Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

The Timberwolves management actually had the idea of ​​setting up a training camp, which surprised Wu Dao a little.

In fact, many teams in the NBA have subordinate leagues. These subordinate teams affiliated with the main team often provide venues for the team to train new players.

A level lower than the lower-level leagues are other amateur leagues or training camps.

Not only do the teams hold training camps, some NBA stars and legends also have their own training camps. Not only do they use their influence to make money, but they also hold training camps for young players to expand their influence and also to prepare for their retirement.

For example, Olajuwon started his own training camp after his career. There are even many stars who want to take Olajuwon's footwork lessons, and the tuition is very expensive.

This is known to fans. Yao Ming, Kobe and James are among the students in his training camp.

Of course, not all students can master his fantastic footwork after his training.

There are actually only a handful of players who have truly improved.

For a player like James who does not have the talent for footwork, he has just spent money to buy the title of a trainee, which is meaningless.

Wudao was also quite interested in the training camp. Of course, more importantly, he heard from Coach Philip that there would be an Asian face in the training camp.

In this day and age, this circle is dominated by blacks and whites. Asian faces are very rare in this arena, even in the NCAA and high school leagues.

The players who are invited to participate in the Timberwolves training camp must be very outstanding. They must be the best of the best in the Asian circle. I am quite interested in such players.

We all have the same skin color. If possible, I would like to see with my own eyes what kind of players are selected by the Timberwolves training camp and invited to participate.

Wu Dao's doubts didn't last long at all and were soon revealed.

July 20th.

The players invited to the training camp gathered at the Timberwolves' Target Center. Along with the players came many scouts from other teams and local media reporters from Minnesota.

Therefore, the management attaches great importance to this event. While inviting outstanding young players to participate in the training camp, they also opened the stadium to the media. All media reporters who applied to participate in this event were able to smoothly enter the stadium to collect materials and shoot.

This is also one of the few public appearances by the Timberwolves players after winning the championship.

Almost all Timberwolves players participated in this event. The team's media resources are limited. Generally speaking, most of the marginal players and substitute players may not even get the opportunity to show their faces in front of the media.

Therefore, for the vast majority of Timberwolves players, every opportunity for exposure must be cherished.

Wu Dao came to the stadium with Garnett. When they arrived at the stadium, Barkley had already arrived early and was doing simple warm-up exercises on the sidelines. There were few Timberwolves players around him who chatted with him.

However, under the cameras of media reporters, Barkley, who was warming up, was all smiles, trying hard to show his kind side as a star player.

However, as a veteran, he obviously has a sense of boundaries with other ordinary team members.

On the basketball court, nearly 30 young players gathered to participate in the event.

This training camp lasts for a week. The players who come here to participate in the activities are all well-known high school and college students, and there are also some international players who are invited to participate.

After Barkley arrived in Minnesota, he had never met Garrett. At this time, Kevin Garnett saw Barkley doing stretching exercises on the sidelines, and hurriedly went up to greet him, while Wu Dao's eyes also swept over the young players who were active on the court.

His gaze did not stay on the players on the court for too long, but quickly moved to a tall player who was being interviewed by media reporters near the basketball hoop.

Although Wudao could only see the other person's silhouette from his position, he immediately recognized the other person the moment he saw the silhouette.

There is no way. The player is too recognizable. He is over 220cm tall, looks thin, has black hair and yellow skin. He is too "different" in such a stadium.

Yao Ming.

Wu Dao never thought that he would be able to see this future top star of a certain Eastern power in a stadium in Minnesota.

It was somewhat beyond Wudao's expectation that the other party would be in the United States at this point in time.

He actually knows Yao Ming's career very well. Long before Yao Ming officially entered the NBA, he had already participated in the Jordan training camp in the United States. At the same time, the incident in which Yao Ming beat Tyson Chandler in the training camp was also widely praised by fans.

The relationship between Wu Dao and Michael Jordan was not good. They were rivals, and Michael Jordan would not invite Wu Dao to his training camp.

He thought he would have to wait until Yao Ming officially entered the NBA before he would have the chance to meet him, but he didn't expect that the Timberwolves would also invite this big man to participate in the training camp they organized.

This really surprised Wu Dao.

At this time, Yao Ming was being interviewed by media reporters. It was obvious that many reporters were interested in this big man.

Although Wu Dao has become a pioneer of the yellow race, yellow players still cannot make a living in the NBA. Wu Dao is the only one who has achieved success.

Yao Ming is very young now. He is only 18 years old.

His talent is visible to the naked eye, and his height is very prominent even in the NBA.

They saw talent and potential in Yao Ming, so they were naturally very interested in this big man from France.

It is impossible to count how many yellow Americans the Timberwolves' martial arts have attracted to go to Minnesota to watch games, but one thing is certain: when Minnesota plays at home, nearly a quarter of the home fans in the stands are yellow people, cheering for martial arts.

Yellow players mean huge ticket revenue, which has long been a consensus among the owners of various NBA teams. Too many people are trying to replicate the Forest's success.

But unfortunately, the NBA arena is also very cruel. It is not enough to attract fans and sell tickets just by skin color. After all, strength is the most important consideration.

However, it must be said that the influence of basketball in Asia is not far-reaching enough, and the number of Asians who engage in this sport is extremely limited. Even the highest level athletes in Asia may not be able to perform well in the NBA.

The success of martial arts is difficult to replicate.

But the emergence of Yao Ming gave other teams hope.

Yao Ming has already shown himself in Jordan's training camp more than half a month ago. Although Yao Ming is tall, he has excellent mobility, skillful footwork under the basket, and excellent blocking ability.

