From sparring to superstar

Chapter 23 22. Facing Teammates with Heavy Punches
Eddie House knew that the opponent wanted to provoke him. He held back his anger and ran to find opportunities to catch and shoot the ball, and to open up space for his teammates to contain the opponent's zone defense.

The opportunity came to center Chad Pruitt, who shot a two-pointer from the baseline...and missed.

When the Trojans attacked, Granville missed a breakthrough throw, and Sam Clancy grabbed an offensive rebound, but was immediately blocked, and the pinch came quickly.

He didn't force it, and passed it to Li Ao, who was supporting him.

The Sun Devils immediately surrounded the zone defense after Sam Clancy grabbed the offensive rebound, but Li Ao quickly released the ball after receiving the ball, tearing the opponent's zone defense and sending the ball to the white mamba who circled the top arc hand.

There are many advantages to zone defense, but there are definitely disadvantages. The biggest flaw is that the three-point defense is so-so, especially when passing the ball from the inside to the outside.

But it's a pity that Bai Mamba failed to grasp Li Ao's wonderful pass this time, and the open three-point iron was lost.

Avi Streiter gets stuck and Eddie House secures the defensive rebound.

Li Ao posted on Eddie House at the first time, he changed his strategy, and the audience pressed hard!
Eddie House was afraid of the upper hand, so he immediately passed the ball to Turner Hill, and took Li Ao to the frontcourt.

"You useless rookie, do you only use this kind of trick?"

"I will have more poses, and then you can feel it."

"Despicable and shameless!"

"You can scold more harshly, you don't have to be so polite."

"..."

Eddie House stopped talking and continued to run around.

Really calm!Li Ao secretly praised that he is worthy of being a senior senior, his psychological quality is good, and he is a role model for my generation.

Eddie House is confident that he can easily beat Li Ao as long as he plays normally, but as Li Ao begins to adapt to Eddie House's running style, Eddie House finds that things are not as simple as he imagined.

Taller than him, faster than him, better in agility than him, and all his physical strength is devoted to chasing and defending, regardless of other things, even team defense. This is the first time he has encountered this kind of opponent.

Eddie House's running style is tilted towards containment, and the rest of the Sun Devils get more opportunities, but this is not a good thing for them!

Eddie House's scoring is more important to the Sun Devils than any other team's leading scorer is to his own team!
Simply put, Eddie House can strike, but he has to shoot.

Because of the entire Sun Devils team, except for him, no one else has the ability to average double figures per game. The starting lineup is better, scoring 7-9 points, but he is also driven by him. This is among all crazy third-level teams. It is the only one.

For the Trojans, Shelby Jordan's offensive end is free except for rushing and eating cakes.

Li Ao occasionally has chances to catch or score the ball, but not many.

But relying on Glanville's breakthrough, Sam Clancy's cut and rush, and White Mamba's catch-up shot, the Trojans were able to erode the point difference little by little even though their teamwork was not as good as the opponent's!

With 2 minutes and 11 seconds left in the first half, the Trojans chased the score to 42 to 46, and the point difference was reduced to 4 points. The Sun Devils called a timeout!

Rob - Evans also used the second timeout!

Henry Bibby hurriedly made personnel adjustments, replacing Shelby Jordan with Brusenthal, and the other four remained unchanged.

Shelby Jordan can play as a center and can also defend. This guy is a talent. Although he is only over two meters tall and weighs only the weight of a small forward, he is still very heroic when defending a center.

The disadvantage is that it does not do a good job of carrying the impact, not as good as Brusenthal, who was in the center position before.

Brusenthal just doesn't like confrontation, but his weight and confrontation are actually very good, the level that a white insider should have.

Looking at Li Ao, who was sweating and chugging energy drinks, Henry Bibby didn't expect that this kid could really keep up with the speed of the point guard!

A few days ago, at the beginning of the new month, the team conducted a routine physical test. Li Ao's strength has improved significantly compared to the trial training. Henry Bibby has known this for a long time. The first team training Sai Li Ao has shown that he can carry Sam Clancy.

But Li Ao's speed has also increased, making him extremely messy.

After an analysis, the coaching staff believes that although Li Ao can see the traces of perennial sports, he has not trained at the professional athlete level, and his physical talent has not been fully developed. Now he is receiving professional basketball guidance, and his strength has improved and his muscles are stronger. The speed has also been further developed.

It's very reasonable.

In college, Li Ao's height and strength were enough to defend against four. Now he has shown the talent to defend against one. He is only 18 years old. If he grows taller, he might be able to defend against five in college!

