From sparring to superstar

Chapter 17 16. NCAA debut
By the end of the pre-match preparation time, after a few days, Li Ao had already understood the preparation process of the NCAA basketball team.

Since there are usually only two games a week, one on weekdays and one on weekends, there is plenty of time for preparation.

Such a complete player training system makes Li Ao feel that it is the country with the strongest basketball strength.

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Li Ao and his teammates ate the high-calorie and easy-to-digest food prepared by the nutritionist. The taste, Sam Clancy, who was used to the low-quality high-protein canned food from the church since he was a snack, couldn't see anything at all. Discomfort, people who have eaten it before are used to it.

Li Ao is very curious, how does a nutritionist make high-calorie food so unpalatable.

This refreshed his cognition. He always thought that low-calorie and low-sugar diet meals were the worst.

The same newcomer Rob Erez, who entered the main roster as a freshman, complained directly: "God, this is a waste of food."

Li Ao responded: "Maybe he didn't do it on purpose, he was probably the nutritionist who brought the eagle over."

The teammates burst into laughter when they heard the words, and when they were talking about which place had the worst food, they would kill everything in seconds by mentioning the eagle.

At 5:[-] p.m., it was time to warm up before the game. Although he felt that he might not have the chance to play, Li Ao was still looking forward to learning how to warm up before the game.

I heard from Kevin Henderson before that the warm-up before training is very different from the warm-up before the game. The warm-up before the game is not only required to be sufficient, but also needs to be comprehensive.

Get used to it well, not to mention anything else, sufficient warm-up can reduce the probability of injury, if you get injured because you didn’t warm up well, it will be too bad.

Li Ao and his teammates came to the training ground together, waiting for the trainer to come.

He found a place to sit down and turned on the system screen. He had been waiting for an 'auspicious day', but he didn't bring the almanac to the United States. He didn't know which day would be the auspicious day. 'Auspicious day' is used.

He opened the lottery interface, and the screen showed that he still had 5350 achievement points.

Since the start of the training tasks of catch-and-shoot and single-defense, whenever it is his personal training day, he will do these two training tasks.

After completing the single defense training task for the first time, almost all subsequent tasks can be completed at one time after starting the task, and 50 achievement points can be returned.

But so far, he has not been able to complete the task of catching and shooting at one time, and he only invests 100 achievement points each time.

He doesn't feel bad about it, but the achievement points have started to grow negatively, and there are fewer one-on-one sparring training, so he plans to only draw 3 times, leaving more than 2000 achievement points for backup.

He issued an instruction in his heart, the lottery draw started, 3000 achievement points were deducted, and 3 white lights flashed one after another...

The contents of the system screen changed to three lucky draw reward prompts.

Li Ao looked expectantly...

"Macho pressure suit: It is recommended to wear when the host is gaining muscle, it can help the host have perfect muscle lines."

What a piece of crap, its uselessness is comparable to "the inspirational psychology of chasing dreams"!It's okay to spend money to customize this thing!

Li Ao almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

Forget it, if there is a need for weight gain in the future, it can be used. The system produced should be better than the customized one, and he has no money now.

Second second!

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill: Perfect Warm Up (Level 1)."

"Perfect warm-up (Level 1): The host needs to warm up in strict accordance with the requirements in the pre-match warm-up session. After the system judges that the warm-up is qualified, the host's first shot at the start feels hot."

He regretted it, why should he improve his passing skills, this seems to be better!
He silently prayed in his heart 'upgrade card upgrade card'...

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining a level 2 skill upgrade card fragment."

It's coming, but it's a pity that it's in pieces.

However, he felt that today was an auspicious day for the zodiac. The 3 draws were related to skills, and he was very lucky.

Soon, chief assistant Kevin Henderson brought the trainers to help everyone warm up.

For others, one trainer is in charge of several people, but for the newcomers Li Ao, Rob Erez, and Nate Haier, there is one trainer for each person.

The trainer began to instruct the three to warm up, and the performance of the three was very different.

Rob Ailes was too active, the trainer hurriedly shouted: "Don't worry, move slowly, this is a warm-up, not fitness! Don't waste energy in this session!"

Nate Hale caused headaches for trainers because of his lack of standard movements.

On Li Ao's side, after the trainer arranged + demonstrated a project, he was doing each movement very patiently, fully mobilizing the muscle groups that need to be activated for the movement.

And his warm-up training movements can see progress!

This satisfied Kevin Henderson, who was supervising on the sidelines.

Generally speaking, the reaction of newcomers will be like that of Rob Erez, wanting to show their enthusiasm. Sam Clancy, who has already been in the second season, is still like this. The trainer doesn't want to care about it. It didn't work either.

There is also a situation like Nate Haier who feels that he is right. Often a conceited player like him, it is hard to say whether the warm-up can effectively avoid injuries, but it is easy to get injured due to training.

