From sparring to superstar

Chapter 94 92. Carrying everyone's dreams forward!
At noon, Li Ao and Trepagnier went to have lunch together.

The common hobbies of the two - basketball and eating.

However, if he hadn't made an appointment a long time ago, he really doesn't want to meet his teammates now.

Because he already has a tendency in his heart, the reason for hesitation is precisely these teammates who have fought together for more than half a year.

The small shop I found today tasted very good, but Trepagnier couldn't eat it after a few bites.

Blind people could tell that Li Ao was out of his mind today, and usually talked a lot, but today he didn't say much nonsense.

He asked: "Leo, are you feeling unwell? Take a rest when you should. I heard that you practiced hard every day just after the season ended. You don't have to force yourself like that. You are already good enough, and you will definitely become even better. "

Li Ao shook his head and didn't speak for a while.

Trepagnier looks rough, but has a soft heart, and he can see what the other party should be struggling with.

Li Ao didn't seem to want to say it. If he was willing to tell him, the other party would definitely tell him. If he didn't want to say it, he wouldn't continue to ask.

After a while, Li Ao suddenly said, "I want to play in the NBA."

Trepagnier waited for a long time, but he didn't expect to wait for such a sentence, and was stunned for a while...

...

In the afternoon, Li Ao went to class normally, and finally told his teammates that sentence. If one person knew it, the whole team would know it. Even if Trey Pagnell kept his mouth shut, at least he told his teammates.

But what he said was that he wanted to, and he hadn't decided yet.

If his teammates don't want him to leave, there's a good chance he decides to stay.

It's still a long time, and he needs a longer time to make this decision.

Because this matter is uncontrollable, once he decides to play professionally, he will not be able to decide where he will go, and he does not know what will happen.

And staying in college, at least two years, he can live in the comfortable environment he is used to, practice for two and a half years before going to the NBA, he will definitely be more confident to enter the NBA and gain a firm foothold than he is now practicing for more than half a year.

The comfort zone is so comfortable, why jump out of the comfort zone to find it uncomfortable.

But there are some decisions where you have to jump out.

After school, he headed to Memorial Stadium to continue training.

No matter what kind of decision is made, training cannot be left behind.

Now is the critical stage of developing the three-pointer!
The three-pointer training method was quickly learned. One method can be used for all methods. He is already quite good at CIC. Learning how to practice three-pointers is very simple.

The difference lies in the shooting distance, force, angle, etc. This requires repeated shooting training to let the body remember that feeling, there is no other way.

In such a long offseason, he doesn't have high requirements for three-pointers, as long as he can use it as a regular shooting method in the new season.

After such a long time, if he can't even achieve this goal, he will retire on the spot.

When he arrived at the training ground, he heard voices talking inside, which made him feel very strange.

In the past two weeks, except for his teammates who came to train on Saturdays and Sundays, he is usually here. Those teammates are still worried about how to get 2 points in the test.

Enter and take a look... Good guy, the whole team is here!There is also team manager Steve Brown.

When Li Ao entered the training ground, the voices of his teammates stopped suddenly, and everyone stared at him.

Although he was so handsome that he was stared at everywhere, he still felt hairy being stared at by a group of old men.

"Uh... why are you all here? Are you going to fight?"

Teammates: (-ω-!)-ω-!)-ω-!)
Some teammates haven't seen each other for a while, but they are still familiar with him.

Shelby Jordan stepped forward and asked, "Leo, are you ready to participate in the NBA draft?"

It seems that Trepagnier's choice is to tell everyone, which is within Li Ao's expectation.

He didn't hide it either, and said directly: "I'm considering this matter, and I haven't made a final decision yet. If I decide, I will definitely tell you in advance."

Shelby Jordan laughed and said: "Haha, go if you want, and I will also participate in the draft! Maybe no team will choose me, so I will accompany you and help you strengthen your courage. Anyway, I graduated from college. It doesn't matter to me, maybe I can catch your camera."

