One Guard

Chapter 22: The Taste of a Champion

Stefansky looked out of the window with a sad face in his office. The city of Philadelphia has been displaced in recent years.

Pedestrians are in a hurry on the street, and cars come and go. But for some reason, Stefanski just felt that the whole city was lifeless.

Since Allen Iverson left Philadelphia, the 76ers have completely fallen into a trough. Although they still have Andre Iguodala, known as the "little AI", it turns out that the 76ers cannot embark on the road to revival with Iguodala alone.

Now, the 76ers have lost 8 games in a row, and the hope of the playoffs seems to be getting slimmer. As the new general manager of the 76ers, Stefanski shoulders the important task of rebuilding a team!

Just now, Stefansky had a meeting with Allen Iverson just now. If nothing else, AI will be able to return to Philadelphia within a week! Stefanski brought Iverson back to the 76ers, which can undoubtedly appease the hearts of fans.

But everyone knows that it is impossible for the current 76ers team to start again with the aging Iverson.

What the 76ers really need is not AI, but a fresh blood who can bring the team out of trouble.

At this moment, there was a hasty knock on the door of Stefansky's office. The former Nets general manager straightened his suit, sat back behind his desk, and cleared his throat. "Come in!"

The door was pushed open at once, and it was none other than Sam Jones, the NCAA scout of the 76ers.

"Boss! New news!" Holding a report, Jones walked quickly to Stefansky.

"What's the matter? Have Evan Turner and John Wall performed against the sky again?" The two names mentioned by Stefanski are the two rookies most desired by the 76ers this summer. .

"No, no, yes. He just officially announced that he will participate in this year's NBA draft! This is Yi's detailed player report, I think you will be interested!" Jones knew that the 76ers had been eager to get a point guard. Ball guard, to take over Iverson's mantle. Now, a potential point guard is another possible option.

Stefanski looked at Jones and picked up the player report. Yiyang's reputation has been quite high in the past few months, even the NBA-level general manager has heard of him a little bit.

At the same time, in the general managers' offices of NBA teams in major cities, countless scouts handed over Yiyang's scouting reports to their managers.

Some managers ignored it, while others studied it seriously. In short, the impact of Yiyang's announcement that he will participate in the draft is undoubtedly much greater than what he thought!

In fact, many scouts have already prepared his report, just waiting for Yiyang to announce his participation in the draft.

This yellow-skinned boy didn't know that he had already become the focus of observation by several NBA teams.

※※※

Yiyang, who had just announced the news to the reporters, was not disturbed, but soon entered the training state after sending the reporters away.

"Are you nervous? From now on, your every move will be under the magnifying glass of the scouts. Every shot and every mistake you make will determine your final draft pick." Stevens walked to the airport with concern. Not everyone around Yang has the courage to declare for the draft before finishing their freshman year. Even Hayward, known as the "first white small forward", only dared to try this year. And Shelvin Mark, who is already a junior, decided to participate in the draft again next year.

"Don't be nervous, just fight as usual." With the experience of spending Christmas together last time, Yiyang is no longer so indifferent to Stevens. Of course, it was far from enthusiastic.

"Tomorrow we have to face Purdue University, and their head guard Amon Johnson is also a guard who is good at speed.

You have to be careful, you can't declare for the draft and blow up the first show! "

"Is he faster than Wall?" After Stevens finished speaking, Yiyang, who was practicing dribbling, raised his head and asked back.

Stevens froze for a moment, then smiled. Yes, Yiyang is a guy who can compete with a player of John Wall's level. Amon Johnson, no accident, would not cause the Bulldogs and Yiyang any trouble at all.

The next day, Singer Arena was full. Countless Butler University fans in blue short-sleeves poured into the stadium to cheer for Yiyang and Hayward, who announced their participation in the draft at the same time.

Amon Johnson, although not as famous as Yiyang and Hayward, but he is also one of the rookies to be drafted in this year's NBA. If the Bulldogs can be successfully eliminated, Amon Johnson's pick will rise in a straight line!

However, the game had just started, and Amon Johnson was devastated. He was going to put pressure on Yiyang from the first attack, and he relied too much on his strong body.

It is indeed an option to use the body to push against Yiyang, who is weak in confrontation ability, to break through, but Yiyang's precise steals also make this style of play bear a lot of risk.

Amon Anderson started up to Yiyang with the ball, but before he could speed up, the basketball in his hand suddenly lost control!

Before realizing what happened, Amon Anderson felt a whirlwind blowing by, and Yiyang had already picked up the basketball and started to move forward!

At the same time, Gordon Hayward was also running fast. This white small forward showed the world his super fast speed that did not match his skin color.

Yiyang didn't look back, he just tossed the basketball onto the backboard lightly.

After the basketball hit the backboard, it quickly rebounded, and Hayward, who was following him, slammed and grabbed the basketball firmly with both hands. All that was left was the painful "groaning" of the basket and the deafening cheers of the fans !

