Since most NCAA games are played in the evening, Rappers typically conducts tactical training on the afternoon of the day of the home game and then prepares the players before heading to the arena.

At four o'clock in the afternoon on the day of the game, when all the players were finishing training and preparing to leave the stadium, Rappers was left behind. He looked at the players who were confused, coughed dryly, and said with a serious face: "Well, the purpose of keeping everyone here is mainly to announce the starting lineup tonight in advance......"

Rappers's words were like dropping cold water into a pan of oil, and there was an instant buzz in the otherwise quiet procession, and everyone began to talk to each other. You must know that in the past, Rappers would only announce the starting lineup when the tactics were laid out before the start of the game, but this time it was so much earlier, which seems unusual!

Before everyone could react, Rappers pulled out a note and began to read it word by word: "Point guard, Erwin; center, Lawson; power forward, Thomas; small forward, Korngate; And the shooting guard—" He deliberately lengthened his voice and glanced at Chang Wei, "Chris Lee!" ”

When the last name was pronounced, everyone was stunned, and the smile on Selesstad's face gradually froze. After Rappers reported the names of the first four people, Selesstad was convinced that it was just a joke he made, but when it came to the shooting guard, there was an accident, and he was not the starter of this game?

Selesstad quickly came to his senses and shouted, "Coach, why didn't I start?" I feel like I've been in a good state during this time and haven't made any mistakes, please give me a reason! ”

In stark contrast to him, Lee, who stood at the back of the line, went into a state of stupeness the moment he heard his name, and did not wake up until Selesstad questioned him. Although his heart had already blossomed, there was no smile on his face, for fear that Celestead would be angry with him because of this.

Rappers didn't look at Celestead, who gritted his teeth, and said lightly: "John (Celestead) stays, the others disband on their own, tonight's game starts at 8 o'clock, and remember to gather at the stadium at 7:30." Chang Wei knew that Rappers was going to do psychological work for Selestad, so he and several other members of the coaching staff urged the players to leave quickly, and some things were not suitable for being said in public, which was considered to save face for Selesstandd.

By the time everyone had left, there were only two people left in the empty stadium, Rappers and Celestead, who were still unconvinced, waiting for the manager to give him an explanation. Of course, this is also because of Rappers's own gentle personality, and if he was replaced by some short-tempered coaches, he would have directly beaten Selesstad into the cold palace a long time ago.

Lappers pondered for a moment and said slowly: "John, there is a reason why I don't let you play as a starter, and it is precisely for this reason that I may not give you a starting position in future games." ”

Selesstaad's face became even more ugly, and he gasped and asked, "Why?" Is it because Lee is better than me? Even if I often give him a small stove, I am confident that I can do better than him on the field. ”

Lappers shook his head and said in a serious tone: "You're not the same type of player as him, John, I know you love to attack, you're the best on the team, and you're not low in scoring efficiency, but now we need a full-time defender on the perimeter." I thought about it for a long time, Lee is more suitable than you. ”

"But I'm better than him, and I believe I can do better than him on the defensive end, and there's no one who says that an outside scorer can't be a defensive gate, right?" Celestead is still a little unacceptable and wants to fight for it one last time.

"You're a veteran player too, and there are some things I think I should talk to you about openly. It's true that offense is a great way for any college player to improve their draft pick, but teams don't need five scorers to play together, you know? And don't you think you've made too many shots? ”

"Too many shots? What does that mean? "Maybe I've never paid much attention to the statistics of every game, and Celestead said that it was a little difficult to understand what Rappers said, and I didn't think I had made many shots!

Lappers knew that Celestead would not easily accept the substitution arrangement, so he carried a copy of the team's previous 14 game statistics, and now he just took it out for Celestead to see.

"9.8 shots per game? That's not much, is it? Selesstad quickly found his way to the line and said with some indifference. In his eyes, the so-called more shots are more than 15 shots per game, and his 9.8 shots is not enough!

Rappers smiled helplessly and said, "You look at Tim and Erwin's stats again. ”

Celestead's eyes widened, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. As the team's captain, Erwin averaged just 10.3 shots per game, and the team's current leading scorer Thomas also took only 12.1 shots, plus his 9.8, making it quite rare for three players to start at the same time on the same page with that many shots per game.

Just when he felt incredulous, Rappers's gentle voice rang in his ears again: "You know, there is only one basketball, with the ability of Ervin and Tim, they should have shot more baskets, but in order to accommodate you, they only average about the same number of shots per game as you." Although the team has a good record at the moment, it is still a hidden danger. ”

Selesstad muttered to himself, "They actually sacrificed so much for me...... So what do I do now? ”

Rappers patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "That's why I let Lee start in your place." He doesn't need to take up as much of the ball as an outside defender, and he can also take the pressure off Irvin on the defensive end. As for you, I want you to be the team's best sixth man, and when you play with the second team, I can give you unlimited firing rights. ”

This really shocked Celestead, what is the right to fire unlimitedly? That's the treatment of a top scorer! Although he can only fire at will when leading the second team, isn't that enough? Now that I think about it, it seems that it is not bad to play the sixth man, at least you can brush up on better looking data. Celestead is self-aware, he doesn't expect to be the number one star on an NBA team, as long as he can be a good role player.

Thinking of this, he nodded vigorously and said loudly: "Thank you for your trust, I am willing to give up my starting position, and I believe that I will play better in the sixth man position than I am now!" ”