Basketball UFO

Chapter 3 Trial Training
At the end of April, the 4-1995 NBA regular season ended.

The team's record was ranked, and the Bulls really became the team with the best record in the league with 72 wins and 10 losses.The team with the best record in the Western Conference is the Seattle SuperSonics, with 64 wins and 18 losses. The team has "Rain Man" Kemp and "Glove" Payton.

The teams with the worst records in the East and West are the Philadelphia 76ers and the Vancouver Grizzlies, who have won 18 and 15 games respectively.The Vancouver Grizzlies only entered the league in 1995. They have no stars, no market, and the climate is cold. They haven't figured out how to win yet.

The final result of the lottery was that the Philadelphia 76ers selected the No. [-] pick.The Toronto Raptors got the second pick, and the Grizzlies only got the third pick, which was helpless.

In addition, the Milwaukee Bucks got the fourth pick, the Minnesota Timberwolves got the fifth pick, the Mavericks got the sixth pick, and the Los Angeles Clippers got the seventh pick.

The No. 8 pick belongs to the New Jersey Nets, and the owner of the No. 9 pick is the Boston Celtics.Then the lottery picks No. 10 to 15 belong to the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Washington Bullets, Charlotte Hornets, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns respectively.

The teams that Fagan arranged for Carter to try out were basically after the top three picks in the first round and before the end of the lottery.At the same time, priority will be given to teams in big cities.

In mid-May, when the playoffs were in full swing, NBA teams began to convene players for trial training. Teams without playoff missions prepared early and sought to replenish new energy.

Carter was among them, flying several cities with Fegan, Washington, Minnesota, Los Angeles and Denver, showing good enough professionalism.

At the same time, Fagan also had in-depth exchanges with many NBA team managers, hoping to get some commitments.

Carter's evaluation in the trial training of each team is similar: excellent athletic ability, especially outstanding physical fitness and jumping, solid basic skills, not stable enough shooting, and the defensive end needs to be improved.

To put it simply, his talent is outstanding, but his shooting and defense are slightly lacking.

"The next team is the Boston Celtics. They have a deep heritage. Although they are in a trough now, they will definitely rise in the future. You have to show all your energy." On the plane, Fagan reminded with a lazy look Carter.

The general manager of the Celtics is Sadie Jr., and head coach Kyle is also there.

Saidi also specifically called the team's famous defender Dennis Johnson, "Hey, Dennis, are you interested in coming over to teach a young man a lesson?"

"It's been a long time since I hit a child. Hehe..."

When Carter arrived at the court, Dennis Johnson, the Celtics' former defensive champion, had already arrived. He sat on the sidelines and glanced at the young people who came to try out. This guy makes my hands itch."

He wanted to fight with the juniors and let them know that the sky is high and the sky is high.

The first is the various body sides. Carter weighs 102 kilograms and has a body fat rate of 12%.

The barefoot height reaches 2 meters, the arm span is 2 meters 21, the palm length is 24 cm, and the fully opened width is 28 cm.Such a palm can knead a large watermelon, not to mention papaya.

Jumping on the spot, 92 cm, over 36 inches.

There was a burst of exclamation in the audience, bouncing monsters.

Then came the run-up and jump height test. Carter took a few easy steps and jumped up to an astonishing height of 110 centimeters, more than 43 inches.

It caused a sensation in the audience again. Several players who came to try out together couldn't help admiring and applauding, "This guy's physical fitness is so abnormal."

"It is estimated that he has no brains and can only run and jump."

"Come on, Carter is this year's NCAA champion and the MOP of the Final Four."

"That's because Wake Forest has Tim Duncan, and we only lost to Duncan, not Carter." Tony Delk, who was also among the trial members, said unconvinced.

Standing reach over 2.74 meters, 8 feet 12 inches.The run-up reach reaches 3.85 meters, the top of the NBA.

How to say, Carter still can't touch the top edge of the basket.If it is a standard basket, the height of the upper edge is 3.95 meters, and Carter still has a little gap.

So he didn't get the legendary coin on the top of the backboard.

"You have two chances, do you want to try again?" The trainer was very excited. This trial player is so special that he has not seen such a jumping performance for a long time.

"No, that's it, it doesn't have much impact." Carter only tried once, even if he didn't use his full strength.

But such data is shocking enough.

