For Springman, the biggest difference between Old Winter and Phil Jackson is that the former "walked" out of the NCAA.
When Old Winter started coaching in the NCAA in 1952, he was less than 30 years old and was the youngest coach in the NCAA at the time.
After coaching in college for nearly 20 years, he entered the NBA to start his coaching career. In 1985, he became an assistant coach to Phil Jackson, ushering in the great era of triangle offense in the NBA.
Now, the 84-year-old Winter is no longer Phil Jackson's assistant coach , but a team consultant for the Lakers.
There are two reasons why Springman chose Old Winter.
First, Winter Sr. is a native Texan, so he naturally has extra favor for Texas teams.
Second, their next opponent is Kansas State University.
Although Kansas State University is not as famous as the University of Kansas, it is still much more famous than the University of Texas.
As for their ancestors, they had a Hall of Fame player, Mitch Richmond.
Domestic fans may not be too familiar with him.
This is a star who was a contemporary of Jordan. Here is a brief list of his achievements:
NBA Rookie of the Year, 6-time NBA All-Star, 1 All-Star Game MVP, 3-time 2nd Team, 2-time 3rd Team, member of the 1996 Dream Team, member of the 2002 Lakers championship team, career average of 21 points per game.
Compared with Texas Tech's "Batman" Tony Battie, this is an extremely dazzling existence.
However, even a legendary player of this level cannot compare with old Winter in terms of influence at Kansas State.
Old Winter coached at Kansas State for a total of 15 years, from 1954 until he left the NCAA in 1969.
In these 15 years, he led his team to the NCAA Elite Eight eight times and the final four twice, and he himself was elected NCAA Coach of the Year.
It can be said that during that period of time, Kansas State was an absolute powerhouse in the NCAA, and it was always ranked at the top of the power list.
So we can take advantage of the opportunity of the game against Kansas State to contact old Winter, and considering the identity of the Texas team, a meeting should still be possible.
Three days later, the University of Texas hosted Kansas State University at home.
Kansas State University is currently ranked high in the Big 12 League, and the team's star player is junior Kadir Martin.
Martin was selected to the Big12 second team last season and has strong scoring ability.
In history, Martin was not selected in the draft after playing four years in college, but he made it to the NBA through his own efforts, which makes him an inspirational figure.
The game was quite intense, but Durant scored consecutively at the crucial moment and the University of Texas won the game 71-61.
According to the technical statistics after the game, Durant scored a game-high 27 points, and Lin Ying had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists.
After the game, Springman found the head coach of Kansas State University and contacted Winter Sr. through him.
Old Winter was more enthusiastic than he had imagined.
The triangle offense is very successful in the NBA, but now no one uses this tactic except the Lakers, not even Kansas State.
Because this tactic has very high requirements on team configuration and tactical qualities.
In a sense, it has a bit of the meaning of being passed down from one generation to the next.
So old Winter was naturally very happy that someone was willing to learn, because it meant that his life's work could be passed on.
The communication went very pleasantly and the two decided to meet in two days.
After confirming the time, Springman found Durant and Lin Ying, and he planned to take them to meet old Winter.
If they can get some guidance from old Winter, it will definitely help them master the triangle offense.
Lin Ying was still a little excited when he heard that Springman was going to take him to see old Winter.
There is a saying that seeing is believing.
In the past, he only regarded the triangle offense as a term, which was no different from Princeton, run-and-gun, and pick-and-roll tactics.
But after watching the game between the Lakers and the Bulls with a research attitude, I realized the awesomeness of this tactic.
It's like you've seen a great painting and now you're going to meet the artist who painted it!
What's more interesting is the place where Springman and Old Winter agreed to meet, which was an indoor arena in Los Angeles.
It's almost like he wants old Winter to teach Durant and the others how to play the triangle tactics!
Old Winter has gray hair and a bloated and wrinkled face, just like an 80-year-old Western man should look like.
But he still seems to be in very good spirits.
In history, this person lived to be 96 years old, almost a hundred years old, which is considered a long life.