Granville stepped forward and said: "I'm really envious. I also want to participate in the election early. I have no regrets about my college dream. This year playing with you is the happiest year since I played basketball. It's a pity that even if I was in college I don’t necessarily get selected after graduation, and no team wants me if I participate early.”

Brusenthal said: "Brandon, at least you still have the hope of hitting the NBA. I have no hope at all, isn't it worse? I will be a senior next semester, and my parents want me to go out for an internship. Only then did I convince them to let me play for another year, and after graduation, I plan to go to Europe to see if I can continue to play, and if not, I will go to work in a car factory."

Sandy Fletcher also sighed: "I am the same. I will be a senior in the next semester, but I am not going to continue playing. My neighbor introduced me to the company he works for as an intern. Now I have to study hard and I will not graduate. They won’t sign a formal contract with me if I get a certificate... I’m so envious of you, Leo, I heard that your exam is either the first in the whole department or the second in the whole department... By the way, Costas, you are going to graduate from university soon, right? What are you going to do? Go to Europe like David?"

Evanisco, who was called by name, said: "Me? I found a job last summer. I was in an investment bank in New York. They heard that I was playing for a school team in the first league. They asked me to finish this year before going to work. , I have passed my dissertation defense, and I will go to work in New York at the end of the month."

"Vac!"

"I'm going! You actually pretend to be a top student behind our backs!"

"It's fine for Leo to betray the organization. He's new here. I've known you for so many years. I don't know that your grades are so good..."

"NO! You all have jobs!"

The Trojans players rioted.

Li Ao's academic performance and basketball talent are far away from them. They will be envious and jealous, but they will not be substituted into their own situation.

But Evanisco is different. Everyone is an ordinary person. He has already found a good job. Others have just started to worry about the future, and their mentality is blown up.

Three people did not wail.

One is the white mamba who, in the minds of his teammates, is inferior to Li Ao, but is still a 'superior man'.

When the teammates complained about Evanisco, Bai Mamba still looked like a big patriarch, patted Li Ao on the shoulder and said: "Go if you want, we support you! I heard that you want to participate in the election in advance At that time, I also had the same idea, but now I only have the expectation of the second round. I plan to play for another year, polish my skills better, and then participate in the election. Maybe I can enter the first round. I am sorry that I cannot participate with you. .”

"You run with me, I let you know, if I want to vote, I will vote you together, maybe we can still be on the same team?"

Bai Mamba knew that what Li Ao meant was "we will be on the same team in the future", he smiled and said, "Maybe there will be a chance, after all, there are few teams in the NBA, and being an opponent is not bad, I really want to play against you. "

Chatting with the white mamba was too boring. Li Ao leaned over to Trepaganil and asked, "What about you? You haven't been in college for two years, so what are you going to do in the future? Go to the construction site after graduation?"

"You just went to the construction site, you're a dropout, I'm going to take the postgraduate entrance examination and continue my studies in architecture."

"I didn't drop out of school, and I don't plan to drop out. I still have to get a diploma..." Li Ao felt that he still had a good chat with Tre Pagnell.

After speaking, he turned his head and said to his teammates: "Stop surrounding Frankie, there is a talented student here who is preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination!"

Granville said angrily: "Vacco! Another traitor to the organization!"

Looking at the teammates surrounding him, Trepagnier had black lines all over his head. He didn't speak just now because he was afraid of this situation.

Leo who killed a thousand swords!
Satisfied, Li Ao looked at Sam Clancy, but the guy moved a few meters to the side.

Li Ao was very surprised. Could it be that this guy is also a top student?Seeing what happened to Trey Pagnier, so you don't come to hate him?
On Sam Clancy's side, a top student?Of course he wasn't.

He was having a headache about how to get 2 points in the test.

He's in a mixed mood right now.

Little Lambiel graduated from university, and the annoying little handsome guy is going to participate in the draft. As long as he signs up, he can no longer return to the school team to play. In this way, the coveted main force and even the starting position will most likely belong to him next season.

But he didn't know why he couldn't be happy at all.

Maybe it's because both of them left before they started to really compete with them.

