Almighty Coach

Ohio State University, in the office of the school basketball team, a big black man is sitting in front of the computer, a busy worker.

He is seven feet tall, and his figure is very tall. The desk looks small in front of him. He holds the normal-sized mouse in his hand, just like an ordinary person holds an egg in his hand.

"Grey, it's time to get off work." The colleague next to him was already planning to go out.

"I'll leave after I finish this form," said the big guy named Gray.

"Well, I'll go first." The colleague paused, and then said, "School hasn't started yet, so you don't have to work so hard."

"I want to get acquainted with the job of an assistant coach as soon as possible. After all, I was a player before, and I have never been a coach." Gray said.

After his colleagues left, Gray got busy again.

At this moment, the phone rang, and an unfamiliar phone number was displayed on the caller ID.

"I don't know, is it an advertisement?" Gray thought for a while, and directly chose to refuse.

However, five minutes later, the person called again, and Gray had no choice but to answer.

"Hello, is this Mr. Gray? I'm very sorry, I originally planned to contact you through your agent, but I heard that you have fired your agent..." the other party said.

"I'm Gray, who are you?" Gray asked.

"My name is Johnson. I'm the general manager of the Clippers. I'm in Columbus right now. I hope I can meet you..."

...

Johnson put down the phone, turned to Dai Li and said, "We've already made an appointment, see you tomorrow night in the hotel restaurant."

"There's still one day left, so let's go shopping. I heard there are many attractions worth visiting in Columbus." Dai Li stood up as he spoke.

But Johnson changed the subject and asked, "Are you really going to choose Gray?"

"Of course, I remember that when he participated in the draft, he was hailed as a rare talent in 50 years. Some even said that his talent surpassed the current NBA No. 1 player Brownie! He won the American Basketball Player in high school , apart from Brownie, only Gray has done this."

"Indeed, his talent is astonishing, but his injuries are equally astonishing. After he entered the NBA, he only played 105 games in total, and the rest of the time he was recovering from his injuries. What is the use of such a glass man?" Use? Maybe he was injured before he even played the game. We are a team, not a nursing home," Johnson said.

"Have you forgotten that what I'm good at is rehab? And we all know that Gray's main problem is long and short legs, and I have experience in this area. I used to train the Olympic champion Sean Ford, he is Long or short legs." Dai Li replied with a smile.

"Basketball is different from sprinting. Sprinting is just running alone, but basketball has physical confrontation, especially inside players. They have to constantly compete with their opponents for positions and jump up to grab rebounds." Johnson shook his head and continued. Said: "As a seven-foot-long man, Gray's weight is close to 290 pounds. Such a weight is a burden on the waist, knees and ankles. If the legs are long or short, it will be even worse. In the fierce physical confrontation , it’s no wonder he wasn’t injured!”

"I know what you said. I have read Gray's medical report. I am confident that he can solve the problem of his long and short legs. Moreover, his talent really makes me unable to let go. I believe he can be in my team. Realize your talent!" Dai Li took out his phone, found a picture, handed it to Johnson, and continued: "

"This is Gray's body side data when he participated in the NBA. He ran back and forth in the penalty area in 11.67 seconds and sprinted in three-quarters in 3.27 seconds. Can you imagine that this is the data made by a person who is seven feet tall and weighs 285 pounds? This agility means he can switch guards in the middle of the defense, and with him, we can execute unlimited defense tactics like the Rockets."

"And Gray's offense and defense in the interior are top-notch. He has the ability to attack in the low post, has the skills at the basket, can grab rebounds, and is good at blocking shots. In addition to his quick feet, he has all the qualities of a super center. In the last season of the Trail Blazers, he only needed 24 minutes to hand over the data of 11 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, and his shooting percentage reached 60%. If the same data is converted into 36 minutes, it is 16.7 Points, 12.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks. As long as he stays healthy, the upper limit will be a super center, and the lower limit will also be a top-level rim defender."

"What you said, everyone in the NBA knows that before Gray entered the NBA, he was already regarded by everyone as a future super center, and even the ruler of the league, but it is different now. In the small ball era, the super center is no longer needed in the small ball era, and now the most popular is the space-type insider." Johnson said.

"Did the era of small ball eliminate super centers, or the lack of super centers usher in the era of small ball?" Dai Li suddenly asked such a question.

"This..." Johnson suddenly realized that this was really an unanswerable question.

The era of super centers ruling the NBA is not long ago. Johnson has also experienced that era. He knows how terrible a super center is. The NBA has indeed produced many excellent insiders in recent years, but compared with the super centers of the year, they are really much worse.

Not to mention the finishing ability at the basket, but only to talk about the low-post offense. Any super center back then had no solution to the low-post one-on-one attack. Only a super center could defend the super center one-on-one in the low post. And now there are very few centers in the NBA who have the ability to attack in the low post, let alone a low-post attack that makes opponents unsolvable.

Of course, it is not popular to let the center play in the low post. The most popular way for the inside players to score is to float outside and shoot three-pointers, or rush to the basket to eat cakes, and even many dunkers who are good at grabbing second rebounds, They are all known as the inside pillars.

