Volume 1 Western Cowboy Chapter 022: Only 2.06 meters tall?
"Wade is really confident, but when I looked at the latest draft predictions, he wasn't even in the top 60."
Yu Jia looked at Wayne warming up on the court and flipped through the information in his hand.
In the latest draft prediction ranking, David Harrison ranks 35th, and Tony Allen, the highest-ranked player of the Cowboys, is only ranked 38th.
"This is only the first game of the new season. By next summer, the draft rankings will definitely change dramatically. Wei may not be in it now, but it's hard to say in the future. Anyway, let's watch the game first."
Coach Zhang was also confused as to whether Wayne was a true man who never showed his true colors or was just too arrogant.
Although there has been a lot of coverage about Wayne in the past four warm-up games, rumors that he had defeated Wallace were also rife.
But there is no video footage of these.
Therefore, Zhang Weiping and Yu Jia had no way of judging Wayne's strength.
However, what Zhang Weiping can be sure of is that the draft prediction ranking cannot fully explain a player's level.
There are many examples of five-star rookies who eventually failed. Since Wayne can start in a traditional powerhouse like Oklahoma State, he must have his strengths.
Moreover, it is not difficult for Zhang Weiping to find that Wayne is still very popular among the fans here.
Just look around and you can see many fans holding signs cheering for Wayne.
In this field where strength speaks louder than words, if you don’t have strong enough strength, it is impossible to have such high popularity.
Zhang Weiping and Yu Jia were both a little nervous at this time, because they had no idea whether Wayne would excite or disappoint them.
But this unknown makes them feel inexplicably expectant.
At this point, the warm-up time has ended and the starting players of both teams are in their positions on the field, ready to kick off at any time.
Zhang Weiping discovered that Wayne's number on the Cowboys was also 11. It seems that there are two Chinese players wearing No. 11 in the American basketball world now, and they need to be paid special attention to.
When Buffalo's David Harrison steps into the center circle, you'll find that he may be the player who most aptly bears the name "Buffalo."
That guy was in terrible shape, his physique was not even on the same level as the others.
Holmes, the starting center of the Cowboys, seemed to become insignificant in an instant in front of him.
Not to mention Wayne, Harrison's arms are as thick as Wayne's legs.
Zhang Weiping took a deep breath and wondered what did this young man eat to grow up.
With his physique, he would be considered fat even in the CBA arena.
"Is this really a college player?" Yu Jia, who was standing beside Zhang Weiping, widened his eyes.
Although I know that the NCAA is a pool of high-quality talent for the NBA, I am still a little surprised to see a college student grow up like this.
Not only because he is strong, but also because Harrison has a full beard at such a young age...
Isn't this too mature? She looks to be in her thirties.
"Many NCAA players actually have the ability to play professionally. You see, in recent years, there are quite a few high school students who have directly entered the NBA." Zhang Weiping was worried about Wayne at this time.
Although Wayne and Harrison are not directly facing each other, they are both inside players after all, so it is inevitable that they will bump into each other.
I don’t know how Wayne will overcome such a huge size difference.
The referee blew the whistle and the 2003-04 Big 12 regular season officially began.
The 6-foot-13 David Harrison easily secured the first-chance possession for the Buffaloes.
Then Harrison ran slowly to the frontcourt.
The Buffaloes seemed to be waiting for Harrison to get into position, so they played at a very slow pace.
In this era, rigid positional warfare is the mainstream.
Harrison sat in the inside, and with his huge body standing in the restricted area, Holmes couldn't push him away.
With ease, Harrison was able to get into position and receive the pass from his teammate.
Holmes directly chose to defend, although it was easy for the opponent to turn around and break through, but at least he could withstand the impact.
However, Harrison did not dig in as hard as people thought. He just turned around and hooked the ball, and scored easily.
"He's so stable. Not only does he have a strong physique, but his low-post offensive skills are also quite solid." Yu Jia couldn't help but applaud, even though he put himself on Wayne's side.
But Harrison's goal just now was indeed a beautiful one.
With size, strength and skills, it's no wonder Harrison is ranked in the top 40.
"Don't be in a hurry, take your time. Play steadily and don't make mistakes!" Old Sutton began to shout and dance on the sidelines.
The game had only been going on for one round when Sutton couldn't sit still anymore.