But Li Ao was extraordinarily attentive and patient in this matter.

But to be able to do so well, it still relies on the system's "action specification"!
After the trainer demonstrates a movement, the system screen will pop up. After every movement, he can see the guidance on it and tell him how to adjust it.

The trainer also has guidance, but it is very general, and it is impossible to see which parts should be exerted like the system.

After a few 10 minutes of warm-up time passed, Li Ao was the last to complete the warm-up training, but he managed to fully move his body!

"Perfect warm-up (Level 1) has been successfully triggered, the host's first shot after playing tonight's game must feel hot."

After trying it once, Li Ao understood that the triggering condition of this skill is not difficult. In fact, he has already learned the warm-up links in the previous training. There will be omissions.

In addition, the usual warm-up is not so strict, it is almost enough, because there is less confrontation, and the trainer will only grasp the details of the movements when it comes to the competition.

After the warm-up session was over, Li Ao and his teammates came to the locker room to change their jerseys.

Another door to the locker room, which had been locked all along, finally opened today.

This door is connected to the player channel!

The reason why the training ground layout of the Trojans is so weird is that the main training ground is a little far away from the main arena. Li Ao once had nothing to do to look at the floor plan of the Memorial Stadium, and saw that the gym of the Trojans was facing straight. In the direction of the main arena, the connected small training ground and locker rooms have reached the surroundings of the main arena.

Putting on the No. 0 jersey and training suit, Li Ao couldn't wait to enter the player tunnel, and after finding the light, he came to the corner, and he could already hear the noisy sound from the other side of the stadium.

In the past, he felt that playing NCAA games was just a matter of playing a ball, that is, a higher level of competition.

But at this moment, he felt something he had never felt before.

After turning the corner, he could already see the bright lights outside the long tunnel, and this feeling became stronger as he approached the entrance of the tunnel.

Until he came to the entrance of the player tunnel and saw more than 2 fans around the stadium wearing yellow and white team T-shirts, cheering and shouting enthusiastically, he felt his whole blood was boiling!

It's not that he hasn't been to the scene to watch the game. At the end of last year, Dean Teng, who received a free ticket, gave him a ticket. He and Liam, who bought the ticket himself, watched a game with more than 7 seats and all A packed football game.

The sunroof was open that day, and the atmosphere of the open-air game was supposed to be more violent and lively than tonight's indoor game with the sunroof closed and "only" more than 2 fans.

But what he feels now is far from what he could compare to sitting in the auditorium that day.

Being one of tens of thousands of people watching a game with dozens of people is completely different from being one of 24 people surrounded by more than 2 fans!
Suddenly someone patted Li Ao on the shoulder, which startled him.

He turned his head and saw Shelby Jordan laughed loudly: "Haha, Leo, don't just stand there, come in and enjoy the cheers of the fans!"

After Shelby Jordan ran into the stadium, the fans who were already manic at the scene burst into cheers when they saw him enter the field.

Among them is a group of fans who are particularly conspicuous. This group of fans has a lot of ear studs and lip studs, and their hairstyles are also very different. Everyone has tattoos. The most important thing is that each of them has a tattoo around their necks!
Shelby Jordan also blew kisses to that group of fans. Li Ao, as a teammate, felt that this coquettish scene was too eye-catching.

Not to mention the opponent.

He speculated maliciously that this 'Little Lambir' would be even more flamboyant when he was away, although he had never seen it.

Seeing his teammates rushing into the field excitedly one by one, Li Ao quickly followed suit.

But he regretted it after entering the field. He knew that he was with the big team.

That fell to the backside, and there were boos on both sides of the tunnel when he came out.

He expected this to happen, and he was mentally prepared, but when he heard the boos and curses, his heart still fluctuated greatly.

Inexplicably, he felt a deep desire inside him to get stronger, to get the home crowd cheering him on.

...

Li Ao's booing was just a small episode and had no effect on the game.

The Bruins players entered the stadium, and the fans booed all over the place. No one cared about him anymore. He came to the sidelines and chatted with Vivienne, Liam, and Dean Teng who came to watch the game. , the three cheered him on, and the negative emotions brought about by his booing eased a lot.

The Bruins are worthy of being the team in Los Angeles. They are also known as the Lakers of college basketball.

But the Bruins are actually not like the Lakers. They are more like the Celtics in terms of achievement. Ten of their 11 national championships were won in the 10s and 70s, including a 7 consecutive championships that have never been seen before.

But in terms of making opponents and opponent fans unhappy, the Bruins are the same as the Lakers.

The Bruins players didn't seem to take the so-called opening game seriously at all. When they came out, they walked out in a leisurely manner, talking and laughing like two to five to eighty thousand.