In the training camp, they are not inferior to the local college and high school stars.

What's more important is that Yao Ming is only 18 years old and he still has great potential to be tapped. If the team trains him well, he will definitely be able to show his dominance in the NBA arena.

One thing that is very obvious about Yao Ming at this age is that he is too thin. He does not have an absolute advantage over players of the same level in the confrontation under the basket. At the same time, due to the influence of his height, his running speed is slower than other types of players. The team's offense and defense transitions need to adapt to his offense and defense rhythm.

However, these shortcomings are not fatal. In their opinion, thinness can be trained. The slow running speed is also limited by this body shape, which is an unsolvable problem. They can't expect players of this height to switch offense and defense like guards. Not everyone can have the physical talent of O'Neal, who can run and jump, and has a strong strength.

Although all domestic fans have watched the games between Yao Ming and O'Neal in his later years, if these two players were in their peak period at the same time, the best situation on the court would be a mutual explosion, and it is foreseeable that O'Neal's success rate would definitely be greater than Yao Ming.

Wu Dao's appearance attracted all the media reporters to turn their heads. Now he is the hottest new star in the league, and the Target Center suddenly became noisy.

Yao Ming, who was being interviewed on the sidelines, also noticed the commotion on the field. In front of him, Xiao Yang, a big mouth from the domestic sports weekly, also held up a microphone and suddenly stopped the interview and looked in the direction of the commotion.

After carefully identifying it for a while, he looked at Wu Dao who was surrounded by the crowd and said to Yao Ming:

"Look at that guy, that's the Timberwolves' current star player, Wu Dao."

"Like you, I'm from Asia."

"He just helped the Timberwolves win the championship. He seems to be about the same age as you, just a few months older than you."

When saying this, Xiao Yang also showed a sigh on his face.

They are both young players. The Yao Ming next to him is just a student in the training camp, while the other player is already a hot star in the league.

The gap between the two is like heaven and earth, there is no way to compare them.

At this time, Yao Ming was also looking at the martial arts in the distance with a burning gaze, with envy and a strong desire to fight in his eyes.

A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. Let alone that Wudao is a player of the same age as him, even if Wudao is two years older than him, he would not think that he is worse than other yellow players.

Wu Dao, who was surrounded by media reporters, also felt the gazes of Yao Ming and others. While responding to the interviews from the media reporters with a smile, he also looked towards Yao Ming in the distance.

Gently pushing away the reporters who were blocking his way, Wu Dao walked towards the bottom of the basketball hoop.

"Quick, take pictures!"

The sharp-eyed media reporters seemed to have anticipated what would happen between the two yellow players. Cameras focused one after another, and the crowd surrounding Wu Dao automatically split into two groups.

When Yao Ming and the accompanying reporter Xiao Yang saw Wu Dao walking towards them, they became unconsciously nervous.

Although Wu Dao is young, he is the leader of the Timberwolves.

"Welcome to Minnesota, I know you, your name is Yao Ming, right?"

Although there are not many opportunities to use Chinese in the NBA environment, it is almost an instinct engraved in the body. Even if it has not been used for many years, there will be no unfamiliarity with it.

Wu Dao's Chinese is so authentic, with a slight Cantonese accent. If you are not from that place, you probably won't be able to hear the accent.

Yao Ming and Xiao Yang were surprised to hear Wu Dao greet them in fluent Mandarin. The young Yao Ming pointed at Wu Dao and said in shock:

"Do you speak Chinese?"

He had always thought that Wu Dao was an overseas Chinese, but when he suddenly heard him speak fluent Mandarin, he suddenly realized that his understanding of the other party was not comprehensive.

Xiao Yang was also a little surprised. Behind the two of them, the cameraman from the domestic "Sports Weekly" couldn't help but point the camera at Wu Dao.

"Ah."

"My hometown is Chaoshan."

A bright smile appeared on his face. It is not easy to see family members in a foreign land. Moreover, he took the initiative to contact Yao Ming and say these words in order to expand his influence.

Today, Yao Ming is actually one of the few windows for China to connect with the world in the current era.

"Hello"

Yao Ming suddenly saw Wu Dao's outstretched hand, and he quickly reached out to shake it, greeting him with a stuttering mouth, and it was unclear whether he was nervous or excited.

"I'm glad you can join the Timberwolves' training camp. I hope you can show your strength in the upcoming training games."

"If your performance is good enough, I don't mind recommending you to join the Timberwolves."

Even in front of the media reporters, Wu Dao had no qualms about saying such clique-forming words.

He knew very well that neither the Timberwolves fans nor the team's management would mind his somewhat inappropriate words.

Strength is the basis of the right to speak.

His strength in martial arts meant that he had such a say.

"Thanks."

After a simple greeting, Wudao turned and left, walking towards Garnett and Barkley.

Given his current position in the Timberwolves, being able to take the initiative to say these words to Yao Ming can be considered as being polite and courteous. He does not need to be humble in front of these people at all.

Because at the Target Center, his martial arts is the master!
"acquaintance?"

Seeing Wudao coming, Barkley smiled and hooked his arm around Wudao's shoulder, showing intimacy and closeness in front of the media reporters.

"Not really, I know him."

"He's a big man with great potential. If he can come to the Timberwolves, he will be able to grow up in a few years."

Yao Ming's potential and talent are unquestionable. Although he cannot adapt to the intensity of the NBA court now, he will be able to play well if he is given one or two years.

This has been proven over time and there is no need to doubt it.

At this time, Wu Dao had actually already come up with the idea of ​​asking the management to find a way to sign Yao Ming.

I don’t know if there is such a fate.

(End of this chapter)