Chapter Thirty-Eight: The "Ignition" Ceremony
"Andrey! Andre! You kid went drinking again yesterday! Quick, bring me the list of the NCAA Final Four! "San Antonio, in the training ground of the ATT Center, a gray-haired old man shouted in the field, causing the players who were training on the field to turn their heads and take a look.
"What a drink! Can drinking wine give you a team report? The NCAA Final Four list, I promise it's the most detailed in the nation! A black scout with a bald head hurriedly handed the report up.
The gray-haired old man put on his glasses and flipped through the report with both hands. For a team like the San Antonio Spurs with consistent results, a high pick is a no-brainer. If they want to maintain the strength of the team, they will have to use their low-pick picks to find some useful players.
Don't think that the Spurs were lucky enough to pick up the treasure in the low pick, Popovich doesn't like the stars who shine in the NCAA league, but some good seedlings who may not be very famous, but can be adjusted.
And this kind of player tends to be especially in the list of teams in the final four of the NCAA. Don't underestimate the NCAA, the teams that survive the March Madness tournament to the final four are not teams that can be supported by a single star.
John. Wall, Evan. Turner, Wesley. Johnson, Derek. Favors ...... All of these well-known stars were undoubtedly rejected from the final four of the March Madness Tournament. Only a truly strong team will survive to the end in the March Madness tournament. And the players who can lead the team to the final four are the real team players. Team player, isn't that the type of San Antonio Spurs like the most?
"Butler University?" Just as the old man was flipping through the report in his hand, he suddenly saw a surprising name. Popovich turned his face to look at his scout, this guy must have been drunk and misspelled the team's name.
"It's Butler University, what's wrong!?" The scout named Andre looked confused, he had a drink yesterday, but he couldn't misspell the word.
"Nothing." Popovich continued to look down, and for the first time ever, the name of Butler University appeared on this list. This kind of small team can make history, or it is shit lucky. Either...... It's just that there are amazing players who have become the key to the fate of this kind of team.
"9.8 assists per game!?" Popovich's eyes widened, and once again he cast a sideways look at the scout in disbelief.
"That's right, 9.8 times! I really wasn't drunk yesterday! Andrei spread his hands, and when he wrote the report yesterday, he was also taken aback by this data.
"Yiyang? International players? Popovich looked at the strange name in front of the data.
"That's right, Chinese, this season in the NCAA mixed up. In the round of 16, he almost single-handedly reversed Syracuse University, which made the Boheim guy angry. ”
After listening to the scout's interpretation, Popovich drew a red circle on Yiyang's name. "Go get me all the footage of this guy's games, and by the way, Vasquis, the Venerenara guy from the University of Maryland, and I'm going to have his footage too. Go ahead, and I'll talk about the rest until I've read the report in detail. ”
"No problem!" Andrei made an "OK" gesture at Popovich, glad he hadn't been caught drinking last night.
In fact, if the young black scout hadn't been negligent last night, Popovich's opinion of Yiyang would have changed dramatically. Because now, Yiyang's average assists per game is no longer 9.8, but an even more terrifying 10.1!
It's not just the San Antonio Spurs, at this moment, the head coach or general manager of any NBA team has a final four-final roster in their hands. Philadelphia, New Jersey, Detroit and even Los Angeles have sent their most reliable scouts to observe Yiyang.
"What do you think of this kid?" Meanwhile, a tall, blonde white player stumbles upon his head coach watching video footage of Yiyang's game. The head coach asked casually, and the tall blonde stared at the screen for a moment. At this time, the screen was playing back the picture of a dragon fast attack after Yiyang's steal. Even through the screen, white blondes seem to be able to feel the warm atmosphere of the scene.
"It's so fast, it reminds me of Jason when I was younger." The blonde man smiled, but he didn't have the heart to watch the rookie right now, because his goal this year was an NBA championship!
"No, he's so much faster than Jason! Okay, let's go out and train. It's been a long season. The head coach silently circled Yiyang's name if his team couldn't win the championship this season. Perhaps, adding some fresh blood, it will be a good choice......
※※※
Yiyang, who was sweating frantically on the training ground, didn't know that he had now become the subject of conversation between the head coaches and general managers of many NBA teams. Although the goal is professional basketball, Yiyang hasn't thought so much about the NBA now. At this moment, he just wants to survive the final four of March Madness.
Yiyang didn't expect that he would have feelings for the collective of the bulldogs. People love him here, his teammates love him. Similarly, Yiyang also fell in love with the basketball team he played for for the first time.
Now Yiyang is full of NCAA championships, and he wants to win the first championship trophy for his team. Not just for yourself, but for all those who fight side by side with you.
