Indiana, a central agricultural state.

Indianapolis is its capital, a small city with a population of less than one million.

But even such a relatively backward "rural" area in the United States has the craziest basketball culture.

There must be a basket ring on every lane here, and Indiana University flags and pedestrian flags can be seen everywhere.

Whenever there is any major competition, even if it is just a high school football game, it will often cause thousands of people in the community to be empty.

But even in such a basketball country, there is still a forgotten corner.

That's Butler University Bulldogs.

But this cannot be blamed on fans, competitive sports have always been the winner.

Compared with the brilliant Indiana State University, the Butler Bulldogs really have no capital to brag about.

It is a primary school with only 4,000 people, and the number of students may not be as high as that of many middle schools in China.

Elementary schools usually mean less money and less exposure. Compared with wealthy families like North Carolina and Duke, Butler University is at best the size of its college.

However, compared with other primary schools of the same size, Butler University's basketball team, the Bulldogs, has done a good job in recent years.

After entering the millennium, the Bulldogs have made three attempts to enter the NCAA Championship.

Among them, three years ago, in 2003, he also entered the Sweet Sixteen.

Although such achievements have attracted the attention of some people, there is no doubt that the outside world has never wasted its real attention on this primary school.

The reason is simple. Although the Butler Bulldogs are in the Horizon League in the Division I League, this league does not fall into the category of the six major leagues.

In layman's terms, the Horizon Alliance is the poor loser in the first-level alliance.

Even in vulgar TV series, there will be examples of losers counterattacks from time to time, but there is no doubt that this is not the norm.

Being in such a weak league, the chance of reaching the national championship is high, which does not indicate your own strength.

If you have a better luck in the championship, if you encounter a few weak opponents, or if your opponent's main player is injured, occasionally a dark horse is within the probability range.

So to this day, Butler University is still a school that is not eye-catching, and the Bulldogs are also an unknown team.

It was already summer vacation, but the team's training hall was still crowded, and the Bulldogs' summer training camp had just begun.

Matthew Graves is the head coach of this team. He has been coaching the Bulldogs for some years. The outstanding results ahead of the team have proved that he is an excellent college basketball coach.

And beside him, standing with his chest crossed was a young man in his thirties who looked in his thirties.

Brad Stevens, assistant coach of the team.

He also played basketball when he was a student, but he only played for an NCAA third-tier league team in college. After completing his studies, he joined a pharmaceutical company.

But not long after, he quit his good job and re-entered his basketball arms.

Starting from the video analysis work without salary, Stevens took one step at a time. Now he is only 30 years old this year, he is already the team's undisputed chief assistant coach.

Head coach Matthew admires Stevens' assistant coach around him very much. He has a calmness that is not matched by his age, which makes him almost never lose control of his emotions.

Countless times, when Matthew, as the head coach, encountered difficult problems, this young man could always objectively analyze the situation in his calm tone and give the best solution.

Although he was unwilling to admit it, Matthew felt in his heart that Stevens had surpassed him in all aspects now.

This is also the reason why the school management has not renewed Matthew's contract. Everyone knows that after the head coach's contract expires next year, Stevens will become the real helm of the Bulldogs.

But Matthew doesn't mind these things. Through years of coaching, his level has been recognized by industry insiders, and it is not difficult to find a new job.

Just yesterday, Indiana State University in the same city extended an olive branch to him, which was a bigger and broader stage.

And the young man around him will really start his coaching career.

I don't know what kind of achievements he will achieve in the future, Matthew thought secretly.

"Beautiful!" Stevens suddenly shouted beside him, interrupting Matthew's thoughts.

"How is it? Are there any materials to make in these young people?" Matthew asked, looking at the noisy training ground.

"White jersey No. 12," Stevens said, pointing to a field, "He's very good!"

"oh?"

After hearing this, Matthew looked in the direction he pointed. No. 12 was trying to defend a black defender who was a shorter head than him, but when the two men's bodies touched in the air, No. 12's thin body was easily knocked away.

"The physical fitness is not very good." Matthew commented.

"Look at how he's doing on the offensive end," Stevens said.

The White Team served in the backcourt, and No. 12 was already in the bottom corner of the left.

"The sense of space is good!" said Matthew.

Unfortunately, the White team's point guard found that it was a little late when No. 12. Although the ball was passed, the opponent's defense had already fallen.

However, the Black Team seemed to be a little afraid of the White No. 12, so they sent two people to attack.

The ball hit the ground and landed in the hands of the teammate who was about to go down.

"Good vision!" This chaotic pass made Matthew's eyes lit up.

These training camp teams are temporarily pieced together, and there is usually no tacit understanding between teammates. White No. 12 can still comfortably deliver the ball to his teammates in this situation, which is enough to prove his vision and reaction speed on the court.

The White team player received the No. 12 pass and pulled it up on the spot, which was an open mid-range shot, but unfortunately he didn't make it.

"Oh!" Matthew sighed. After all, these training camp players were all 17 or 18 years old. Although they had received some professional training, they were still a little unwilling to let go when they were in a strange environment.

If he had been more patient with the ball just now, the opponent's inside player would definitely come up to make up for defense. At that time, the center at his own basket was in a complete open position.

What a pity, Matthew shook his head.

But before he could react, a figure suddenly jumped out of the crowd and drove out the basketball still in the air.

"It's No. 12!" Matthew said in surprise, "How did he appear in this position?"

"He has a strong ability to judge the landing point of rebounds!" Stevens said.

Before they could finish their words, the two saw No. 12 retreating to the three-point line again.

This time, the White Side's point guard seized the opportunity and passed the ball to No. 12's hand.

"Swish!" A three-pointer that caught people off guard.
Chapter completed!