There is no need for grievances from the teams in the same city. The players of the Trojans only need to see the arrogant posture of the players of the Bruins, and they are already full of anger and full of fighting spirit.

Shelby Jordan directly sprayed: "Those XXX, really thought it was still in the 70s? The Cold War is over, XXX..."

At 7 p.m., the season opener between the Trojans and the Bruins begins.

The Bruins sent Earl Watson, Ray Young, Matt Barnes, Jason Kapono, and Dan Gadzulic to the starting lineup.

The Trojans sent Brandon Granville, Jeff Trepagnier, Shelby Jordan, Brian Scalabrine and Costas Charles to the starting lineup.

Sitting on the sidelines, Li Ao can feel the pressure coming from the opponent's starting lineup, and even his feelings are deeper than his teammates on the field.

5 starters, 4 players who can impress fans in the NBA in the future, and the only one who has no impression, Ray Young, is the 98th among high school students in the United States in 16.

This belongs to the talent to ride the face!

Not surprisingly, under the leadership of Watson and Kapono, the Bruins played a smooth and gorgeous offense, pressing the Trojans.

Li Ao on the sidelines watched anxiously. He didn't realize that since when, he already had a sense of belonging to the team he had been with for three months, and he already had a sense of identity with his teammates. Unfavorable, his whole heart ached.

But he can only be anxious, he has no chance to play, and he has no ability to do anything when he plays, he can only trust his teammates who play.

However, although the Trojans were under pressure, they were not chaotic!
As the game deepened, the momentum of the Trojans began to rise!
Shelby Jordan was not frustrated by Kapono's 4 points and 1 assist at the start. After playing a few more rounds, he became familiar with the offensive style of Kapono, a college rookie, and his defensive performance gradually improved.

The white mamba, who was made uncomfortable by Barnes' tough confrontation at the beginning, played better and better.

The importance of court experience is reflected in Shelby Jordan and the White Mamba!
The Bruins' zone defense began to tilt towards the White Mamba, Granville seized this opportunity and began to rush inside!
Granville compressed the inside defense with a sharp breakthrough, and the outside line was restrained by the white mamba. Trepagnier used the cover of Charles, who was excellent in the pick-and-roll, to get consecutive opportunities. He hit one goal after another and scored in 5 rounds. 4 goals, one of which was a three-pointer, scored 9 points in a row.

The Bruins were in trouble, and Ray Young missed two open three-pointers, and their offense suffered a serious setback.

In addition to the weakness of the 70+ comprehensive evaluation level of the Bruins, there is no one at the shooting guard position!

Lei Yanggui was the 98th among high school students in the United States in 16 and the 5th in shooting guard. As a result, he was in trouble after reaching the NCAA.

这波9比4后，特洛伊人队将比分追至19比20，分差缩小到1分！
It was the Bruins' attack again, and the ball came to Ray Young again, but he didn't dare to shoot. He made a strong pass to the inside. Granville rushed to complete the interception, stealing and counterattacking!
Granville trotted all the way to the opponent's basket, the passer-by made a layup, and the Bruins called a timeout.

21 to 20, the Trojans overtook the score!

The players on the bench of the Trojans excitedly rushed forward to give high fives and hugs to their teammates, and Li Ao was one of them.

Once, when he watched those overly excited athletes on live TV, he couldn't understand it, and felt that he was too stupid.

At this moment, he understood that in such an environment and atmosphere, he couldn't control it at all, so he wanted to cheer loudly to express his emotions.

He didn't even think about whether he would be able to play, and he just expected the team to win, and his thoughts became simple and pure.

After the timeout, they entered the rotation lineup. The excited Trojans players firmly suppressed the Bruins and maintained the initiative. At halftime, the Trojans led the Bruins by 49 points 43 to 6!
After the intermission, the Bruins launched a counterattack.

The stage of returning from the intermission is similar to the third quarter of a four-quarter game, relying more on individual ability, which is extremely detrimental to the Trojans.

In addition, Shelby Jordan and White Mamba played the entire first half. At the beginning of the second half, both of them needed to rest and did not play. The Bruins relied on two super substitutes Jerome Moiso and Jalen La Shi launched a fierce counterattack, played a wave of 4-9 in more than 3 minutes, tied the score 52-52, and stopped the Trojans.

Jerome Moiso, the 98th high school student in the United States in 75, and Jalen Rush, the 98th high school student in the United States in 7, the two formed a backup striker against the Trojans. Rosenthal was able to hold on, and Sam Clancy played poorly against Moiso, who was both offensive and defensive.

In desperation, Henry Bibby could only replace Shelby Jordan and the White Mamba in advance.

After replacing the two, the Trojans finally stabilized the situation. In the next few minutes, the two teams played back and forth. Henry Bibby had no other choice but to wait until the critical moment. The personal abilities of Granville and White Mamba played key goals.