Henry Bibby controlled his emotions and couldn't let others see it. He didn't want to give this kid a good look.

After the timeout, the Sun Devils did not make personnel adjustments as Henry Bibby expected. In the entire Pac10 division, the opponent's starting lineup ranked second in average playing time, second only to the Bruins.

The Sun Devils attack and serve from the center line.

The lead was reduced to 4 points, and the Sun Devils began to fight!
Let's go for Eddie House's unlimited cover tactics!
Although Li Ao was as nimble as a loach, Eddie House was having a headache because of his height of over two meters in shoes and the stroking of his big hands, but the latter still ran out of opportunities with the help of his teammates.

Eddie House received the ball on the right side of the three-second zone. Facing Sam Clancy's supplementary defense, he did not hesitate.
This ball is purely based on personal ability!

After such a wide range of running, he can still hit a shot under defense. Few people in the entire NCAA can do it.

When the Trojans attacked, the ball came to Li Ao who ran to the bottom line on the right.

No one from the Sun Devils stepped forward to defend. After playing for a few minutes, Rob Evans found that this handsome guy from the East didn't seem to have much offensive ability, at least he didn't show it. He immediately adjusted his defensive strategy during the timeout. .

After receiving the ball and failing to pass it, Li Ao didn't hesitate, he pulled it up and threw it!

Seeing this scene, Rob Evans' heart ached, his confident attitude, his smooth and beautiful movements... well, his heart ached.

The shooting posture is picturesque, of course it has to be ironed.

The Sun Devils protected the defensive rebound, and after more than 20 seconds, they slowly implemented their tactics to create a shooting opportunity for Eddie House again.

This level of patience made Li Ao, who was chasing and defending, call it outrageous.

After running a tactic three times, he was exhausted!

Eddie House hit two long points again, 50 to 42, and the Sun Devils led by 8 points!
Blessings and misfortunes never come singly. Not only did the Trojans fail to defend, but their offense was also constipated. Brusenthal's long two-pointer still missed.

The Sun Devils protected the defensive rebounds. Although they have no fast break ability, the oppressive feeling of the positional battle to the Trojans is back!
The main attacker is still Eddie House. After scoring 21 points, he still wants to continue scoring. He needs to rely on his ability to open the point difference to double digits. He wants to refresh his personal scoring record in a single game , to vent the hatred in those few rounds of being guarded by Li Ao!

The starting five of the Sun Devils have a tacit understanding. Everyone can pass the ball, and they are picking and rolling and distributing the ball for Eddie House. In addition, Eddie House's interspersed running is really good, which makes Li Ao, who is chasing and defending, suffer. unspeakable.

It was time for Eddie House to get rid of the defense again, and it seemed that he would not be able to catch up. Before Eddie House circled the pile again, Li Ao jumped forward, stretched out his hand and slapped Eddie hard. - on House's right arm!
This slap was so hard that it overturned Eddie House directly.

Just when Eddie House curled up in horror and was about to fall to the floor, the momentum of his fall stopped suddenly, someone picked up his waist, and was dragged forward to slide a few steps.

He tilted his head to express his thanks...屮!

The one who protected him was Li Ao who rushed towards him and gave him a slap!
After standing firmly, Li Ao pulled Eddie House up and stabilized him.

Eddie House's teammates saw Li Ao's rough foul and was about to rush forward. Seeing this scene, they all stopped.

Eddie House, who felt like he was picked up like a little Kun Zai, had ten thousand alpacas running through his mind at the moment.

He gritted his teeth and patted Li Ao's arm to express his thanks.

If you are beaten, you have to thank the other party for protecting you!He is so angry!

[○`Д○]
But the opponent's operation can really be called sportsmanship, eliminating the possibility of him falling and getting injured.

No, the fans at the scene saw Li Ao's actions and spontaneously applauded!
Are they all blind?

Didn't you see this foul action of killing a thousand swords? o(▼皮▼メ;)o
What makes Eddie House even more angry is that the number of fouls committed by the Trojans has only been 4 so far, and they have to re-launch the attack before it is time to whistle 1+1.

The two teams have a common feature-the defensive cooperation is good, but the hardness is not enough, resulting in a fairly average defensive efficiency.

The embodiment of hardness lies in the fact that the number of fouls committed by the two teams is very small.

The more he thought about it, the more angry Eddie House exploded in the next running position. He didn't even give Li Ao a chance to foul. He ran faster than Li Ao, catching the ball around the pile...

