Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 187 I Go to the National Team as a Caddy
When Chen Fang walked into the room, Joe Mazzula, who was concentrating on editing the game video, did not notice him until Chen Fang deliberately pulled down his chair and then turned around to look.

"You came just in time. This is the video of the first three games. I've almost finished editing it."

It is now mid-July, and the controversy over whether to draft Chen Fang has been going on for almost two months. With Chen Fang injured in the first EYBL game in May, both those who supported and those who opposed the call have died down.

Thigh strain, inguinal ligament damage.

It is said that liars will be punished by God sooner or later, and it is probably what they deserve, no matter how late it comes.

This time he was really injured. Chen Fang stayed in the rehabilitation center for a month and a half, and Wu Zi took care of him in the ward for more than 40 days. While she was busy taking AP credits, she also had to serve Chen Fang. She lost a lot of weight.

In early July, after an MRI and a series of diagnoses, it was confirmed that I could be discharged from the hospital.

Chen Fang immediately returned to the Falcon Hunting Team. Although he missed two races, fortunately the team's strength was there, and they barely made it into the finals with the 23rd place.

Chen Fang strictly followed the doctor's advice and controlled his playing time within 20 minutes, which undoubtedly made the Falcon Team lose its competitiveness. They were defeated in the knockout stage and ranked fifth. Chen Fang also witnessed the Mokan Sturgeon Team win the championship.

Afterwards, he was provoked by Trae Young and Porter Jr. and tasted the depressing experience brought by the injury.

But what made Chen Fang most unhappy was that only the players shortlisted for awards by the organizing committee were worthy of getting sneakers with exclusive color signatures. He once again lamented that people should not do bad things, and remembered showing off in front of Wu Zhen and Lu Yun in California, and now it was his turn to be hit in the face by Trae Young holding the pink KB6.

After the party, Chen Fang returned to the hotel and found that coach Joe Mazzula’s door was not closed, so he walked in curiously.

"I won't say much about your personal skills. The problem now is that you are still too immature in the overall rhythm of the game." Joe Mazzula said bluntly.

He then demonstrated his point through a video.

"Look at this play," Joe Mazzula pointed at the video. "You've just passed the center circle. It's a semi-transition offense. Theo's already in front, Hyde's already running to the wing. There are three of you in the frontcourt. What's your choice?"

Afterwards, he played the video. In the video, Chen Fang chose to hold the ball and kill. After attracting two defensive players, he passed the ball to Theo who was doing the pick-and-roll. Then Theo passed the ball to Logan who was coming up behind him. As there was no good opportunity, Chen Fang ran out again, received the ball and made a jump shot.

He missed and the opponent scored a counterattack.

Chen Fang recalled and explained, "At that time, I hoped Theo would attack the basket and cause damage."

Joe Mazzula said, "But he didn't, because he didn't have the skills."

"Yes." Chen Fang had no choice but to admit it.

"That's the rhythm. For a point guard, there are three things that we are most afraid of."

"One, I took it for granted; two, I always thought; three, it's my fault."

"If you don't predict your teammates' next move and pass the ball away, you've already lost control of the game's rhythm. Just like this ball, you can't stop the opponent's counterattack."

“What is rhythm control?”

"Let your opponent play within your prediction, especially when your opponent really wants to do something, but you don't let it happen. This is how you control the rhythm."

"There are different levels of point guards in this world. The third-rate ones pass the ball across half court to the scorer, who then becomes the receiving point."

"He's a top-tier player in the middle third, scoring, assisting, and connecting on everything. He's proficient in everything, keeping the team's offense going."

"Top three, not many points, average statistics, but the game situation is just as the coach expected, the opponent is suppressed all the time. The score seems close, but they can never overtake. They are like fishing a carrot in front of a donkey, intentionally or unintentionally leading the opponent team to the trap they have set."

After hearing what Joe Mazzula said, Chen Fang was stunned. He didn't expect that there was such a big story behind this.

"He's the coach's hand, completing the match as planned." Joe Mazzula said to Chen Fang seriously, "You're still playing at an average level, thinking you're pretty good, but you're actually far from good enough."

"Yes, coach, I reflect deeply on this." Chen Fang lowered his head.

"In these few games, you didn't implement my intentions. You always wanted to mobilize your teammates, but forgot how to control the rhythm. Yes, it's right for your teammates to score, but letting a teammate who shouldn't score score, the risk is borne by the team."

"Counter after counterattack, time after time, you think back and wonder if you passed the ball that you shouldn't have passed."

"But my teammates are not in this position, what should I do?" Chen Fang asked back.

