But while others were excited, Lin Ying was confused.
"Coach, I'm not suitable to be this captain."
When he came to his senses, he spoke.
The veteran team member was startled as soon as he opened his mouth.
Barnes always speaks the truth on the team!
The coaching staffs of the NCAA and NBA are similar in composition, but they are very different.
Because the NCAA is a student league, there are no trades, and the coach won't give you a chance to play. No matter how good your talent is, you won't have a chance to show it off!
And although the NCAA allows transfers, it also stipulates that after transferring, you must be suspended for one year!
This is often referred to as "sitting on the court."
The NCAA only lasts for four years, and the NBA draft is based on talent. There is a huge difference in draft prospects between those who are one year older and those who are one year younger.
So unless they really have no choice, no one would choose to transfer to another school.
To sum up, the head coach of the NCAA is the sky above the college team, holding the "power of life and death" of the players.
If you fall out with him, your entire basketball career may be ruined.
The freshmen were also surprised, including Durant who hit Lin Ying with his arm again.
Don’t you want the captain who picked it up for free?
Barnes' brows also frowned.
Although Lin Ying's performance in the competition surprised him, the public rejection of his request made him lose face.
"I'm really not suitable."
Lin Ying felt the reactions of the people around him and continued.
He really doesn't know how to talk.
"reason."
Barnes looks on the verge of breaking out.
"I'm not good at communication. Being captain will only be bad for the team."
Lin Ying summoned up the courage to say.
This is true, the captain is responsible for leading the team.
But now, except for Durant, he has trouble communicating with everyone else. How can he be the captain of a team?
Barnes stared at Lin Ying for a while, and Lin Ying lowered his head unconsciously.
He has coached in the NCAA for many years and has met many players, including many who are withdrawn and silent.
This kind of person is really not suitable to be a captain.
He took out a small notebook from his pocket and wrote a note on Lin Ying that he was withdrawn (can be improved the day after tomorrow).
There are two types of lonely people: nature and nurture. Lin Ying speaks clearly and logically and has perfect expression skills. This kind of thing can be gradually improved.
"Kevin, it's yours."
After Barnes put away his small notebook, he then looked at Durant and said.
"Don't say 'NO'."
And after he finished speaking, Barnes added another sentence.
If Durant is not suitable for me, he will definitely go berserk.
"Yes! Coach, I will take the team to the national championship!"
Durant is full of pride.
Others have no doubts either.
Originally, Durant was the most talented and strongest player on the team, and his personality was also suitable.
“Is the national championship enough?”
At this time, Barnes asked rhetorically.
A very simple sentence, but it stirred everyone's heartstrings like a beautiful woman lifting her skirt.
"The Longhorns' goal this year is to make the Elite Eight!"
Seeing the lights in the team members' eyes lit up by them, Barnes spoke.
As soon as this was said, the team members all looked in disbelief.
In its more than 60-year history, the University of Texas has only reached the quarterfinals six times.
Although they were in the top eight last year, all three core players left the team.
Now, relying on the remaining ordinary players who can't enter the NBA, plus a group of new recruits, can we win the top 8?
Coach, you disrespect your opponent very much!
"Don't think it's impossible. I've seen your progress and your talents. If you can't achieve your goals, it's definitely not your problem, but mine."
As he spoke, Barnes glanced around the senior players and then at the freshmen.
Snapped!
Bang bang bang!
Lin Ying couldn't help but feel the urge to applaud Barnes.
This is different from those fake chicken soup coaches who shout slogans at high volume. This is a real chicken soup master!
Sure enough, after Barnes finished speaking, the team members were as eager to try as if they had been beaten to death.
If this was a pregame speech, the University of Texas would most likely beat its opponent to a pulp.
"So for this goal, train as hard as you can in the next year. God will not let down those who work hard!"
Barnes finally concluded his words.
What responded to him was a burst of cheers from the team members.
…
After the first day of training, the freshmen all looked very excited when they left the training hall.
Because after listening to what Barnes said, they really felt that they could reach the quarterfinals.
"We will be the new Fab Five!"
Augustine couldn't help shouting excitedly.
"Why not a national champion?"
Durant asked rhetorically.
"Yes, our goal is the national championship! That's it!"
James echoed loudly.
The freshmen burst into laughter immediately.
The younger the person, the easier it is to be inspired and the more daring they are to think.
Lin Ying was also walking beside them. Although he seemed to be in a good mood, he did not join them.
"Guys, where are you going to eat?"
At this moment, a voice came from behind them.
It's Randy Williams, a junior on the team.
There are no seniors on the team this year, and Williams is the oldest on the team.
"We haven't thought about it yet."
Augustine replied with a smile.
As they saw before, Williams has a soft-spoken tone and is easy to get close to.
"It just so happens that I'm going to eat too, so I'll treat you to it."
Williams was very polite.