Old Winter expressed his love for Springman's direct behavior.
He had been wanting to teach originally, and Springman had brought along the players, which made things a lot easier.
And we have also heard of Durant, who is one of the top three high school students in the United States. He has shown top scoring talent so far this season, and it is hard not to attract attention.
He was a little surprised when he saw Lin Ying, as he thought Springman would bring the traditional big center.
However, during the subsequent conversation and presentation, Old Winter gained a new understanding of Lin Ying.
And the figure of another big man soon appeared in his mind.
Toni Kukoc.
“They fit in well with this tactic.”
After realizing this, he also gave Springman a reassurance.
Then, he began to teach me step by step.
Triangle offense is a systematic offense.
According to Old Winter’s explanation, it is an offensive tactic based on “reading and reacting”.
This may sound a little hard to understand, but to put it simply, it means reading the opponent's defense, then establishing a reasonable triangle and looking for scoring opportunities.
This is a concept, and then according to the different positions and end points, it can be roughly divided into four types of offense, namely: Low Post, Pinch Post, Corner Pnr and PnrBlind Pig.
Translated into Chinese, it means low-post singles, weak-side horn, corner pick-and-roll and blind pig.
Of course, these are the four basic tactics. Just like the concept emphasized by old Winter, the triangle offense is not a fixed position, but requires reading and reaction.
Therefore, many detailed tactics have evolved from these four basic tactics, which are endless.
Then, based on the technical characteristics of Durant and Lin Ying, Old Winter focused on the Low Post, which is the tactics of low-post singles.
What Lin Ying saw, with Jordan falling into the low post and Kukoc holding the ball at the top of the arc, was actually one of the evolved tactics of low-post singles.
The only difference is that the ball that was originally in a low position was moved from the inside to the outside.
Just as Lin Ying had thought before, this tactic was to bring out Jordan's destructive power in the low post.
Of course, what Old Winter talked about was not just what Lin Ying thought of. He also talked a lot about the details of the low-post attack.
Because as he said at the beginning, the core of triangle offense is to read and react, so reading is the prerequisite.
Just like ordinary people playing basketball, those with low skills will think about what technique to use to launch the offense first, while those with high skills will choose what technique to use to launch the offense based on the defense.
So when to let Durant go inside is a very detailed question.
Then if you can't use this tactic, it doesn't matter, you can switch to triangle offense at any time.
What Old Winter talked about next was Corner Pnr, which is the corner pick-and-roll.
Corner pick-and-roll is usually a tactic used by the No. 1 and No. 3 positions.
Here, the number one position is required to have certain breakthrough and shooting abilities, and the number three position is required to have good passing abilities.
For specific details, refer to Pippen and Kerr of the Bulls, and Odom and Fisher of the Lakers in history.
This tactic is launched at a 45-degree angle. The number one position passes the ball to the number three position, who then uses the number three position's pick-and-roll to pass the ball to initiate the offense. The player can go to the corner to shoot a three-pointer, or use the number five position's pick-and-roll to break through and score under the basket, or go inside and directly break through and score.
Still follow the sentence, read and react, and choose the most reasonable offensive route based on the opponent's defensive focus.
Then, just like the low-post offense, this tactic does not necessarily have to be initiated by the No. 1 or No. 3 position.
Augustine has the ability to break through and shoot, and he is also a point guard.
But the role of position three can be played by Lin Ying at position four because Lin Ying has better passing ability.
He also has a stable ability to shoot from the outside, which can create more offensive space for the number one position.
The characteristic of this tactic is that Durant does not necessarily have to participate, and it can be used when Durant is resting off the court.
After just a few simple tactical explanations, Lin Ying felt that the door to his new world had been opened a lot.
He also realized that the conclusions he had drawn from his previous analysis of the video were still one-sided.
The real triangle offense is not just a superstar one-on-one tactic, it is far more complex and advanced than imagined.
Teaching and answering questions is indeed different from simply reading theoretical books.