"Then tell him to go. When you're on the court, don't act like a cold-blooded killer. Communicate more often. Seize every free moment and tell your teammates what to do in the simplest terms!"

"Is it difficult?" Joe Mazzula asked.

"Do not."

"I know you're going to college soon. There's a lot of competition in college. Of course, I'm not talking about you, but your teammates."

"Imagine this scene. More than 20 teammates are counting on you to pass the ball and give them scoring opportunities so that they can get more playing time. Who should you give the ball to?"

Chen Fang was stunned.

"Who should it be given to? How do you prove that it is correct? What do you use to judge? How can you convince other teammates?" Joe Mazzula did not show any mercy and kept asking questions. He needed to wake up Chen Fang because this Chinese man had the potential to become a top-notch point guard.

"Think carefully about what I'm saying. The Falconry will be disbanded tomorrow, and I'll be leaving too. This conversation today is my final gift to you."

After coming out of the room and returning to his own room, Chen Fang fell into a long period of thought.

The next day, Chen Fang saw Joe Mazzula off at the station. The two hugged and said goodbye. Before getting on the train, Joe Mazzula said to him, "Don't worry about what I said yesterday. Take three or four years to put it into practice. No one can give you specific guidance on this path. Even if I proposed it, I can't do anything about it."

"I can only rely on continuous competition and post-match reflection to gradually find my own way to control the rhythm."

"Keep going, I look forward to your outstanding performance in the NCAA!"

Seeing Joe Mazzula board the bus, Chen Fang suddenly chased after him and asked loudly, "Who is the top-notch one? Who is?"

Joe Mazzula leaned out the car window and said, "There are none currently in service. Let me evaluate. There are two and a half in history: John Stockton, Earvin Johnson, and the other half is Isiah Thomas."

The car has started. These words floated in the wind and rang in Chen Fang's ears. Standing there, Chen Fang fell into deep thought.

(Controlling the rhythm is the core element of a point guard, and Kidd, Nash, Paul, and Payton are all lacking. The two and a half mentioned in the article are all in Jordan's career. As the saying goes, if there is Liang, why is there Yu? No matter how strong the control is, it can't completely stop Jordan. But in the game between the Bulls and the Jazz, the Jazz kept the transition score to the lowest. In many games, the Jazz led most of the time. Now many young people can't understand how Stockton, who has ordinary talent, fought against the Bulls dynasty.)
Chen Fang hurriedly packed his luggage and boarded a flight to California. Wu Zi's application for admission was not approved. His injury also caused problems with the offer. Some of the university coaches who had been enthusiastic before also became cold.

Chen Fang was mentally prepared for all these ups and downs. He still had a month to consider it. Any later would be too late. If there was really no other way, he could only let Wu Zi finish her senior year of high school. Since they were both in California, they could see each other every week.

※※※

At the University of Southern California, Andy Enfield anxiously asked Busen, “How long do we have to wait?”

Busen shook his head in frustration: "Maybe it's hopeless. I left messages several times but no one replied to me."

"Oh!" Andy slumped in his chair. Such a good player just flew away like that.

"Sir, wake up. Players like Chen are not something we in Southern California can compete with." Busen comforted.

"I just don't feel right. Chen's attitude tells me he has to go to Southern California. Busen, think about it. UCLA has already officially announced Lonzo, which means Chen can't go. And the other teams in California are even less qualified. If he wants to stay in California, he will definitely choose us."

"Think about what he said when we first met."

The office fell into silence, and Busen became confused.

"How about you call your schoolmate and teammate and ask?"

Andy slapped his head, he was really anxious.

After listening to Andy's story, Perez was silent for a moment and gave his own guess: "He came to the United States with his girlfriend. His girlfriend's last name is WU."

"So?" Andy was indeed slow to react.

"That's all I can say." Perez hung up after saying that. At the same time, he also vaguely guessed about something. Just as Chen Fang would not say it, he also thought that it could not be stated explicitly.

When Andy repeated Perez's words to Busen, the latter immediately jumped up and ran out.

"Wait, where are you going?" Andy yelled.

"I'm going to the Academic Affairs Office." Busen shouted as he ran.

Twenty minutes later, after promising a lot of benefits, Busen, with the help of his colleagues from the Academic Affairs Office, began to manually summarize the admission applications (Personal Statement, commonly known as personal statements) of all 18-year-old Chinese students.

He wasn't sure it was Shandong, so he could only retrieve all the application statements of Chinese female students of appropriate age who had been rejected.

Faced with hundreds of copies, Busen was not panicked at all. He was very sure of his judgment.

