The NCAA tournament doesn’t start until November, and school enrollment generally ends in June or July.
In other words, there will be a gap of three or four months in between.
This time is the preparation and training time for major universities.
You have to know that the NCAA is different from the NBA. Talented newcomers will leave the team in the June draft, and the experienced seniors will either participate in the draft or leave school, which means that a new wave of players have to be replaced every year.
These three or four months may seem like a long time, but they are very stressful for universities.
The University of Texas has also arranged a full training schedule before the semester begins.
Their training content mainly focuses on basic training and physical training, supplemented by some basic tactical training.
Barnes’s chicken soup level is very high, but his tactics are relatively weak.
Therefore, Springman is in charge of the team's training.
Strength and conditioning coach Maggie Wright also began his work.
The two key players he is responsible for this year are Pittman and Durant.
Of these two people, one is too fat, while the other is obviously too thin.
It was during this training process that Wright made not only the two of them, but everyone on the Longhorns team experience what harshness meant.
Especially for Pittman, he was required to get up at 5:30 every morning for training, and every meal had to be evaluated by Wright. If Wright felt it was inappropriate, it had to be changed.
Barnes was previously known among players as "Angry Rick" and Wright was nicknamed "Crazy McGee."
Within a few days, Pittman began to complain bitterly.
There are only two reasons why people get fat: not being able to control their mouths and not being able to move their legs.
Wright's plan can be said to hit the nail on the head.
After a week, Pittman gave up.
Then Wright ran to his dormitory, kicked him off his bed, and scolded him until he cried.
The Longhorns were all on the same floor, and they all rushed over after hearing the news.
Durant went over to comfort Pittman and made a promise to him.
"From today on, I will get up early and attend training with you every day at college."
Just like what he did to Lin Ying, Durant was not showing special care to anyone, but his team concept.
Pittman is part of the team and he won’t give up, especially now that he is the captain of the team.
"If you succeed, you will become an idol for all of us."
Augustine also said.
Lin Ying was inexplicably touched, because he indeed felt the presence of a "team" in this team.
As if by some strange coincidence, he also added a sentence:
“It’s all American.”
Fat people all have potential, and Pittman has such a large base. Losing a dozen kilograms would be inspiring. If he loses dozens of kilograms, he will definitely become a national sensation as he said.
There was nothing wrong with his response, but right after he finished it, Durant turned around and looked at him with a surprised look.
With everyone's comfort, Pittman's emotions were calmed down and he promised to continue Wright's plan.
On the way back to the dormitory, Durant bumped into Lin Ying with a smile, making Lin Ying look confused.
"Didn't you notice?"
Durant said with a smile.
Lin Ying shook his head. What did he notice?
“I now feel that we made the right decision to come to the University of Texas.”
Durant continued.
The reason why he didn't go to North Carolina in the first place, in addition to Springman and those relationships, was another very important reason, which was Lin Ying.
Although they have very different personalities, he doesn't have many good friends. Apart from Beasley, there is Lin Ying.
With Lin Ying's ability, it is unrealistic for her to go to North Carolina.
What he just said was actually a change that Lin Ying herself might not have noticed.
In the past, Lin Ying would never have spoken in that situation.
…
Durant is the kind of person who does what he says. For the entire summer, he would get up at 5:30 every morning and ask Pittman to get up for training.
At first, Pittman was too embarrassed to say he wanted to give up, but later he gradually got used to it.
This process is actually the development of self-discipline.
No matter what you do, if there is someone to encourage you, you will get twice the result with half the effort.
But they are not just two people, there is also Lin Ying.
Lin Ying had tried "suicide training" before. In terms of self-discipline, he is the best in the team.
So, no matter how hot the summer is in Austin, every morning and sunset, there are always three people who are the first to sweat in the gym and the last to close the door of the training hall.
They gradually enjoyed the fun so much that if the school hadn't had any rules against it, they might have spent the night in the gym.
The sun rises and sets; summer goes and autumn comes.
In the blink of an eye, it is already early November.
Pittman has lost a lot of weight, from 388 pounds when he first joined the team to 356 pounds!
He successfully lost 30 pounds, nearly 14 kilograms!
"Keep going, you'll definitely become an American idol!"
Durant spoke from the heart after seeing Pittman’s results.
This was what Lin Ying said at the beginning, and now he felt it was very appropriate.
Of course, it's not just Pittman who has changed. Durant has also become stronger than when he first entered college.
As for Lin Ying, his weight only increased by two kilograms, which is not a big change, but his body fat percentage has dropped from 10.1% to 8.5%, and he looks very strong.
Torturing yourself is to prepare in advance so that you can suffer less in the future.
The three of them are ready for the upcoming tournament.
At this time, there is less than half a month left before the start of the new NCAA season.
Major universities across the country have basically confirmed their rosters for the new season.
At the same time, the NCAA officially launched the first "Power List" of the new season.
Calling it the power list is a term fans like to use, but it should be more accurately called the standings.
This list will count all the win-loss points of each university in the NCAA, including invitational tournaments.
It can allow fans and the outside world to better understand the new NCAA season.
