After returning to Tempe, Xu Yong once again adjusted his training focus during the second day's training.

He put ball control training at the top of the list, followed by three-pointers and stamina.

The reason for this adjustment is the same as the previous one.

After determining that the three-point training was effective, he needed to improve his dribbling ability.

Elevating power, three-point shooting, and control to the NBA level before the draft is a goal he has set for a long time.

At this time, the existence of Cooks becomes very meaningful.

Because of the control technique, if it is just training without the ball, it is easy to go in the direction of flashy or even bells and whistles.

But when used in confrontation, a lot of dribbling will become unnecessary, and those that are necessary will gradually become proficient.

This understanding is also due to his experience before he was reborn, he has watched a lot of people play, both in the NBA and the CBA.

He found that many CBA players, including some players in the NBA who have a cancerous style of play, like to play a mess, and great players such as Jordan and Kobe rarely dribble more than three times when attacking.

Too much dribbling will not only consume too much physical energy, but also put yourself in the trap, and it is easy to turn into a pot ball after passing.

To create offensive space on or without three dribbles, the requirements for dribbling and offensive skills will be very high.

In other words, there is still a lot of improvement that needs to be improved to reach Kobe's level, such as ball control, mid-range, back, footwork, back-up, etc., all of which must be completed.

Xu Yong obviously can't do that now, but he can set the rule of up to three dribbles in bullfighting, which will allow him to achieve the goal of refining and controlling the dribble.

For Cooks, defending against such a swift offense will also greatly improve his defensive ability.

This is the cultivation of the spear and the shield, the spear will be sharper, and the shield will be stronger.

……

The Devils' second game opponent was the Oregon State University Beavers.

The Beavers finished second-to-last in the Pac10 league last season and are close to the Devils.

And they are not as lucky as the Devils, who can recruit high-quality high school students like Harden and Xu Yong, and their strength has not changed much from last season.

So overall, they will have an easier time next game.

Moreover, the next game is played at home.

The morning before the game, when the players came to the locker room one after another, they found that there was one more thing in the locker room.

The team members couldn't help but watch.

Xu Yong was also stunned when he went in and saw it.

It turned out to be a ping-pong table!

After a while, Sandek came to the locker room.

He had a pair of ping-pong rackets in his hand and a box of brand-new, unopened table tennis balls.

"Don't be late for training." After putting things in and saying a word, Sandke turned and left the locker room.

As soon as he left, the players immediately took their rackets, and Shipp and Cooks started to fight directly, and there was a decent one.

The popularity of table tennis in the United States is seriously underestimated, and you don't see Hollywood movies where American GIs must have table tennis pictures when they recover.

It's just that table tennis is more of a recreation than a competition here, so few people know about it.

After a while, Shipp defeated Cooks and Albert in quick succession, and this guy is really proficient in everything except basketball.

"Xu, I'm going to challenge you." He then challenged Xu Yong.

As a Chinese in the eyes of a foreigner, you can not have many things, but there are two things that are almost inevitable.

One is kung fu, and the other is table tennis.

The former is because of the existence of Bruce Lee, and the latter is because of the influence of the Chinese table tennis dream team.

Xu Yong nodded and got up, the two things that foreigners thought happened to be 100 million yuan.

Then, under the watchful eyes of a group of teammates, Xu Yong staged a "Narrow Victory".

As an opponent, Shipp can clearly feel that Xu Yong can completely veil him.

But it's clear who will punch their teammates?

After Xu Yong won, he put down the table tennis racket and did not continue to play others like Shipp.

Soon, however, other teammates came up to play.

Table tennis is a slow thing to get started, and it is difficult to play to a competitive level, but it is better than simplicity and playability, and it belongs to the kind of sport that gets better and better the more you play, which is why it is so popular.

Then when it was time to practice in the afternoon, Harden found Xu Yong and said that he wanted to learn to play table tennis with him.

It was only at this time that Xu Yong noticed that Harden had not been on the table tennis table in the locker room in the morning, and it turned out that he still didn't know.

Of course, he won't refuse, and when the practice is over, he will take Harden back to the locker room to teach him to play.

It's just that compared to basketball, Harden's talent in table tennis is really average.

This talent does not refer to physical talent, Harden's coordination and explosiveness are not lacking, but his ball sense is too poor.

Those who are deficient in this area will have to practice for at least two and a half years to find the feeling.

Of course, this is entertainment in itself, and Harden still has a lot of fun.

The ping-pong table that Sandek has built can be said to be worth the price.

……

The next day, the Devils sat at home against the Beavers.

The result was not too much suspense, the game was easily won, and Xu Yong and Harden's blocking and dismantling were used more by Sandike, becoming a big weapon for the team to attack the city.

And it's worth mentioning that the Wells Fargo Arena is full.

After the Devils won the derby before, the popularity exploded, and not only the local fans in Tempe, but also fans in several major cities in the Phoenix metro area came to support them.

It's a state school, but it's a team in the Phoenix metro area, and if it makes it to the tournament, it's their home team.

With two straight wins in the opening game, the Devils followed up with a trip to the University of California, Berkeley's Haas Arena to face the Golden Bears.

Berkeley, although not as good as Los Angeles (that is, UCLA), is still stronger than Oregon State.

And the Devils, especially Harden and Xu Yong, are clearly targeted.

Harden and Xu Yong played well in the first two games, but they are not without weaknesses.

Harden was more pressed to break down the right, and his lack of skill with his right hand led to a noticeable drop in finishing efficiency and an increase in turnovers.

Xu Yong's off-ball ability is excellent, but the ability to hold the ball is weak, although he has been trained in advance, but it is the same as the previous three-point training, and it is not immediate.

After Harden's play was limited, his play was also greatly affected.

And on the Golden Bears' side, sophomore Ryan Anderson had an exceptionally good performance, scoring 24 points in the game.

On the bright side, though, the Golden Bears don't have anyone to give Anderson more support.

The two teams were deadlocked until the final moment, and with Xu Yong's successful defense of Anderson in the final moments, the Devils won the game 60-58.

So far, they have extended their winning streak to three games and made a perfect start.

But then they're up for a real challenge, and their next opponent is the Pac10 Conference kings and the most famous NCAA Division I conference champions, the 10th time in school history (the most in NCAA history), and the favorite to win the title this season.