This would not have happened in the first four warm-up matches.
This is the difference between the regular season and the warm-up game.
Then, Tony Allen shook off his opponent on the right side and bravely broke into the inside.
His impact force is very strong. Generally speaking, if he is broken through by Teacher Tony, it is basically equivalent to a defensive failure.
But this time, Harrison, this pile of flesh, managed to defend to the basket in time.
Instead of jumping, he raised his arms high and waited for Tony Allen to run into him.
Tony Allen forced a layup against Harrison, but Harrison's weight and strength were so great that he managed to withstand the impact.
He is worthy of being the strongest meat shield in the Big 12 Alliance.
On the contrary, Tony Allen was a little overwhelmed, and his movements were completely deformed after the collision.
Although he finally managed to throw the basketball out, he missed.
"The offense failed. Buffalo's interior defense is really strong!" Doug Gotley, the Cowboys' exclusive commentator, punched the commentary desk.
In the previous four warm-up games, you would never have seen Tony Allen struggling so hard.
"They were very passive from the start. The opponent's center is really strong." Yu Jia's palms were sweating. The atmosphere on the scene was no worse than that of the NBA.
"This ball was not played properly, it should have been shot directly." Coach Zhang couldn't hold back any more.
After completing the defense, the Buffaloes were not in a hurry to counterattack and were still slowly reorganizing.
It seems that the Buffaloes are determined to punish Harrison today.
This time, Harrison continued to actively ask for the ball in the paint.
But Holmes gave Harrison a lot of obstacles, almost in a half-circling state.
Seeing this, the Buffalo point guard gave up passing the ball and chose to break through on his own after getting the screen.
John Lucas is poor at going around screens, which Wayne knew from the confrontational training he had during that period of time.
So when he saw the opponent breaking through with the help of a screen, Wayne didn't hesitate and switched defense directly.
But this guy was too fast and slipped past Wayne like a loach.
"Jason Carter broke through, he is really fast!" Gotley sighed, did the defense fail again?
At this time, Holmes was still struggling with Harrison and had no time to go back to defend. It seemed that this was basically a breakthrough that was bound to score a goal.
Jason Carter also thought so. He felt that his attack this time was simply awesome!
He stepped into the free throw line, jumped on one foot, raised the basketball high, and shook his wrist slightly .
Carter put the basketball into the basket and was about to score his first point of the new season.
He was extremely proud at this moment . The Cowboys, who had won four consecutive warm-up games, were no more proud than him.
The basketball thrown by Carter flew into the air, and then... suddenly disappeared.
Carter waited for a long time but didn't see the basketball go into the net. He was confused and only heard a burst of enthusiastic cheers pouring into the court.
After landing, Carter hurriedly turned around and found that the basketball had fallen into Wayne's hands.
Jason Carter: ???
Before the Buffalo players could react, Wayne made a long pass from the backcourt and sent the ball to Graham who was already actively moving forward.
Watching Graham complete a dunk in the empty half court, Jason Carter didn't even know what was happening.
All he saw was all the Cowboys fans screaming and his teammates opening their mouths in disbelief.
Wayne waved his arms vigorously, then smiled at Carter, who was only 1.81 meters tall.
"Hey, congratulations buddy, your breakthrough just now will definitely be one of the top ten shots."
Ever since the last time he trash-talked Wallace in an attempt to deliberately anger him, Wayne has started to enjoy the feeling of trash-talking his opponents.
So this time, he did not miss the opportunity to speak sweetly.
By the way, you can also let this short guard know that the three-second zone is not a place you can come to whenever you want.
At this moment, the big screen on the scene began to replay the scene just now, and Carter realized what he had experienced.
It turned out that after he broke through with the help of the screen, Wayne did not give up defending, but chased him relentlessly.
Although Wayne's light weight puts him at a disadvantage in confrontations, it also gives him a fairly good movement speed considering his height.
Just as Carter jumped for a layup, Wayne also jumped up almost at the same time and covered Carter from behind.
Then, the most exciting scene came.
Wayne used his height and arm span to grab the basketball that Carter threw into the air!
A 75-point blocking ability may not trigger a foul in the NBA, but it is definitely enough in the NCAA.
Carter looked at the big screen with his jaw almost dropping to the ground.