More importantly, this will be an important reference for the NCAA organizing committee when extending invitations.
So it has always been of great interest to fans and players.
After the power list came out, Lin Ying and Durant immediately took the newspaper and started studying it in the dormitory.
Because if they successfully make it to the Crazy Three, these are their potential opponents.
1. University of Florida Gators
The University of Florida is a veritable "upstart" in the NCAA. Their previous school history was mediocre, and last year was their first time to reach the NCAA finals, and then... they won the championship!
The past year has been an absolutely fantastic year for University of Florida fans, and if it were made into a documentary, it would be a bestseller across the United States.
But what’s even more fantastic is that the three core players who helped the team win the championship last year, Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer, all chose to stay in school!
If their victory last year was based on talent, this year they not only have talent, but also experience!
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes have won championships in their history, but that was in 1960. They have been neither good nor bad in the past decade or so, and were eliminated in the first round last year.
But this year Ohio State's admissions office deserves a thumbs up, because their admissions work can be described as a complete stunner.
They recruited Daequan Cook, Mike Conley, and Greg Oden!
Last year, Lawrence High School was the top high school team in the United States. These three are the absolute core of the team, and they are all five-star high school students!
Normally, the three of them would have gone their separate ways when they went to college, but they chose to join the same school together.
Their joining directly maximizes the talent of the Buckeyes.
Especially Oden, he is not just the top high school student in the United States.
This monster, who was hailed as a combination of Chamberlain and Russell, was elected National Basketball Player in his senior year of high school. He was the second person to achieve this honor after James, and was also dubbed "The Great Emperor" by the media.
His dominance in the interior was already terrifying in high school. Basically, he was the type who could defeat anyone he met on both offense and defense.
If it weren't for the three Florida players who chose to stay in school, the Buckeyes would definitely be the most "powerful" team this year.
3. Georgetown University Hoyas
Georgetown University is also a traditional NCAA powerhouse and has produced many NBA stars in its history. The most famous of them are "Gorilla" Patrick Ewing and "The Answer" Allen Iverson. In addition, there are Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning and others.
It is not difficult to find from these names that this is a team that is very good at training centers.
The current center of the team is Roy Hibbert, who is already a junior and 2.18 meters tall.
In addition, the team's star player is power forward Jeff Green, who is also a junior.
These two players have already guaranteed the team's lower limit. In addition, they also have Jesse Sapp, Jonathan Wallace, Dajuan Summers, and Patrick Ewing Jr., who have also left their names in the draft in history.
Last year they were eliminated in the Sweet 16, and all the core players chose to stay in school, which is enough to show their determination for the new season.
4. UCLA Bruins
UCLA is as well-known in the NCAA as North Carolina and Duke, and its number of championships is more than the sum of the two combined.
They made it to the finals last year, only to lose to the University of Florida.
In the new season, except for captain Farmar who left the team, the rest of the main players stayed.
The remaining players are third-year player Arron Afflalo, second-year player Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, second-year player Darren Collison, and three-star high school player Russell Westbrook, whom they just recruited this year.
5. Kansas Jayhawks
The strongest team in the Big 12, they were unexpectedly upset in the round of 16 last year. Like UCLA, most of their main players stayed on the team.
Their goal for this comeback is more than just reaching the Elite Eight.
6. University of North Carolina
Duke and North Carolina, the NCAA duo, are also the two most famous universities for supplying basketball talents to the NBA.
North Carolina is also Jordan's alma mater and has won the NCAA championship four times in history.
Last year, North Carolina was eliminated in the Sweet 16, but its strength should not be underestimated.
The core of this team now is veteran captain Tyler Hansbrough.
Hansbrough was already a well-known figure in the NCAA, averaging 19+8 points per game in his freshman and sophomore seasons.
As for why he continued to stay in the NCAA, some people said that he was of average talent, but in human history, there was no one who played four years in college and participated in the NBA draft and was a lottery pick. If this was considered average talent, then everyone else was "unlucky."
In comparison, another statement is more reliable: for the championship.
This sounds incredible, but just like Tim Duncan who ran for the NBA because he promised his mother that he would finish college, Hansbrough is obsessed with the championship.
Last year, Hansbrough lacked help, and this year North Carolina recruited three top high school students at once: Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Brandan Wright.
Add in RaySean Terry and Danny Green who are already on the roster, and North Carolina is very strong this year.
…
No. 58: University of Texas Longhorns
This ranking is relatively low, but it is understandable.
There are 7 new players in the 14-man team. Except for Durant and Augustine, the others were unknown in high school.
A team like this might be able to achieve some results after a year or two of working together, but the chances are slim in the new season.
However, considering Durant's talent and the University of Texas's performance in reaching the championship 16 times in the past 18 years, they are still considered capable of entering the Mad Three.
This first issue of the power list can be said to be relatively objective.
Of course, when the players from the University of Texas saw this list, the evaluation they received was the same as what they cursed: a bunch of shit.
Obviously, after Barnes ignited the fire of desire in their hearts as soon as they entered the University of Texas, their ambitions had long been beyond just making it to the championship.