From sparring to superstar

Chapter 12 11. You call this defense?

Defensive training?

Not one-on-one training?

Li Ao caught the key word.

After returning to Henry Bibby with a "hum", he followed the footsteps of the three teammates in the same group and came to one half.

He didn't even talk back!Henry Bibby was once again ready to reply that his words were useless, and he was even more angry!

Li Ao guessed right, Henry Bibby followed them to the halftime to arrange training content.

As for the other 5 groups, they were discussing the order of one-on-one. Sam Hayes and chief assistant and offensive technical director Kevin Henderson were wandering around, not only around those 5 groups, but Look at the guys doing basic training.

The matchup arranged by Henry Bibby was a bit more excessive than Li Ao expected.

He was not arranged to play offensively, and the three teammates in the same group took turns to single him out!

It perfectly fits the word 'defensive training'.

And, who exactly is the 'sparing partner'?
As far as this arrangement is concerned, he really can't judge.

As for how this can help the coaching staff... He couldn't figure it out for a while, but that didn't matter, all he could do was to defend well!

He saw that Sam Clancy was ready to go, and he quickly concentrated.

The subject acted as if he wanted to get back on the field, and he naturally didn't want to make the other party happy.

Among the three opponents, the one he is most confident in restraining is this one.

Suddenly thought of a question, Li Ao asked Henry Bibby: "Coach, you only said you let me defend them alone, but you didn't say how many times you defended them! Is there a rule?"

Yes, Henry Bibby thought for a while, and said: "This is the first time to practice like this. The rule is that each offensive player will be replaced after scoring 10 goals. The player who uses the fewest offensive rounds wins. If he wins, I will treat him to dinner tonight." .”

There are winners and losers!
This greatly increased the interest of the three offensive players!
Li Ao asked again: "What about me?"

"You don't attack, what does it have to do with you?"

"Stingy! Grandet!"

After speaking, Li Ao immediately ran to the ball rack, took a ball and ran to the free throw line, not giving the coach a chance to talk back.

The three teammates, including Sam Clancy, silently gave a thumbs up—the newcomer is really brave!

Sam Clancy felt that he should be more careful. For some reason, he felt that his chances of being scolded had increased again.

Sam Clancy came to the top arc, and Li Ao sent the ball.

After receiving the ball, Sam Clancy started immediately, and what he hit was a surprise.

But Li Ao showed the anticipation ability that made his teammates shine, moved in time, and stuck to Sam Clancy.

Li Ao hit the top very well, and Sam Clancy failed to fully accelerate again, but he still squeezed his head into the close range. Just when Li Ao stretched out his hand to cover the top, Sam Clancy jumped to the basket, Take off, hit a backhand layup!
Sam Clancy roared excitedly, and Li Ao suddenly remembered that this was a one-on-one, and there was no center behind him!
Several assistant coaches came to watch them from the sidelines at some point. Li Ao failed to defend them, but the chief assistant coach Kevin Henderson boasted: "Henry, this kid has good defensive habits! I heard that he officially accepted Only one month of professional training? As expected of Sam, that's amazing."

Henry Bibby didn't want to talk to his teaching assistants anymore, and they all called Li Ao "this kid" in private. Can't they see how ruthless this guy is when he beats people?
Just because this guy looks small?

If Evanisco hadn't hugged Li Ao in time that day, Sam Clancy might have been sent to the hospital too!

But looking at Sam Clancy who was so excited after scoring a goal and kept provoking Li Ao, he suddenly became a little uncertain. Are people so forgetful?

On the second attack, Li Ao quickly retreated after serving the ball, and went up when Sam Clancy came into close range...and was knocked away.

Sam Clancy knocked back Li Ao, leaped high, and smashed the ball into the basket with one hand!

Looking at Sam Clancy who was roaring again, Li Ao rubbed his hurt chest, and he understood the strength of this guy.

Don't give this guy a chance to rush!I can't stop it!
But there is no center forward behind, withstanding the speed, he has the advantage of static confrontation at close range...

Li Ao failed to defend again, but was once again praised by Kevin Henderson: "This kid adapts quickly and is a good seed, but he lacks experience and ability. Sam, he still needs to practice hard."

Henry Bibby is completely autistic, how can he really boast?
But he actually understood that this was Kevin Henderson's evaluation based on the fact that Li Ao had only received professional training for one month.

And he also has to admit that having the ability to think independently on the court and be able to execute decisively is the basic quality that a defensive master should have.

This kind of quality, if you have it, you have it, if you don't have it, you don't have it, it belongs to talent.

The stinky boy who killed him this day really has the basic quality in this regard.

Seeing Li Ao picking up the ball and walking slowly towards the free throw line, as if he was thinking about something, Henry Bibby also began to wonder, what kind of response this kid will have this time?
In the third attack, Sam Clancy received the ball and made another strong attack, but Li Ao still retreated.

Seeing this scene, Henry Bibby felt regret involuntarily.

