In a corner of the stands, a middle-aged man and a tall, thin boy were sitting at attention.
The two of them had their backs straight, not as if they were watching a football match, but as if they were in military training.
It is in sharp contrast to the casual and lazy spectators in the basketball hall.
Even in the face of strange looks and gazes from outsiders, the two of them did not show any change in their expressions or movements.
They are the head coach Mao Kai and captain Zhou Tianchen of the Beimen High School basketball team.
Maokai is not tall, only about 175cm tall.
He has thick eyebrows, big eyes, a Chinese character face, and a refreshing buzz cut.
His whole body exuded a chilling aura.
He was once a special forces soldier in a special forces combat brigade in the Dragon Kingdom. After retiring, he became a physical education teacher at Beimen Middle School by chance.
The militarized management of Beimen Middle School's basketball team came from Mao Kai.
It has been more than ten years since its establishment.
In the past ten years, the Beimen Middle School team has never fallen out of the top 16 in the country.
The best result is reaching the semi-finals, several years earlier than Zhenzhong achieved such results.
Just like last year's failure, their opponent in the semi-finals that year was also the Tsinghua Affiliated High School that had suppressed the competition for an era!
In the high school league, the High School Affiliated to Tsinghua University is like a high mountain, insurmountable.
Before this year, no matter which school's team met, they would only get beaten.
But this year, the league has just begun, and everything is still unknown.
Next to Maokai is Zhou Tianchen, the captain of the Beimen school team.
He is 193cm tall but weighs only 77kg. He looks thin.
But this is just an illusion given by appearance.
In fact, Zhou Tianchen is the most talented basketball student in Beimen Middle School in recent years.
He has a pair of big hands, and his wingspan reaches an astonishing 210cm.
At the same time, the body that looks thin is actually very muscular and very strong in resistance.
Moreover, Zhou Tianchen also has excellent dribbling and shooting abilities. The teachers and students of Beimen Middle School habitually call him "Beimen Durant"!
He is the well-deserved star player of Beimen Middle School.
What worries Zhenzhong, Hongyuan and other school teams the most is Zhou Tianchen’s swing attributes.
This has very similar characteristics to Durant.
Zhou Tianchen can adapt to different court positions according to the coach's tactical arrangements.
In small ball tactics, Zhou Tianchen, who is 193cm tall, can serve as a power forward or even a guest center.
In positional battles, he can also be used as a small forward to penetrate inside and outside to tear apart the enemy's defense.
When the team is in trouble and he needs to step up, he can show terrifying defender breakthrough skills and precise outside shooting ability.
Zhou Tianchen is like an all-around warrior, moving wherever needed. He is the absolute core of the Beimen school team!
"Tianchen, if you were to face Zhenzhong's No. 21, how would you respond?"
Maokai narrowed his eyes and looked towards the arena.
There, Yue Zhanye, wearing the No. 21 jersey, faced Xun Qi, who was taller than him. He used Olajuwon's famous stunt and dreamy steps. After easily passing Xun Qi, he used Duncan's special skill to hit the board and shoot with ease.
Scored 2 points.
Zhou Tianchen put his hands on his knees, thought for a moment, frowned slightly and replied:
"Coach, his height should be about the same as mine, but his steps are the most flexible I have ever seen."
"If I were to face him in a positional battle, I'm afraid it would be difficult for me to guard against his flexible footsteps."
"Compared with him, my advantages lie in my wingspan and shooting ability. He can't even think of guarding me in one-on-one situations."
"I didn't expect that Zhenzhong, who was despised by everyone, would be so terrifyingly powerful. I'm afraid he would be even more tyrannical than those who had Yi Li last year!"
Maokai nodded slightly, his expression unchanged.
"Our discipline in Beimen is higher than that in Zhenzhong."
"If a member of our team, like No. 23 who just hit the ball, is still hanging on the rim after dunking, I will immediately take him off the court to rest."
"But our disadvantages are equally obvious. Except for you, Tianchen, everyone else in the team will probably suffer a loss against Zhenzhong."
Having said this, a rare smile appeared on Mao Kai's face.
"However, they have a fatal flaw in Zhenzhong. If their coaching staff hasn't discovered that problem when they face our North Gate, then I will teach them a lesson."
…
In addition to Mao Kai and Zhou Tianchen from the North Gate, there were also people from other school teams sitting in the stands in the Tianxing Basketball Hall.
Zhenzhong and Hongyuan are both veteran players in the league.
Their competition has always been head-to-head.
Not only is it highly ornamental, but it is also of great research value.
For the vast majority of school teams that want to achieve results, Zhenzhong and Hongyuan are powerful opponents that they must face up to and face.
The No. 3 Middle School team, which is also one of the four most powerful teams in Central and South China, has many more people here than Beimen High School today.
Head coach Su Mingshan, assistant coach Wang Hequan and the school team's starting five all came to the scene.
Compared with Zhenzhong, Hongyuan and Beimen, No. 3 Middle School is often in a very embarrassing situation.
No one can beat Zhenzhong, Hongyuan, Beimen, and No. 3 Middle School.
Except for these three teams in the division, no one can beat Sanzhong.
In many years, the third middle school was the last one among the top four.
This does not match their cultural achievements.
You must know that in the field of college entrance examination, No. 3 Middle School is not defeated by Hongyuan's existence.
In the first city-wide joint examination in the new semester, the No. 3 Middle School surpassed Zhenzhong and Hongyuan in terms of average score, ranking first in the city's joint examination.
But on the basketball court?
Head coach Su Mingshan in the stands sighed inwardly, "Originally I wanted to challenge this soft persimmon this year."
"While their Zhenzhong lost Yi Li and their vitality was severely weakened, our No. 3 Middle School beat them brilliantly, which can be regarded as regaining ground on the basketball court."
"Now it seems that all the joy is in vain!"
It stands to reason that being timid before fighting is not the mentality a team head coach should have.
But it’s not like Su Mingshan doesn’t know how much his team has.
Their third middle school does not have militarized management like Beimen, and the team's lower limit is very high.
You must know that the Beimen school team can make most teams surrender in despair just by relying on its iron-like defense.
No. 3 Middle School doesn't have that kind of discipline and rigor.
In this year's school team, there are three players who were the main players of last year's school team, and two players who were selected as newcomers this year.
It stands to reason that the strength will not drop too much compared to the past.
But the strength has not declined, which is the level of the top 16.
Want to go further?
It’s difficult!
Su Mingshan felt miserable in his heart, but he could only bear it silently.
He is the head coach, but he cannot bring this kind of depressed mood to the team. He still has this sense of propriety.
"Let's take a step and see."
Su Mingshan could only comfort himself in this way and continue to watch the game on the field.
At the same time, the school team coaches and team members from Jiangli Middle School, No. 1 Middle School and other schools were also in a corner of the stands, having their own thoughts.