The sun is shining brightly and the weather is pleasant in Seattle in July.
On the afternoon of the 3rd, a tall white man wearing a shirt, trousers, and sparse hair walked into the Sonics' training facility with steps that he didn't recognize.
This man's brows were furrowed with the word "Chuan" in his eyes, his eyes were splayed, his ears were splayed, and he was full of murderous intent. This was a face that said "You owe me a million", and he looked like he was going to seek trouble at any time.
This man is none other than the current coach of the Sonics - George Karl!
George Carl was a true savage, rude and vicious, and was nicknamed "Crazy Carl".
North Carolina's academic experience and his own cruel personality made Karl's record in the 1980s a mess. At that time, he was only in his early 30s, but he dared to criticize the team's stars. The media generally believed that he was too cruel when coaching the Warriors.
He yelled at Chris Mullin for drinking because he was under too much pressure.
In the 1990s, Karl, who was over 40 years old, had tempered somewhat, and his brutality was transferred to tactics.
The Sonics played very advanced tactics of fierce flanking and quick defense changes, relying on flanking to force their opponents to make mistakes and then quickly counterattacking. In positional battles, the Sonics used free singles and multi-point three-pointers by their stars.
They are the team with the most fast breaks in the league and the team that shoots the most three-pointers. They ranked first with an average of 110.4 points per game last season.
However, the current situation of the team gave Karl a headache. The SuperSonics performed well in the regular season, but overturned in the playoffs for two consecutive years and were eliminated in the first round. In the 1994 playoffs, they even became the first team in NBA history to be "blackballed"
"The eliminated team took a 2-0 lead but was overturned by the Nuggets, who won three consecutive games.
The boss began to question Karl's ability, suspecting that he was only good at leading the team in the regular season. If the Sonics don't produce results this year, they will definitely have to change their coach.
After arriving at the arena, Karl first greeted the two assistant coaches, and then made a bad face to the scouting director. "Frank, are you kidding? The team is in urgent need of a shooting guard. I said try to find a promising newcomer.
Xun, have you contacted a Chinese person?"
Director of Scouting Frank Knox knew that Karl had a hot temper and said with a wry smile: "Of course this is not a joke. We have studied the physical test data of many young players and believe that this Chinese has great potential. This is his previous physical test report. You
Let’s take a look.”
Facts speak louder than words, Karl took the printed data sheet and read it.
"He is 193cm tall in shoes and weighs 88kg... His wingspan is not bad, but his college statistics are so bad. Can such a person participate in the draft?" He looked at it for a while, and changed from angry to curious: "How is it possible? Asia
Isn’t it true that people’s physical fitness is generally very poor?”
"It's generally true, there are always exceptions." Frank said with a smile: "Players can't fake their physical fitness. If his body is really strong like this, we can sign him and train him for a period of time even if he comes into contact with basketball very late.
With time, he at least has the potential to become a good defensive player and also be effective on the fast break."
"I hope he is really that strong." George Karl's anger subsided, and the scouts were indeed following his ideas in recruiting people.
Karl likes fast breaks, but the Sonics currently only have three fast players. One of them has unstable shooting, so the team has put him on the shelf and wants to trade others.
The first assistant coach Bob Weis laughed: "If this Chinese who was not selected performed amazingly in the test, I don't know what the expressions of the other three people who came for the trial will be."
Several people laughed. The other three players were selected in the draft, but their physical test data were not as good as those who were not selected. They must be under a lot of pressure, and the team can evaluate the players' psychological quality.
The agreed time was three o'clock in the afternoon, and the players participating in the internal trial training arrived one after another. One center, two swingmen, and one point guard.
The players all came in sportswear, but the Sonics staff felt that Yang Jian didn't look like an athlete.
He has sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, is full of heroism, has a very energetic flat-haired hairstyle, and is neatly dressed in blue sportswear. He is an Oriental with extraordinary temperament, handsome and unique.
However, the coaching staff's first impression was that he should be a model or actor, not an athlete.
