“Pah, pah, pah!”
I don't know which reporter started it, but the reporters below all raised their hands and applauded Durant.
It was a big shock for them for an 18-year-old player to say something like that.
At this time, Barnes took out his little notebook again and wrote down the words "Durant's team concept is paranoid".
This is something he needs to pay attention .
But Durant looked weird.
I'm arguing with you and you're still applauding me?
What a boring bunch of people.
Durant was asked almost the same questions and the meeting went almost the same way.
Although Lin Ying contributed a tip-in and buzzer-beater in the previous game against Kansas, he also successfully attracted Barkley's attention.
But it is obvious that the outside world still does not pay much attention to him now.
In particular, he looks even more "keep away from strangers" than Durant.
However, Yang Yi got the qualification to enter this time, asked him a few questions, and also got the materials for the next issue of "Basketball Pioneer".
As the meeting was about to end, Lin Ying noticed that a new team had come in.
Moreover, the baby-faced guy following behind the head coach made him unconsciously stunned for a moment.
Is that Stephen Curry?
Are Curry and Durant from the same college class?
Because the two were not in the same draft, and they started playing in the NBA at different times, he really didn't notice this.
What Lin Ying couldn't have expected was that Durant also cast a concerned look at Curry at this time.
Then Curry smiled and reached out to him in response!
Did they know each other before?
Lin Ying felt even more puzzled at this time.
He has known Durant for so long, but he has never seen Durant mention Curry before.
The meeting ended quickly, they came down and Curry and the others went up.
However, when the two groups passed each other, Durant did not say hello or anything.
“I remember that guy.”
After leaving the meeting room, Durant took the initiative to speak.
“Stephen Curry, the guy who went up after us who looked like a little kid.”
Durant added, perhaps because he was afraid that Lin Ying didn't know who he was talking about.
Seeing that Lin Ying was very interested, Durant continued talking.
It turns out that the two of them first met each other almost eight years ago.
There is a very sensitive topic in the United States called racial discrimination.
Due to historical reasons, the struggle between blacks and whites has lasted for hundreds of years.
Although racism no longer exists in law, ideas formed over hundreds of years are difficult to change.
Even if the two populations are not directly in opposition, they dislike each other.
Then the story of the two people took place in this context.
At that time, Durant's elementary school team went to Charlotte for a game, and Curry lived in Charlotte with his father Dell Curry.
They were rivals at the time.
Curry is a local celebrity, and Durant asked the coach who Curry was at the beginning.
When he saw Curry for the first time, his first thought was: Oh, he's a white man without balls.
Because he is white, it is natural that I don't like him.
Moreover, Curry at that time was so thin that he seemed like he would fall down with the wind, and his playing style was always floating outside shooting, which made Durant look down on him even more.
As a result, Curry scored 35 points in that game and made one three-pointer after another, which immediately refreshed Durant's perception.
And after the game he also found out that Curry was actually black, a light-skinned black man he had never seen before.
Then the two of them got to know each other.
Although they had no contact after that, Durant still remembered this very special guy.
Springman came over when Durant was almost done speaking.
The meet-up was held at the Palestra Arena, home of the Villanova Wildcats.
He was not eligible to attend the meet and greet, so he just walked around the stadium.
Seeing that Durant's face looked much better than when he went in, he guessed that there should be no problem with the meeting.
"I'm going to take you to see something."
He said it slightly mysteriously.
This aroused the curiosity of Durant and Lin Ying, and they both looked at Barnes at the same time.
"You guys go ahead, I'll go get some coffee."
Barnes had no interest in the activities of the young people.
Anyway, they were not in a hurry to go back, so Barnes agreed, and the two of them followed Springman happily.
Villanova University belongs to the Big East Conference, which is not in the same conference as the University of Texas.
Their school history is better than that of the University of Texas, winning the NCAA championship in 1985, reaching the tournament 30 times and reaching the Final Four six times.
What is more special is that when they recruit players, they pay more attention to obedience rather than talent. As a result, although they have excellent records, there are very few NBA players.