In the opening game, the opponent was UCLA, the mortal enemy of USC. The White Mamba performed very well, but he bit the situation at this unfavorable stage.

Watching the game go in the direction Henry Bibby expected, an accident happened.

Barnes and Shelby Jordan suddenly had a fierce physical conflict!

Unlike other players, Barnes didn't hesitate at all when he met the notorious 'Little Lambert'. When Shelby Jordan switched to Barnes who cut in, he used trash talk and small moves, which made Barnes give up first. With an elbow, Shelby Jordan was not afraid of getting into trouble, and immediately slapped Barnes on the arm, and the two got entangled together.

The referee blew his whistle decisively and sent them out!

I am happy to see players clash with the NBA, because usually you can’t fight, but if you really fight, you will lose a lot of money by being suspended. Generally, those who really dare to fight are stars.

But the NCAA is particularly strict in this aspect. "Pure basketball" is the selling point of the NCAA. They have been promoting this, and the whistleblowers are also extremely severe.

The head coaches of both sides were caught off guard by this unexpected situation, but the Bruins obviously took advantage!
Bruins head coach Steve LaVine immediately replaced Jerome Moiso, and Henry Bibby was so angry that he pounded his chair crazily, but he had no choice but to replace Brusenthal.

Although Moiso's defense is not as good as Barnes', but it is also quite good. It's just that Barnes is a top defensive player in college like Shelby Jordan, and Barnes is only a sophomore, so he can rely on pure defense. After receiving the attention of the NBA team, Moiso was placed on the bench.

Moreover, he has good physical fitness and strong impact. The striker combination formed with Kapono can score both inside and outside.

For the Trojans, Brusenthal and the White Mamba both played softly.

The main thing is Kapono, no one in the Trojans can limit it!The Bruins quickly took the initiative. At 12:04 in the second half, the Bruins took a 5-point lead, leading 72 to 67, and the Trojans called a timeout again!
Henry Bibby glanced back and forth on the bench, very painful.

Unlike the Bruins, he casts a wide net every summer. Talented high school students cannot be invited, and those who are out of a hundred are also actively striving for it. Therefore, they have many mainstay players with a comprehensive evaluation level of 70+, but the disadvantage is that top talents are very rare. few.

There is neither an offensive genius like Kapono who is a top player after entering college, nor a pure defensive genius like Barnes who can start the Bruins as a sophomore.

Now when top combat power is needed, no one can be found!
Halfway through the timeout, Henry Bibby hasn't figured out who to replace.

Suddenly, he set his sights on that kid... Let's treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor!

"Leo, go, defend Kapono!"

Li Ao was suddenly called by his name, and immediately stood up. He was so frustrated because he was about to lose the game that he didn't react for a while, and his eyes showed a daze.

Henry Bibby held back his impatience and said again: "You go up, against Kapono, can you go up?"

Li Ao finally came to his senses, and quickly responded, "I'll go!"

Henry Bibby didn't say anything to Li Ao, and hurriedly made substitutions, replacing both Charles and Trepagnier, plus Granville and White Mamba, who were already present, formed a brand new team. Group of five.

Li Ao was still dazed when he entered the stage, but suddenly he entered the stage.

At this time, the fans made noisy comments, which woke him up instantly.

Looking at the auntie who jumped up and cheered excitedly on the sidelines, Li Ao was sure that he was on the stage!
For the Bruins, Watson, Ray Young, Moiso, Kapono, and Gadzuric were replaced.

Li Ao felt the pressure coming from these five people, but he had entered the state, and he knew that he didn't need to bear the pressure. What he had to do was to limit Kapono!
Although it was replaced suddenly, this opportunity must be seized!
The game continued with the Trojans attacking.

Granville attacked with the ball. When he came from the right to the free throw line, he encountered the defense of Moiso and Gadzuric. The inside pass could not go in. Granville passed the ball to Li Ao who came out from the left. transition.

Li Ao received the ball at the free throw line, Lei Yang, who is 193 cm tall, rushed up to block him, and Moisuo received the ball one step inside the free throw line, blocking Li Ao's pass to the basket.

Granville stepped back, ready to catch the ball again and launch an attack again. Li Ao looked at the opponent's defense and followed Granville to expand outwards, and then looked at Lei Yang, who was not as tall as him in height and wingspan... There was an impulse in his heart...

Dry!
Facing Lei Yang's defense, Li Ao took off and made a mid-range shot one step beyond the free throw line...'Perfect Warm-up' triggered!
For the first shot in this game, Li Ao must feel hot!

Henry Bibby watched Li Ao shoot directly against the defense and cursed on the spot.

Then I heard the cheers of the fans on the scene!

Li Aochang made a two-pointer!
69 to 72, the Trojans chased the point difference to 3 points!
(End of this chapter)