"Also! What are you waiting for!? It's time to pass the ball! It wasn't until Stevens' shouts echoed through the training pitch that Yiyang realized he had missed the perfect time to pass the ball.
"Mine." Yiyang raised his hand and apologized to everyone in a cold tone. He secretly promised in his heart that he would never desert again!
At this point, no one blames him. It's better to make a mistake in training than in a competitive match.
"Okay, okay, let's get some rest! Let's practice later! "If even Yiyang started to desert on the basketball court, then other people's minds would definitely be more chaotic now. Stevens simply stopped training and told everyone to rest for a while, after all, the players had been running for 40 minutes straight.
"What were you thinking?" Hayward sat cross-legged next to Yiyang, knowing that his best buddy would not usually be in this situation.
"Champion." Yiyang bluntly replied to the word Hayward, causing the latter's expression to change from worried to laughing.
"Gordon! What are you smirking at? Mia from the cheerleader dated you again yesterday? Here, read this report to everyone! Stevens held up a newspaper and waved at Hayward. During breaks, you can't just sit on the floor and stare at each other.
Hayward walked up and took the paper. "Sophomore white forward Gordon. Hayward is the brightest star player on Butler's roster, and legend has it that he showed his shooting talent at a basketball game when he was 3 years old. The 2.03m Hayward is a troublesome figure on the counterpoint, and in terms of offensive means, Hayward has shooting range and the ability to attack from close to the basket. Butler's leading scorer and rebounder, Hayward, who averaged 18.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this season, is currently very bullish on his draft pick, and the white forward will hopefully finish midway through the first round. ”
"Yay! Worthy of our top scorer! ”
"Gordon! Sign me on, hahaha! ”
"Midway through the first round? I can't stop watching! ”
The players were laughing happily, and Hayward laughed at everyone when he read it, and the newspapers were all praising him.
"Read the following paragraph." Stevens smiled and shook his head, this group of guys, definitely a real team.
Hayward picked up the newspaper again and looked at the paragraph below. The smile on his face suddenly disappeared.
"Uh...... Butler, a small school with fewer than 5,000 students, is waiting to replicate the miracle of Milan's high school in 1954. They have the home advantage of the Final Four, with the Butler Campus less than six miles from the arena. As the most unremarkable team to occupy the semi-finals of this tournament, if the last round of the tournament Colin. If Lucas had been able to play, Butler might not have been so lucky to beat Michigan to advance to the Final Four Finals. Maybe the starting lineup of the Bulldogs is very strong, but their bench is not prominent. You know, Butler is about to face an offensive team like Kansas State in the final four matchups. The story of Cinderella is certainly beautiful, but experts generally believe that the road to the bulldogs' counterattack will end here! ”
Hayward read it in a hurry, and it took a long time for this report to hurt them at all.
"The so-called experts out there thought we were lucky to run into a Spartan team that had lost its core. From the outside world, more people call our promotion just an accident! But I think these guys are talking about fucking bullshit! Stevens' tone changed, and the assistant coach next to him couldn't help but smile secretly. This guy co-authored the idea of taking this opportunity to boost morale and eliminate the fatigue of the players.
Accompanied by Stevens' passionate voice, many players clenched their fists, including Yiyang.
The feeling of being looked down upon by others, no one knows better than Yiyang. This strong sense of resonance makes this No. 1 defender grit his teeth!
"Where does respect come from!?" Stevens shouted at the top of his throat as if he were directing the game from the sidelines. "Respect comes from victory! Manifest by victory! Tell me, who of you! Don't aspire to earn respect! Stevens said, gesturing to the newspaper in Hayward's hand. It is clear that the group of journalists and so-called experts have no respect for the bulldogs at all.
"We all crave respect!" Yiyang took the lead in shouting.
"That's right! Earn respect, respect is earned back by ourselves! Now, it's all for me to play and train. Then, in the game the day after tomorrow, beat that damn Kansas Great! I don't care about their "little Wade" Xavier. Henry and Cole. How good Aldridge is! All I know is that we're going to fucking beat all the opponents in Indianapolis! The young white young marshal was so shocked that his face turned red.
Young people's enthusiasm is the easiest to ignite, and it just so happens that Stevens is also a young man. He knows very well how to lead this group of imps who are not favored by others to fight their way out of the encirclement!
Yiyang was the first to stand up, and as the brain of the team's tactical execution, his responsibility is undoubtedly very huge. Look at what happened to the brainless Michigan state, and you can imagine what would have become of the pit bulls without Yiyang.
Everyone followed Yiyang to stand up one after another and re-devote themselves to training. Didn't desert, didn't feel tired. Now, there is only one thought in the minds of these lads.
In the final four, fight your way out!