"Just arrived a while ago."
Lin Ying didn't say that he had arrived at four in the morning, otherwise Yao Ming would have thought he was a fool.
Yao Ming smiled but didn't say anything.
The quality of humility is a fine tradition of the Chinese people, and it is not a good thing to expose it.
Once inside the training hall, the things that Lin Ying had been worrying about all night seemed to have not happened at all.
There was no apprenticeship ceremony or excessive courtesy. Yao Ming quickly began to teach him some low-post offensive techniques.
What's more, Yao Ming taught him the two offensive methods that he was best at.
One is the low-post footwork, and the other is the low-post hook shot.
As for the low-post turn and fade away, it is not very suitable because Lin Ying's body flexibility is not enough.
The low-post footwork, because Yao Ming is from Shanghai, is also called the "Shanghai Dance" by fans.
But in fact, it is not much different from Olajuwon's "Dream Dance", both of which are a combination of some basic footwork in the interior.
There are two core essentials to this kind of footwork: one is the pivot foot, and the other is the fake move.
There is no need to say much about the pivot foot. The offense under the basket is relatively static. If the pivot foot moves, it is a traveling violation.
The proper use of the pivot foot to turn and shake is the basic way to create shooting opportunities for yourself.
This is why Olajuwon and Yao Ming have their own unique footwork names, and the perfect use of the pivot foot is a crucial point.
Fans can also see a lot of exciting shots of them using this to shake off the defense and score during the game.
Then there are the fake moves.
The fake move can be a pass or a shot, and its purpose is the same as the pivot foot, which is to shake off the defender.
As long as the defender's attention is deceived by the fake move, he will not be able to defend in time when you actually shoot.
When Yao Ming played for the Rockets, he also learned footwork from Olajuwon.
The master teaches his apprentice, and the apprentice follows his example. He teaches very professionally.
After the theory is taught, it is time for practical exercises.
Although Lin Ying's movements were a bit stuck, fortunately he had a good understanding.
He can basically learn some of the general footwork movements.
All that's left is training.
He has great physical potential. Even if he can't become as good as Yao Ming, he still has a chance to achieve some success.
After practicing the footwork, the next step is the hook shot.
The hook shot technique was not well accepted or taken seriously in the beginning.
However, because of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's sudden emergence and his application of this technique to the extreme, he not only gained the reputation of "Sky Hook" but also made this technique popular.
To use this technique well, especially for inside players, a very important condition is that the shooting point must be high enough.
Those who meet this condition may be players with excellent height, such as Yao Ming and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
It can also be a player who is not tall but has excellent wingspan, such as Lin Ying.
This is why wingspan is the most important static talent in basketball, because it can make up for the lack of height both on offense and defense.
As for players like McGrady and Durant who are tall and have long wingspans, they are considered the top static talents by the media.
Back to the hook technique, it can generally be broken down into three steps:
Step 1: Lean your shoulders against the opponent, feel the center of gravity of defense and use your body to suppress the opponent's movement space.
Step 2: Sports technical movements, which include but are not limited to turning around to create space for yourself to hook the ball.
Step 3: Turn toward the basket, raise the ball high above your head with your shooting hand and use your wrist to flick the ball out when it reaches the highest point.
The technique is actually very simple, but it tests the player's manual dexterity.
Or to be more specific, it really tests the player's wrist flexibility.
If your wrist is stiff, your hook shot will also appear stiff.
Not to mention the comparison between Yao Ming and Howard, Bynum, who is more like Howard, has a softer hook shot than Howard.
However, Yao Ming also has his own understanding of the hook shot.
He believes that the key to this technology lies in the second step: creating space.
Because if you can't create space and have to confront the defender one-on-one, it will be basically difficult for you to complete the hook shot calmly.
The main method to create space is low-post footwork.
This is also the reason why he taught Lin Ying both techniques together, because these two techniques are often combined together.
Yao Ming also has his own way of practicing hook shots.
His approach has three parts:
The first part is a standing hook, first with the left hand and then with the right hand, 10 times each, but the requirement is that all of them must be empty. If you hit the frame, start counting again;
The second part is the hook shot on the move, which means taking one or two steps before hooking the ball. The requirements are the same as the first part.