With his adrenaline rushing, he didn't notice when he was running. When he shot, he was slapped on the arm.

I didn't grasp the angle of the ball well, and hit the basket!

Granville grabbed the ball and advanced to the frontcourt. The attack was unfavorable for several consecutive rounds. Now the Trojans' offensive confidence has plummeted. The Sun Devils defended the zone defense. Granville didn't know whether to break through or Make the ball for the White Mamba or the Brusenthal.

There was less than one round left in the first half, and Li Ao was in a hurry seeing that the team's running position hadn't started.

These teammates are too soft!
Can't bear this blow?But there is nothing he can do... a way?
He sees Turner Hill following him.

()
(ω)
Li Aoqiang squeezed the 1.9-meter-tall Turner Hill to the right side of the three-second zone, holding the opponent for a position!

There was not much time, and Granville had no time to think, and lobbed the ball.

Li Ao can't play with backs, but with a height difference of nearly 10 centimeters and a wingspan difference of more than ten centimeters, when he received the ball, he pouted his butt to separate Turner Hill who wanted to steal, and aimed at the basket. Standing on tiptoe, hooking the ball quickly to the hoop before Avi Streiter's block is in place...

He hasn't learned the hook yet, but he has learned the movements well. He has practiced so many hands while watching the old man show off his skills, and the movements are corrected by the old man.

If you can't jump, you can't jump, and you can guarantee the stability of your shot.

Good luck getting in!
Trojans players cheer up!
Guard against each other!Keep the score and don't let the opponent continue to widen the gap in the half!

In the last few seconds, Turner Hill advanced to the frontcourt and broke through directly. The Trojans made up the defense in time. Turner Hill's buzzer shot was slapped by Sam Clancy.

The halftime whistle sounded, 44 to 50, the Trojans entered the intermission behind the Sun Devils by 6 points!
...

"Brian (White Mamba) you are so soft, if Jeff (Trey Pagnier) had your shooting ability, he would definitely take off.

Brandon (Glanville) you are good at everything, but your height is not good. If only you can score as well as you can organize offense.

David (Brusenthal) You are so strong, drill inside!Look at Sam (Clancy), although his skills are poor, but at least he dares to charge...

Defense too, be fierce like Shelby!Jeff and Sam are ok...”

After returning to the locker room, Li Ao began to output crazily, expressing his dissatisfaction.

With the change of mentality, Li Ao cared more about these things and was more willing to spend his time analyzing them.

These problems were exposed too clearly in this game.

The main reason is that they are not incapable, but that their style of play is really soft.

When he started to care about it, the stinky mouth problem started to happen again.

As the saying goes, when a handsome guy is called ugly, he will only smile and know that the other party is jealous.

But those who are really ugly are scolded as ugly, and they will definitely jump their feet.

Li Ao's complaints one after another stuck in the young hearts of his teammates. If they couldn't beat them, they would give Li Ao two high and low blows.

Even the well-connected Trepagnell, Granville, Brookvale and others had evil thoughts, but tried their best to suppress them.

As for attacking in groups... Who hasn't had the time to be alone.

Those who achieve great things must be able to bear it!
Thinking about how even Henry Bibby, the head coach, was often outraged, they suddenly felt a lot better with the comparison.

And there is Shelby Jordan, who loves to toss his teammates, they have a certain resistance.

But after all, there are warriors among the masses.

Sam Clancy retorted: "Didn't you just hit a few good shots? And you think of yourself as the boss of the team?"

"Hey, I'm playing well. I just want to say, you can hit a few good shots if you have the ability!"

Sam Clancy is short of breath, he wants to practice more!He swore he was going to trample the bastard under his feet!
The others were glad when they saw this, and it was right not to refute, otherwise they would be pissed off.

There is nothing wrong with what Li Ao said, this is their problem.

In these aspects, everyone was the same before, and everyone chose not to think about these issues.

Soft, do not like confrontation, from a psychological level, it means that they actually have a good face.

Now that it's been spread out, and even Sam Clancy shut up, the scene becomes awkward.

Li Ao missed his good brother. Sure enough, it is most comfortable to make friends with people who practice kung fu well.

It's a pity that although my good brother loves to play basketball, he is better than him.

After half a minute of silence, the coaching staff arrived in time, and Henry Bibby started halftime analysis without saying much, breaking the embarrassment.

Seeing that the team members didn't look very good-looking, he was very satisfied. It was right to hide outside the door and not come in immediately. That kid will stand up at this time.

What he has to do now is to transfer the rage that that kid brought to his teammates to his opponent!

(End of this chapter)