Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 288 The New Yorker

"morning!"

Tang Sen greeted everyone as he entered the training center.

On the training field, Tangsen and Tedeschi stood on the sidelines, considering whether the field was big enough.

The team's trials are over, and the goals have been set. How to proceed from there is a matter for Layden and Carlisle to worry about.

Tang Sen's current task is to prepare for his upcoming million-dollar training camp.

The opening date is July 1st.

As for the venue, the Huntington Beach venue on the West Coast last year was quite good.

In addition to training, some relaxing activities such as surfing and beach volleyball can be arranged.

But traveling all the way to the West Coast again this year feels a bit troublesome.

If you want to surf, you can do it in New York on the East Coast.

Tangsen wants to rent the Knicks' training center, which has a venue of nearly 10,000 square meters, two standard basketball courts, and complete facilities, making it very convenient.

And time permits it.

The team's season has ended, but for hockey, the Rangers' new season won't start until September.

That leaves the WNBA's New York Liberty, whose season just started on May 31st.

But if we stagger the times, it should be fine.

There are only two standard basketball courts, which doesn't seem to be enough.

At first, Tang Sen thought he would only recruit 20 people at most after weeding out the lazy and unambitious ones.

Then I thought about it and realized that the team couldn't bear to waste such a precious spot.

Just like the Lakers, if they don't use Shaq, they won't use Kobe either?
So the final number should still be 29.

That team of nearly 30 people, with two venues, really didn't feel like enough.

So Tang Sen was considering whether he could expand the venue, add more basketball hoops, or use the ice hockey rink first.

But that would increase costs.

While we were discussing it with Tedeschi, a large crowd began to enter through the entrance passage.

The WNBA free agents came to practice.

"Don."

The white-haired Richie Adubatu took the initiative to greet Tangsen.

He previously worked as a head coach in the NBA, becoming the third head coach in the Mavericks' history. He held the position for four years before being unable to find work, which led him to join the New York Liberty.

The 12 female players also greeted Tang Sen.

The most famous player on this women's basketball team is, of course, four-time WNBA All-Star Theresa Witherspoon.

She is now the oldest player on the team, already 38 years old, and last season she only averaged 3.4 points per game.

She's more of a symbol of the team now, and she might retire right after this season.

The team is grooming Becky Hammon as her successor.

Two years younger than Tang Sen, he's only 26 this year, right in his prime.

It hadn't even been two weeks since the season started, and this was the first time Tang Sen had seen them at the training center.

Despite being a founding team of the WNBA, the Liberty have reached the Finals three times, but ultimately it is women's basketball, and even in New York, their popularity is limited.

You can tell by looking at the attendance at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks' games are always sold out, with tickets in high demand. In contrast, the Liberty's games averaged only seven or eight thousand people in the past two years.

These female players also pay attention to the Knicks.

“Don, we’ve had such a disappointing year,” Witherspoon said.

The players who gathered around nodded in agreement.

A sense of regret pervaded the entire Big Apple.

From the perspective of New Yorkers, it was just one more three-pointer and one more foul that made the Knicks into the Finals.

The New York media analyzed it repeatedly.

The Knicks are not afraid of the Lakers at all.

Yao Ming had height and could shoot three-pointers; these two advantages alone were enough to deal with Shaquille O'Neal.

For Kobe, the Knicks prepared a group of Kobe killers.

Jackson couldn't choose to overuse his main players like the Magic did.

With O'Neal's weight and 45 minutes per game, he could be taken out of his game.

Therefore, if the Knicks make it to the Finals, their chances of winning are very high.

Tang Sen said, "There's nothing to regret. A loss is a loss. On the other hand, you guys, keep it up and try to win your first championship in team history."

Tangsen looked at Becky Harmon.

She has been in New York for four seasons now. Despite being only 1.68 meters tall, she has grown rapidly and has a strong scoring ability. Last season, she averaged 8 points per game.

Many New York media outlets have analyzed that if Hammon develops, he will become a key factor in the Liberty's championship aspirations.

Noticing Tang Sen's gaze, Hamon did not look away, but stared directly at Tang Sen with a look of admiration.

Living in New York, she had heard many stories about Tang Sen thanks to extensive media coverage.

He was a child prodigy, but due to his height, he ultimately failed to make it into the NBA.

But he didn't give up. He was down on his luck for a time, but eventually proved himself through hard work and became one of the league's top trainers.

Tang Sen's resume is a classic Hollywood inspirational story.

Tang Sen withdrew his gaze, pulled Richie Adubatu aside, and discussed with him the matter of using the training center at different times.

“Ritchie, I know my request was a bit excessive during the season, but we can discuss it.”

Tang Sen maintained his smile.