An afternoon passed quickly. If possible, Lin Ying hoped that time could go slower.
But old Winter was old after all, and he had almost exhausted all his energy after explaining to them for an entire afternoon.
And by the time he finished explaining, his opinion of Lin Ying was completely different from when he first arrived.
This thing is just like a real class. After the teacher finishes the class, he can naturally tell the good and bad students from each other.
Specifically, before leaving, Old Winter not only gave Lin Ying a copy of the book he brought with him, but also wrote his email address on it.
“If you have any questions, you can email me.”
This is naked favoritism.
But there is nothing wrong with it, gold will always shine.
Springman's previous appreciation of Lin Ying and old Winter's current preference for her are all proofs.
Or you can think of it as a talent, a tactical talent.
Just like the technology tree allocation in many novels, Lin Ying’s point allocation is somewhat different from others.
However, there are fewer people practicing different technology trees, so they are naturally more likely to be favored by people of the same kind.
With the theory and understanding, the next step is training.
It is not so easy to master the triangle tactics.
Just like in history when a number of assistant coaches failed one after another, Phil Jackson once said that he was not surprised.
Because the triangle tactics require a lot of basic training to improve players' ability to read the game, passing ability, tacit understanding, etc.
This is by no means as simple as in novels: "being chased, falling off a cliff, surviving the disaster, and learning magical skills."
However, half of Lin Ying and Durant 's training is basic training, so they get started much faster than others.
Barnes' sophistication is also reflected at this time.
The team was training triangle offense, but he just didn't use it, he was just playing around... No way.
He was not in a hurry to use the team's new tactics in the game, because he knew that if the new tactics were used and the team lost, it would greatly dampen the players' enthusiasm for training.
This is just like holding back a big move. If you don't hold it back well, the progress bar won't be released.
And Barnes also has the capital to prepare for a big move.
The University of Texas has had a good record recently. It can't beat Kansas, but it is still confident when facing other opponents.
Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye.
In the past month, the University of Texas played a total of 6 games, including 2 invitational tournaments, with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss.
As the new starting lineup's tacit understanding increases, the team's competitiveness is also constantly improving.
And with this wave of good results, they have also reached the third place in the big12 region.
It was at this time that Barnes began to deploy the triangle offense.
In the first game of February, the University of Texas and Texas Tech faced off for the second time this season.
This time it's at Texas Tech's home court.
It was in this game that the fans saw the triangle offense again in the NCAA arena after many years.
Although this triangle offense is a little different from what they had seen before, it is just as effective.
Lin Ying's passing ability, Augustine's three-pointers and breakthroughs, and even James' cutting ability were all demonstrated very well in the game.
Of course, the biggest visual impact on fans is Durant's huge lethality in the low post.
Because the NCAA court is small, it is difficult to play one-on-one comfortably in the low post like in the NBA.
But the triangle tactics solved this problem.
After Wendell trapped the Texas Tech center, Durant got a lot of low-post opportunities under the basket.
With the height and wingspan that are an absolute power forward in the NCAA, and his significantly improved confrontation skills compared to the beginning of the season, he has a huge advantage over the opposing forwards and guards.
Even if Wendell sometimes fails to catch the opponent, Durant can easily cause damage after turning around and facing the opponent's center.
“He plays like Michael Jordan!”
Even the home commentator couldn't help but sigh after seeing Durant's performance.
In the end, Durant scored 35 points and 11 rebounds, setting a season-high score and leading the team to successfully avenge Texas Tech.
"He called me Michael! Michael!"
In the corridor back to the locker room after the game, Durant shouted to Lin Ying excitedly.
Durant's excitement is understandable, as Jordan is like a god in the eyes of basketball players.
Although the commentator may have said that more because he was reminded of the scene when Jordan played one-on-one in the low post when he was playing for the Bulls.
But no matter what the reason, being compared to Jordan is already a huge compliment.
Lin Ying couldn't hide her excitement and nodded.
There is still a month before the next match against Kansas, but he is already starting to get impatient.