No one objected, only people cheered.
In American culture, politeness is not the mainstream, and it would be a fool not to eat while you have food.
Williams said he would drive them there, but when they arrived at the parking lot, they discovered it was a classic car with 2 doors and a 5-speed manual transmission.
Of course, no one thinks it's bad. There are still only a few students in such public schools who have their own cars.
Lin Ying resisted this party-style activity and wanted to go back to the dormitory to rest first, but was forced into the car by Durant.
Several people were crowded in the car. Although the space was small, they were enjoying themselves.
It was Pittman. This guy was too big to fit in the car, so he had to take a taxi to go to the place to eat.
In the small space, the smell of sweat from just playing ball could not stop their excitement.
The wind was blowing, listening to the old songs played on the car music, and yelling.
Lin Ying was inexplicably touched. Although he had never heard the song, the atmosphere was familiar yet strange.
…
The full name of NCAA is not the American Collegiate League, but the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Of course, the meaning is actually pretty much the same.
American campus sports are the most mature and complete in the world.
The role of campus sports is basically equivalent to the youth training teams of domestic professional sports, which provide a large number of sports talents to the NFL, NBA, etc. every year.
This association consists of more than a thousand universities, including some in Canada.
These more than a thousand colleges and universities are divided into three levels and dozens of alliances.
Of course, the one that gets the most attention is the “First Level Alliance” with the highest level.
There are currently 346 colleges and universities in 32 leagues in the first-level league.
The University of Texas is one of these 346 universities.
The league they are in is called the Big12 League.
As the name suggests, it is a team composed of 12 colleges and universities.
Let’s talk about basketball, the NCAA schedule starts in late November every year and ends in April of the following year.
This schedule consists of two parts, the conference championship and the famous "March Madness"!
The championship lasts from late November to early March. All teams in each league play one home and away game. The top eight teams in the final record will compete in the league playoffs, and then the final league total will be determined according to the single-game format.
champion.
The team that wins the league championship can directly qualify for March Madness.
March Madness, or March Madness for short, is a common name for the NCAA national tournament. It is named after the tournament is held in March every year and adopts the simplest and crudest single-match tournament system with frequent upsets.
Crazy Three will invite a total of 65 teams (increased to 68 after 2010).
In addition to the 32 league championships, there are another 33 wild card teams.
Wild cards, also known as extended invitations, are awarded based on each college's performance in the conference tournament.
This system is to avoid the situation where multiple excellent teams appear at the same time in a season, but only one team can be selected in the end.
Sometimes, a strong conference, such as the Big East Conference where the University of Connecticut is located, often has seven or eight teams receiving expansion invitations.
However, there is no very clear standard for this kind of invitation, so there will be an additional thing called an invitational tournament.
The invitational tournament is organized by the respective universities. The results will not be counted in the regular season, but will enhance the reputation of the respective universities and thus obtain wild card qualifications.
After the 65 teams are determined, they will be divided into 4 regions, and then numbered from 1 to 16/17 according to their strength, also because they are called No. 1 seed to No. 16/17 seed team.
The first day of competition is between the No. 16 and No. 17 seeds in a certain division.
The winner continues the next day's game, while the loser successfully gets a one-day NCAA tournament experience card.
After the top 64 appear, each region will conduct a single match based on the matchup of No. 1 seed VS 16 seed.
After one round, the top 64 became the top 32, and the eliminated teams received a two-day tour experience card.
Then, the same format continues, to the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, and the final champion and runner-up!
From this competition system, you can feel how difficult it is to win the championship.
Because except for the championship, starting from the league playoffs, all games are in a one-way format.
If you want to win the championship, you have to start from the beginning and keep winning.
You can't perform abnormally. If your opponent performs abnormally, you have to outperform them.
…
"I think 'Angry Rick'... what Coach Barnes said is a little difficult, but we have a great chance of reaching the top three."
In a cheap steakhouse, Williams introduced their big12 league to them and analyzed the team's prospects.
"Kansas will be our biggest rival."
"Which Kansas?"
Pittman asked. He looked like him, a bit naive.
After he said this, he already received looks of disgust from everyone.
"Kansas Duckhawks."
Randy Williams said with a smile.
The University of Kansas is one of the most prestigious schools in the NCAA, on the same level as North Carolina, Duke, and Kansas.
Moreover, the first head coach of the University of Kansas was James Nesmith, who invented basketball, and the second head coach was Fogg Allen, the founder of the basketball coaching system.
It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the place where basketball was born.
It has provided many talents to the NBA, the two most famous ones being "Basketball Emperor" Chamberlain and "Truth" Paul Pierce.
"We lost to them last year, 68-80. We had LaMarcus, P.J. and Daniel, but basically had no chance."
Williams went on to recall, and when talking about his experience last season, he also looked helpless.