The third part is the turnaround hook shot under confrontation, which is also the most difficult part of the training. Although it is no longer required to be empty like the first and second parts, it must be fully scored, otherwise it will be counted again;
After listening to Yao Ming's training plan, Lin Ying also understood why the hook shot became one of Yao Ming's killer moves.
This kind of training method can be described as harsh. If you don't have a certain level, you may not be able to get out of the training ground after entering this training.
Lin Ying tried to train according to Yao Ming's method.
Of course he couldn't finish it.
However, Yao Ming was surprised by how soft his hook shot was.
This may have something to do with Lin Ying's usual training with opponents.
Well, doesn’t three-point training exercise the hands?
After the training, Lin Ying invited Yao Ming to have a meal near the school.
Yao Ming did not refuse. When they finished eating and were about to leave, he said some encouraging words to Lin Ying.
"You treated me to a meal, so consider it as repayment for my teaching you this game. I will come to Austin to watch your games when I have time. I hope to see you wrecking the court then."
Yao Ming's emotional intelligence and EQ are really high. He can guess some things without being mentioned, and the way he handles them is textbook-like.
Lin Ying nodded vigorously.
Although time is limited, he will definitely work hard to train something out.
…
Half a month later, the NCAA league games came to an end one after another, and the playoff seats of each league were determined.
The big 12 league's playoff roster is as follows:
1. Kansas Jayhawks (19 wins, 3 losses)
2. University of Texas Longhorns (16-6)
3. Oklahoma Sooners (14 wins, 8 losses)
4. Kansas State Wildcats (11 wins, 11 losses)
5. Nebraska Cornhuskers (10 wins, 12 losses)
6. Missouri Tigers (9 wins, 13 losses)
7. Iowa State Cyclones (7 wins, 15 losses)
8. Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-15)
After the rankings are determined, the playoff matchups will also be announced.
According to the rules introduced before, the top eight teams will play a single elimination match in the format of first vs. eighth until the league champion is decided.
Some people may ask here why we can't adopt the format of a series?
It is understandable that the Crazy Three is played to increase the excitement, but if the playoffs within the league are played this way, will it easily eliminate strong teams early?
The answer is, you can fight, but you don’t have to.
In fact, before the league's playoffs started, the teams that would go for the Crazy Three were basically decided.
As for the power list mentioned earlier, it covers the results of each team’s internal competitions and all invitational tournaments.
Moreover, the standings do not simply calculate wins and losses, but take many factors into consideration, making it a very authoritative list.
Then someone will say, since the teams have almost been decided, just invite them directly, why bother playing the playoffs!
We must fight.
There is a detail that was not mentioned before. When the 32 league champions are divided into divisions, the champion team automatically locks in the top eight seeds in the division.
In other words, no matter how weak your alliance is, as long as you are the champion, you can occupy an advantageous position in the Crazy Three game.
This practice is the same as the NBA, and the reason is similar, for ratings.
Although "Crazy Three" is a single elimination system, the probability of seeds 9 to 17 being eliminated in the first round is obviously greater than that of seeds 1 to 8.
If all the teams in a league that advance to the Big Three are ranked 9 to 17, and then all get eliminated in the first round, then the fans of that league will end up watching nothing.
Although the NCAA is not a commercial league, the broadcasting fees it receives for the March Madness games amount to hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
And this broadcasting fee is closely related to the ratings.
Therefore, for the top eight seeds, each team will try their best in the playoffs.
Moreover, playing single-elimination games in the playoffs also allows each team to experience the "Crazy Three" atmosphere in advance.
This can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
The playoffs are played in a single-elimination format, but except for the final which is held in a third-party arena, there is home-court advantage in the first and second rounds.
Therefore, the second place in the league that the University of Texas finally got was the most advantageous position they could achieve this season.
At the end of the season, Lin Ying and Durant's season statistics were finally released.
Durant averaged 26.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, averaging 20+10 in the NCAA!
Moreover, his shooting percentage reached 47.3%, three-point shooting percentage was 40.7%, and free throw shooting percentage was 81.6%!
This performance is truly amazing!
But an interesting thing is that Durant's highest score has always been fixed at 37 points, and he failed to achieve the NCAA's 40+.
It’s not that he couldn’t score 40 points, but as the game entered the second half, one of his passive attributes was triggered: hot hand hard pass!
