Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

"Dang~~"

In the Timberwolves' training hall, Barkley failed to make a layup under the defense of Wu Dao. The basketball hit the edge of the basket and then fell to the ground.

August.

Wu Dao, who is still in the off-season, has already started to intensify his training. Suffering from the lack of an opponent who can serve as his sparring partner, he has also set his sights on Barkley.

Barkley has been very relaxed in the new season. He is obviously a player aiming to win the championship, but since the training camp, Wudao has basically not seen him come to the training ground.

From the time the Houston Rockets were eliminated from the playoffs to now, Barkley's body has visibly expanded.

In the NBA, there are very few players who can maintain self-discipline during the offseason, and Barkley, who is entering the twilight of his career, is obviously not one of them.

After coming to the Timberwolves, Barkley seemed to be very optimistic about the Timberwolves' game prospects next season, so much so that he relaxed completely. He even started to gain weight due to not exercising for a long time.

When men reach his age, their metabolism slows down, and athletes have large appetites. If they don't keep exercising, there is no way to control their body shape.

I don't know how many players have been defeated by self-discipline. Barkley in the last years of his career was one of them. O'Neal, who won 4 championships, was also one of them. Even a rookie like Fat Tiger who had just received a big contract was ruined in this way.

Faced with Wu Dao's training invitation, Barkley naturally had no intention of refusing. Although it was the off-season, as Wu Dao was the leader of the Timberwolves, Barkley would still give Wu Dao this face.

But after arriving at the stadium, Barkley felt more or less regretful in his heart.

The long offseason has caused Barkley's physical reserves to drop significantly. His body shape has changed and his performance on the court is also a bit poor.

Although Wu Dao is young, he is not a rookie. He is very strong in both physical confrontation and experience. Even Barkley in his heyday might not be able to gain an advantage against Wu Dao, let alone him who has become out of shape and has a drastic decline in physical functions.

The one-on-one bullfight with Wudao made Barkley feel a little painful. This pain was not because of the military training he received from Wudao on the court, but because after his physical energy was greatly consumed, the feeling of weakness in his body made Barkley a little overwhelmed.

He is no longer young, and the food is a bit bitter. He could eat it at the age of 24, but at the age of 35, he really can't eat it.

The affluent life also changed Barkley's mentality. In fact, as early as his time with the Rockets, Barkley had already begun to let himself go.

The players who joined later, Olajuwon and Glider, actually never really accepted Barkley. There always seemed to be an invisible film between Barkley and the Rockets players, which prevented them from truly opening up to each other.

Moreover, the decline in form of Olajuwon, Glider and others also completely shattered Barkley's dream of winning the championship. In fact, Barkley has always been resentful of the Rockets. He has already lowered himself so much, but still has not been able to win the championship. This disappointment is the source of that resentment.

Joining the Timberwolves did make Barkley happy for a while, and he was very optimistic about this young team, but he still brought his lifestyle from his time with the Rockets to the Timberwolves.

If the Timberwolves were led by someone else, they might not care what a star like Barkley does during the offseason.

But martial arts is different from others.

He had already anticipated that if Barkley continued like this, it would affect his financial situation. As for Wu Dao, he would never allow the core players in the team to live such a lifestyle.

The overweight Barkley has no way of guaranteeing that he can perform well on the court.

Moreover, Wu Dao, who had opened his eyes to heaven, also knew that Barkley's performance in the shortened season from 98 to 99 was actually very average, and his decline was so rapid that it was even faster than that of Olajuwon.
This has something to do with the injuries Barkley has accumulated over time, and is actually closely related to his undisciplined life.

If an old general who has been fighting on the battlefield for many years suddenly stops fighting, his old illness will soon break out. On the contrary, if he can stay on the battlefield, perhaps the illness will not break out.
This is especially true for basketball players, as too long a rest will put them at a greater risk of injury.

Barkley, who missed the layup, simply lay on the floor without any intention of getting up. His sweat had soaked his jersey. He only lasted 20 minutes of the bullfight with martial arts and was already out of breath and had no strength left.

Although Barkley's body shape has changed and his physical fitness has seriously declined, he is still much stronger than ordinary people.

One-on-one bullfighting is actually a very physically demanding activity, especially when facing a high-level player like Wu Dao. Barkley's ability to last for 20 minutes is not short. If he were on the court, Barkley should be able to play for about minutes.

But this state does not satisfy me, because in this bullfight, Barkley's state in the second half is completely different from that in the first half.

If he were to evaluate, if he played the whole game, Barkley would probably only be able to play at full strength for one quarter before needing to rest.
Although the Timberwolves have not yet completed the team's lineup adjustments, the management is still trying to introduce more outstanding bench players to the team.

But for the Timberwolves at this stage, the 8-man rotation lineup has basically been determined.

Budo, Garnett, Tom, Marbury, Ben Wallace, Chris Kyle, Stanley Roberts and Barkley.

If nothing else, Barkley will dominate the transition period of the game.

This task is beyond the reach of players like Tom and Marbury because their ability to attack the basket cannot be compared with players like Barkley.

This transition time will be at least sixteen or seventeen minutes. The ideal situation is that Barkley can be in top competitive form for 20 minutes. In this way, the Timberwolves can make up for the vitality problems of the Timberwolves in the rotation stage and the problem of rebounding.

Barkley's playing time is not just when Wu Dao is off the court, he also needs to fill the gap left by Garnett in the rotation.

That is to say, he needs to swing between the three and four positions and take charge of different tasks at different times.

With Barkley's experience, it is not difficult to play these two roles. What restricts him is his physical fitness.