So whether it is the lack of super centers that lead to the rampant small ball, or whether basketball has developed into the small ball era and eliminated super centers, I am afraid no one can answer this question. Unless there is another real super center, let's use practice to verify whether a super center can blow up a small-ball team, or a small-ball team can kill a super center with a three-pointer.

...

Faced with Dai Li's invitation, Gray seemed a little overwhelmed. He had long been regarded as a glass man and could not gain a foothold in the NBA. That's why he came to the university to become an assistant coach. Unexpectedly, he had just joined the job. I received an olive branch from the Clippers.

The next night, Li Dai met Gray, and the situation was just as Li Dai expected. Gray is really an S+ level athlete. If there is no injury, he can really rule an era.

"Coach Li, are you serious? Don't you care about my injury history? I may not be able to play a few games before getting injured again." Gray asked melancholy.

"It seems that you are also very concerned about your injury history." Li Dai showed a very relaxed look, and then said: "If you join us, then the injury issue is something that our coaching staff should consider. And all you need to do is to fulfill your talent!"

The word "talent" fell into Gray's ears, causing his expression to change slightly.

Gray, who was in high school, has already been hailed as the most talented player. He has won the title of the best high school player of the year, and even won the American Mr. Basketball. At that time, Gray had already shown absolute dominance, and even got a nickname of "The Great". You must know that the current No. 1 player in the league was only nicknamed "Emperor" back then. Gray's ability to get the nickname "Great Emperor" also shows that everyone is optimistic about him and will become the ruler of the NBA in the future.

After entering the university, Gray is still synonymous with "talent". When people talk about him, they always talk about his talent. Everyone believes that when he successfully fulfills his talent, he will dominate the NBA.

Gray still remembers that before he participated in the NBA draft, both scouts and the media gave him the highest evaluation. They put all the advantages of excellent centers in history on him, even the most picky scouts , also praised his talent. At that time, not only was he tall and long, he was good at jumping, but his speed and agility were no less than that of a small man. In the end, he also entered the NBA as the No. 1 pick.

However, he did not realize his talent. His long and short legs did not have much impact in high school and college, but in the NBA-level inside confrontation, he was frequently injured. In the four seasons of his rookie season, he was injured for two seasons, and in the other two seasons, he only played a total of 105 games.

Gray has become a glass man in people's eyes, and he is regarded as the "parallel import champion". Since then, when people mention the word "talent", it sounds particularly harsh to Gray, like a mockery of him. !

Because of his talent, Gray was once praised to the sky, and because of his talent, he became the target of others' ridicule. The famous nickname of "The Great Emperor" has also become a joke talked about by others after dinner.

Now, when Gray heard the word "talent" from Dai Li's mouth again, he felt an inexplicable sense of sadness in his heart, and he didn't dare to face this word at all.

Gray was silent for a long time before he said, "Coach Li, can you let me think about it?"

Gray's answer made Dai Li feel the extreme lack of self-confidence in Gray's heart.

From being the darling of the sky to falling into the altar, to being ignored by no one, and finally being kicked out of the NBA in despair, anyone who has experienced Gray's experience will not be confident.

Dai Li shook his head: "I hope you can make a decision now. For you, deliberation means shrinking back! For you now, if you want to return to the basketball court and truly realize your talent, then The only thing you can do is to go forward, once you have the slightest thought of backing down, you have failed!"

Dai Li's words were full of a special kind of provocativeness, which gave Gray an illusion. He felt as if he was standing on a long ladder, and the steps behind him were constantly collapsing. Forward.

Dai Li continued to persuade: "In my eyes, you are always the amazingly talented Gray, but you haven't fulfilled your talent. I don't think you want to leave the stadium and be an assistant coach for the rest of your life in college, right? You You are destined to be a superstar, you should not be buried here! The opportunity is in front of you, seize the opportunity, fulfill your talent, you can still be a superstar in the NBA!"

...

In the end, Gray still couldn't resist the temptation of becoming a superstar. He agreed to join the Clippers, and Dai Li left Columbus contentedly.

In the waiting hall of the airport, Dai Li wrote down a few names in his notebook.

"Center Gray, power forward Noel, small forward Raymond, shooting guard Hall, point guard Wood. What do you think of our starting lineup?" Dai Li asked.

"If they are all healthy, this is an All-Star starting lineup." Johnson said.

"Besides, we also have the best sixth man Osev, the talented rookie Kumar, and Naismith..." Li Dai continued.

"Don't forget there is Ronnie, we can renew his contract." Johnson reminded.

"Give up Ronnie!" Dai Li shook his head and said.

"What did you say?" Johnson even thought he had heard it wrong.

"We have Raymond, Hall, and Osseff. If they can really stay healthy, do you think it's necessary for us to keep Ronnie?" Dai Li asked with a smile.

"I understand what you mean, but you first need to prove to me that Raymond and the others can really adapt to the NBA game. Otherwise, Ronnie is always our best choice on the front line." Johnson said with a straight face.

"Don't worry about it." Dai Li changed his voice, and continued, "However, I'm not very worried about the team's insiders. Although Gray has outstanding talent, he only played 105 NBA games after all. His experience It’s not that sufficient. So we still need to find an experienced insider substitute. You help me keep an eye on the free market, or if other teams have suitable personnel, we can try to make a trade.”