The Way of the Center

Chapter 1 : Oriental Tower

The early morning sun gently spreads towards Ames, illuminating this small American city with a total population of only 70,000. There were no people on the streets of the city, no congested cars, no busy pedestrians, and the city of Ames began a peaceful day in the warm weather in September.

George Ricard was chewing on the sandwich prepared by his wife, while reading the newspaper casually. Reading the newspaper at breakfast is a habit he has developed long ago. Ricard unconsciously flipped the newspaper directly to the sports section, and quickly searched for news in the newspaper.

“Derrick Rose chose to join the University of Memphis! Rose: Playing under coach John Calipari will definitely improve me a lot.”

The headline of this news is not enlarged and bold, and the content only occupies a small part of the sports section. This is normal. Most people don’t care which college a high school player chooses to attend, even if this person is a high school star player. You must know that it is September, and the NBA transfer storm is much more exciting than the selection of high school players. But George is more concerned about college basketball news, because he is the head coach of the local Iowa State University basketball team in Ames. And, he just took office.

“How about breakfast?”

“It’s awesome, Peggy.” Ricard put down the newspaper and looked at his lover with a smile on his face. “I really want to enjoy this quiet morning more, knowing that in Chicago, the hustle and bustle all day long.” After speaking, Ricard looked at his watch, drank the remaining coffee in his cup, and got up. Picked up the briefcase on the table. “However, I think I have to go out.”

“Work is going well, dear.” Kissing his wife goodbye in front of the door, Ricard began the fourth day of college coaching.

………………..

Ricard used to be a basketball coach at a high school in Chicago. He led the team to a division championship last season. Out of happiness, Ricard unexpectedly received an invitation to coach from Iowa State University. The former head coach of Iowa State University was about to retire, and Ricard, who performed well, naturally became one of the candidates for succession.

Ames is a small city, far from being comparable to Chicago. And Iowa State University is just a mediocre team in the NCAA Big Twelve League, and there is no historical record, and there is no NBA star from here, the only one who has established a foothold in the NBA and was selected as an All-Star. Jeff Hornacek, who has also won two three-pointers championships, is the team’s only celebrity. He led the team to the NCAA round of 16 and defeated the No. 2 player in the March Madness Elimination Tournament. The seeded team University of Michigan Wolves filled the team, but that was already in 1986.

After that, Iowa State University began to gradually become mediocre. However, being able to coach a team in the first division of the NCAA is enough to excite Ricard. So he didn’t think much, accepted the invitation, and moved to Ames with his wife. Although it is not a big city, it has suitable temperature, convenient transportation, and has the reputation of being a safe city in the United States. So Ricard seems very happy these days. Not only has he found his dream job, he can also live in a peaceful and comfortable place.

………………..

But when it comes to working conditions, Ricard can’t be happy anymore.

He is an aggressive person. When he was coaching in high school, he was strict with his players, and his team would strive to win every game. Such a character makes Ricard very want to change the mediocre performance of Iowa State University every year. However, it backfired. In the team lineup, he did not have many choices. Without the support of excellent players, wanting to change the results has undoubtedly become a idiot.

In the past few days, his work has mainly focused on recruiting new recruits. Unlike Duke North Carolina and his like, their school has a large number of high school stars vying to join each year. There are no scouts all over the world, and there are no high basketball scholarships to attract talented players. Wanting to find good players here really gives him a headache.

On the way to his office, he will pass by one of the school’s outdoor basketball courts, where students play ball after class. Every day Ricard passed by here, he would stop and take a look, hoping to find surprises. However, in the past three days there hasn’t been anything to make him shine. After all, most of the best players in this school are already on his team’s trial list. But today, he saw a guy who stunned him.

Ricard saw a tall man with yellow skin and black hair on the court. He visually observed that this guy’s height must be more than 2 meters 10, although the figure is thin but the muscle lines are obvious and very strong. The most eye-catching thing is his long arms, which must be more than his height. This man is in excellent physical condition, and now Ricard wants to see how he plays the ball.

A huge black man is a matchup for the yellow-skinned guy, but the 2.03 meter “black man” is still a lot shorter than the Asian guy. The yellow-skinned player is active in the position, the chassis is solid, the opposing player tries hard to push him out, but he is unmoved.

The teammate dropped the ball in, and the yellow-skinned guy received the ball steadily. Ricard became excited and stared at him intently, watching every movement of the yellow-skinned guy.

He began to dribble the ball back in, the first hit, the black man behind him took a big step back, and then the second time, he had stepped into the three-second zone with one foot, and the matchup was still not there. Can stop him. Then, instead of using his body to push inward, he held the ball with both hands, turned around in the opposite direction of the basket with his left foot as the axis, lifted his feet off the ground, and turned over for a jump shot at close range.

“Although he is tall, he feels very soft. He is not a layman. He must have started playing basketball a long time ago.” Ricard silently commented on the Asian in his heart. Sure enough, the basketball hollowed into the net with a perfect arc, a beautiful close shot.

“Nice job, Ann!” The teammate who had just passed the ball gave him a thumbs up, the yellow-skinned boy just smiled shyly, and then ran back to his half-court defense.

It’s the opponent’s turn to attack. On the offensive end, the players who oppose him still don’t have the slightest advantage, and they don’t even have a position. A guy with a fancy dribble on the other side easily passed his defender and then successfully broke through and prepared for a layup. At this time, no one seemed to have time to help defend. The opposing player rushed to the basket and sent the ball up. The basketball slowly rose, looking like it was a must. However, a huge figure is separated between the basketball and the hoop. The yellow-skinned guy leaped high, straightened his long arm, opened his big hand, and directly confiscated the ball that was still rising.

