Chapter 22 Absolute Genius
From the moment he was selected as the second pick, Pat Riley actually had no hope for this year's draft. In his opinion, the Chicago Bulls would definitely choose Derrick Rose. The only choices before him were Michael Beasley, Russell Westbrook and OJ Mayo.
Beasley is a good player and a data maniac in college. But his off-court problems are too bad. He is not active in training and his defensive ability is even worse than nothing. OJ Mayo is also a good player, but limited to his height, his position is too awkward. He plays the shooting guard position, not to mention that his position overlaps with Dwyane Wade, even if it does not overlap, there are big problems. First of all, his physical fitness is not strong, and secondly, he is short and his defense is also mediocre. If he is given unlimited firing rights, he may be able to play well, but... Miami already has Wade.
As for Westbrook, he has great potential, but Miami already has Dwyane Wade and doesn't need a second Flash.
Therefore, he had to focus on those non-hot players, hoping to dig up treasures, but unfortunately, none of these players were treasures. Until... last night he received a videotape sent by his good friend Powell from across the ocean.
He watched it and thought it was nothing at first, but when he saw the little guy overturn the bus, steal the ball from Yi Jianlian, and then make a fast break, and finally lead the team to play with great momentum, he could no longer bear it.
"That's him!"
Pat Riley shook his arms vigorously, extremely excited. He then looked at the comments Powell sent over, which were very similar to his own judgment. He agreed with Yang Mo's strength, rebounding ability, and fast break awareness. Until the last sentence, "A natural leader, a Michael Jordan-like player."
Seeing this, he couldn't help but slightly gasp and muttered, "Powell is not a person who likes to brag. Could it be that this Chinese kid really looks like Michael Jordan? It seems that he must have a good tryout tomorrow."
The reason why Pat Riley doubted Powell's last sentence was because he had not seen the previous scenes of the Jinding team. Before Yang Mo came on the court, the Jinding team was a group of sheep that could be slaughtered at will. But as soon as Yang Mo came on the court and dunked two baskets, the sheep instantly turned into a ferocious army of tigers and wolves.
The next morning, as soon as Yang Mo got up, the Miami Heat staff came to invite Yang Mo to the training hall. This was a great honor for the rookie. Michael Beasley didn't get this treatment when he came here two days ago. You have to know that it was General Manager Fu of Miami who took the lead in inviting people. If it wasn't an important person, how could he come in person?
Yang Mo obviously did not think that the other party's visit was anything grand; he thought it was the result of Powell's arrangement.
When the group arrived at the training hall, Pat Riley had been waiting for a long time. Following him were several other deputy general managers, heads of major departments, and a group of trainers.
Seeing the other party's big show, Yang Mo seemed to be under a lot of pressure. It would be a big loss if he lost face in front of these people.
"Hello, Mr. Yang Mo." Patrelli walked up first and said to Yang Mo with a smile on his face.
"Hello, Mr. Riley." Yang Mo politely shook hands with Pat Riley, and then, under Pat Riley's introduction, shook hands with everyone one by one. This posture made it seem like a new employee joining the company. Yang Mo couldn't help but be a little surprised. I haven't even participated in the draft yet, how come I am treated like one of our own?
To Pat Riley, Yang Mo is already one of his own. In his opinion, Yang Mo is just an unknown kid, and no other player will choose him. When the time comes, he only needs to spend a little money to buy a second-round draft pick and select him. Small investment, big profit, why not?
The two sides chatted for a while and officially entered the state of tryout. Before the tryout, Yang Mo emphasized to Pat Riley: "Mr. Riley, I am a practical player, and there are many things that I can't show in the tryout."
"It's okay, don't be nervous." Pat Riley patted Yang Mo's shoulder and said, "We are just doing a simple physical test ."
Pat Riley's words were extremely ambiguous, and his eyes seemed to be telling Yang Mo: Don't be nervous, we have chosen you.
Yang Mo was not a stupid person. He immediately understood what Pat Riley meant. He nodded and followed the physical trainer to do various tests.
The results of the physical fitness test were very mediocre, except for the incredible strength.
After the results came out, physical trainer Doug handed the form to Pat Riley, and Pat Riley took out two other physical fitness sheets from the folder and compared them.
When Pat Riley was comparing, Doug said to Pat Riley with some concern: "Boss, isn't it too risky for us to choose him? His physical fitness is a bit mediocre, and he plays in the interior."
"Take a look at this." Pat Riley handed over a form without saying anything.
Doug took the form and looked at it, then asked, "This is Stockton's physical data from that year. What's wrong with it?"
"Yang's physical fitness is much better than his." Pat Riley smiled.
"But...he's an inside player." Doug said puzzledly.
At this time, Pat Riley handed him another physical examination sheet and said, "Look at this data."
"These are Shaquille O'Neal's stats." Doug was still confused.
"Look, Shaquille O'Neal's bench press was 295 pounds in 2006, of course that was because he didn't try his best. But Young's bench press is 325 pounds, which no one in the league can do. For the weighted squat, Shaq did 45 times, and Young did 62 times. And this... Young's wingspan is 218. How many inside players in the league today have a wingspan longer than him? With strength, wingspan, and a keen sense of rebounding, he is enough to gain a foothold in the interior." Pat Riley said confidently, "Let's go and see his three-point shooting percentage."
As he said this, he led Doug to the training hall. At this time, Yang Mo was shooting three-pointers non-stop, and at the same time he was moving back and forth outside the three-point line... Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three-pointers came one after another, just like throwing stones into the sea, each one more accurate than the last.
Ding! Time's up!
The shooting coach who was in charge of recording the results pressed the stopwatch, then looked at the data in surprise, then walked over to Pat Riley and said in shock, "Sir, this is horrible! Where did you find this shooter? I just slightly adjusted his shooting hand shape, and he actually shot this number."
Pat Riley took the data and looked at it. In five minutes, he made 289 of 312 shots.
He was immediately shocked and asked, "Is this result true?"
"Yes, it's absolutely true. This guy has the biggest hands I've ever seen, and he's a natural shooter. He used to use a completely wrong way to shoot, but I just corrected him a little bit , and he immediately created this miracle. If he trains with me for two years, he will definitely become the best three-point shooter in NBA history. I'm very sure." Shooting coach Tom was excited. He had never seen such a good seedling.
When Pat Riley heard this, he closed the folder excitedly, feeling extremely happy. What a treasure! This is a once-in-a-lifetime treasure! Just this shooting skill is worth a first-round pick.
So, he walked to Yang Mo excitedly and patted Yang Mo's shoulder heavily.
Seeing him so excited, Yang Mo was a little overwhelmed.
"Welcome to Miami, man!" Pat Riley hugged Yang Mo tightly, almost jumping up with excitement. This was the most exciting time in his life, even more exciting than the birth of his first son.
