Chapter 12
Chapter 12 : The test is imminent
As Ricard and Moore expected, the press conference for Divac to join the Tornado coaching staff went smoothly. When many media received the news, they all rushed to participate. However, because Wu Hua wanted to interview An Jie, he made a mistake and became the only Chinese reporter to participate in the press conference, and the “Sports Pioneer” also got an exclusive news.
Some older fans are very excited about Divac’s joining. And some fans with a shorter age seem to be disapproving. They think Divac was just a mediocre guy when he was still a player, and now what can he care about as a coach.
Those who say that Divac is mediocre are only relative to that era. You know, that era was a golden age for centers. Shark O’Neill, Admiral Robinson, Gorilla Ewing, Big Dream Olajuwon, Tiehan Moning. Competing with such a group of centers, it is only natural that Divac is underestimated under their light. Divac is definitely an undoubted European basketball legend. Now among the big players from Europe, only Pau Gasol and Dirk Loveski are expected to surpass Divac’s predecessor.
Wu Hua and Cox finally got their wish and did an interview with An Jie, but they just asked some questions about An Jie’s life in the United States and his feelings about the first NCAA match. After this, Anjie’s life returned to calm, and there was no media to bother him. After all, he is just a college player, playing in the college league. No matter how high the level of NCAA, its attention cannot be compared with professional sports.
Just after everything calmed down, Iowa State University played two more regular season games.
On November 20th, Iowa State University played against Texas Tech University. In this game, Anjie still maintained a strong momentum, scoring 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. In addition, Mike Taylor also had 13 points, 8 assists and 3 steals. Morris had 11 points and 9 rebounds in a quasi-double-double. In the end, the Tornadoes beat Texas Tech University 51-77 at home, ushering in two consecutive victories.
On November 28, the Tornadoes challenged the University of Colorado Buffalo team. This was the Tornado’s first away trip this season. However, the water buffalo, which is much larger than the wild cat, still cannot break through the violent whirlwind. In this campaign, Anjie scored 18 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, while Taylor scored 19 points and 5 assists. Morris finally tasted the sweetness in the face of opponents who were far weaker than his own. He scored 15 points and 11 rebounds and won a double-double for the first time in the season. The final score was fixed at 49 to 70. The Tornadoes won on their first road trip and reached three consecutive victories.
A three-game winning streak was achieved at the start of the regular season, which made the fans of the Cyclone team very happy and crazy. You know that the Tornadoes won a total of only five games last season.
But in addition to the local fans in Ames, fans in other places believe that although Tornado has improved a lot, it can also be regarded as a mid-level team. Except for the Wildcats in the opening game, the last two opponents of the Tornado team are inherently weak. Winning these two opponents does not prove that the Tornado team is excellent.
As for Anjie, he has not encountered any decent opponents in three consecutive games. Anyone knows how to pinch a soft persimmon, so An Jie’s strength has also aroused doubt among everyone.
Because of this, the next game of the Tornado has become the focus of many people’s attention. Iowa State University challenged Texas A&M University away from home. Texas A&M University also won the first three consecutive games, and one person’s performance was very eye-catching.
This player hit 16 consecutive goals in the first three games, breaking the Big 12 record of 13 consecutive goals held by Mickey Moore at the University of Nebraska in 1988.
This player is also a center, but he is different from An Jie. If Anjie is the representative of the technical center in the Big Twelve League, then this player from Texas A&M University is the representative of the physical strength center in the Big Twelve League. This guy has the same name as the **** of basketball. He is DeAndre Jordan.
This time the strong dialogue between the two is the time to truly test An Jie’s strength.
Of course, the above are all discussions of the fans. As for Anjie himself, his heart is very peaceful. I still train hard every day, accept Divac’s guidance, and then continue to train myself at night. Day after day, without interruption.
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Speaking of Divac’s guidance to An Jie as a center coach, it has actually started from the first day he came to the team.
As a person who doesn’t jump high, is not strong enough, and has no surprises in talent and quality in the NBA, he can fight against the first-class centers in the league in the 1990s without losing the wind. This is not just a fake. It can be done by falling. Therefore, in Divac, there are too many things worthy of Anjie to learn.
