Chapter 3 Becoming a Suns Trainer
"mark?"
Barkley shouted at this time and then passed the ball in.
Mark West received the ball, calmed down, and started dribbling and backing up Wang Tiejun, trying to get closer to the basket and shoot.
But Wang Tiejun held him down with his shoulders and chest from behind, preventing him from moving forward.
His strength is really only at the level of a role player. He entered the league in 1983 and is now almost 33 years old. He is in the late stage of his career and has only 5+5 data in his career. He used to be a substitute for the Suns. This year, there is really no one available for the center position of the Suns. As the saying goes, when there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey becomes king. The old him picked up a main position.
Seeing that he couldn't push his way in, he immediately used his elbow in anger and suddenly slid down to the bottom. At the same time, he swung his right elbow hard, hitting Wang Tiejun in the face like a whip.
"boom!"
Then he took the opportunity to successfully slip to the bottom, took one step to the basket and slammed it down.
"Haha, just do him like that!"
"Brother, one more."
"Chinese, get out of New York!"
A group of black guys jumped and shouted excitedly.
"Damn it, you have guts!"
Having suffered a loss, Wang Tiejun gritted his teeth and cursed angrily.
There was a red mark on his left cheek, which was the biggest loss he had ever suffered on the basketball court.
Barkley shook his head secretly. He came to the Suns from Philadelphia this season for the championship, but the strength of the main center disappointed him. He was very disappointed. He had to rely on elbows to score against a street kid. Facing a super center like Ewing, wouldn't he be eaten to the bone? He couldn't help but look at Ewing on the sidelines.
Sure enough, the gorilla's face was still as dull and indifferent as ever. He looked so honest and didn't care about the two people fighting on the field at all, because he could beat these two worthless guys to pieces with just one hand.
"It's your turn to attack, Lao Wang," Barkley shouted.
Wang Tiejun came to the low position on the left wing and began to take position. After Mark West stood behind him, he immediately leaned back tentatively.
"easy."
After the test, West's center of gravity loosened suddenly, and he knew that the opponent's strength was not as good as his, and the difference was very large. He had not used his full strength and had not used the Iron Mountain Backbone at all.
The next moment, he immediately began to increase his strength to push inwards, trying to move to a deeper position, and his position was very aggressive.
Mark West used all his strength, elbowing his lower back and kneeing his knee, but he was still crushed by Wang Tiejun in the confrontation. It can be said that he was not an opponent of the same level at all. He could not even stand on his feet and kept retreating.
In terms of tonnage, Wang Tiejun weighs 10 kilograms more, which is a huge difference. How much power can ten or twenty kilograms of muscle burst out?
In boxing, three to five kilograms are one level, let alone ten kilograms?
In terms of strength, it is at least one level stronger.
Speaking of confrontation, Wang Tiejun's low-post confrontation ability is level 91, but it is not known whether the aging West is level 75 now.
The competition in the interior is a head-on confrontation between muscles, without any false moves.
Moreover, Wang Tiejun just squeezed and did not use his fighting moves.
"Very strong! Very good at confrontation! But his technical moves are a bit stiff. He probably doesn't have much playing time. He's not a professional player."
Colangelo gained a new understanding of Wang Tiejun's strength and confrontation ability, but also saw some weaknesses.
"Catch the ball."
Barkley still faced his teammates, fearing that Wang Tiejun would squeeze directly under the basket, so he quickly passed the ball to him.
Wang Tiejun had no choice but to stop and grab the ball with one hand, firmly holding it in his hand.
The ball was immediately deformed when those five fingers exerted force, which shows how strong his control over the ball is.
As someone who has practiced Bajiquan since childhood, he has also practiced a basic skill, which is to specifically train the Bajiquan grappling hand to grab an iron ball with both hands.
His hands are very big and powerful. The largest iron ball he has ever used weighed 10 kilograms, so his palm and finger strength are very strong, and he has a pair of unicorn arms.
“What big hands!”
There was no reference before, so no one felt it. But now with the ball as a reference, everyone at the scene was surprised.
"He has a pair of superstar hands, a very strong body, absolute height, long arms, and good static talent."
Colangelo did the same, staring at Wang Tiejun without blinking.
"boom!"