I can't bear it... Vaco!
When Sam Clancy rushed to close range and was about to knock Li Ao away, Li Ao took the initiative to press up and slapped Sam Clancy's hand that was grabbing the ball, knocking Sam Clancy over at the same time!
At this moment, Sam Clancy dismantled Niss on an empty stomach, and a carp jumped up straight, rushing to Li Ao... and shouted: "You XXX, is this a defense?"

As a mouthful king, it is impossible to do it.

Li Ao almost reacted instinctively, and he responded: "The coach said that when the opponent's shot cannot be blocked, fouling and interrupting the opponent's offense is also an option, and our game rules today are who has the least number of offenses to score 10 goals. What it does is allow you to score 10 goals with more attacks."

Sam Clancy's expression was very embarrassing at the moment, he didn't expect this annoying guy to boast that he was unstoppable.

But what this guy did is really not human!
Several coaches also had embarrassing expressions. They were looking forward to what Li Ao could do, but they didn't expect to see this scene.

What Li Ao said shocked their view of basketball even more.

They couldn't refute it.

Sam Clancy gritted his teeth and came to the top arc. This time Li Ao picked up the ball and ran to the free throw line at a significantly faster speed.

Sam Clancy received the serve and continued to attack. He felt that he should not be like this...

This time Li Ao chose to stick to the defense and break through. After Sam Clancy burst into close range, he jumped excitedly...and was knocked out of the bottom line.

Sam Clancy managed to stop his foot from falling, and he looked at the coaches-you don't care!

Henry Bibby wanted to care, his blood pressure rose again, this kid, let him be a sparring partner, not let him play rugby!
But all the words were blocked by Li Ao, he had a reason and evidence, the rules are like that, he can't control it!
After confirming that it was feasible, Li Ao firmly implemented the defensive strategy and used any means to prevent Sam Clancy from shooting at close range or under the basket. It was not to interfere with shooting, but simply to prevent the opponent from shooting.

Continuously fouled at close range, Sam Clancy was furious!

Why don't you go to the inside line?

He started off with crazy mid-range pull-up jumpers.

Sam Clancy has a slight advantage in height, which can be regarded as offsetting Li Ao's advantage of a few centimeters in wingspan. Sam Clancy has an absolute advantage in bullet speed and bounce. Li Ao has almost no way to deal with Sam Clancy's style of play. Its shooting plays a disruptive role.

But Li Ao didn't foul again at this time. The opponent liked to shoot or not, so he just stared at the basket to prevent the opponent from falsely stopping and then rushing.

The mentality was affected, and the technique of emergency stop jump shot is not what Sam Clancy is good at. In addition, the mid-range shot is not very good. Sam Clancy took 23 shots and only made the remaining 8 goals.

In the end, Sam Clancy scored 29 goals in 10 shots.

Several coaches gradually turned from speechless to surprised.

In the end, Sam Clancy chose to float outside and fail to make a basket, which greatly exceeded their expectations.

He actually terrified Sam Clancy, a stupefied young man!

Xavier Johnson has been boasting how talented Li Ao is in shooting. Sam Johnson is a boring gourd, but it can be seen that he appreciates Li Ao.

Kevin Henderson said: "I thought of someone."

Sam Johnson interjects in a rare way: "Robert Horry."

Kevin Henderson nodded: "Yes, their defense is very special... Leo is even stronger, he seems to have muscles in his bones, it is impossible to imagine that his body can withstand Sam's impact , and I remember he was only 18 years old, tsk tsk, Henry, we really found a treasure!"

Henry Bibby said with a "beep" and said, "He's not that strong, can those gangsters scare him away when they see him?"

The few people around smiled and said nothing, this prejudice is too deep.

Let the gangsters take a detour in fright, and put aside the facts, isn't this the embodiment of justice?
After the first opponent faced off, Li Ao drank a few sips of water and said to Brusenthal, "David, let's start."

Brusenthal asked, "Shouldn't you rest for a while?"

Li Ao nodded and said: "Yes, no need, the defense behind just rested."

Sam Clancy, who had already shrunk to draw circles in the corner, heard this and crazily hit his head against the wall.

Brusenthal didn't say any more, the game began!
Brusenthal is a standard power forward, and the rules have changed. His position of receiving the ball is at the free throw line, closer to the basket.

With Sam Clancy's lesson in front, Brusenthal chose to attack quickly.

Against Brusenthal, Li Ao has no way to be as simple and rude as against Sam Clancy, he can only try his best to strengthen the confrontation.

Anti-shock can be like that, anti-technical flow, fierce rushing will most of the time be used by the opponent as a point of use.

Brusenthal's technology is not comparable to Sam Clancy's. If Brusenthal's technology is 90 points, Sam Clancy will not be able to pass the line.

With superb skills and an obvious advantage in height, Brusenthal took 14 shots to complete 10 goals.

This time, Li Ao's deficiencies of inexperience and lack of skills on the defensive end were fully exposed.

