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Chapter 277 - 139. Efforts to secretly work hard have been discovered!_3

Chapter 277: 139. Efforts to secretly work hard have been discovered!_3

And although Zhang Yang’s defense wasn’t as fierce as Felton’s, he was faster, more aware, and able to keep up with the pace. His interference both before and during shooting was very well done.

They struggled against Zhang Yang, but trying to restrict him was difficult... Give him a little space within the three-point line and Zhang Yang would unexpectedly shoot, with a quick release. Stick too close to him, and Zhang Yang would easily get past them with his great sense of rhythm and head to the basket.

Every rookie who played one-on-one with Zhang Yang, regardless of win or loss, felt like hitting someone... but didn’t dare.

This was thanks to ESPN’s "help".

In order to link the Bobcats with the "Bad Boys Legion", ESPN crazily piled on negative stories about the team.

On Zhang Yang’s side, nobody knew how ESPN found out that on his first day joining the North Carolina Jeet Kune Do club, he beat up all the main fighters there.

Around this incident, ESPN crafted a narrative that Zhang Yang became a fighting maniac after coming to America, saying that his energy found no outlet besides being sent to Compton High School in his sophomore year to play basketball, accidentally leading to the birth of a basketball prodigy.

Since it was true that he had beaten up all the Jeet Kune Do club members after provocation, and since some members from the club stood up and said, "If Jack joined competitions, we could win the national championship," many fans actually believed it.

In some ways, ESPN’s maneuver had earned Zhang Yang a wave of fans, added to the legend of his basketball career, and confirmed his talent.

This could also be considered an unexpected "by-product" of ESPN, as the higher the talent of the Bobcats players, the less grievous James’s loss...

In any case, all the rookies who came to try out for the Bobcats remembered Zhang Yang.

...

Both Zhang Yang and Felton had a lot of fun during the afternoon tryouts.

Felton was already used to his little brother flipping a switch during one-on-ones and actually found it quite amusing.

After today’s tryouts ended, Zhang Yang and Felton were called into the office by Bickerstaff, as the coaching staff had a meeting to discuss the performances of the rookies that day. Last year, Gerald Wallace and Okafor also participated in similar work when trying out forwards and centers.

Zhang Yang and Felton’s main job was to listen, as they did not participate in the physical tests in the morning or the technical observation, so they couldn’t contribute much there.

When it came to discussing the one-on-one sessions in the afternoon, the coaching staff asked for their opinions.

Felton: (ΩДΩ) Damn, I was just having fun and forgot about this task!

When the boss is in trouble, call on the little brother!

Felton looked towards Zhang Yang...

Zhang Yang had anticipated this situation and had already prepared his response: "If we want to draft a rookie in the first round to back up Raymond, Lowry is the most suitable. His style is similar to Raymond’s and he might be able to learn our tactics more easily, making collaboration with him easier for the team. But if we want some change in the second string, Rondo would be a good choice; he’s very hardworking and tenacious on defense, the downside is his scoring is quite poor."

Bickerstaff nodded, jotting down "tenacious defense" on Rondo’s profile. It’s hard for onlookers to feel the pressure of a one-on-one session, but the one who’s playing can feel it more distinctly.

He asked: "What do you think of Farmar? He just played in the NCAA finals and performed really well."

Zhang Yang: "He’s not the most outstanding at UCLA; Aaron Afflalo is. If Aaron enters the draft, I suggest we grab him. He’s good on defense, good at shooting, very suitable for us."

Bickerstaff laughed: "Right, I forgot. Several players from UCLA are your high school classmates; you know them better."

On this topic, Zhang Yang’s expression turned odd. Everyone said that Compton High School was a ’feeder to USC,’ but in the last two years, several people went to UCLA. Leaving aside Afflalo’s move, Hip even turned down an offer from USC later on, opting to go to UCLA instead.

A few days ago, when Zhang Yang talked to DeRozan on the phone, he learned that Aboya, who had just graduated, had also accepted the invitation from UCLA. During a phone call with Tatum, he found out that the guy was hesitating between UCLA and North Carolina... For athletes from Compton High School, the USC football and baseball teams remained the first options, but not the basketball team anymore.

The reason was not complicated: Henry Bibby, Bibby’s dad, was fired by USC, and over the past years, the Compton High School basketball team favored USC because of Henry Bibby. This coach was very good at developing players, and the ability of the new coach was still to be observed. They didn’t want to be guinea pigs. Though UCLA head coach Ben Holland had only joined in ’03, he had already proven his abilities in the past two or three years, making it at least a better option than taking a chance with USC.

After Zhang Yang voluntarily finished talking about his favored draft prospects, Bickerstaff didn’t end the work but pulled out every draft prospect and asked Zhang Yang to evaluate them.

They wouldn’t necessarily choose based on what Zhang Yang said, but an additional opinion was always good.

After asking, Bickerstaff thought of something and said, "After playing for a season, do you guys think the team needs to be strengthened in certain areas? Do you have any preferred players? Your opinions are very important to the team, of course, if you want Bryant or O’Neal, that’d put us under a lot of pressure."

Felton: (ΩДΩ) Shoot! Didn’t think of this! Let me think... never mind, I’ve stopped thinking.

Big Fatty once again looked towards his little brother...

Zhang Yang hadn’t expected to be asked this; they were just two rookies who had just finished their debut season. Asking for their draft opinions was normal since they were participants in today’s trial work, but this...

He declined, saying, "It seems like we don’t have much to offer in trades, and I don’t know how much appeal we have to free agents, so it’s difficult to provide any suggestions."

Bickerstaff: "Ha-ha, you don’t have to think too much, we’re just asking. If you really want to say O’Neal, that’s okay too."

After hearing this, Zhang Yang thought for a while and said, "Matt Barnes from the 76ers. When we played against the 76ers, Gerald said Barnes actually has good defense, just no opportunity."

Bickerstaff recalled for a moment and thought of that heavily tattooed player, saying, "That guy is a troublemaker! Jack, I meant we’d be under a lot of pressure if you wanted popular stars, but there’s no need to go for such an obscure... No, this suggestion isn’t even obscure, it’s offbeat."

Zhang Yang: "Then I want Yao Ming, Garnett."

Bickerstaff: "..."

Bickerstaff sent the two almost-second-year players away.

Based on his understanding of Zhang Yang, he knew that Zhang Yang was seriously considering potentially excellent players they could recruit, but given their team’s situation, attracting players was quite difficult.

Their four major talents were quite appealing, but not yet.

Young talents would not consider them, fearing they wouldn’t get enough development since their focus would definitely be on cultivating Zhang Yang, Felton, Okafor, and Gerald Wallace.

Moreover, these four occupied the positions of point guard, shooting guard, small forward, and power forward as starters, so quality role players wouldn’t prioritize them, and centers were too in demand to compete for.

Veteran players with strength who became free agents usually either stayed with their teams or pursued championships as their top two choices, unless they were offered a lot of money...

Under such conditions, asking Zhang Yang, who was serious and composed at work, for suggestions was indeed hard for this young man who would only turn 18 in a few days.

It was better to focus on the drafting work!

...

...

I turned off the alarm since it’s the holidays, slept until noon before getting up, started writing after lunch, and continued writing after dinner~ seeking monthly votes! Seeking recommendation votes!