"Inhuman jumping, this is the talent of a super defender." Saidi and Kyle nodded at the same time, with satisfaction in their eyes. "I wonder how it will perform in the confrontation?"

Saidi thought for a while and greeted the staff around him, "Please come over, CEO, we have discovered a genius."

After the basic data was measured, Carter did a deadlift with the hexagonal device, and he pulled it to 450 pounds, 204 kilograms. In fact, it could be even stronger.

This was followed by the 84kg bench press, which Carter did 15 times before stopping.

"Okay, I don't have any energy." Smiling, I don't want to do it anymore.

Running back and forth in the penalty area, this time I ran out of speed, 11.07 seconds, 0.02 seconds slower than the Guinness record.Play well.

Then there is the return run, lateral movement, running with the ball, shooting after running, shooting at various points, and observing the stability.

Continuous running, continuous shooting, all catching the ball, but not particularly stable, missed two shots.

Not only the Celtics' trial team, but also many scouts and trial personnel from the team came to observe.Many teams watch a player multiple times in anticipation of learning more.

Seeing Carter's performance, every scout was very excited, and quickly wrote and drew in the record book.

"Man, put me at Wake Forest right now, I'm going to talk to Dave Odom."

“Book me a flight to Florida.”

This is a background investigation conducted by scouts. Not only the performance in college, they also visited the high school Carter attended, retrieved Carter's game video, and even looked at his physical examination and injury history.

"It's best to have a meal with him and talk directly. Carter is a special player." The Indiana Pacers scout's heart beat fast. "If he joins the team, I believe Larry Bird will like him."

"Vince, are you interested in doing confrontation training?" Kyle greeted Carter, and at the same time called Dennis Johnson over, "How about a test with a veteran? He cooperated with Larry Bird's steal of the century and won the Celtics To a championship ring."

He was talking about the 1987 Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics and Pistons in Game [-] late in the game. Larry Bird intercepted Lambiel's pass and gave the ball to Dennis Johnson before he lost his focus. .The latter made a layup and reversed the Pistons miraculously.In the end, the Celtics also won the championship that season.

"Old man? It seems that I can still fight." Carter was not afraid at all, showing a harmless smile, "Let's give it a try!"

"Young and energetic, let me teach you a lesson." Dennis Johnson is also a defender, and he took the initiative to let Carter attack first, and he stood in a defensive position.

At this time, Celtics president "Cardinal" Auerbach also came over, watching the two bullfighting with great interest.

He is very impressed with Tim Duncan, but it is a pity that Duncan will not participate in the draft until next season.So this year the Celtics will first recruit insiders to fight immediately.Regardless of the inside and outside, the Celtics prefer to get immediate combat power.

Everyone else stopped what they were doing and looked towards the bullring.

"You attack first, I respect the old man." Carter returned the ball, and he wanted to see Dennis Johnson's skill first.

Sure enough, it was the veteran who went out and scored a goal with continuous fake moves and rhythm changes.

"Come again." Carter made a defensive posture again.

Dennis Johnson puts aside his contempt. The young man is just inexperienced, and his height, wingspan and flexibility are annoying.

He made a similar technical move again and cut in. Unexpectedly, Carter stepped forward and stepped forward, just to hold down the rhythm of Dennis' advancement. When his rhythm was chaotic, he took the ball with his palm and took it away.

Score the ball in reverse.

Walking outside the three-point line, Carter flicked the ball to Dennis, and Dennis bounced it back to Carter.Pull up all your energy and get into a defensive stance.

Carter held the ball and made a three-threat tentative step. The opponent saw through the fake move and did not adjust the center of gravity. It seems that Dennis Johnson was deeply impressed by Carter's inability to shoot just now.

Unexpectedly, Carter tried again, as if it was still a fake move.

"Whoosh!" The fake act came true, and the hollow fell into the net.

"Yes, the ability to read the game is very strong, let's do it again." Although Dennis Johnson was deflated, he was still full of confidence in his experience.

Carter caught the ball, dribbled suddenly, cut in with a long stride, dribbled again, threw away half his body, and succeeded in a layup.

What matters is speed, the swiftness of the first step.

Boxing is afraid of young people. Dennis Johnson is 40 years old and naturally cannot keep up with young people.

"One more game, I was distracted just now." Dennis Johnson was unconvinced.

Carter's confidence came out and he directly entered the confrontation in the new game. Compared with the famous veteran, he was not inferior at all. He jumped to the basket and scored the ball in the confrontation.