As September approaches, the situation in the Western Conference has gradually become clearer, and the Timberwolves management knows that the biggest pressure they will face next season is actually in the interior.

The only two players who can help Garnett are Ben Wallace and Barkley. Stanley Roberts has a fatal technical flaw and can only be used against the Lakers.
"Are you okay, Charles?"

In the empty gym, only Wudao and Barkley were practicing. Wudao grabbed the ball in one hand, walked to Barkley, slowly squatted down, and asked.

"Ho-ho-"

Barkley was breathing heavily and did not answer Wu Dao. He just nodded encouragingly and then shook his head. For a moment, Wu Dao had no idea what Barkley wanted to express.

"You're nodding and shaking your head. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Honestly, Charles, your physical fitness is a little worse than I thought."

“It shouldn’t be like this.”

"Aren't you going to beat Michael? If it was him, he wouldn't give up after just a few shots."

There was a hint of disappointment in Wu Dao's words, and he walked to the basket with the basketball in his hand. He casually hooked the ball into the basket, caught the ball, changed hands, hooked the ball again, and sent the ball into the basket.

"Wudao, your words are a bit hurtful." "There is no one else here. After all, I am your senior. You have to give me some face, right?"

"During the offseason, I had a great life but I didn't enjoy it. I practiced with you in the gym. Don't you know how to be grateful?"

"And Michael. I bet this guy doesn't know where to fly leaves."

The name Michael Jordan could still stimulate Barkley. Exhausted, he sat up and complained to Wu Dao. He would not admit in front of Wu Dao that Michael Jordan worked harder than him, even though Barkley knew it was a fact.

"A bet?"

"Forget it. I'm afraid you'll lose everything."

"I think you should know Michael better than I do."

"He must be holding back his energy right now, wanting to get revenge on us Timberwolves no matter what."

"I think you must have heard about the big moves the Bulls made this month. Chris Webber and Chauncey Billups are both extremely talented and in their prime years."

"Although the Bulls' lineups for other positions have not been finalized, I already feel a sense of crisis."

"Charles, seriously, we Timberwolves really need your help."

"Even if we don't consider the Bulls, we still have a lot of enemies to defeat if we want to reach the finals next year."

"Your old team in Houston, as well as the Lakers and Spurs, the inside players of these teams are stronger than the other."

“I really don’t have much confidence.”

In response to Barkley's complaint, Wu Dao stopped his hook shot training, and then spoke to Barkley with a sincere face.

He hopes to completely inspire Barkley's fighting spirit in this way.

It is too early to give up now. The competition in the NBA will only become more intense next season. Even Wu Dao hopes to have a strong helper like Barkley.

"You have no confidence? How can a guy like you have no confidence? Are you kidding me?"

After saying that, Barkley looked at Wu Dao's serious face and fell into silence. Wu Dao's words really touched him. Originally, he felt that joining the Timberwolves and getting a championship ring was a foregone conclusion.

Moreover, during the time he has been in the Timberwolves, he has seen how solid the status of martial arts is. In fact, not only martial arts, but also young people like Garnett and Marbury have an extremely solid status in Forest Island.

This old man is really marginalized and insignificant in the Timberwolves.

Whether he was in the Suns or the Rockets, he was the absolute core of the team. Suddenly he became an dispensable player, which also caused Barkley to have a big psychological gap.

Are you willing to be a supporting role?

No matter how much Barkley tried to convince himself, he was unwilling to accept this fact in his heart.

And now, Wu Dao, who is in the limelight in the league, actually told Barkley that he needs him. These words also opened Barkley's heart.

It is true that he came to the Timberwolves to curry favor with the team, but if possible, Barkley does not want to be labeled like this by the fans.

Even if he couldn't become the most core pillar of the Timberwolves, he would become one of the most indispensable right-hand men in martial arts.

The title of second in command is always more famous than that of sixth in command or seventh in command, isn't it?

Although players like Garnett and Marbury are firmly in the core position, it does not mean that they can firmly sit in the second-in-command position.

Well.
These players are still very young and have a lot of potential to be tapped. Before they grow up completely, Barkley doesn't mind being the pillar of the Timberwolves.

"Help me up, let's continue!"

Barkley suddenly slammed the floor, stretched out his hand towards Wu Dao, and shouted with full energy.

Seeing that Barkley had recovered his spirit, Wudao showed a bright smile on his face. He grabbed Barkley's hands and pulled the flying pig up from the ground.

Mid-September.

The Timberwolves held a new season media day in Minnesota, opening the arena to welcome media from all over the country
In front of the cameras of the media reporters, the entire Timberwolves team behaved very harmoniously.

When Barkley reappeared in front of the media reporters, everyone was stunned. He had lost almost ten kilograms in a month. For a player of his weight, the time seemed to be invisible at all, but in fact, Barkley's body shape had changed slightly.

His arms were obviously much stronger, and even when he was relaxed, the outlines of his muscles could be seen.

Any fan who pays attention to Barkley can notice this, not to mention those sports media reporters in the industry.

Compared to his physical appearance, Barkley's change in spirit is the most surprising. The confusion and helplessness he had when he lost in the playoffs are no longer on his face.

Now he is full of confidence in himself and this team.

In front of the media, Budo announced the Timberwolves' goal for the new season on behalf of the entire team:

"We will build our Timberwolves dynasty in Minnesota."

"Not one championship, not two championships."

"Three, four, or even more!"

"I hope the Minnesota fans will continue to support us."

"We guys will never let you down."

As he spoke, Wu Dao spread out his hands. On both sides of him, the Timberwolves players stood with smiles on their faces, put their arms around each other's shoulders, and took a spirited group photo.

(End of this chapter)