Although the University of Kansas did not go as far as the University of Texas in the NCAA last year, it would not be surprising if anything happened to the Crazy Three.
"Mario Chalmers, the captain and soul of Kansas, was the MOP of the Big12 last year. His offense was as fast as a whirlwind, and his defensive ability was terrifying. He had 97 steals in a single season last season, setting a school record in Kansas history."
When Williams said this, some unpleasant memories were awakened, and the corners of his mouth twitched unconsciously.
"Having more steals doesn't necessarily mean he's good at defense? This shows that his defense is very risky."
Augustin whispered that this was someone he might directly confront on the court in the future.
"No, he is the best defender in Big. His defensive pressure...AJ should know it best."
Williams shattered his illusions.
Lin Ying listened beside him, and some memories were awakened.
Chalmers, if translated as Chalmers, more people may know it.
This man's story is legendary. He is an absolute boss in the NCAA. He led Kansas to defeat the University of Memphis led by Ross to win the championship in 2008, and was elected as the MOP of the Final Four.
This is already legendary enough. Who would have thought that he would become even more legendary after entering the NBA.
As a second-round pick and a player who joined the NBA after four years of college, he started with Wade in his rookie season due to his outstanding immediate ability.
Later, James and Bosh joined to form the Big Three, and he became the "Big Four" and earned the nickname "Super Mario", helping the team complete two consecutive championships.
His three-point shooting and defense perfectly match James' technical characteristics, just like the protagonist in a novel.
"Brandon Rush, 6 feet 6, 233 pounds, is one of the best small forwards in the Big12. He averaged 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last year. He has outstanding defense and shot over 47% from three-point range."
"Why didn't he enter the draft?"
Pittman asked again, confused.
But no one thought he was stupid this time.
Chalmers's physical condition is not very good, so it's understandable if he plays for two more years, but with Rush's physical condition and his performance, and in a wealthy club like Kansas, if he participates in the draft, he is guaranteed to win the lottery and become a top ten pick.
exist.
"He was injured. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee in an amateur match in May and returned to school to recuperate."
Williams opened his mouth to explain.
"Then he shouldn't be able to play this year?"
Augustin was a little happy, the torn ligament was not a minor injury.
"No, the severity of the same injury is different. He can catch up with Mad San."
When Williams said this, the others fell silent.
Just these two powerful figures in college are enough for them to drink a pot.
"I'll blow him up."
Perhaps feeling that morale was a little low, Durant said.
"Yes, we have Kevin, he can't guard Kevin."
Augustine reacted.
"Yes, Kevin's talent is the best I have ever seen, and we have a chance."
Williams also nodded. He just wanted the freshmen to get to know their opponents this season, not to dampen their spirits.
The depressed atmosphere eased, and Williams continued his introduction.
In addition to these two people, the University of Kansas also has Julian Wright.
Although Wright's NCAA development was not as expected, he was at the McDonald's level in high school and had outstanding talent.
What is a McDonald's level?
Every year, McDonald's holds a high school all-star game, and those invited are the best high school students in the United States. Being selected means that you are the best among high school students in the country.
In addition to these three, the University of Kansas also needs Russell Robinson, Sasha Cowan, Sherron Collins...
These are all rookies in history who were drafted in the second round by the NBA.
Although their talents are not as good as those mentioned above, they are definitely much better than ordinary players.
Moreover, Robinson and Cowan have both played in college for two years and have rich experience.
It can be said that the University of Kansas is a top-tier super school in the NCAA in terms of reputation and strength.
"Oh, I almost forgot, they also recruited a McDonald's High School All-Star big man this year."
At the end of his sentence, Williams remembered that he had forgotten to mention someone.
"who?"
Augustine's eyes were already a little helpless at this time.
"Darrell Arthur, a 2.06 meter power forward, is a Texan from Dallas."
“Texans don’t come to Texas universities…”
Augustine muttered, but didn't say much.
He also knows that players have their own reasons for choosing colleges, and it's mostly because Kansas' luxurious lineup is a little uncomfortable.
In fact, not only Augustin, but other members of the University of Texas team also calmed down a lot after hearing this.
Their opponents are very strong!
Lin Ying remained silent.
But apart from similar emotions to others, he focused more on listening.
The basic requirement for being a data analyst is to fully understand the data in your hand.
So Lin Ying has an impression of even Cowan, Collins and others mentioned by Williams before.
Arthur would know more.
He has excellent wingspan, outstanding defense, fast movement, low post offensive skills, and mid-range shooting. He is a big killer in the NCAA. He once scored 20 points and 10 rebounds in the 2008 NCAA Finals and was a contributor to the team's championship.
Of course, he was not just listening, he had already made a list of the advantages and disadvantages of these opponents in his mind.
He wrote these things down, and when he returned to his dormitory, he wrote them down and they became basic data.
Chapter completed!