In Indianapolis in early September, the heat has quietly dissipated, and the cool autumn wind gently blows over this city on the eastern Great Plains, making it the most pleasant season of the year.
Dressed in formal attire, Zhang Yu walked out of the apartment and headed for Hinkle Arena.
Three days ago, Butler University officially started, and today is the day when the Bulldogs start training.
For more than two months, Zhang Yu did not return to China. He stayed in the apartment to study basketball tactics books, study the notes made by the original body, and study a classic game video every three days, and finally integrated all the memories left by the original body.
Three months ago, Zhang Yu was still a mascot who could only applaud from the sidelines. Now he has the strength to coach an NCAA team.
Zhang Yu came to the arena and found that the players had arrived early and were warming up on the court.
Zhang Yu walked to the sidelines and said with a smile:
"You all came early."
"Coach, good morning!"
"I can't wait to start training right away."
"Coach, I feel like I can start..."
When the Bulldogs saw their head coach, they rushed over to say hello to Zhang Yu. Other members of the coaching staff also came to the arena one after another, watching with smiles.
Zhang Yu looked around, saw Curry standing behind the crowd, and beckoned to him:
"Let me introduce to you, this is your new teammate, Stephen Curry, from Charlotte, who will serve as the team's starting point guard in the new season...Steph, come and say hello to everyone."
"Hello, everyone. I'm Stephen Curry. I'm from Charlotte Christian School. I hope you will take care of me." Curry responded and introduced himself generously.
The team's starting point guard Ben Slaton's smile disappeared, and his complexion suddenly became ugly.
On the first day of team assembly, I will lose my starting position?
Or was it snatched away by such a thin baby face?
The other team members also looked at each other in blank dismay. They dared not say anything in front of Zhang Yu, but the suspicion in their eyes was evident.
Can this guy be the team's starting point guard?
Why?Because of his cute looks?
"Wait, you're Dell Curry's son, right?" Drew Streicher exclaimed.
He is the team's starting center and will be a senior this year. Like Curry, he is from Charlotte.
Curry nodded, he was a little surprised, he didn't expect someone to recognize him.
Dell Curry is not a star, and he has retired for 4 years. He has already faded out of the fans' sight. Except for Charlotte natives, few people see the relationship between Curry and Dell.
"I'm from Charlotte. When I was young, I went to watch the Hornets' games many times. I saw you, but you definitely don't remember." Drew Streicher laughed.
The team members couldn't bear it any longer and began to discuss in a low voice:
"Dell Curry... the best sixth man?"
"It should be, he is still the Bobcats' all-time scoring leader!"
"It's no wonder he was able to be the starting point guard as soon as he got on the team, just look at his physique..."
"Shut up! Do you want the coach to hear?"
Curry stood beside them, listening to their discussion clearly, with his usual expression, but his hands behind his back quietly clenched into fists, and his veins burst.
Facing the players, Zhang Yu walked back and forth twice without saying a word, looking at the faces of the whispering players. They immediately shut up, and the arena quickly fell silent.
"We are now conducting physical tests and shooting and dribbling tests. I hope you have all trained hard during the holidays, otherwise wait for more training!" Zhang Yu said coldly.
"Come with me!" Stevens shouted, and the coaching staff began to organize the players for physical examination.
Zhang Yu walked to the other side of the court, where Michael Shrewsbury was standing.
Since today is the first training camp for the Bulldogs in the new semester, as the director of basketball operations, he also came to Hinkle Arena early.
"Ronan, is that the 'genius' you recruited in May?" Micka Shrewsbury looked at Curry.
"That's right." Zhang Yu replied.
"It seems that he is not very popular." The director smiled.
"His time in the team is too short, and he will be fine after a while." Zhang Yu said lightly.
"how much time is required?"
"One day is enough for today."
Mikael Shrewsbury stared, he didn't expect Zhang Yu to answer like this.
"Then I'll wait and see, Ronan. Although the regular season only starts in November, the training time for two months is still too tight. I hope you can get the team on track quickly." His expression was very serious, "You want I have no problem with putting Stephen Curry as the core, but I heard that he was rejected by many schools, and even Coach K didn't think he could play in the NCAA. If he didn't play well enough..."
"I understand, please rest assured, Micah, I will never make fun of the team's results, Stephen will not let you down." Zhang Yu said slowly.