"Haha! How do you know I'm behind!" Hayward happily slapped Yiyang on the chest, and Yiyang just smiled at Hayward.

This guy is smiling more and more with the Bulldogs.

"In the beginning, Yi and Hayward gave us an alley-oop like an exhibition game. Amon Johnson shouldn't be so reckless, once he makes a mistake, there is no chance of recovery! Because Yi is the best player in the NCAA One of the guards who switch offenses!" The commentator adjusted his sitting posture, and a wonderful performance has begun.

After the next goal, Amon Johnson no longer dared to overpower Yiyang. Yiyang's "magic claws" seem to surround Johnson all the time.

As soon as the game started, Yiyang made Purdue University's leading point guard lose his confidence. The subsequent games, of course, went smoothly.

Although he was strong and fast, Amon Johnson didn't take advantage of the defensive end.

Yiyang's pass made the entire Purdue University hard to guard against. His elusive layup also prevented Johnson from playing his own advantage in confrontation.

The whole game can be said to be a performance specially set up for Yiyang and Hayward to announce their participation in the draft. Through this performance, Yiyang and Hayward told the whole world loudly. "NBA, here we come!"

68 to 83, the first game after the Christmas break, the Bulldogs continued to maintain the winning momentum. The fans at the scene shouted wildly, the era of the rise of Butler University has finally arrived!

After the game, Amon Johnson was the first one to walk back to the player tunnel with his head down. He is also a player preparing to participate in this year's draft, but the huge gap between him and Yiyang and Hayward made this black guard almost lose his confidence.

20 shots, 10 points, 3 assists and 4 turnovers, this is what Amon Johnson showed to scouts. 15 points, 11 assists, 3 steals and only 2 turnovers, this is Yiyang's surprise for everyone! The gap between the two is as obvious as the data.

The time has entered 2010, and NBA teams will start fighting for playoff spots. And the NCAA team has to start doing their best for the March Madness Championship.

The Bulldogs, currently ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten, have almost no suspense about getting a tournament invite. But the Bulldogs' opponents will get even crazier.

In their first game in January, the Bulldogs take on the University of Maryland, currently ranked No. 4. The fourth place is a very embarrassing position. They can neither guarantee that they will be shortlisted, nor completely lose hope of being shortlisted for March Madness.

Such a team is eager to win every game. Such a team is often the most combative!

Yiyang clearly felt that the intensity of today's competition was completely different from before. He has been overturned by opposing players countless times, and even some fouls are malicious. The closer to March Madness, the more difficult the competition will be for Yiyang and the others.

But Yiyang is not afraid, and the tenacity and toughness he has experienced in the Woodland area allows Yiyang to perform unexpectedly in the face of high-intensity competitions.

The high-intensity competition at the University of Maryland put the Bulldogs in crisis, but in the last minute of the game, Yiyang succeeded in making the only shot from outside the three-point line. Afterwards, he assisted Matt Howard with a surprise alley-oop layup that completely killed the game!

72 to 77, the five-point goal created by Yiyang became the last straw that crushed Maryland.

With 16 points and 9 assists, Yiyang's statistics in this game are still good. In terms of draft pick predictions, Yiyang has also successfully climbed from the second round to the 20th pick in the first round. You know, Hayward's draft pick prediction is only the 18th pick in the first round!

Being able to enter the top 20 among hundreds of talented players participating in the draft, as a yellow-skinned and black-haired Chinese, this is already a very remarkable achievement.

In February, the Bulldogs suffered an unprecedented two-game losing streak. But this still could not prevent Yiyang from killing the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with an NCAA career-high 23 points in the last game.

In this game, Yiyang made 3 of 4 shots from beyond the three-point line, which made Stevens jump up and down with joy. Of course, the Bulldogs also won the NCAA Big Ten Championship in the 2009-2010 season with Yiyang's help.

Standing on the stage holding the championship trophy and being cheered by thousands of people, Yiyang's heartbeat accelerated and his breathing became short of breath. It turns out that the feeling of winning the championship is actually so beautiful!

A Big Ten championship is actually insignificant at all. Every minor league in the NCAA has its own champion, but only the champion of the March Madness Tournament can represent real honor. But for Yiyang who experienced this feeling for the first time, it was enough to make him happy for several days.

In the locker room, all the players and coaches of the Bulldogs sat around together looking at the trophy that was placed on the ground.

"When the next game starts, we will be in the NCAA March Madness Tournament! The game will become more and more difficult, and the opponent will become stronger. We may meet Derek Favors, Wesley. Johnson, Paul George, even John Wall! But we can't be afraid, we can't give up! We have to keep winning, and then..." Stevens said, paused intentionally.

"Get to the top!" the players yelled so loudly that Stevens felt like he was going deaf.

It is worth mentioning that this time, the taciturn Yiyang also joined the shouting ranks. .

Yiyang, who has tasted the taste of being a champion, seems to have another thing he wants to pursue besides money...

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