao and Sam Clancy begins.
Watching Sam Clancy start to use his skills in the duel with Li Ao, Henry Bibby felt very complicated.
When the 49th high school student in the United States joined last year, he was extremely excited and worked hard to train him.
As a result, in one year, except for his height growing to more than two meters, there was no growth in other aspects. His skills remained stagnant. In addition, although his physical fitness was good, he was not a real beast. Later, the coaching staff also chose to give up spending so much money. Put effort into cultivating and no longer waste resources.
Who knew that in recent times, this guy would actually get the idea!
In order to deal with Li Ao, the stubborn Sam Clancy actually began to practice hard on his skills.
It's not that hard-hitting pull-up jump shot or mid-range shot that can't be practiced in a short period of time. Moreover, Sam Clancy doesn't have any talent in that area. no the same.
His flexibility talent is reflected in turning, jumping, lateral movement, etc.
When Henry Bibby focused on training him before, he was teaching him to learn this technique and that technique. Firstly, he felt that he was extremely talented and had a bad attitude. Secondly, complete technical training might be too complicated for him. , studying for one year is equivalent to learning in vain.
But what he wants to practice now is simple and clear - to use his physical fitness and reaction ability to avoid Li Ao's rough moves at close range.
This is very unprofessional, but after more than 20 days, I actually saw the effect!
But in the one-on-one situation, Sam Clancy was once again beaten to death.
Li Ao's progress on the defensive end is faster than Sam Clancy's progress on the offensive end!
With the enthusiasm of treating his teammates as sparring partners... no, with the enthusiasm of being an excellent sparring partner, Li Ao can hardly say that his one-on-one experience is quickly enriched in one-on-one matches. The basic defensive skills he has practiced hard in the past two months can be seen in one-on-one situations. Played to the fullest.
Even if Li Ao made fewer intentional fouls this time, he still restrained Sam Clancy very well.
But for Sam Clancy, he feels like he sees hope!
The probability of scoring a goal is close to 50%!
Since they are making progress, it means there is hope that they can surpass this newcomer!
As a former top 50 high school student in the United States, he would never allow an unknown guy in high school to overpower him.
Of course, he just didn't allow it, and there was nothing he could do if I suppressed him, but he just had an attitude.
Henry Bibby, who had finished watching, quickly stepped out of the way before Li Ao noticed him.
His mood became more and more complicated. The irritating boy he brought back in a moment of anger became more and more obvious to the team.
…
Soon, the time came to Saturday. During the morning training, most people were not as excited as they had been in the past. The worry about gains and losses spread throughout the team. Even some people who were originally very confident in themselves now felt uneasy.
Those who really don't worry about whether they can be selected are the few core members who were still on the roster last season. They will also be dropped out this year.
Yesterday, the team sent the 18-man roster to the NCAA via email. According to the normal process, we will be able to confirm whether the roster has been approved and notify each team this morning.
The work efficiency of NCAA officials is even faster than that of the NBA. Some media have previously revealed the official salary situation of the NCAA, which is much higher than that of the NBA. It may be higher than that of European football leagues, but this The news was quickly suppressed.
In addition, NCAA basketball is highly concerned in the United States, and basketball fans are very concerned about the annual registration situation.
People are not excited because a talented high school student enters college to play, but they are looking forward to seeing someone refuse to play in the NCAA.
For example, if the guarantee is not complete, there will be situations where high school geniuses no longer want to continue playing basketball and want to study hard.
This kind of situation actually exists in the NBA, such as Tim Duncan who did not participate in the draft after his freshman year in 1994.
Duncan entered college at a young age. He was only 17 years old when he finished his freshman season. He averaged 9.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. He only turned 18 in April 1994. Even in a country that likes to draft mature players. During this period, a large number of media also felt that as long as he ran for election, the No. 1 pick would have nothing to do with him.
Such a performance by a 17-year-old kid is amazing.
In that era, there were no stipulations on contract years and very loose salary regulations. As long as Duncan ran for the draft after his freshman year, regardless of whether he was the first pick, it was not a problem to get a $100 million or $80 million rookie contract.
But Duncan refused to leave college early, and did not leave after his sophomore year. He continued to play after his junior year, and did not participate in the NBA draft until he needed to find a job in the second semester of his senior year.
There really is such a person who has such a calm attitude towards money.
With this situation in place, there may naturally be people who are extremely talented in basketball but just don’t want to continue playing after high school.
The probability of occurrence is very low, but it is precisely because of the low probability that people expect fun to occur.
Under normal circumstances, the lists submitted by each school will be approved.
Unless a player violates NCAA regulations, such as accepting sponsorship, or is confirmed to have used banned drugs, etc.
In this case, each school can submit a new roster, and the NCAA has to let each team complete the roster.
Therefore, each school's team usually announces the roster after it is finalized and approved.
After the lunch break, all members of the Trojans gathered at the main training ground. Even those who were 100% selected, such as White Mamba and Trey Paganier, were looking forward to the announcement of the roster.
They want to know early who will be teammates in the new season.
At this time, a figure entered the training ground, causing a commotion among the teammates.
A white man with brown hair, no tattoos on his arms, but a circle of eye-catching tattoos on his neck.
Even Li Ao's eyes were focused, and he couldn't help being surprised in his eyes.
He thought that if he came, this guy would be too scared to come back.
Soon, the teammates’ attention shifted from the original person to him! The people around him also moved aside silently, fearing that they would be spotted.
The visitor is none other than Shelby Jordan, who has been missing for two months!
Li Ao started to get confused. If this guy wanted revenge, should he fight? Or fight?
It seems like there will be trouble no matter what choice you make.
He wanted to restrain himself, but if this guy was out of his mind and said those words again, he probably couldn't help it.
This guy seems to have a really bad mind!
Just when Li Ao was struggling, Shelby Jordan opened his arms and walked towards him with a happy face.
He was ready to counterattack at any time. God knows if this abnormal guy wanted to make a sneak attack. Then, he heard the other party's voice of enthusiasm and joy——
"Oh, Leo, your name is Leo, right? Haha, I'm so happy to see you again. Thank you very much. I've been so happy these past two months. I've never been so happy in my life!"
"..." Li Ao didn't know how to react for a moment. Was this guy beaten stupid? Then his sin is huge!
Just listen to Shelby Jordan continue to say: "Let's discuss something! If you hit me again, don't worry. If you hit me, I will lie down immediately. It doesn't take much effort from you, and you don't even have to kick me."
Li Ao: (￣┏＿┓￣)