However, his depression came and went quickly.

That guy is gone, he's got to take the team better than he was!
He is going to be the boss!
As for Granville, White Mamba...he is the new boss!We must be able to beat these two!

Li Ao was wondering if this teammate, whose brain was not bright at first sight, was hiding a top student, but he saw the other party's expression of depression and joy at times.

Although he didn't know why the other party was like this, he was sure that this guy was definitely not good at reading.

Seeing his teammates laughing and playing, Li Ao calmed down.

He has already made a decision.

Before that, his teammates were his fetters and the reason why he was reluctant to leave.

Now, the bond between him and his teammates still exists, but the attitude of his teammates has become the driving force for the kick he wants to take!

...

At noon the next day, Li Ao made an appointment for lunch with the assistant aunt, Dean Teng, and Liam, and he told his decision.

"You have that kind of talent and ability. If you think you want to go, you should go and seize the opportunity. Don't think that there will be opportunities in the future. There are not so many opportunities..." Dean Teng said very realistically.

But none of the three objected.

Saying that if you miss it this time, you can just catch it next time is all words of comfort or self-comfort.

Dean Teng, who has lived decades longer than them, experienced more, and seen more, is the reality.

Dean Teng may have heard from the assistant aunt that this is a young year in the draft, and the media caught Kenyon Martin blowing it to death, but those who have watched the game for two more years will know that there are no top talents in this year's draft, and think he should If you seize this year's opportunity, you will have a greater chance of being selected... Although Li Ao's own situation is different from others, he also feels that what Dean Teng said is right.

Li Ao made this decision, and the three closest people all expressed their support.

Vivian asked excitedly: "Leo, when are we going to hold a press conference?"

Li Ao asked in confusion: "Press conference?"

"Yeah, of course you have to hold a press conference to tell NBA teams that you're going to participate in the draft early, otherwise they won't even know you're participating, and they won't invite you to try out. Maybe there will be teams that don't know on the day of the draft. You run.

And after you announced it, those agents knew that you had to leave the university early, so they could find you. "

Liam interjected: "When choosing an agent, I called our family's legal counsel to prevent you from being scammed."

"Yeah, I forgot about that."

"By the way, I'll help you write the draft application, so you don't forget that in 97, there was a fool who graduated from high school and held a press conference to announce his candidacy, but he didn't submit the application, and he didn't even participate in the draft."

"Chris Anderson? I've heard about him, so the draft application will be handed over to you. Auntie, you are good at writing forms."

"What do you mean I am good at writing tables!"

Vivienne was so angry when she heard this, her face puffed up.

After teasing the auntie of the hospital assistant, Li Ao suddenly had an idea: "There is no need for a press conference, I have a better idea!"

Vivian immediately forgot about being angry and asked, "What's your idea?"

"Auntie, you will know when the time comes..."

After eating, the four of them went back to school, those who attended class went to class, and those who went to work went to work.

After school in the afternoon, Li Ao came to the Memorial Stadium for training as usual.

It's not that you won't train if you want to participate in the draft, but you should train harder.

He already has a place in the NCAA, but in the NBA, where the weakest player is, in the NCAA, he is always a powerful presence. He randomly pulls out the weakest player, and he was the leader of a team in college.

After arriving at the venue, he didn't go to training immediately, but first found the old man.

The old man was playing cards with those young employees again.

Seeing Li Ao coming, the old man said, "Hey, Leo, do you want to play two too?"

He knew that the Trojans hired a trainer for Li Ao, and his training time was only on Saturday morning.

Li Ao gave the old man a look, the old man understood, and said to the young employees: "You go out first."

After everyone left, the old man said: "Is there anything you need to tell others behind your back? Are you going to borrow money from me? I don't have any money. I'm just a hard-working old man."

"..." Li Ao was speechless for two seconds, and said, "McHale, I'm going to participate in the NBA draft."

As soon as this remark came out, the old man was stunned for a few seconds before he said, "So fast! I thought you would play another year in college!"