With three consecutive goals, Carter once again defeated the Celtics star.

"Great, wonderful game. Dennis, you have worked hard and taught the young people experience." Sadie and Kyle comforted the depressed Dennis Johnson. "There will be a young man coming for trial training tomorrow. Can you find him?" Back to the scene."

"I didn't pay attention just now." Dennis Johnson was still very depressed. He lost so unfairly.

Sadie walked towards Carter with a smile and said, "Young man, your score in this trial is perfect."

Fagan had already followed, "Sady, I think Vince deserves a higher pick."

"We will consider it carefully." Sadie responded with a smile. President Auerbach is here, so he won't say too much.

The fact is that the Celtics also made an appointment with a young guard, a high school kid Sadie remembers named Kobe Bryant, who just made Dennis Johnson feel good.

Otherwise, the feeling of being pressed and beaten by young people is not good at all.

Auerbach is also thinking, the team is now in a low period, the most important thing is to strengthen the inside, and then the outside players.

The so-called best insiders this year are Marcus Camby, and then Antoine Walker. If the team wants one of these two people, the draft picks will have to be traded up.

Eric Dampier and Lorenzen Wright are clearly not the post players they want.

Auerbach immediately summoned Saidi and Kyle to discuss. They could use the No. 9 pick to make a fuss, change the picks forward, and then trade to another pick in the lottery area to win both inside and outside players.

"Vince Carter's pick should be after No. 10. He is only a freshman. If Kobe performs well tomorrow, he should also be selected around No. 15. We can compete with the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix. Suns trade picks."

Walking out of the Celtics training ground, Fagan was a little excited, "The Celtics own the No. 9 pick. If they use this pick to select you, we will succeed. Of course, if the Los Angeles Clippers can select you, we will be successful." is the better option, but they need a big man.”

Both Los Angeles and Boston are big ball cities, and Fagan is looking forward to it.

"The Knicks sent us a tryout as well, and we went to New York. Man, it would be great to play in New York."

The current Knicks are not a rotten apple. They are ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference this season and are a playoff team.

On the plane, Fagan opened a sports magazine and handed it to Carter, "Camby rejected the offer due to the crazy weather in Vancouver, but if they let the word out, they would definitely choose Sharif-Rahim."

Rahim did not refuse the Vancouver Grizzlies' trial training, and he performed conscientiously. He mainly played at the third position, but spent a lot of time at the fourth position. He was also considered a power forward and an inside player.

In fact, his performance in the third position is even better.With a height close to 206 and superb skills, he can enjoy himself in the third and fourth positions.

The Grizzlies had difficulty recruiting the players they wanted, so they directly offered an olive branch to Raheem.The most certain pick now is that the Grizzlies will use the third overall pick to select Raheem.

The owner of the No. 76 pick, the 76ers, prefers to choose a guard. Camby also contacted the [-]-year coach John Lucas, his former mentor, hoping to continue to follow him.But Lucas knows that owner Pat Cross prefers guards, especially Iverson.

In April of this year, Harold Katz, the former owner of the 4ers, sold the team because the team missed the playoffs for five consecutive years. Kroos joined forces with Ed Snyder and others to acquire the team. %, as CEO, Snyder became the majority shareholder of the team.

Marbury is also building momentum, hoping to become the No. [-] pick.

Nets deputy general manager Bobby Marks just came back from Philly, where he went to try out an exciting young man, 18-year-old Kobe Bryant, and blasted the Nets in a one-on-one .

That night, the seven owners of the Nets sat together with a group of executives to discuss the ownership of the No. 7 pick.General manager John Nash, assistant general manager Bobby Marks and head coach Calipari all suggested the team choose Kobe.

Of course, the object of their trial training is Kerry Kittles, a comprehensive player, a senior player at Nolanova University, who can provide the team with better immediate combat power.

Joe Taub, the owner in charge of team operations, suppressed his uncomfortable thoughts, "If we spend time cultivating this person, he will definitely leave the team when he is full-fledged. I don't agree with choosing Kobe."

When the other bosses heard it, it made sense.And he has to wait for him to grow up, and it will be a big loss to leave the team at that time.

"Maybe we can try out again and talk about the situation." Calipari continued to fight.

"Yes, try out again and invite a few more people. I heard that the Celtics also tried out a young man named Vince Carter, who is also a super talent." The team gets a better player.

(End of this chapter)