no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 25 Harden's Test
Harden didn't give Xu Yong any answer in the end, and Xu Yong didn't say anything more.

He has already said what should be said, and he will say this, on the one hand because he gets along well with Harden, a roommate, and on the other hand, the Devils really need Harden.

Harden plays well, which is a good thing for himself and the rest of the Devils, including Xu Yong of course.

Of course, that's all Xu Yongneng can do.

He is reborn, but he doesn't really know any oriental magic that can change other people's minds.

Harden is an adult with his own mind.

The next day, Xu Yong still got up at [-]:[-] in the morning as usual.

When he got up, he subconsciously glanced at Harden's bed.

Harden is still asleep.

He retracted his gaze, and then began the day's training.

After breakfast, he arrived at the locker room earlier.

Before he went in, he heard someone playing ping pong inside.

After entering, when he saw the two people playing ping-pong inside, he was a little surprised at first, but soon showed a relieved smile.

One is Shipp, and the other is Harden.

Change does not happen overnight, but at least things are moving in a good direction.

After the day's training was over, Harden invited the whole team to have a meal outside the school.

He didn't say the reason, but everyone knew it was because of yesterday's game.

It worked, there was no problem in student days that a meal couldn't solve.

If so, then two meals.

After drinking and eating, a group of people sat and chatted, chatting about the next game naturally.

"Stanford is not easy to deal with," Glasser said.

The reason why he mentioned Stanford for the first time is because their opponent in the next game is Stanford University.

In the early-season forecast, Stanford ranked 10th in the survey list, second only to UCLA in the Pac10 league.

Since the start of the game, they have also been undefeated like UCLA.

And among the opponents they defeated, Washington State University, the University of Oregon and the University of Southern California are all strong teams in the Pac10 league.

In terms of strength, they are weaker than UCLA, but they are still much stronger than Arizona State University.

"The twin towers of the Lopez brothers dominate the penalty area on both offensive and defensive ends. Jeff and Xu will face great challenges in the next game." Glasser analyzed.

The Lopez brothers refer to the elder brother Brook Lopez and the younger brother Robin Lopez. Both of them are 2 meters tall. Stanford University often uses them to play the twin towers.

In a league like Xu Yong's 2 meters are drawn to play power forward, this height undoubtedly has a huge inside advantage.

Xu Yong's gaze was also on Harden at this time.

Going to Stanford University will not only test him and Ayers, but also Harden.

With two seven-foot big men inside, it will be difficult for Harden to use his good breakthrough to create kills.

Although Harden seems to be changing in a good direction, the schedule does not give him much time to adjust.

This can already be seen from Harden's serious expression.

"They may not play at the same time. Even if they play at the same time, we will play out the speed, just like what UCLA did, and the advantage will be on our side." Xu Yong took the words.

He was helping Harden decompress, but he also touched on the most critical point.

The tactics of the twin towers are very old-fashioned and have been gradually eliminated in the development of basketball. The main reason is that the retreat speed is too slow.

Once they fail to complete the attack in the positional battle, what awaits them is likely to be a situation of two defenses and three defenses or even two defenses and four defenses in the backcourt.

So as long as the positional battle is defended for a few rounds, the twin towers are actually not that scary.

And if Stanford gives up the twin towers, even if they are in good shape now, the two sides will be in a [-]-[-] situation.

Others nodded for a while.

Xu Yongneng became the leader of the locker room, or the captain they now recognize, not only because of his communication skills, but more importantly, his understanding of basketball.

After the dinner, they all went back to school.

After a brief rest, Xu Yong is ready to continue his training.

This time Harden went to the training hall with him.

And when he arrived, he started training three-pointers in a targeted manner.

Although Harden doesn't like to express his thoughts, he is really smart and knows exactly when he should do what.

Since the twin towers will restrict his breakthrough, it is not a problem at all as long as he shoots outside.

And at this time, whether it is playing table tennis or practicing three-pointers, Harden is taking the initiative to do it.

He is actively seeking change, which is a positive sign.

After observing for a while, Xu Yong withdrew his gaze, and then began to focus on training with Cooksix.

He also has to speed up the improvement of his control skills.

They still have another chance at an away game against UCLA, and each of them will have to perform at their best if they want to get revenge.

While practicing, Ship suddenly entered the arena excitedly with a magazine in his hand.

"Xu, you are on the "Sports Illustrated" draft prediction list!" He shouted after seeing Xu Yong.

Xu Yong nodded to Shipp, but did not stop training.

Harden stopped training and walked over.

Generally speaking, the major draft websites will not publish the first draft prediction list until March, before the "Crazy Three" starts.

Because at the end of a season at that time, the strength of most players has been determined, and the predicted leaderboard will be more accurate.

The prediction of "Sports Illustrated" is more casual, after all, they are not specialized in draft predictions.

After all, this is "Sports Illustrated", the best-selling sports magazine in North America, and being included in it is a kind of attention.

Seeing Harden approaching, Ship's face suddenly became a little strange. He probably didn't notice that Harden was there when he came in.

But Harden has already come, and it is not appropriate for him not to show Harden.

Harden quickly saw Xu Yong's position in the prediction list.

The 24th pick in the first round is expected to be selected by the Phoenix Suns.

This ranking is not low.

Don't think that Yi Jianlian was selected with the sixth overall pick last year, and Xu Yong's overall pick will be easily lottery, because the positions of the two players are much different.

Insiders, whether they are centers or power forwards, most players are stuck because of their height. Especially in this era, "selecting big men with eyes closed" is a draft tradition, so the inside picks are easy to be high.

But outside players, these are the most indispensable in the United States, because the competition is more intense, and there will be more things to investigate.

In particular, 2008 is still a serious draft year, with a lot of talents.

The top eight picks back then, just like Yi Jianlian back then, were all created by the domestic media.

Xu Yong is now a typical swingman. If you give him a template for the best draft, the most suitable one is Paul George.

The height and wingspan of the two, including what they play in the NCAA today, are very similar.

Of course, this is before Xu Yong's ball is developed, and his upper limit will be better after it is developed.

And he has potential in this area, not to mention the benefits of rebirth, before he got sick after rebirth, he averaged 3.4 assists per game in the second season of the CBA.

In an environment where assists are strictly counted in the CBA, this is already a considerable number for a striker.

As a horizontal comparison, Ding Yanyuhang's two consecutive MVP seasons in history averaged 2.5 assists and 3.2 assists per game.

This draft pick is obviously also related to the UCLA game. In addition to playing well without the ball, Xu Yong also showed the potential of holding the ball and the toughness of the game. These are the rare characteristics of a swingman. .

And his characteristics fit the Suns really well.

But soon, Harden's eyes were attracted by his name.

He is projected to be drafted at No. 21 and is expected to be selected by the Houston Rockets.

His face suddenly became ugly.

He knows that this prediction is not authoritative, and he also knows that it must have something to do with his hip-pull performance in the last game.

But knowing it, and calling it directly on your face are completely different things.

At this moment, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

He looked back, Xu Yong didn't know when he had finished training and stood behind him, and said indifferently: "This is motivation, isn't it?"

(End of this chapter)