Last year, there was a rare emergence of Kyle Lowry.
Then what Springman took them to see was not something related to the school history, but a photo.
"Why is there a photo of Chamberlain here?"
Durant was also surprised when he saw the photo.
On the wall of the corridor, there is a full-length photo of Chamberlain.
In the photo, Chamberlain has his arms open, looking very domineering.
Before James, the nickname "Emperor" belonged to Chamberlain .
2.16 meters tall and 2.34 meters wingspan!
Not to mention anything else, just this static physical talent is like a monster in the field of basketball.
"I don't know either. It might be a photo from a previous NCAA competition."
Springman guessed casually.
But this should be the most likely scenario.
Because of the backward photography technology in the past, there is very little video footage of Chamberlain playing basketball.
With such a special full-length photo, it makes sense to frame it and hang it on the wall.
"Kevin, do you want to take a picture?"
Springman happened to have a camera with him and made a suggestion to Durant.
Durant nodded immediately after hearing this.
He walked up to the photo, opened his arms and did the same thing as Chamberlain.
Durant is now 2.08 meters tall and has a wingspan of 2.28 meters.
Although there is a height difference, the difference in height and arm span is even more terrifying.
Springman found a good angle to take the picture and nodded continuously.
"I'll develop the photos when I get back."
Springman said as he handed the camera to Lin Ying and Durant.
When Durant becomes famous in the future, this photo will become very meaningful.
Durant smiled and nodded after seeing it.
"Ying, take a picture too."
He then turned and looked at Lin Ying.
Lin Ying hesitated and shook his head. This kind of photo was not suitable for him.
"Lin, take a picture too. These are your memories from college. You'll want to take them out and look at them after you enter the NBA."
Springman said with a smile.
He also came from the student days, and although he was not able to play in the NBA, this can also be considered as experience.
Before Lin Ying could think about it, Durant had already pulled him in front of the photo.
Then, Lin Ying was "forced" to take a photo with the same style as Durant.
Compared with Durant's smiling face, Lin Ying had a normal expressionless look, with a hint of grievance.
Durant and Springman burst out laughing when they saw this.
But to be honest, Lin Ying is also very suitable for such photos.
With a height of 2.01 meters and a wingspan of 2.20 meters, he has a very long wingspan just like Durant and Chamberlain.
…
After finishing the media meeting and returning to school, the first thing Durant did was to share all the details of the training session with his teammates.
And he made a decision in front of everyone.
If there is another meeting like this and the whole team is not invited, he will definitely not go again.
Barnes and Springman both heard these words. They looked at each other and could only shake their heads helplessly.
It seems I won’t have to go to this media meeting anymore.
But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Let the players concentrate on the next game. Achieving good results is more useful than any exposure.
…
Time flies, and it is early February in a blink of an eye.
After defeating Kansas, the University of Texas did not get carried away and still maintained its focus on and off the court.
The result is that the team's triangle tactics are getting better and better, and the results are constantly improving.
They quickly moved into second place in the league, right behind Kansas.
Three months ago, this was a position they would never have dared to imagine.
And good things come in pairs. Since the last time he watched the University of Texas play, Barkley has often mentioned them on the show.
In addition to Durant, another reason for him to do this was that the University of Texas refreshed his understanding of the triangle offense.
Under this dual effect, the popularity of the University of Texas continues to rise.
Their ranking on the “Power List” continues to climb and they have already entered the top 30!
This means that even if they fail to win the Big12 championship, there is a high probability that they will get a wild card from the "Crazy Three"!
Although that was not the goal they were pursuing, it did provide them with a form of insurance.
…
On this day, the University of Texas played against the Oklahoma Sooners at home.
When it comes to this team, Lin Ying's first impression would be Blake Griffin.
Griffin led the team to the Elite Eight in his sophomore season, but unfortunately lost to the champion University of North Carolina.
But now Griffin is still playing in high school, and this University of Oklahoma team...of course there is Griffin too!
Griffin's brother Tyler Griffin plays for this team!