“Catch the risk! My God!” Although the bounce is not excellent, but thanks to his long arms and big hands, he is a good barrier on the defensive end. I can see someone finish the catch on the field, even if the yellow guy is catching a player who is much shorter than him, Ricard still feels a little shocked.

After confiscating the ball, the yellow-skinned guy threw the ball to his teammate with a long pass, and the teammate received the ball and easily succeeded in the sky basket. Such a height allows him to have a wide view on the court and have an unobstructed view.

The next defensive Asian boy team did a good job, and the tight press made the opponent force a shot. The moment the opponent player took the shot, the yellow-skinned boy immediately got stuck in his position, his long arms opened, and most of the penalty area was under his control.

Judging the landing point, the timing of the jump was a little earlier, but even so, no one could compete with him at all, and his much taller wingspan allowed him to still get a rebound.

After 　　’s offense, he received a pass from his teammate at 45 degrees to the left of the middle distance. Without hesitation, he immediately took off and shot. The opposing players also tried to jump up and interfere, but they could only reach the yellow-skinned guy’s elbow. With another soft shot, the basketball went into the net after two rounds of the basket.

………………..

Ricard watched the whole game on the sidelines like this, and even forgot that he had been fifteen minutes late for work. The performance of the yellow-skinned boy in the game was perfect. The back-body technique is comprehensive, the shooting feel is soft, the chassis is solid, and the defensive end performance is even more dominant. Under his cover, no one on the other side scored a point in the three-second zone. Recalling the performance of the yellow-skinned boy on the court just now, Ricard felt as if he had found an undiscovered gold mine. With his physical conditions and skills, as long as he trains quickly, he can completely catch up with the NCAA games of next season.

“Come on boy, I need everyone who can play.” Riccardo thought to himself, and walked to the yellow-skinned boy who was sweating profusely after playing.

“It was a great game today. With you here, we will definitely win the championship. Hey, Angelo will have a party at home tonight, are you coming?” asked the teammate who had been passing the ball to the yellow-skinned boy.

“No Jason, I have to go to a fast food restaurant to work part-time at night.” The yellow-skinned boy waved his hand.

“Hey, good boy, what’s your name?” During the conversation between the two, a middle-aged man’s voice suddenly came in. The yellow-skinned boy looked up and Ricard was standing in front of him.

“Huh?” The boy obviously didn’t have time to respond to the stranger’s sudden inquiry.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I am the new head coach of the Iowa State University Tornado team. I am looking for you to discuss how you will play under me. Now the team is recruiting new people everywhere, I just watched Your performance, I think you can give it a try.”

“What about playing under your hands? Iowa State University Cyclone? You mean…you mean!” The yellow-skinned boy’s eyes widened and he stood up abruptly. In an instant, Ricard had to look up at him as much as possible.

“You mean, you can go to the NCAA Division 1 game!” His eyes widened, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

“Yes, NCAA First Division League.” Ricard was very happy to see his reaction. He was still thinking how to convince him if the opponent refused, but now it seems that he is worrying too much.

“God, did you hear Jason, this is incredible.” The yellow-skinned boy was obviously very excited, a little incoherent.

“By the way, my name is Anjie!” He said, extending his right hand.

Ricard also stretched out his hand to hold him together. “I’m George Ricard, then, where are you from?”

“I am from China, and I am a student studying abroad.”

“China? Didn’t the universities in your country see your performance in the high school league?” Ricard thought to his mind that his performance in the Chinese high school league must be dominant with such an excellent arm span.

People with such physical conditions should have many Chinese universities rushing to ask him, and then let him embark on the road of professional basketball. Why did he come to the United States? And it wasn’t for basketball, Ricard was a little puzzled.

“China’s high school league is not the same thing here. Our country’s school sports system is quite different from that of the United States. And in China, most parents will not support their children to take the path of professional sports. “Speaking of the school sports system in his home country, An Jie felt a little helpless.

“By the way, coach, I have never received formal basketball training, everything is practiced on the Chinese street court This way, can I really play NCAA?” An Jie is not a fool. He knows that the NCAA is not just a simple college student league, it is a place to deliver basketball talents to the NBA and the world!

“Except for height, wingspan and love of basketball, I can teach you everything else. Of course, the premise is that you are willing to learn and are willing to endure hardship. You already have the first two things that I can’t teach, and then it depends on what you want. How about the next. If you want, report to the basketball court at 1 o’clock this afternoon.” Ricard knew that this guy had many shortcomings, but he also saw something in Anjie that no one else did. There are too few traditional centers in basketball now, and Anjie’s playing style and technical characteristics give him the potential to become an excellent traditional center.

A Chinese guy who loves basketball, now has a chance to play college basketball league in the United States. This seems to be an offer that no one can refuse.

“I will be there on time, coach!” Anjie bowed politely to Ricard, smiling.

In 1981, the 18-year-old Hakim Olajuwon learned for the first time what regular basketball is.

In 1987, the 21-year-old Dikembe Mutombo was discovered by the school team coach and was exposed to basketball for the first time.

Although it was late to get into regular basketball, in the end, both of them became legendary centers through hard work.

In 2007, the 18-year-old Anjie already had a good basic basketball skills. If he is willing to put in several times the effort of others, then anything can happen to this child Book friends are welcome to visit and read, the latest, fastest and hottest serial works are all at www. For mobile phone users, please go to read.