After the astonishment, the old man sighed and said: "I thought I could practice with you for one more year. Hey, you are going to play professionally. I don't know when the next time I will play with you. Maybe you will want to find me when the time comes." By then my photos had already been hung up."

Li Ao rolled his eyes and said, "There is an old saying in our country."

"What old saying?"

"The scourge will last for a thousand years!"

"Oh? Then you may live for tens of thousands of years."

After fighting each other for a while, the old man said: "Is that what you came here to talk about? I know, I know, you will always finish college and go to the professional basketball world. I have already prepared it in my heart, so don't use it to comfort me."

"Ah, no, I'm not here to comfort you. I need your help with something."

"Vacco! Do you have a conscience...do you need my help?"

"You should know someone from the TV station, right?"

"Of course, our arena cooperates with many media, what's wrong?"

"I have a decision and I need your help...so, so, so..."

The old man's eyes lit up when he heard this: "I will definitely help with this! But..."

"But? Is there any difficulty? If it's too troublesome, it's fine not to do it that way."

"No! There is no difficulty, I only have one request..."

……

……

The time came to January 2000, 5.

Last night, the first round of the NBA playoffs was all over.

This was another series in which the Lakers suffered a critical attack from public opinion. Facing the Kings, who had a record of only 44 wins and 38 losses in the eighth place in the Western Conference, they made it to the fifth tie before advancing with a narrow 5-3 victory.

In fact, anyone who watched the game knows that it’s not that the Lakers played badly. Kobe’s 49.6% shooting rate averaged 27.8 points per game. The rate is more than 5 percent.

Although O'Neal's shooting rate is average, under the attack of Divac and Webber, his shooting rate has dropped by 10 percentage points compared with the regular season, but his average performance of 29.4 points, 17.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game is still invincible.

Glen Rice also averaged 16 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

The performance of the three stars is not bad.

被拖到抢5，主要是韦伯表现太过强悍，场均24.4分9.6板5.4助攻1.6抢断2盖帽。

Under Webber's leadership, the Kings were all soldiers, showing amazing strength.

The only one in the Kings' 9-man rotation who has failed is the head point guard White Chocolate.

Jason Williams was defended by Fisher and averaged 2.4 assists and 3.2 turnovers per game. You must know that he averaged 7.6 assists per game in the regular season, and the playoffs were seriously hindered.

Fisher has shown his 'playoff big scene player' qualities, solid defense and consistent clutch shots.

But with 67 wins and no sweeps in the first round, the Lakers are the regular season team.

And another team, the Jazz, which advanced to the second round 3-2, is still the number one favorite for the championship...

The Spurs were beaten by Kidd in the first round, 1 to 3 in the first round, Kidd only played 31 minutes per game, averaging 9 points, 10 assists and 3 steals per game, which made Popovich drool.

This point guard is great!
After the first round, the hottest topic in the media was not the second round, but the upcoming draw for the annual draft.

Although watching the ball for two more years and learning more about the draft, you know that the quality of this year's draft will not be too high, and it is completely incomparable with the 94th round from 99 to 6 during the genius explosion period, but more fans just have fun. , They believe what the media says.

And knowing the ball emperor, the mentality is actually the same as watching the lottery lottery. Who said that the young draft can't produce superstars?

If he predicts in advance which candidate player who is currently not optimistic will become a superstar in the future, he will have the capital to show off again when bragging.

Predicting which team will get the No. [-] pick is also one of the most talked about topics among fans.

Various TV stations have also seized on this hot topic and put on some basketball programs, and the ratings are all good.

Tonight, Time Warner Cable Sports has a live program about this year's draft.

This program has been promoted for a few days, and it has attracted the attention of a large number of basketball fans, mainly because of the invited guest - Li Ao, the MOP of the new NCAA Final Four.

He won the NCAA basketball championship with 33 consecutive victories. The talented rookie who only touched basketball in his sophomore year led the team to win the championship and won the MOP of the semi-finals. Most basketball fans have at least heard of Li Ao's name.