Wang Tiejun leaned over to dribble the ball, and suddenly stopped his foot. As he twisted his waist and hips, the six forces combined into one and instantly burst out with tremendous power. His shoulder and back hit Mark West's chest with absolutely fierce momentum, and the impact sound was very dull.
“Click!”
Mark West's chest was instantly crushed by the tremendous force, and the gas in his chest was passively squeezed out at high speed, making a sharp scream like a chicken. The whole person was knocked down on the spot like a wooden stake.
"boom!"
Wang Tiejun took the opportunity to grab the ball with one hand, stepped over Mark West in one step, and suddenly jumped up like a giant beast. He slammed the ball with one hand, and the basket exploded. The entire basket frame sank instantly, as if it was about to collapse.
"pretty!"
Barkley couldn't help but blurt out his praise.
"good!"
Colangelo's eyes lit up on the sidelines as well.
Among all the centers in the league, only this year's No. 1 pick Shaquille O'Neal possesses this tough, crushing style.
Of course, he didn't think Wang Tiejun could be compared with O'Neal, because O'Neal's flexibility and explosiveness were top-notch, and he could be said to have both strength and softness, while Wang Tiejun's ball showed full strength and power. Moreover, the technical levels of the two were completely incomparable.
"Um?"
Ewing, who had been indifferent all along, suddenly moved his eyes.
He doesn't have this kind of power.
He also doesn't have this kind of strong post-up technique that relies on strength to overpower the defender.
He thought that Wang Tiejun, the yellow man who claimed to be the best center, was just a clown. Now it seems that he is a clown with some skills.
But that's all. West's strength is too weak and it doesn't mean anything.
"Well!"
Mark West was knocked unconscious and lay on the ground for a long time before he recovered. He looked pale and terrified as he looked at Wang Tiejun above him.
His playing style is soft and he doesn't like confrontation. The reason why he defended so tightly just now was that he thought Wang Tiejun was just a street kid and it was a good opportunity for him to show off his power. He didn't expect to meet a tough guy.
Now, in his eyes, this Chinese man is a man-eating beast, and he regrets standing up.
"Shit! How dare this damn Chinese step over our brothers' heads?"
"Damn it, he embarrassed our brothers!"
Several black guys were also stunned, and after they realized what was happening, they started shouting again.
"Humph! It's like dog food!"
Staring at the black guys and cursing in Tianjin dialect, Wang Tiejun roared at West who was lying on the ground: "Hey, is this all you can do? Get up and continue fighting with me."
"Ahem, damn it, I was careless!"
Mark West climbed up while coughing painfully and holding his chest, looking very embarrassed.
In fact, he felt so uncomfortable now that his chest felt as if it was being crushed.
The duel continued, with West attacking.
He received the ball and deliberately stepped on Wang Tiejun while dribbling, then took the opportunity to break through and make a successful layup. His offense was quite easy.
"Mark West's strength is very poor, and this Chinese youth still can't defend him. This shows that he lacks defensive experience, his steps are not flexible enough, his movement speed is average, and his turning speed is average ."
Colangelo guessed in his mind.
Now it was Wang Tiejun's turn to attack.
This time, West didn't dare to fight to the death and took the initiative to move forward.
In this way, Wang Tiejun went directly to the basket, pushed West who was running in front of him to the outside with one hand, and received the pass from Barkley.
As soon as he got the ball, West almost hung on him.
"boom!"
He leaned over to dribble the ball, exerted force on his feet, twisted his waist and hips, combined the six forces into one, and burst out with instant power. With a bang, West behind him was knocked down with a muffled groan under the impact of his shoulder and back.
"boom!"
The next moment, he jumped up and completed a one-arm slam dunk.
"Rubbish, with your level, are you really an NBA player?"
After releasing the basket, Wang Tiejun yelled at West who was unable to get up.
But the strange thing is that after this slam dunk, Barkley and Colangelo shook their heads at the same time. From the looks of them, they didn't seem to think it was a good attack.
"Damn it!"
West, in a disheveled state, climbed up gasping for breath, but did not dare to go up and cause trouble for Wang Tiejun.
"Okay, Erping, this matter is settled." Barkley said loudly.
At this time, Colangelo said, "Charles, you take Mark and go first. I will be there soon."
In these one-on-one matches, he found that Wang Tiejun did not have many offensive tricks. He just got to the basket and then shot. His other offensive techniques should be very average. He did not use any footwork. He just used strength to overpower his opponents. The few technical moves he had were also a bit awkward, and his overall strength was not good.
