"Haha! Lamar, I think you're mistaken! I'm trying to say if you're interested in coming to Duke?"

"Duke?

"Absolutely! I know you've been in trouble lately, it's not a big deal! I haven't seen you up close in four years, so I'm going to take this opportunity to get a closer look at the core of my future team. Now is a very good opportunity, how about it? Interested?"

The words of the old coach K were very straightforward, and he didn't go around in circles at all. Just putting down his body to train with a group of college students still made Lamar feel a little embarrassed. Because he had the impression that the NCAA and the NBA were not at the same level at all, and he also felt that he would not be able to learn anything by going there.

Coach K seemed to sense Lamar's hesitation, and explained with a smile: "Don't rush to reject me, I know you used to play NCAA, but college basketball is not a child's game as you think." You also know that the influence of the NCAA in the United States is much stronger than that of the NBA, don't you want to think about the reason for this? And you can not only train here, but also learn and exchange tactics with me!"

Coach K's persuasion made Lamar a little tempted, at least he felt that he should go and see, maybe he would really have unexpected gains! I just don't know if this trip is considered a practice or something.

Lamar suddenly appeared in the training hall of Duke University to train with college students, and the incident quickly caused quite a stir in the national basketball world.

On the one hand, he is the strongest in the NCAA league of the National Collegiate Basketball League, and on the other hand, he is the brightest star in the NBA today. There is no connection between the two in any way, and now they are really together. However, considering the head coach of the Duke University basketball team, Lao K, supported Lamar some time ago, indicating that the two intersected incompatibly, this matter is easy to understand.

As a star valued by Coach K, Lamar is now banned by the league, and it is not surprising that Coach K will pull Lamar to Duke University to train with those college players and maintain his condition.

When he first started training with these college players, Lamar was very uncomfortable. After all, the rules of the NCAA are far from the NBA, and this gap is not just a matter of the distance of the three-point line, in many details, the rules of the NCAA are much stricter than those of the NBA, and there will be no four-step layups, crab steps and other things that violate the rules. The most important thing is that the NCAA does not deliberately take care of offensive players like the NBA, setting up reasonable collision zones.

It can be said that compared with the NBA, the rules of the NCAA are closer to the rules of international basketball. Fortunately, Lamar has also competed in the Sydney Olympics as a member of the American Dream Team, and with his previous experience, he is very quick to get familiar with these rules.

Since Lamar participated in training, Coach K has asked Lamar not to attack directly, that is, not to shoot. His job is to pass the ball, cover for other players, and most importantly defend.

Lamar's defense is all about experience and physical gifts, and there is little maturity in the skills and systems, which is well known in the NBA. Although Lamar's defensive stats look good every season, all in all, his defensive cost performance is not among the top in the Knicks.

And the overall style of the Duke basketball team is simply out of step with Lamar, and they are a team that relies entirely on playing basketball as a whole. The emphasis on defense is more important than the overall offense, so Duke's players are very impressive in execution on the court.

In the NBA, as long as the players who go out of Duke University, no matter how many big-name stars, such as Grant Hill, Carlos Boozer, etc., their singles ability is very good, but when they observe that their teammates are in a more advantageous position, they will still choose to pass the ball without hesitation.

Duke's basketball philosophy is like a precision pocket watch that is well-assembled and stable, and every player is just an accessory to the watch. When the game starts, all the players work together and move forward together, and it is with this style of basketball that the Duke basketball team can survive in the NCAA!

Lamar can establish himself on any NBA team with his excellent individual ability, and Lamar's all-round ability easily makes him the coach's first choice for interior positions. However, although Lamar's scoring ability is super strong, and the strategy is also the league's insider, it is not perfect in the eyes of the old K coach. Especially Lamar's defense, in the eyes of Coach K, is simply the level of a high school student, Lamar's most commendable thing is his co-defense, but in terms of one-on-one and supplementary defense, if there is no super reflex given by rebirth, Lamar may become a big brush for the team.