The admission notice was confirmed in May. Obviously, his girlfriend did not pass, so Chen did not respond.

Although Busen and Andy went to the rehabilitation center to visit Chen after he was injured, and they were sure they were the only university to do so, they were not worried at the time, but were grateful for the injury, which made them stand out.

Thinking about it now, I was so stupid at that time. Chen had already expressed his reasons for not coming to USC.

Busen didn't dare to let more people participate. This was not something worth talking about. On the contrary, it was a secret.

Fortunately, there was only one application from a girl named WU. Busen took it and left the Academic Affairs Office directly. Andy was needed for the next thing.

"What if it's not?" Andy asked.

"That must be the reason."

"But why didn't he bring it up at the time? We could have satisfied it." Andy was puzzled.

"Sir, you are a leader in your industry, but not in society. Please trust my judgment."

"Okay." Andy gave up. That afternoon, Andy handed the matter over to the principal.

Dr. Nikias, the current president of Southern California, looked at Andy in front of him and thought for a moment.

Finally signed my name and handed it over.

"I wish USC a wonderful 17th season."

"I will, I promise you." Andy patted his chest and left the office excitedly.

In basketball, Southern California hasn't made a breakthrough in many years. Its best achievement was reaching the Final Four twice, but that was in 1940 and 1954.

It was too long ago, I was just born.

Dr. Nikias didn't feel too much, as this was just a small thing in his huge work.

So when Chen Fang landed his plane and returned home, he was greeted by Wu Zi's joyful embrace.

"Let me tell you something, I was actually accepted by the University of Southern California." Wu Zi changed her previous depression. Her scores were actually enough, but other aspects were too mediocre, so she was directly rejected in May.

If Chen Fang had not been injured, he might have chosen another university. Unexpectedly, after two months, there was a sudden turn of events.

Chen Fang also breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't expect people in Southern California to be so stubborn. In the rehabilitation center, he repeatedly emphasized that this was his girlfriend and they came to the United States together, but the two stupid old guys were still stunned and didn't react.

I had no idea that I had also rejected Southern California because of my failure in Wu Zi.

Similarly, he was somewhat skeptical about whether it was a remedy in Southern California, so he took the initiative to call Busen. As for why he didn't call Coach Andy, Chen Fang probably knew that this lovely old man didn't have so many tricks.

"Mr. Buson, I'm back in California."

Busen had been waiting for this call, and he planned to call it if he didn't get it by tomorrow.

"I think we can have a good talk about my joining the University of Southern California and the Trojans."

It was like heavenly music. Busen suddenly felt like he was floating. He didn't know what he said next. He put down his phone and looked at Andy who had been staring at him with wide eyes. He raised his arms and shouted, "We did it!"

"Bless God, we can finally do something big!" Andy jumped up and down like a child.

"PAC-12, wait for the revenge of the Trojans!"

At night, after Chen Fang prepared a long-awaited meal for everyone, he received a call from Zhang Shaohong.

"What do you mean?" Chen Fang jumped up in surprise, attracting Lu Yun and others to look at him.

"That's what happened. Sui Ran is injured, and now there's a vacant guard spot on the 12-man roster. It was originally going to be given to Fang Shuo, but because you've recovered from your injury and are playing again, an hour before the decision was made, a leader said to give Chen Fang a chance."

"So, you have to come."

"But……."

"It's okay. The leader has spoken. He doesn't want to discuss the topic of whether you can join the national team anymore. We have discussed it many times this year." Zhang Shaohong interrupted directly.

"Don't worry, no one in management will make things difficult for you. I've taken care of everything. What you need to deal with is the relationship with the senior members of the national team."

"How to deal with it?" Chen Fang asked deliberately.

"As a caddy, can't you pick up the balls or carry the bags?" Zhang Shaohong was also very angry. It can be imagined that he was also under tremendous pressure about Chen Fang joining the national team.

In fact, both of them knew in their hearts that if they went now, they would definitely be criticized. Don't think that you are so glorious outside. The team is a place for gossip and seniority. No matter how capable you are, you have to endure it.

"Okay, be a good caddy." Chen Fang immediately thought of a cute little caddy in his previous life.

Okay, go get some experience.

"Then when will I go back?"

"You don't have to go back. Tomorrow, which is the 18th, the national team will leave for the United States. Aren't you in California? Wait in California and then report yourself."

"Come to America? What does that mean?" Chen Fang was extremely surprised.

"You don't care about the national team's information at all. On July 7th, we will play a warm-up game against the US national team at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and the second game will be played at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on the 25th."