He is also the reason why Griffin gave up famous schools such as North Carolina and Duke and finally joined the Sooners.
In addition to Tyler Griffin, the team also has a strong outside player named Michael O'Neal.
They are currently ranked third in the Big 12, behind only Kansas and Texas.
This is a focus battle within the Big12 Alliance.
But compared to this, what attracted more attention in this game was the big fan who came to the sidelines.
He is really big, huge, "little giant" Yao Ming.
When Lin Ying came out of the player tunnel and saw Yao Ming, he was stunned for a while, and only came to his senses after Durant pushed him.
Although Yao Ming is now playing in Houston, I had no contact with him before, so this happened rather suddenly.
However, when he walked out of the player tunnel and looked over there, his attention was attracted by a person next to Yao Ming who was trying hard to wave at him.
Yang Yi.
When Lin Ying saw Yang Yi, she immediately understood.
This was most likely due to Yang Yi’s “matchmaking”.
Yao Ming also stretched out his hand and greeted him with a smile.
Lin Ying was a little overwhelmed. Finally, she forced a smile and waved to Yao Ming and the others.
Durant, who was standing by, looked disgusted when he saw this.
Your smile is uglier than crying.
A small episode before the game. After the warm-up and opening ceremony, the game between the two teams started soon.
Compared with the opponents they have played against in the past month, the University of Oklahoma is obviously much stronger.
However, the University of Texas played relatively easily and quickly established a leading advantage.
The most fundamental reason is that no one at the University of Oklahoma can match Durant.
The triangle tactics are complex and simple at the same time.
If someone can match up with Durant, the University of Texas will have a hard time;
But if no one can match him, it will be easy for Durant to score.
Moreover, after the second matchup with the University of Kansas, the coaching staff learned from the experience and flexibly switched between the 1.0 and 2.0 versions of the triangle tactics.
This change makes it more difficult for opponents to defend.
Durant held the defense in check, giving other University of Texas players room to play.
Lin Ying made two three-pointers in the first quarter, and on the defensive end he blocked shots from Taylor Griffin and Michael O'Neal.
At the end of the first half, the University of Texas led the University of Oklahoma by 11 points, 37 to 26.
In the second quarter, the University of Texas was in better shape. Not only the starting players, but also Abrams who came off the bench made consecutive shots.
Lin Ying showed more of his organizational skills in the second quarter and got 5 assists in the first half.
At the end of the game, the University of Texas defeated the University of Oklahoma 73-53 at home, easily winning this league's focus game.
Durant had 21 points and 7 rebounds, Abrams had 17 points, Lin Ying had 11 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, and Augustine had 10 points and 5 assists.
An interesting phenomenon is that at the end of the game, the University of Texas fans at the scene did not seem to be very excited.
After the team's consecutive victories, they have become "accustomed" to such victories.
To use an analogy, in the past, people could not eat meat, but eating meat made them so happy that they doubted their lives.
But if you eat meat every day, you won’t have any big reaction when you see them.
After the game, Lin Ying did not rush back to the locker room, but waited for a while at the bench.
Yang Yi would most likely bring Yao Ming to see him, as it would be more convenient to chat on the court than in the locker room.
Durant was also happy when he saw this scene.
Lin Ying's changes are visible, and now he is no longer averse to contacting people outside the team.
"Remember to ask Yao for advice. He is a super center in the NBA."
He patted Lin Ying's shoulder and gave her instructions before returning to the locker room.
Lin Ying nodded.
Although he has his own plans, it would definitely help him if he could get some advice from Yao Ming.
It’s just that we have never met before, so I don’t know if Yao Ming would be willing.
After a while, Yang Yi led Yao Ming down from the stands with a smile on his face.
Just when Lin Ying was struggling with how to greet him, Yao Ming spoke first as soon as he came down:
"You know what? Watching you play reminds me of someone."
If speaking is an art, Lin Ying is bronze and Yao Ming is king.
This first sentence has brought the two people closer together.
Of course, Lin Ying looked at Yao Ming with a puzzled look at this time.
who?