In terms of good-looking aesthetics, there is actually no national boundary at all. Westerners only like Easterners with small eyes and high cheekbones? Whoever believes in this aesthetic tendency is a fool.
Compared with Yang Jian, the other three are simply ugly. Especially Sherrel Ford, the first-round pick selected by the SuperSonics this year, has small eyes, a wide nose, and thick lips. This black man is also a bit hunched, and he wears red
The white and white sportswear makes the whole person look dirty.
Of course, trial training is not about comparing whose image and temperament are better, but strength is the key.
After chatting for a few words, everyone got down to the topic.
Scherer took the lead and took off with both feet on the spot, completing a high touch.
"So high." The bald black defender watching from the sidelines sighed softly, showing an envious expression.
Frank, the scouting director, happened to hear it and encouraged him: "Although your jumping ability and speed are average, you also have your own advantages. You can play boldly in a while, don't be nervous."
"Thank you, I will try my best."
Yang Jian stood beside them, showing a confident smile, full of disdain.
Is this? Is this considered high? He is obviously an ordinary player! After 2010, if a forward player who has lost weight like this participates in the draft, 80% of them will be directly rejected.
Yang Jian looks at modern people with a future perspective and finds that the threshold for entering the NBA is much lower. Many people in the future like to favor the past over the present, boasting that NBA players in the 1980s and 1990s were stronger. In fact, the overall physical fitness of today's players is far inferior to that of the future.
.
Nowadays, there are many thin guards who are 180cm tall and are doing well in the league. Bogues, who is 160cm tall and weighs 62 kilograms, is even called a "defensive hero"! He is a stand-up center who can't switch to pick-and-rolls when he walks.
There is also a group where the transition between offense and defense is slow, so the center doesn't have to worry about not being able to keep up.
At this time, a thin black staff member whose age was unknown waved his hand and said, "Yang Jian, it's your turn."
"Okay." Yang Jian has already done warm-up exercises.
He walked to the basket, bent his legs and took off with all his strength, reaching high with his right hand.
He just performed a very simple action, which made the audience stunned and silent. Because his score was much higher than Scherer.
"What's his vertical jump?" head coach Karl asked excitedly.
"96cm, 2cm higher than the physical measurement data for the draft..." the staff member replied in surprise.
Karl smiled. Michael Jordan's vertical jump in the rookie physical test was 98cm. Considering that Yang Jian is younger than Jordan when he was drafted, their jumping is at the same level, and Yang Jian still has room for improvement in the future.
Then Yang Jian tested the maximum bounce, which was around 110cm, which was equally amazing.
The coaching staff took a great interest in Yang Jian and applauded him together. Agent Steve Oldman was so happy that if the occasion hadn't allowed him to do so, he would have been dancing with joy.
"Mr. Knox, I'm not lying, am I? Although Yang is not taken seriously at Harvard University, he is extremely talented and can definitely play basketball well." Oldman smiled.
Knox nodded. He was also very excited. He had found a treasure this time. Looking at data and watching players' live trials are completely different experiences. No team would be stupid enough to push such a player out and train him for several years.
It’s never too late to give up if you don’t come out.
"Eric Snow, it's your turn." the staff said.
Snow, the 14th pick in the second round and the 43rd overall pick, walked over, took a deep breath and jumped with all his strength. He started to fall as soon as he bounced up, with a vertical jump of 58cm. His run-up jump was also very bad, only 74cm.
In the NBA, this kind of data is considered a failure. Many ordinary people can jump so high. Snow was tested after Yang Jian, and he was so embarrassed that he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl in.
After the test, Snow walked to the sidelines, hesitated for a moment, and took the initiative to talk to Yang Jian. "Hello, can I ask what position you play?"
"I mainly play shooting guard. My name is Yang Jian. I am from China. Nice to meet you." Yang Jian smiled and extended his right hand.
Snow and Yang Jian shook hands vigorously and breathed a sigh of relief. "Eric Snow, mainly plays point guard."
Snow felt that if Yang Jian mainly played point guard, he would definitely not be able to get a contract with the SuperSonics. The physical difference between the two is too big, and the coaching staff would be crazy to choose the worse one.