For example, he thinks that the final shot under the basket is completely unnecessary. It's an unnecessary shot. Couldn't he just stand up and dunk or layup?
This is a bad offensive habit. For a player with Wang Tiejun's height and wingspan, the best way is to shoot from high.
In addition, his performance on the defensive end was even worse, mainly because he had little game experience and did not make full use of his physical advantages. With West's poor strength, he failed to defend either of the two attacks and did not even make any effective defensive moves.
But overall, he believes that Wang Tiejun still has some potential. His physical condition is okay and his static talent is very good, but his technique is too poor and he has no competition experience, so he has not reached the level of a professional player.
However, the team does lack a big center-type sparring partner. This year's first-round pick No. 22, Oliver Miller weighs 127 kilograms. He has high hopes for him and wants to train him into the team's future center, so he wants to bring Wang Tiejun back as a sparring partner.
But he also made preparations for both situations. Wang Tiejun can serve as a sparring partner first, and if his skills can improve, he might be signed as a substitute for the number five position.
In addition, Wang Tiejun's strong confrontation ability is exactly what none of the Suns' centers possess.
From last season's main center Andrew Long to this season's Mark West, they all lack the ability to confront, their playing style is soft, they have too few attacks under the basket, and they are almost not lethal.
This is one of the most important reasons why he wants to recruit Wang Tiejun under his command.
The reason why they didn't sign him directly is that the team already has fifteen players. If they sign him now, they will have to cut or trade one of them first.
Being a sparring partner is the most cost-effective way. It doesn't cost much money and you can catch Wang Tiejun first.
"Young man, I'm Jerry Colangelo, the general manager of the Suns. You can call me Mr. General Manager or Mr. Colangelo."
He walked up to Wang Tiejun, extended his hand and introduced himself.
"Hello, Mr. Colangelo, do you have something to talk to me about?" After shaking hands, Wang Tiejun asked expectantly.
"My team is short of a sparring partner. Are you interested?" Colangelo said with a smile.
"Sparring partner?"
Wang Tiejun felt like a huge basket of pie had fallen from the sky and hit him on the head. The system was right, there is always light at the end of the tunnel!
"OK, but I want to know how much money I can get per month?" he asked quickly.
"You get paid weekly, $850 a week, and with 24 weeks of work in a season, you can get $20,000 in salary in half a year," Colangelo said.
"Twenty thousand dollars?"
Lao Wang's eyes lit up.
"But you need to pay taxes. The $20,000 is subject to a 15% personal income tax rate, and you are single, so $12,000 of that income is tax-free. Well, you need an accountant who can help you with your taxes," Colangelo laughed.
When Lao Wang heard the word "but", he knew that something was not good, but after all the calculations, it was still better than working illegally, and it was a formal job, so he could apply for a work visa, so he was still very happy.
"You live down here?"
Following Wang Tiejun, he came to a dirty alley full of garbage. Looking at the dark sewer outlet under his feet, a foul odor hit his nose. Colangelo couldn't help but cover his nose and took a few steps back before asking in surprise.
Wang Tiejun chuckled and said, "There's an abandoned sewer down here. It's warmer than living in a cardboard house or a tent on the street. There are just a lot of rats and cockroaches, and it's a bit smelly, but you'll get used to it."
Watching Wang Tiejun disappear at the sewer entrance, Colangelo shook his head. The temperature in New York at night is around zero degrees and will continue to drop. If it snows, those who live down here might freeze to death one day. Many homeless people freeze to death on the streets of New York every winter.
In fact, he didn't know that it was warm in winter and cool in summer down there, and after cleaning it up, it wasn't too smelly. Wang Tiejun has lived here since he arrived in New York, and in order to pay off his debts as soon as possible, he couldn't possibly spend money to rent a house.
About two minutes later, a large tattered backpack was thrown up, and then Wang Tiejun crawled out with a foul smell.
"Sir, let's go." He said with a smile.
Colangelo nodded and intentionally moved a few steps away from Wang Tiejun. It was not that he wanted to be rude, but he just smelled too bad.
Following Colangelo, facing the slanting sunlight overhead, Wang Tiejun walked with his head held high, carrying a large bag. He felt that he was entering a new life, and the pressure of owing more than 70,000 yuan was suddenly much less.
