"What? The Bulldogs have only made it to the top [-] once in history, and it's Ronan's first time as the head coach. It's difficult for them!" Stevens, who was walking by, heard the conversation between the two, and looked very angry.
Mike Shrewsbury said helplessly:
"It was already for Lickritt's sake, those conservatives on the board insisted on having a new manager for next season and the principal dismissed their demands, but instead they said the team had to go into the Sixteen, otherwise the Bulldogs shouldn't be working with the youngest head coach in NCAA history, it's crazy in their eyes."
Stevens wanted to speak again, but was stopped by Zhang Yu raising his hand.
"I know, I will work hard." Zhang Yu's voice was a little heavy.
He didn't expect that the situation he was facing was so bad. A rookie head coach would lead the team to the NCAA top [-] in the first year of coaching, which is even worse than letting a rookie coach coaching an NBA team for the first time. The conference finals are even harder.
NBA teams can rely on trades and drafts to instantly assemble a strong lineup. There are too many giants who have fallen for 20 or [-] years and returned to the top with a single trade. There are also too many weak teams that have reached the top of the league with a successful draft. But an NCAA transparent team can only recruit the remaining high school students from those wealthy schools, and the possibility of becoming a dark horse is too low.
Mikael Shrewsbury patted Zhang Yu on the shoulder:
"Lickriter is so optimistic about you, I believe in your ability, let's do it."
"I will definitely not let Coach Lickriter's hard work go to waste." Zhang Yu said solemnly.
Zhang Yu understood that Mikael Shrewsbury's preference for him had a lot to do with Lickett. Without his recommendation, no matter how capable Zhang Yu was, he would not be able to become the head coach of the Bulldogs.
"Micah, let those directors come to the Bulldogs to form a joint meeting. They may think that scoring March Madness is as simple as opening a bottle of tens of thousands of dollars of red wine," Stevens said with a gentle expression on his face. Smiling, as if making an extremely sincere suggestion, "Ronan and I are responsible for picking up the ball, let's see how those old men lead the team to the championship."
Zhang Yu glanced at their director of basketball operations in shock, but instead of scolding Stevens, Micka Shrewsbury laughed out loud:
"Brad, I'll pass this suggestion on to the principal."
"Then it looks like I'm going to resign tomorrow. Let's talk first..." Stevens shrugged, then suddenly turned his head and shouted, "Julian, slip, understand? Don't let me see your clumsy pace of!"
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Julian Beko making a mistake in a defensive drill, and walked straight over to guide Julian Beko's training.
"Ronan, I will leave the team to you, and I will give you all the powers that the head coach should have," Micah walked to the entrance of the arena and whispered in Zhang Yu's ear, "But the team is too I haven't tasted the taste of victory for a long time. I must see breakthrough results, otherwise not only will your position be lost, but those conservatives will not let this matter go. Many people will be implicated, including me. "
Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes and thought to himself:
"It seems that there is a lot of involvement behind my taking over as the head coach."
But if you think about it carefully, you can understand that with his skin color, age, and nationality, it is a miracle that he can become the head coach of the Bulldogs, and it is the result of many coincidences.
Coach Lickett's strong recommendation, the contest between conservatives and leftists on Butler University's board of directors, and of course, the most important thing is his ability to coach a team. These factors are indispensable.
"Don't worry, I will not disappoint the trust of you and Coach Lickett. Within three years, I will bring an NCAA championship trophy to the Bulldogs." Zhang Yu's voice was very soft, but very firm.
Mikael Shrewsbury was taken aback for a moment, then laughed loudly:
"I'm looking forward to the day when the Bulldogs win the title, but your number one goal right now should be the tournament round of [-]."
He admired Zhang Yu's determination, but this goal was too exaggerated. The Bulldogs had never achieved it in history, and he didn't even dare to think about it. He didn't think Zhang Yu could achieve it.
Zhang Yu knew that Michael Shrewsbury didn't take his words to heart, and didn't say anything more. When sending him out of the Hinkle Arena, Zhang Yu whispered:
"Mika, I have something to ask you..."
After Michael Shrewsbury left, Zhang Yu continued to guide the team's training. To be precise, he watched other assistant coaches guide the team's training. His eyes mainly stayed on Stevens' back.
When Yuanchen served as an assistant coach before, he was mainly in charge of the team's offensive tactics. This is also the part where Yuanchen has the most thorough research on basketball tactics. The team's defensive tactics are in charge of Brandon Miller, Terry Johnson is in charge of guiding players' skills, and Shi Stevens is more like a panacea, serving as the team's first assistant coach, responsible for a little bit of each part, and is the glue between everyone and Lickritt.