"I hope so too. After all, the full scholarship cannot be taken back." Michael Shrewsbury smiled, "I still have something to do, and the team will be handed over to you, Ronan."
Zhang Yu sent Mikael Shrewsbury away, and several players completed the physical test, including Curry.
When Zhang Yu returned to the arena, Curry was undergoing shooting and dribbling tests.
Players return to the team, not just a physical test, but also a technical test for players in different positions.
They're not NBA stars, vacations aren't for vacations.
In the United States, college tuition is very expensive, and it is an extremely heavy burden for most families, including the middle class. They often need loans to afford college, and college athletes often have poor grades and can be admitted by the school with lower requirements , and scholarships are available, of course you have to work hard in training.
As a guard, Curry's main test is his shooting and dribbling.
Under the watchful eyes of others, Curry's hands were very steady. He made 20 of 20 mid-range shots and 20 of 19 three-pointers.
Julian Beko saw Curry complete the test and whispered to Mike Green beside him:
"This kid can do it, his shot speed is so fast, and he can still shoot so accurately."
"The shooting posture he uses seems to be different from ours... By the way, he uses single-action shooting! The release point of this shooting is much lower than that of double-action shooting. Isn't he afraid of being blocked?" Mike Greene wondered.
"Block? Are you sure to block his shot?" Julian Beko sneered.
McGreen recalled the scene of Curry's shot and shook his head:
"I can't do it, he's too fast."
"Look at the coach's eyes," Julian Beko signaled with his eyes, and Mike Green followed his gaze and looked at Zhang Yu, "The coach has been staring at that baby face, he is very valued by the coach, we have to get along with him relation."
McGreen nodded subconsciously, then reacted and said:
"He didn't take my starting spot? What am I worried about... Ben, that's not what I meant!"
Ben Slaton happened to pass by the two of them, and after hearing McGreen's words, his already ugly face sank a bit, and he forced a smile and said:
"It's okay, Mike, I can only blame my bad luck for this matter. That kid's shooting is much more accurate than mine, and his dribbling is better than mine. The coach must have his idea."
"Ben, I just asked Coach Graves. That kid has been a shooting guard before. His organizational awareness is definitely not as good as yours. He may not even pass the ball at all! He can't take your position away!" Pete Campbell Said slightly angrily.
He is the starting power forward of the Bulldogs. He has a close personal relationship with Ben Slaton. On the field, the two often cooperate. Suddenly complained.
"Peter, this is the coach's decision. What can we do?" Ben Slaton sighed.
Unlike the NBA, in the NCAA, there are solid coaches and proficient players. It is common for a coach to coach a college team for decades, which leads to the coach having absolute authority in the team.
College players can only obey the coach's arrangement, and there is no room for bargaining at all. It is absolutely impossible for a superstar in an NBA team to force the palace and the coach dismisses get out of class sadly.
Thanks to this tradition, even though Zhang Yu is very young, not even much older than the Bulldogs players, the players dare not challenge his authority.
"We can't change the coach's decision, but this baby face is just a rookie. If his performance is not as good as yours, I'll see how he has the face to start!" Pete Campbell thought for a while, and whispered his idea.
"Man, you don't think we can affect the team lineup?" Ben Slaton said with a wry smile.
"Even if he can't change his starting position, I can give you a sigh of relief," Peter Campbell rolled his eyes, and his voice gradually lowered, "There is still enough time, we can..."
While the two were talking, the physical tests of other players gradually came to an end.
Zhang Yu assembled all the team members, looked at the physical test report in his hand, nodded from time to time, and said with a smile:
"That's right. It seems that you didn't slack off during the holidays. Everyone's physical test data has improved a lot compared to last semester. Keep it up."
He handed the physical test report to Terry Johnson next to him. After the training, these physical test reports will be included in the files by the coaching staff so as to arrange the next training plan for the players.
Zhang Yu looked at his watch, it was 10:40, he looked up and said:
"There are still 30 minutes to finish the morning training. The old rules, let's have a training match. The starters and the substitutes are divided into two teams."
"Coach, where is Stephen, which group should he be assigned to?" Pete Campbell asked aloud.
When everyone heard this, they also looked at Curry.
That's right, although he has just joined the team and hasn't practiced with the team yet, he will start next season, and it seems that he can be assigned to any group.
Zhang Yu paused, glanced at Curry, and said lightly:
"Stephen, you are assigned to the substitute group."