"What? Two warm-up matches against the American team?" Chen Fang jumped up.

Forgive my ignorance, but Chen Fang really didn’t remember such details about the national team, so when he heard it, he jumped up.

"happy?"

"Why are you so happy? They're going to be beaten to death. Why did they choose the American team?"

"Maybe I want to learn at the highest level."

"Aren't you afraid that your mentality will collapse and lead to a complete defeat in the Olympics?" Chen Fang couldn't believe this operation. It was too stupid. (In fact, after reviewing the national team's warm-up matches in 16, there were many problems, especially the two games in the United States, 2-57 and 106-57. Anyone who saw the score would think that the American team was playing us like monkeys. It was the ultimate embodiment of point control. Let's not talk about how the Chinese people felt. The teammates' mentality was completely collapsed. It is not unreasonable that they lost all the subsequent Olympics.)
"Is this something you can control? Just focus on gaining experience and don't make any demands on the coach. Just do whatever Coach Gong says and finish this Olympics safely. Your time will be in the next Olympics in 2020." Zhang Shaohua said earnestly.

"Got it, Boss. Don't worry. I'm a low-key person. Even if I'm bullied, I won't say anything."

"That's what I mean. Can't they bully you? No matter how old you are or how old others are, sooner or later the national team will be yours. When that happens, just don't bully others."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Putting down his phone and looking at the group of people waiting for him to speak, Chen Fang said, "I finally made it to the national team and will be playing in the Olympics!"

"Fuck!" Lu Yun cursed happily, and Wu Zhen clenched his fists excitedly.

Ever since Chen Fang helped him teach Montgomery a lesson last time, he has recovered and expressed his attitude with practical actions. He quit the team, chose a school, and started over.

Now he has secured his place as a starter in this team, which is not as strong as Montgomery's, and has regained his confidence in playing.

His thoughts have also changed a lot.

"Why are you so happy? I'm very depressed." Chen Fang sighed.

"Just pretend, don't hide, and smile!" Lu Yun said as he reached out to pinch Chen Fang's face.

Dodging away, Chen Fang said seriously, "It's true. If I go now, I'll only get benched and suffer. You think it's good, but when you see that I haven't played for a minute, you'll start to sympathize with me again."

"Ah, are you kidding me? You can't play? Among all these rubbish in the country, who is better than Yi?"

"Yi is not strong either. In my opinion, Chen Fang is definitely a national team player, a class above the rest." Lu Jie said.

"Bah, Yi Chaoqiang is fine, he just has a personality problem, just like Wu Zhen before, it's not going to be easy for him to survive in America!" Lu Yun said bluntly, but fortunately Wu Zhen now didn't care and laughed instead.

Seeing them happy for him, Chen Fang felt unmotivated.

I don’t know whether joining the national team is a blessing or a curse. In short, I will just wait and see. I don’t have the ability to change my fate.

Of course, if you regard me as the core, I might be able to bring you a few victories. Forget about the American team, we can’t beat them on our own.

During the week of Rondo and Garnett's special training, the two veterans abused him in various ways, which also made Chen Fang realize that in terms of game experience and certain techniques, he still had a gap to reach the top level in the NBA.

Late at night, Chen Fang tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep, so Wu Zi patted him gently.

“Anxiety?” she asked.

"Well, I feel scared when I think about dealing with these big brothers soon."

"Is it that serious? Are you thinking too much?"

That’s good, Chen Fang sighed inwardly.

"Go to sleep. This delay will make us late for USC." Chen Fang muttered.

He is still hesitating whether to make an official announcement first. He is worried that his reputation and value will be devalued due to his performance in the Olympics.

After all, he was injured not long ago, so his value has depreciated a bit.

let's talk tomorrow.

Chen Fang forced himself to close his eyes and fall asleep.

As I was about to fall asleep, a thought crossed my mind.

The national team that can’t be avoided!

Deep down, he didn't want to see the national team fail miserably in the Olympics, but if he insisted on saving it, it would inevitably cause trouble, and although he wasn't afraid, he didn't know why he should invite trouble.

Thinking of Zhang Shaohong's words, the old man saw things clearly and let himself be a caddy well.

Caddy..., it's really ridiculous.

　Yes, the Olympics are inevitable, let me get some traffic and make the whole plot more exciting. If I can enter the NCAA so painlessly, it will be too light on everyone's wallets. Please subscribe and see how I interpret the Chinese national team's journey to the 2016 Rio Olympics with Chen Fang.

　　This is the only chapter I'll be writing today, so I need to start thinking about the details of the Olympics plot. I'm going to start researching a lot again!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)