In the memory left by the original body to Zhang Yu, Stevens is the most prestigious assistant coach in the Bulldogs. He came to Butler University in the summer of 2000 and became a basketball volunteer without any salary. hard.
But he persevered and seized the opportunity to get the position of coordinator of the basketball operations department. He spent 14 hours a day watching game videos and studying tactics. Became the team's first assistant coach in 2001, until today.
And Zhang Yu only became the assistant coach of the Bulldogs two and a half years ago, later than junior players like Julian Beko and Mike Green who joined the Bulldogs.
No matter from any point of view, Stevens is the best candidate to take over the position of head coach.
Just now Zhang Yu asked Micah why Shrewsbury School did not choose Stevens. He told Zhang Yu that although Lickett recommended Zhang Yu, Stevens was still the top candidate for the board of directors, but in the investigation of the basketball operations department , Stevens strongly supported Zhang Yu, which made the board of directors dispel the idea of letting Stevens be the head coach.
"Okay, everyone, take a break!" Stevens clapped his hands and shouted loudly.
The players who had worked hard for half a day walked to the sidelines relieved. The training intensity arranged by the coaching staff was very high. Everyone was sweating profusely. However, they could not drink a lot of water after strenuous exercise. They could only take energy drinks and drink them in small sips. .
Zhang Yu walked over to Stevens. He finally knew why Stevens was so thin in his previous life. The coach who liked to demonstrate technical moves to players himself was soaked in sweat at this time.
Big bellies like Rivers, Thibodeau, and Stan Van Gundy must be pointing at the side during player training, and they will never show off.
Of course, when Zhang Yu thought this way, he forgot that he was inferior to these people. During the whole training process, he just watched from the sidelines.
"Brad, thank you for your hard work." Zhang Yu handed him a bottle of Gatorade.
"It's not enough to enter the top [-]." Stevens took a sip of the energy drink, looked at the joking players, and said in a low voice.
Zhang Yu was silent, and it took a while before he spoke:
"Brad, the school board clearly supports you as the head coach, and Micah won't have any objections. Why do you support me?"
"Are you already scared? Worried about not being able to lead the team to the top [-]?" Stevens chuckled.
"Am I afraid? Not only do I want to lead the team to the top [-], but I also want to bring the Bulldogs a championship!" Zhang Yu said loudly.
For his goal, this must be done, and he is confident that he can do it.
"Just make sure that you will still be the team's head coach next year."
"..."
Zhang Yu was very puzzled. He also watched Stevens' interview in his previous life, and he answered decently and gently. Why is he speaking so heartbreakingly now?Or is this just his nature, and gentleness is just his disguise?
Zhang Yu said seriously:
"In any case, I hope you can try your best to assist me. You know, my goal is the NBA. I can't stay here for a long time. It will only be you who will take over as the head coach."
Stevens laughed:
"In this case, why should I help you? If the Bulldogs don't make it to the top [-], I can be the team's head coach next season."
"Uh..." Zhang Yu was stunned and was speechless for a moment.
But when he saw the banter in Stevens' eyes, he reacted, punched Stevens on the shoulder, and said with a smile:
"Don't be kidding, I know you are not such a person, you will not sacrifice the interests of the team."
Stevens looked positive:
"Now that you know, why do you ask? It was Coach Lickriter who gave me the opportunity and recommended you. Of course, I will do my best to help you."
Moreover, I saw my shadow from you, hard work, diligence, and basketball as life... I believe you will lead the Bulldogs to create miracles.
Stevens silently added in his heart that with his character, he would never say these words out loud.
Zhang Yu breathed a sigh of relief, Stevens' support is the first condition for his success in coaching.
He looked at the players, moved his eyes slowly up, looked directly at the dome of the arena, and said slowly:
"Brad, I hope we can stand together on the stage of the NBA Finals."
When Stevens chatted with Zhang Yu before, he revealed that he also wanted to experience the scenery of the NBA.
"I will, but I will stand opposite you." Stevens looked serious.
The two looked at each other and laughed in unison.
...
After training in the afternoon, Zhang Yu went to the school cafeteria to eat, and then returned to her apartment.
His apartment was on the third floor, only sixty square meters, but it was more than enough for one person.
After entering the door, a strange smell mixed with rotten food and socks came to the nostrils. Zhang Yu hurriedly held his breath. After opening all the windows in the room, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew the apartment wouldn't be too clean, but he didn't expect it to be this dirty!
Please collect and recommend tickets~