Volume 1 Western Cowboy Chapter 019 Honey Height
At the end of October, the opening game of the 03-04 NBA season has already started.
The most anticipated combination among fans in this year's opening game is undoubtedly the world-famous Lakers F4 combination.
The gathering of four superstars, Kobe, O'Neal, Payton and Karl Malone, is definitely a bombshell dropped by the NBA this summer.
The opening battle is the battlefield to test whether this bomb is powerful.
After the one-on-one match with Wayne this afternoon, Tony Allen specially invited Wayne to his dormitory to watch a short video together... no, to watch the NBA opening game.
Who among the fans of this era would miss the first performance of the Lakers F4?
After the game started, looking at the touching pictures on TV and his excited teammates, Wayne felt like he was instantly back in the days when he watched football with his friends in the school cafeteria.
No... He had already returned to this era.
Because Kobe was injured and could not participate in today's game, F4 was missing one person. But even so, it could not reduce the popularity of this game.
But amid the cheers of the fans on TV and Tony Allen's expectant eyes, the two sides played for nearly three minutes without a single goal being scored!
After the game started, all Wayne saw was crazy missed shots, missed shots, and missed shots.
"Uh..." Wayne was speechless. This game was really a bit lame.
But to be honest, the NBA's defense was really fierce at that time, and they showed no weakness in both pulling and dragging.
If Wayne remembers correctly, the 03-04 season was the swan song of this iron-blooded defense.
Because after this season, the HandCheck defense will be cancelled.
The so-called HandCheck refers to a technique of using hands to touch the opponent's body to complete the defense. This defensive method is also the foundation of the iron-blooded defense in the 1990s and the early 21st century.
During this period, almost every team was advocating the concept of "defense can win championships", which gave then NBA Commissioner David Stern a headache.
Because the game focuses on defense, the scene is bound to be very boring. What fans love to watch is still the cool goals and explosive slam dunks.
If we can't even score a few goals in a game, who will pay for it?
If this continues, NBA ratings will only get worse.
So Stern made up his mind to strongly encourage offense, and thus the No Handcheck rule was born.
The new rules stipulate that if an outside player is above the free throw line, when he moves with the ball, the defensive player cannot use his hands or forearms to act on the body of the player holding the ball, otherwise it will be a foul.
This rule change directly brought about a radical change in the NBA's game style.
At the same time, it also allowed a group of outside players to rise completely, and the era of traditional big men was officially ended.
Yao Ming and O'Neal have almost become the last glory of the traditional inside line.
Although many fans, including Wayne, believe that the NBA, which has fierce defense, is actually more interesting to watch.
The most fascinating part of confrontational sports is the confrontation.
But it turns out that the NBA, which has become more focused on offense, is indeed developing better and better.
Thinking of this, Wayne no longer felt bored when watching the Lakers and Mavericks missing shots on TV.
There are fewer and fewer games with this kind of defensive intensity.
At the same time, Wayne was also glad that he entered the league after the HC rules were cancelled.
Otherwise, with his current physical condition, he would definitely be abused to the point of being unable to take care of himself under the HC rules.
Of course, it is not easy to survive in an alliance without HC rules.
In the few seasons after the HC rule was abolished, the defensive intensity in the NBA was still quite high.
It was only from the second decade of the 21st century that the ferocity of the confrontation began to decline.
In Wayne's previous life, the basketball games in 2020 looked completely different from the basketball games now.
After three minutes of missed shots, the Lakers finally opened up the situation with the help of the huge Shaq.
Tony Allen was so excited when he saw O'Neal hanging on the basket.
In this era, Kobe Bryant had not yet completely come into his own, James had just entered the league, Curry was still eating popcorn in the stands, and Antetokounmpo didn't even know what basketball was.
At this moment, O'Neal's popularity is truly unmatched.
"Shaq is really awesome. The Lakers will definitely win the championship this year. What do you think, Wayne?" Halfway through reading, Tony Allen turned around and discussed with Wayne the probability of the Lakers winning the championship.
"They are indeed strong, but not as strong as they look. Payton and Malone are both at the end of their careers, so..."
Before Wayne could finish his words, Payton blocked the still young "Silver Horn King" on the court.
Damn, a slap in the face?
The 35-year-old Payton can actually challenge Dirk who has the height advantage. It's so terrifying!
"Hahahaha, you see, Payton and Malone can still put in excellent performances! It's a pity that Kobe can't play, otherwise the Lakers would definitely have an easier time in today's game."
"Do you like Kobe?"
"A little bit, I admire his fighting spirit. I wonder what it feels like to play against a guard of his level." Tony Allen's eyes sparkled with anticipation for the NBA.
Wayne shook his head.
Don’t worry, brother. When you enter the NBA in the future, Kobe will definitely remember you well.
There are plenty of opportunities for you two to torture each other.
Maybe, we will play Kobe together.
"It's a pity that Kobe and Shaq are always at odds. It would be a shame if they eventually separated because of this. Wayne, the new season will officially start in a few days. Our duo must leave our names in NCAA history!"
After Tony
Wayne's Adam's apple moved up and down and he swallowed.
What's going on with this affectionate look...
While Wayne and teacher Tony were alone in the dormitory, old Sutton and his son Sean were carrying out the last preparation before the start of the new season - player registration.
NCAA players registered mainly to review Proposition 48.
That is, students whose grades do not meet the requirements can train with the team, but cannot register for official competitions.
Dwyane Wade, who was picked with the fifth pick in this year's draft, suffered from this.
Although Wade is a junior, he has actually only played two years in college.
Because Wade's grades were not up to standard during his freshman year, he could only train with the team and was not allowed to play throughout his freshman year.
In addition to the injury factor, this incident also had a great impact on Wade.
