No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 103: How has that guy been able to endure for so many years?_3
Chapter 103: How has that guy been able to endure for so many years?_3
However, this year they not only had a 10th overall draft pick but also two second-round picks.
Kupchak felt that if Zhang Yang was still not chosen by then, they could make a move!
...
After leaving Kupchak with the words, "I only recommended Jack and Andrew to you," Tellem took Zhang Yang and Bynum to the next stop.
Next, the three of them successively went to the Spurs, Warriors, Knicks, Bobcats, and Hornets for tryouts.
During the Spurs and Warriors tryouts, Tellem was quite perfunctory. After the basic tests were over, he took the two away. Both the Spurs and Warriors proposed a second tryout, but Tellem said he was too busy for that.
Zhang Yang asked why, and Tellem explained that going to the Spurs was because of their top-ranked player development capabilities in the league; talented players wouldn’t have to worry about not making it there, but it was best to avoid going if possible because the owner was too stingy.
The tryout with the Warriors was aimed at tapping into the vast Chinese market in Oakland and San Francisco. However, the Warriors had been terrible for over a decade. Although it seemed their player development was decent, the talents they developed always ended up a tier or two below what people initially expected, essentially wasting a lot of potential. Moreover, the environment there was not friendly for two high school students.
However, the Spurs sent a tryout invitation to Bynum, and the Warriors sent one to Zhang Yang. Since both teams had their merits, Tellem added a condition, throwing in a deal-sweetener to ensure a backup option by going for a tryout with them.
Knicks, Bobcats, and Hornets were taken more seriously by Tellem.
The Big Apple City, who wouldn’t want their player playing there?
The mere mention of New York was enough to make agents and players forget all its drawbacks.
The future Stephen Curry also had his heart set on the Knicks during the draft.
The Bobcats, being a new team with many opportunities and draft picks, were considered highly desirable by all agents.
The Hornets, a major city on the southern coast with a booming economy and great living conditions, was the team Bynum favored and where Tellem thought Bynum could aim for the highest draft pick.
The head coach was the technical maestro, Byron Scott, which suited Zhang Yang as a guard, possessing one first-round and three second-round picks...
Suddenly, it was June 11th, and after spending over ten days running around with Tellem, Zhang Yang finally concluded this round of tryouts and returned to Hidden Mountain to rest. He had spent his 17th birthday during these tryouts.
During the initial tryouts, he was very excited and full of drive, but towards the end, he grew numb, repeating the same phrases and actions over again, and had to be overly cautious about the opinions of the spectators, which was exhausting.
Fortunately, the response to the tryouts was not bad. Out of the seven teams, five issued a second tryout invitation, which was far better than Zhang Yang had anticipated.
Tryout invitations from the Spurs and Warriors were declined, but those from the Grizzlies, Lakers, and Bobcats were accepted.
Now they were just waiting for the second tryout dates.
Bynum was even busier; right after the first round of tryouts ended, Tellem received a call from the Lakers, inviting Bynum for a second tryout.
There’s a distinction between a first and a second tryout; if the first tryout was an individual one, the second might not be, instead possibly being a comparative one.
Zhang Yang learned from Tellem that for this tryout, the Lakers had invited college graduate Channing Frye, Ike Diogu who entered the draft early after his junior year, Hakim Warrick a graduate of Syracuse University, David Lee who graduated from the University of Florida, and Bynum for the tryout together.
He wished Bynum good luck.
That evening, Zhang Yang watched the live broadcast of the second game of the finals between the Spurs and the Pistons. After watching half a quarter, he regretted it.
Both teams’ villainous coach-student duo, refund my broadcast fee!
My eyes!
In the first year the NHC (high defensive block prohibited) rule was implemented, it had little impact on the defense of these two teams; their games were truly ugly.
Tactically, at that time, Popovich and Larry Brown had no offensive strategies to speak of, just purely ugly, not even providing the spectacle of tactical cooperation!
...
After resting for a day, on the 12th, Zhang Yang resumed training.
Trying out for nearly half a month had seriously delayed his shooting value accumulation, but fortunately, he learned a suitable shooting technique from Hamblen, which was barely satisfactory.
By the 15th, he had finally accumulated 80,000 shooting value and received a reward, a Talent +1 in strength, and the basics of defensive sidestep footwork.
"Basic Defensive Sidestep Footwork: Quickly learn the training methods for defensive sidestepping and establish a solid foundation in a short period of time."
Strength +1... Zhang Yang thought it was okay, he preferred speed, but strength was also good, the reward for basic defense, very beautiful indeed.
New tasks arrived: 60,000 shooting value, random shooting talent; 30,000 shooting value, basics of turn-around fundamentals.
Turn-around fundamentals, related to back play! Start training, start training!
He hadn’t trained for two days when on the 17th, Tellem called him to go to Los Angeles; on the 18th he attended another tryout for the Lakers.
Kupchak had invited several high schoolers to compare with Zhang Yang.
Kupchak most wanted to invite Monta Ellis, but that guy still wasn’t willing to accept tryouts with teams outside the top three selections, leaving his talent yet to be discovered. freewēbnoveℓ.com
Ellis’s maneuvers left his draft expectations even more uncertain.
Regarded as the second-best high school player in the nation, Ellis initially had high draft expectations, a top ten pick for sure.
This was based on past second-best high school players: ’04’s Livingston, selected 4th overall; ’03’s Luol Deng, who played a year in college and was then picked 7th in ’04; ’02’s Carmelo Anthony, who played one year at Syracuse University and was drafted 3rd in ’03; and the trio from ’01, who might have swept the top three spots if not for Gasol entering the draft...
However, this year’s top three teams hadn’t invited Ellis for tryouts, with Bogut, Marvin Williams, Felton, Deron, and Paul from the T1 college ranks dazzling the eyes, leaving little attention for this high schooler.
On the other hand, the third-ranked high school player, Martell Webster, actively attending tryouts everywhere, had already far surpassed Ellis in draft expectations, becoming a hot new draft prospect.
Whether or not Ellis now regrets his decisions, no one knows. Today, the fifth-ranked high school player, Louis Williams, regretted accepting the invitation.
After the basic tests were over, the Lakers organized a one-on-one test.
For the high school players attending today’s tryout, the main focus of the Lakers’ tryout was the fifth-ranked high school player, Louis Williams.
But Kupchak wanted to test Zhang Yang; he and his teacher made the same decision—to have the highest-ranked attending high school player, Louis Williams, face Zhang Yang.
Seeing Zhang Yang in his training suit, tall and skinny, and then with muscle definition showing when he took it off, Reed shouted in his heart—
...
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