As a party, Lamar is naturally well aware of his shortcomings, so Lamar desperately hopes that his shortcomings can be solved under the tutelage of Coach K. Of course, he doesn't expect to be an interior defensive monster like Bill Russell and Olajuwon, who can keep opponents from attacking their defenses with their deterrent power alone. For Lamar, as long as he can reach the level of Kevin Garnett, he is satisfied.

So when Coach K made a request before the start of training, Lamar did not refuse, but happily agreed.

As a result, after a training session, Lamar still finished out all the interior players on the Duke University basketball team. Although Lamar didn't score, he contributed a full 16 rebounds and 17 assists.

But on the defensive end, Lamar was a tragedy. In the face of Duke's combined attack on the inside and outside, although Lamar also had four steals and three blocks, but with the precise cooperation of Duke players, Lamar's defensive success rate was only a pitiful 29%. After understanding Lamar's defensive characteristics, those guys at Duke University relied on each other's cooperation to treat Lamar as a circus monkey.

After training, Lamar felt like he had no face. Duke's college students seemed to be using him as a litmus test, charging at his defensive line.

However, Lamar also knows that excellent defensive skills are definitely not something that can be developed overnight, so he is not too anxious. During this time, because he couldn't play, Lamar's exuberant energy had nowhere to vent, which made him a little depressed, and he could only train himself after the whole team trained every day.

"Lamar. "Lamar hit a three-pointer, and suddenly someone called him from behind, and it turned out to be Coach K.

"Lamar, what do you think of my team during this training session?"

Lamar smiled silently, still shooting silently. It's really hard for him to make a definitive conclusion about this team, and in his opinion, every player in this team is very talented, and he can't see anything outstanding at all. However, this civilian team has become very strong under the pinch of Coach K! It is estimated that even if the Duke University basketball team is placed in the NBA, it can become a playoff team.

"Lamar, I was already an officer at West Point when I was your age. As for the strength of the team, I think only those who have received the education and edification of the army can experience it. Have you ever seen those veterans with medals on their chests? Some of them lost their arms, some of their legs were blown off in the fire? They have been able to get out of the battlefield and survive so far, not by their own strength, but by their comrades-in-arms who carried them out of the pile of dead!"

The old K coach suddenly said such a thing without a beginning or an end, and seeing Lamar's ignorant appearance, he smiled, picked up a ball and threw it to Lamar.

"When I first joined the Dream Team, I was an assistant coach. At that time, the members of the players were Mike Jordan, Johnson, Malone and other NBA celebrities, and they were even bitter enemies in the league. ”

"Rivals, you know? That means they're really unceremoniously defending each other in the game. For the same goal to win. But on the first day of training, they worked together like a mature team, passing the ball unselfishly. I was so happy that I said to them, 'You're all going to pass the ball, so who's going to shoot?'"

After a pause, Coach K continued: "Lamar, you have done a good job these days, and you have not despised them just because you are surrounded by some college students. You trust them and give them passes, just like you did when you were with the Knicks, and not even worse than you did when you were with the Knicks. I wanted to teach you something tactical, but now I realize I don't have anything left for you!"

Now Lamar really froze: "Coach, what about my defense?"

Old K laughed and interrupted Lamar's words: "Lamar, I asked you to come here originally to expose you to more tactical concepts. I'm just a coach, not God! I can't solve your defensive problems in such a short period of time, because everyone has different talents and different strengths. ”

"Some people are natural pitchers, some people are born with a special talent for defense, some people have the ability to start, but they can only shine when they are on the bench. Do you understand?"

"But I can also give you a little advice, I don't know if you found it. From the moment you entered the NBA, your defense had a certain trajectory and looked like a veteran ruffian who had played basketball for more than a decade. This has both advantages and disadvantages for you, and your rich defensive experience gives you a defensive strength that is difficult for rookies to achieve as soon as you enter the NBA, but it is precisely this that makes it difficult for you to improve your defensive ability!"

"So what should I do?" Lamar also suddenly woke up after being reminded by Coach K. The competition experience in his previous life gave him a very high starting point after being reborn, but it also narrowed his room for improvement.