Divac was one of the most notorious inside villains of the year, and Anjie really worried that he would break a few ribs during training. However, Divac was surprisingly gentle during the training a few days ago. The first course he prepared for these center boys was actually shooting.
“The first goal of a center is of course to get to the basket. A center who can only shoot outside is not a center at all. If you think about Yao Ming and Okur separately, you know that you can shoot and only shoot outside. The difference between them. Everyone here is not O’Neal or Howard. Even if people like them don’t shoot, even if others know that they can only play inside, not many people can stop them. We don’t have such a physical advantage, just You can’t limit your own development because you don’t have a range. It’s no harm to you to diversify your offensive methods.” Divac’s mid-range shooting ability back then was very good, but he could shoot and only know how to shoot. There is a balance between shooting outside, which makes him a technically comprehensive big man.
A perfect shot definitely requires a standard technical action as the basis. As An Jie, who was born in the field, even if it seems that his shooting is already very good among the center forwards, such a standard system training is still very good for An Jie. It is necessary. As a big man, Divac can also teach Anjie a lot of the essentials that a big man needs to master when shooting.
Of course, as Divac said, his identity is the team’s center coach rather than Anjie’s personal coach. So in addition to Anjie, Asakin and Morris were also taught by Divac. But because the two of them didn’t like shooting for so many years of playing, their touch is already very unsoft. Therefore, the improvement of the two of them in shooting is not as obvious as that of An Jie.
In the next few days, Divac’s training was also all-encompassing, including confrontation at the basket, stuck position at the basket, rebounding, back-to-back skills, and even offensive and defensive small moves and diving skills. Of course, Divac couldn’t teach An Jie all his life’s learning in a few days. What he is teaching this young man now is just a little bit of fur.
“On the basketball court, you must give me fierceness, especially Anjie! You can keep your humility off the court, but when you are on the court, you have to be hemorrhagic! You have to let the opponent’s players know that the penalty area is you If they dare to break in, they will die miserably. After blocking, you can’t just walk away blankly. Instead, you have to look proudly into the eyes of the guy you blocked, and then treat him Say: Do you dare to break into the penalty area again! Don’t be too honest when defending and attacking. If you make others uncomfortable, just do it for me. Add all the small actions that should be added. It makes him upset and move too much. , The referee calls him instead!” In addition to the practical training in technical movements, the tricks used by Divac as an insider butcher also became part of the course. An Jie is not disgusted with these contents, but learns with gusto. It seems that An Jie really lives in a demon in his body.
Anjie learns very quickly and is willing to learn. Now what he looks forward to most every day is Divac’s special training class. I can learn new things every day, and then watch myself become stronger day by day. This makes Anjie become more and more enthusiastic about the hard training and his progress is getting faster and faster.
Time is the same as An Jie’s progress, moving forward rapidly every day. Unknowingly, the day came to December, the day before the Tornadoes challenged Texas A&M University in an away game.
At this time in China, it is about to win New Year’s Day, and the atmosphere of Christmas in the United States is getting stronger and stronger. The old year is about to pass, and people are full of longing for the new year.
What will Anjie’s life be like next year? This matter has upset An Jie these days.
Divac suggested that Anjie sign up for the draft and embark on the road of professional basketball. But An Jie is not very confident about this. You have to know that he only received his first formal basketball training in September this year. When he came to play the NCAA, he just wanted to play in the NCAA out of his love of basketball. As for the path of professional basketball, he has never considered it.
Signing up for the draft means giving up his college studies. According to the NBA draft rules, even if you lose the draft, you can only become a free agent, and you cannot return to college to continue studying. My parents worked hard for most of their lives and took out almost all of their savings to go abroad to study, but not to make them professional players. If it’s okay, if it’s not selected, and it’s a waste of school, how can An Jie explain to his parents? Therefore, An Jie hasn’t told his family about this matter yet.
An Jie tossed over and over in such an upset state, without drowsiness. Tomorrow’s game he will face the thriving DeAndre Jordan, and he will also be thrown out of the sky…