It has only been a month since the end of Crazy Three, and his personal popularity is still there, and the evaluation is polarized. Some people think that he is only good in college, while others think that he has a bright future.

But in short, Li Ao was invited to participate in the show, which became one of the hot topics in these two days.

Regarding this matter, some experts stood up and said that it did not comply with NCAA regulations. Did Li Ao charge the notification fee for the recording of the program?

If you accept it, can it be understood as accepting funding from the TV station?

However, some people also said that although NCAA players cannot accept funding, they did not say that they cannot work and earn money. Some players have poor family conditions and need to earn living expenses by themselves, while some players have very good family conditions and have been helping their families with business early on.

Controversial, naturally aroused wider attention.

In the evening, many basketball fans stood in front of the TV after dinner and wanted to watch it.

At 8 p.m., the show begins.

At the beginning of the show, the host chatted with a retired player whose name was familiar to fans but not a star after playing in the NBA for some years. They talked about old sesame seeds and rotten grains, and then the two began to predict which team will play this year. The team will get the No. [-] lottery, and each gave a prediction.

After the opening content, the host said: "Next, we invite our guest tonight, the new NCAA Basketball Final Four MOP Leo..."

Accompanied by canned applause, Li Ao, who was dressed in a white casual suit, entered the studio with a hale and hearty old man in a black suit.

"Leo, welcome to our show... who is this?"

"One of my first basketball teachers, I have social phobia, he is afraid that I will be on the show alone and afraid to talk, so he will come with me, don't worry about him, he doesn't like to talk."

The host and retired players didn't know how to answer the conversation for a while.

you?
Leo, the star of the Trojans?
And this local wealthy businessman, if the two of them hadn't smoked and chatted with the old man backstage for half an hour before the show started, they would have believed it!

The two of them and those who knew Li Ao in front of the TV had a new understanding of 'social phobia'.

The greetings prepared by the host were choked and unable to come out, so he simply went straight to the topic: "Leo, do you pay attention to the draft lottery?"

"Of course, I am very concerned about this."

"So which team do you think will get the No. [-] pick?"

"Probably the Nets."

"why?"

Why?This conversation did not check the manuscript, and Li Ao just followed his memory and said what he knew about this year's No. [-] lottery.

After thinking for a while, he replied, "The Nets have been rotten for so many years. If they don't give them a little sweetness, their boss may want to disband the team."

The eyes of the host, who was speechless at first, lit up, this young man is capable!
Mouth opening is a topic that can be hyped!
The host continued to ask: "You care so much about the draft, are you preparing for your future participation in the draft?"

"That's it."

"OK, you came to our show, which caused a lot of controversy. Some people said that you participated in the recording of TV shows through channels other than the team, which violated NCAA regulations and may affect your eligibility for next season. What do you think?"

"I'll sit and watch."

"watt?"

"Ahem, I mean, I don't need to care about this right now."

"You don't care if you lose your NCAA eligibility?"

"No, I don't care about that, I hope it's me who decides whether to continue to play, not that I broke the rules and can't continue to play.

I really want to play two more years in college, but I find that I have nothing to strive for in college. I have a group of teammates who are too good, have the best coaching staff, and McHale Excellent first teacher taught me how to play... Thanks to everyone's hard work, we made it to the end and lifted the trophy.

However, just because our past season was so good, I don't know how far we have to go to make it better than this past season.

So, I made a very selfish decision and I hope my great Trojans fans understand my decision. "

The host interjected at the right time and asked, "Decision?"

Li Ao took a deep breath and said to the camera: "Hello, audience friends, my name is Li Ao, I am currently 18 years old, I come from a flower grower, I have practiced basketball for 8 months, I played for the Trojans in college, I am male, I like female...

I decided to leave college early and take my talents to the NBA. "

When he said these words, the figures of his teammates flashed in his mind, the middle-aged handsome man, the assistants, the manager Brown, the old man... many of them put their dreams of basketball on him.

At this moment, he felt the responsibility.

He carried the dreams of those people on his shoulders and moved forward all the way!
(End of this chapter)