However, although he failed to defend at all, he chose a steady and steady defensive method, which still made the coaches shine.

In the eyes of the coaches, Li Ao was just not capable enough. Except for being deceived by the opponent's fake moves for the tentative violent defense at the beginning, he never made such mistakes again.

When it came time to face the White Mamba, beyond everyone's expectations, including Li Ao himself, he defended very well!
In terms of technology, Bai Mamba is better than Brusenthal, and he also has a height advantage when facing Li Ao.

But Bai Mamba likes to shoot from the outside, and his athletic ability is worse than that of Brusenthal. Facing Li Ao's extremely aggressive defense, it took a full 21 shots to complete 10 goals.

This result surprised the coaches.

If Li Ao didn't use the rules to deal with Sam Clancy, then the white mamba would be the one with the worst single defense performance against Li Ao.

But after thinking about it for a while, they realized that the White Mamba is the strongest player on the team, but he is good at playing in the game. Not the usual means.

In the matchup with Li Ao, the number of times he went to the basket can be counted on the fingers. He has been trying to find a way to shoot from the outside, and he has no cover. Of course, he will be tossed by Li Ao's post defense.

After defending against these three in a row, after dozens of rounds, Li Ao was exhausted.

As soon as he got his breath back, he heard Henry Bibby's distasteful voice: "Okay, smart guy, your training is over today, where should you go, come practice pass control tomorrow afternoon."

Li Aogang was angry because of 'throwing away when you're done using it', but when he heard the last sentence, he immediately lost his anger.

"Then I'll go first, see you tomorrow, my greatest coach and coaches, captain, David, Sam, goodbye, and train together next time."

In a good mood, he left with exceptionally light footsteps, and psychologically speaking, most of his fatigue was eliminated.

The onlookers and the three trainees all had black lines on their heads.

It's been more than a month, and today they really understand that this guy's talent is really high in terms of thick skin.

The big boy who smiled warmly and sunny when he first came, and the violent man who was as violent as a malevolent after being hit by an elbow, have half a dime to do with his current appearance?
But then Li Ao's footsteps became more excited.

Mission reminder is here!

"Excellent sparring:
Defending Sam Clancy received an evaluation: excellent, rewarded with 100 achievement points; defended David Brusenthal received an evaluation: failed, did not receive an award; defended Brian Scalabrine received an evaluation: successful, awarded 200 achievement points.

Remaining achievement points: 1450 points. "

After he failed to defend against Brusenthal, he was very frustrated, but he knew that the evaluation would not be low when defending against the White Mamba, and he did not expect to get a higher evaluation than defending against Sam Clancy!

More than an hour ago, he was still sad about not being able to 'over-fulfill the training task' by 50 achievement points, but now he doesn't feel distressed immediately.

He couldn't help singing out loud: "We ordinary people, I'm so happy today..."

Seeing the newcomer Li Ao's proud appearance, the teammates who are practicing basic skills are envious but feel that this guy is not good.

...

In the afternoon of the second day, there was only one class. He came to the Memorial Gymnasium early at 3 o'clock and practiced for a while.

At 4 o'clock, I started to practice pass control under the guidance of Kevin Henderson.

In the early days of practicing mid-range shooting and defense, he suffered a lot, boring and boring.

After finally getting through that stage, I thought that there would be no such torture again, and now it’s happening again!

And compared to training 2D ability, the training of ball control and passing is even more boring.

In fact, compared with mid-range shooting and defense, he has a higher starting point for ball control. In his previous life, he often played ba ba ball in school. When he saw a girl passing by, he would forcefully shoot and shout "Kobe".

In the past few years in this life, basketball is also one of the fitness links. After arriving in the United States, I often go to play basketball with Liam.

But the ball control level of playing dam dam ball is too poor for the perimeter of an NCAA Division I team.

Kevin Henderson's training requirement for him is to achieve the ball-handling ability that can protect the ball well in the transition stage. There are some differences from the ball-handling of a defender. It is to be in the situation where there is confrontation or even inside players switching defenses. Under the control of the ball, pay attention to the stability in the confrontation and the fast acceleration in a straight line.

Those talented strikers, including Sam Clancy, showed their talents early. They had already received such training in high school and even junior high school. For those guys, it was already a physical instinct to handle the ball like that.

And when Li Ao arrived at university, he was 18 years old, and he had just come into contact with this kind of training, how difficult it was!
Kevin Henderson has reduced the difficulty, but it is still very difficult for Li Ao.

But Li Ao didn't know that much, he just felt that he was still far behind.

On the contrary, this relieved him from so much pressure, so he could concentrate on practicing.

Fortunately, it was only an hour of training, and the first training was stuck just before his mentality was about to explode.

Although Henry Bibby arranged pass control training for him, his priority was shooting and defense.

At 5 o'clock, he started to practice with the new 3 teammates... No, he was the partner of the 3 new teammates. He was in a good mood immediately, and happily devoted himself to being the teammate's offensive partner.

(End of this chapter)