No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 86 - 78. California Champion!

December 26, 2004, just past 6 AM, Zhang Yang woke up from his sleep.

He actively recalled his first foray into the ’80 timeline and let out a sneer; he had been a bit careless this time, actually letting Larry Bird sneak a tower at the last moment, resulting in a draw. Next time, he would definitely be the winner!

Of course, he was referring to drinking beer.

He remembered advising Larry Bird to spend some money on lawn maintenance to avoid being too thrifty and even altered the story from "Death Comes to the Lawn" to tell Larry Bird—a tale of someone dying while mowing the lawn—unsure if it would have any effect.

But Larry Bird was truly formidable!

On the night Jordan scored 55 points, only Larry Bird could withstand Jordan’s prowess; the others were all hammered and flipped over.

If it weren’t for Larry Bird holding the situation steady, that game-winning shot of his wouldn’t have happened.

This trial, making an enemy of Jordan during his rookie season, made Zhang Yang feel... extremely thrilled!

It was unpleasant to be scored on with 31 points in one half during the playoffs by Jordan, but the feeling of hitting a decisive shot to disrupt the opponent’s score streak to 60+ was still very good.

He obtained the rewards for both challenges: "Post-play rhythm" beginner level for Larry Bird as a basic task reward, which was exactly the skill he humbled himself to learn. A slight increase in core strength, which is also important for post-plays, and it could also aid in his jump shot after a quick stop.

Zhang Yang initially thought he couldn’t get the basic task reward since his abilities weren’t enough; scoring in the twenties was already his limit. Without feeling a burst in his shooting under Jordan’s defense, he would have struggled even for that if he hadn’t met a second-year Jordan who had been on crutches for five months and had undergone two months of rehabilitation. Otherwise, scoring in the twenties would have been challenging.

But to his surprise, after Jordan’s crazy outburst in Game 2, he wilted in Game 3, hitting over 20 iron shots, allowing Zhang Yang to score seven or eight points more than in the previous games. With Jordan’s positional defense also slacking, he erupted for the game’s highest score of 34 points, completing the task.

His yearning to become stronger grew; the next time he went to the ’80 timeline, he’d have to give Jordan a few tough ones.

However, Larry Bird was truly annoying—just remembering made him feel repulsed. Ending the active recall and re-sealing the memories, that feeling finally subsided.

...

At 6:30 AM, Zhang Yang arrived at Hidden Mountain Park, took out Jordan’s standee, and practiced post-play footwork.

There it was! The feeling was coming!

At 23, his pivot, step-through, and other fundamental moves were not just a little better, but a whole different level. However, back then, he couldn’t grasp the unique post-play rhythm of Larry Bird; despite days of practice, he couldn’t find the feel and could only forcibly memorize the movement details.

But this time, he felt it after just a short practice!

Slower, slow down the movements...

Unlike Nash’s ball-handling rhythm, which required a certain level of skill before being effective, Larry Bird’s post-play rhythm worked right from the start!

Zhang Yang actively recalled this trial... Damn!

In Game 1, he scored 26 points; just four more points would have completed the task, and he could have found the feeling much sooner.

He took a deep breath, not thinking about it anymore. Just practice, even if it took a bit more time.

Two days later, DeRozan arrived at Hidden Mountain and spent some time training with Zhang Yang in the early morning, then began to inquire again about the tune of the song about the basketball hoop...

Zhang San’s talent was outrageously strong!

In just a few days without seeing him, Zhang San began to learn Larry Bird’s post-plays! And his imitation had form and substance, paying attention to the details during training, all learned from watching videotapes. Why is there such a huge gap between people?

He, DeRozan, also watched Kobe’s videos every other day; after all these years, he only learned a few techniques.

With both Harden and Zhang San’s exaggerated talents, DeRozan was determined to bring juniors and seniors who couldn’t make the starting lineup to play in the Moore League to train.

Training oblivious to time, quickly, the half-month winter break ended, and on January 8, Zhang Yang and DeRozan took Thomas’s car back to Compton.

Over the half-month, Zhang Yang practiced the basic post-play footwork twice a day, morning and afternoon, 20 minutes for each of the three sets, interspersed with shooting practice and technical training.

He didn’t add more time as the footwork was even more tedious than practicing ball handling or jump stops; doing too much would affect his enthusiasm for training, two hours a day was already the limit.

Larry Bird was reluctantly upright—although merely demonstrating training movements, but he demonstrated them thoroughly, with unique details for both high and low post play. After half a month, Zhang Yang only practiced one move; indeed, it was a difficult technique, and he was prepared for long-term training.

With less than two months until the first week of SATs in March, Zhang Yang had already self-studied the syllabus for the last semester. After returning to school, his study time turned into exam preparation.

Originally, the SAT had a total score of 1600 points, but last month, the Department of Education announced an addition of a writing section to the exam, increasing the total points by 80 to 1680 points. Zhang Yang would have to find time to practice writing, but it wasn’t a big issue; he needed only a sports student score that was good enough for a scholarship. However, since he was going to take the exam, he wanted to score as high as possible.

Not long after the start of the semester, Zhang Yang received a call from his dad; his little brother was born, both mother and child were safe.

He was delighted it was a ’Goku’ brother, yet he felt some regret. The last time he went shopping with his mom, he had specially picked out several dungaree outfits...

On January 23, Sunday, the second half of the season began, and Compton High School faced off against Lynwood High School.

Seeing his good friend Harden, DeRozan launched a powerful assault.

Harden’s rate of improvement might not match Zhang Yang’s, but it put immense pressure on DeRozan; if he didn’t beat him now, he might not be able to in a couple of years, or even before that.

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