In the stands, Zhang Weiping and Yu Jia were petrified.
"What a great timing for this block!"
"No wonder he had 8 blocks in a single game before, Wayne's height and wingspan are really outstanding!"
Around them, fans were shouting Wayne's name wildly, making them involuntarily join the ranks of fans.
Watching a game live and watching it through a screen are two completely different experiences.
At the scene, any wonderful shot can directly make your adrenaline rush out.
In the coaching booth, Eddie Sutton was unusually calm. As a coach, he couldn't just enjoy himself like the fans.
In the last ball, he saw other highlights besides Wayne's block.
"Wayne's long pass from the backcourt was very accurate. He could have launched a counterattack directly from the backcourt. Did you see it? He found Joey who was counterattacking almost immediately."
"Ah? This..." Sean Sutton scratched his head embarrassedly. He was just busy looking at the moon.
But what old Sutton said was indeed true. The counterattack just now was successful. In addition to the wonderful block, the long pass from the backcourt was also amazing.
Old Sutton clasped his hands together and supported his chin. Although Wayne is a non-traditional inside player with some flaws, he has too many other highlights.
Maybe he really should give Wayne a higher tactical position and further tap his potential.
maybe……
Can you send him to the NBA?
Just as the Buffalo team was about to gain momentum, Wayne suppressed the opponent's arrogance with a steal.
If Jason Carter wasn't black, his face would be as red as an apple right now.
Being humiliated again by tens of thousands of eyes staring at him on the big screen at the scene... Carter was so embarrassed!
That Chinese striker was more difficult to deal with than he had imagined.
After being caught by Wayne, Carter became much more obedient.
He did not continue to work alone, this round he obediently passed the ball to his teammates.
Wayne's block has left a deep psychological shadow in the opponent's heart and planted the seeds of fear.
Harrison continued to attack the basket, but this time his close-range jump shot missed.
The Cowboys immediately counterattacked. After John Lucas dribbled the ball across half court, he directly found Wayne standing outside the 45° three-point line on the right.
"I heard that Wade is very accurate in three-point shooting. I noticed that he always lands outside the three-point line. I guess it was specially arranged by the coach." As soon as Zhang Weiping finished speaking, Wayne raised his hand and prepared to shoot after receiving the basketball.
The Buffalo power forward rushed forward. Before the game started, the coach had told him: "Don't let the Chinese guy shoot easily outside the three-point line."
As a result, when he jumped up to interfere with Wayne's shot, Wayne took the ball back and dribbled through!
"This!?" The Buffalo coach was stunned. He thought Wayne was just a simple anti-aircraft gunner.
I didn't expect it to be so flexible.
Although Wayne's ball-handling attributes are not high now, that is only relative to the NBA.
Wayne can still complete a simple breakthrough move like this.
Seeing this, Harrison hurriedly ran out of the penalty area and prepared to defend Wayne.
Wayne made a quick stop and jump shot from the free throw line!
Dribbling from outside the three-point line and then making a quick stop jump shot? Yu Jia looked at the information about Wayne in his hand.
Yes, he is a power forward. But this kind of play... are you sure he is a power forward?
Harrison jumped up confidently. He had read Wayne's information and knew that this guy was only 2.06 meters tall.
With his own interference, he would definitely fail.
But when he got to Wayne, Harrison vaguely felt that something was wrong.
Damn, why does it feel like this guy is almost as tall as me?
Moreover, the attack point is so high that it can’t cause any interference at all!
Can it be interfered? Rasheed Wallace's straight-arm shot is not so easy to block.
Seeing Wayne take a jump shot against Harrison's defense, Coach Zhang exclaimed: "This shot is not reasonable."
But as the basketball went into the net, Coach Zhang immediately laughed again, "...but that's how we have to play!"
4 to 2, the Cowboys' No. 11 reversed the game situation!
Harrison looked at Wayne and the corners of his mouth couldn't help twitching.
You dare to report your height as 2.06 meters? Do you have any shame?
The city is full of tricks, I want to go back to the countryside!
Wayne's blocks, assists and goals completely ignited the scene.
His goal is to be stunning from the first game to the last, so this is just a warm-up.
Seeing Wayne score, Sutton made a decision immediately.
To contain Harrison, it really depends on Wayne to carry out the plan.