Many people should be familiar with the concept of hot hand hard pass. It means that when the outcome of the game is not very suspenseful or in a game with little suspense, even if you are in a hot hand, you don't deliberately pursue data, but pass the ball to your teammates.
Needless to say, this is again Durant's paranoid team concept at work.
Compared to himself, he hopes that other players at the University of Texas can also have good data.
The most typical example was the team's second game against Iowa State University, when he was in hot form and scored 25 points in the first half.
But in the second half, he kept passing the ball and managed to get 5 assists.
This made Barnes feel a little overwhelmed.
After the game, Springman chatted with Durant privately, hoping that he would play more "selfishly".
After all, this is related to his draft prospects in the NBA.
Springman didn't say it explicitly, but the reality is that it's useless for most of the players at the University of Texas to get statistics because they are destined not to play in the NBA.
But Durant agreed verbally, and when the game came he still passed the ball.
In the end, Barnes and Springman had no choice but to let him go.
As for Lin Ying, he averaged 11.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.2 steals per game, with a shooting percentage of 49.1%, a three-point shooting percentage of 38.7% and a free throw percentage of 75.5%.
Although he did not get many opportunities at the beginning of the season, his statistics also rose after Barnes determined his tactical core position.
Especially the three-point shooting percentage. Although his output is not as good as Ryan Anderson from the University of California, Berkeley, his shooting percentage is still 0.5 percentage points higher.
Of course, if we have to say it, Lin Ying is the biggest beneficiary of Durant's "hot hand hard pass".
In the second match against the Missouri Tigers, it was Durant who kept feeding him the ball, which eventually allowed him to achieve 20+10 in a single game this season.
Three days after the end of the season, the playoffs in major leagues began one after another.
In the Big 12 league, four games also started on the same day.
The University of Texas' first-round opponent is Iowa State University.
They won both regular season meetings, especially the second time when they clocked out early in the second half and won easily.
The University of Texas is much stronger in terms of strength, and they also have a huge advantage psychologically.
Before the game started, Barnes only gave his players one request: do not underestimate the enemy.
In a single elimination tournament, underestimating your opponent is suicidal.
"There are only three games in the playoffs. I hope you can be twice as focused as in the regular season. I don't want to see you say you'll come back next year. I just want you to have no regrets this year!"
Barnes' chicken soup is delicious.
After drinking this bowl of chicken soup, the University of Texas will naturally be full of energy on the playoff stage.
74 to 54, the University of Texas basically gave Iowa State University no chance and won by 20 points.
On the Iowa State University side, only Taylor scored 19 points, and the others scored less than double digits.
The "whirlwind tactics" that helped them once in the last game did not work in this game.
If you are a fan who watched both the regular season and the playoffs, the most intuitive feeling is that Iowa State University is still Iowa State University, but the University of Texas is much stronger than the first time the two teams met!
In the second round, the University of Texas' opponent is the University of Missouri Tigers.
In the first round, the University of Missouri defeated the third-ranked University of Oklahoma.
This upset really made the fans of the Big 12 feel the coolness of the Crazy Three in advance.
In the second round, the University of Missouri also caused some trouble for the University of Texas.
This stems from an adjustment made by the University of Missouri. They no longer let Carroll defend Durant.
This adjustment liberated Carroll, who was able to express himself more on the offensive end, scoring 12 points and 5 rebounds in the first half .
However, in the second half, Durant began to enter the scoring mode, and the University of Missouri was forced to use Carroll, which also doomed their final outcome.
And there was a small detail in the game. Lin Ying completed a beautiful turnaround hook shot at the basket in the second half, which made Barnes on the sidelines stunned.
Only Durant knew that Lin Ying was training hook shots and low-post footwork, which was a surprise to the coaching staff.
71 to 61, after defeating the University of Missouri, the University of Texas successfully advanced to the finals of the Big12 Conference.
And their opponent in the finals is the University of Kansas!
The University of Kansas had an easier time in the playoffs than the University of Texas, averaging a net win of 25+ points per game, which was basically a dimensionality reduction attack.
And in the second round against Kansas State University, they welcomed the return of Brandon Rush!
Rush was in great form in his first comeback game against Kansas State University, scoring 14 points and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes! It can be seen that he has fully recovered from his injury!
This means that the University of Texas will face a fully-formed University of Kansas in the final!