Although Wade played very well in his sophomore and junior seasons, he was only ranked 13th in the draft because he had wasted a year.
If Pat Riley hadn't taken a bold gamble, Wade's draft pick wouldn't have been that high.
Score review is the key to NCAA registration and it is also the most stringent point checked by the association.
As for other basic data, such as height and weight, as long as you don’t write something too outrageous, generally no one will care.
So when Sutton was ready to submit Wayne's application, he hesitated for a moment.
"What do you think is the appropriate height we should give Wei?"
"2.11 meters. It seems like he isn't growing any taller." Sean answered without hesitation.
"Hey, you're still too young, Sean. If you fill it up to 2.11 meters, other teams might send a center to defend Wayne, and that would be a disadvantage. We have to make Wayne shorter because of his height."
After listening to what old Sutton said, Sean looked up at his father and called him an expert.
"So, fill in 2.08 meters?"
"2.08 meters... I think it's still a bit tall. How about this, fill in 2.06 meters."
"What!?" Sean was completely shocked. What a show of operations!
Wayne was made five centimeters shorter!
A five-centimeter difference is not small in a basketball game. When Wade was in college, he was called "Jordan who is five centimeters shorter."
While this is a compliment to Wade, it also means that if Wade were five centimeters taller, people would think he would be even stronger.
"Is this... really okay?"
"So what? If someone from the association really asks, we'll just say he grew taller later." Old Sutton smiled and happily wrote down Wayne's height data.
"Tony is 1.93 meters tall, um...write 1.96 meters tall!"
"Lucas, just write him as 1.83 meters tall."
"Tall ones are written as short, and short ones are written as tall. Perfect!"
Sean shook his head as he watched his father frantically tampering with the players' heights and enjoying it.
Judging from his proficiency in the operation, he must have done this kind of thing a lot.
But then again, the true height of NBA players is a mystery. Sutton's move is in keeping with his professionalism.
After sorting out a thick stack of registration forms, Old Sutton nodded with satisfaction.
"Hand it over now, don't delay."
"Okay, father. You seem to be in a good mood."
"Hey, do you know when the last time the Cowboys won the league championship was?"
"1995." Sean answered quickly. He had learned the team's history in detail before coming to the team as an assistant coach.
Moreover, 1995 was also an extremely important year for his father.
"Yes, 1995..." Old Sutton said, his eyes looking up at the ceiling, and those glorious years flashed through his mind.
In 1995, he led the Cowboys to win the Big 12 Championship and reached the semi-finals of the March Madness Tournament, winning the title of Coach of the Year.
That was the highlight of his coaching career!
"And the next time is now, Sean. I'm very optimistic about our prospects this year. This is our best chance to return to glory."
Old Sutton retracted his gaze. This NBA season would not be dull. The NCAA would also be full of blood and gore.
※※※
“Hoo…Hoo…Hoo…”
Tony Allen's breathing became rapid, his face turned red, and he was sweating profusely.
Before he could recover, Wayne rushed towards him again with greater force.
"Ah!" Wayne couldn't help but roar at the moment of physical contact. Tony Allen was really too hard.
But it doesn’t matter, Wayne now has Wallace’s straight-arm shot.
Stop suddenly, collect the ball, and be careful to avoid Tony's chip shot...
Wayne is already familiar with this series of procedures that he should pay attention to when facing Tony Allen.
Tony Allen saw that he didn't cut the ball off in the first place, so he simply gave up interfering.
Because he knew very well that he had just missed the only chance to stop Wayne from scoring.
Next, even if Tony Allen is really 1.96 meters tall, he cannot interfere with Wayne at all.
Ever since Wayne changed his shooting style, Tony Allen has never blocked Wayne's shot again.
"brush."
The basketball went into the net, 21 to 16, Wayne won!
Now when Wayne and Tony Allen fight one-on-one, he will no longer be slaughtered unilaterally.
Relying on his height advantage, he has been able to fight back and forth with Tony Allen, who is at the quasi-NBA level .
This means that in addition to his physical condition, Wayne is now probably at a quasi-NBA level.
That’s why Wayne played so easily in the previous four warm-up matches.
"I can't take it anymore. I'm going to faint." Tony Allen waved his hands and sat down on the ground with an expression that said "please spare me."
Wayne's demands were so great that even the strong Tony Allen felt he could not cope with it.
Today is the last night before the start of the new NCAA season.
Tony Allen originally wanted to take a good rest, but was pulled out by Wayne.
What good can they do when they come out? Fierce physical combat.
It’s not that Wayne doesn’t want to let Teacher Tony go, but seeing that he’s just one step away from being promoted, Wayne really doesn’t want to drag it on any longer.
There is no other way, Teacher Tony will have to work hard for another day.
"Okay, let's stop here for today." Seeing that Tony Allen was extremely tired, Wayne waved his hand.
In fact, if it weren’t for the goal just now that allowed Wayne to successfully upgrade, he would not have let Tony Allen go just like that.
"The growth points have reached the requirement, do you want to upgrade?"
Looking at the prompt in front of him, Wayne showed a satisfied expression.
Comfortable!
Upgrade once more before the new season starts, goal achieved!
At the same time, at Jingshui International Airport, two men with Asian faces, one old and one young, got off a flight that landed from Portland.
"This place is really far away. I have to transfer in Portland."
"It's normal . Jingshui City is just a university town after all. It's normal that there are no direct flights."
"I say, Coach Zhang, is that kid really that good? I think the media is exaggerating. There is no precedent for Chinese players to succeed in the NCAA."
"We'll know if he's really good or not when we go to the scene tomorrow. If he can really succeed, the NBA will be exciting in the future."
The man called "Coach Zhang" smiled. He was quite looking forward to this quiet water trip.