Although the influence of women's basketball is limited, for example, the budget for a season of the Liberty is only four million US dollars, which is less than the expenditure of an NBA player.

But they're aiming for the championship too.

Adubatu is thinking.

He knew that the Knicks were the New Yorkers' and Dolan's favorite team. If Tangsen made a request to rent the venue, Dolan would definitely try to meet him. Even if he didn't want to, he would have to give way.

Looking at the group of female players preparing for training, Adubatu's eyes darted around, and he suddenly said, "Tang, like you said, we can discuss this. But I also have a request. Could you see if you can spare some time to train these players?"

The training methods are similar.

The current trainer for the free agents is Lisa White, and her skill level is naturally far inferior.

If these female players could receive guidance from top trainer Tang Sen, their improvement would be remarkable.

Tang Sen glanced at the group of female players. This request wasn't difficult for Tang Sen; he could easily create some training plans, and with the system's boost, the results would be top-notch.

The only problem is that I am now conducting the training program as a company.

Should you charge someone for training a free agent?
The fee for one player in their own training camp is equivalent to a quarter of a free agent's budget for a season; they definitely can't afford that.

After thinking for a moment, Tang Sen asked them how many times a day they trained.

唐森记得WNBA赛季从5月31号到8月24号，常规赛阶段总共34场比赛，赛程不算密集。

If you train too much, it will affect your training schedule.

And sending them to Madison for training is also not an option.

That's Madison! Before the Knicks had a training center, they had to accommodate various entertainment events if they wanted to train, let alone now during the offseason.

The entertainment schedule over there is already fully booked.

Upon hearing that there was hope, Adubatu hurriedly said that they practiced once a day for only two hours.

Women have limited physical strength.

In addition, training will be reduced before the game, and there will be away games, so he believes that it will not have a significant impact on Tangsen's training schedule.

Tang Sen nodded, but did not agree on the spot, saying he would think about it.

If all else fails, just agree to his request.

The training center has readily available space, which is perfect; it would be a waste not to use it.

For the sake of the venue, let's just bring along these female players as well.

Anyway, it won't waste too much time.

When Adubatu heard that Tangsen was willing to consider it, he knew there was a chance, and took the opportunity to introduce his team to Tangsen.

The current strength of free agents lies in their backcourt.

Small forward Kristor Robinson and shooting guard Vicki Johnson both average over 12 points per game.

Center Tali Phillips is also good; he averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds per game last season and is a key player for the team.

"Our biggest problem right now is our offense. Last season, our defensive efficiency was second in the league, but our offensive efficiency was only ninth in the league, so they need to improve their offense."

"Especially Becky, she has great potential, she's very fast, and she shoots very accurately. This season, I plan to have her replace Theresa as the starter to improve our backcourt's offensive firepower."

Witherspoon is getting old, and now all he can offer is defense.

As he spoke, Adubatu also introduced Becky Hamon's situation.

Born in South Dakota, she won the state's best player award in high school with an all-around stat line of 26 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.

She then went on to Colorado State University, where she excelled at driving to the basket and shooting three-pointers in the NCAA. She scored the most points in school history, made the most three-pointers in school history, and had the second-most assists in school history.

He led his team to the Round of 16 twice and set an NCAA record with 12 three-pointers in a single game.

Despite her outstanding performance, she was not selected in the WNBA draft due to her height.

This had happened to her once before; when she was going from high school to university, she almost missed the chance to go because of her short stature.

Her experiences are somewhat similar to my own.

Tang Sen looked at Hamon running on the field, his long brown hair flowing. Just as Adubatu had said, he was very fast and could also make changes of direction while moving at high speed.

For women, making such a high-speed change of direction is not an easy thing because of their explosive power.

But hitting like that is bad for your knees.

Because Tang Sen himself had experience with this; he ruined his knees in the same way during his college years.

There's nothing you can do about it. You're shorter than them, and if you don't make those sharp changes of direction, it'll be hard for you to gain a foothold on the court.

Adubatu's idea was to have Tangsen prioritize improving the team's offensive capabilities, especially Hamon, whom he felt had great offensive potential.

"Rich, I haven't agreed yet."

His tone made it sound as if he had already agreed.

Adubatu chuckled sheepishly. He was 66 years old this year and didn't care about saving face. He directly asked Tang Sen how someone like Hamon could improve his offensive capabilities.

The current starting lineup of the Liberty is quite old, with most players over 30 years old.

Only Hamon, being young, has great potential to be tapped.

The old man was impolite, but Tang Sen didn't mind.

It was just a matter of pointing it out casually.

After observing for a while, Tang Sen waved to Hamon.

"I?"

Hamon stopped, pointing at himself with a puzzled look on his face.

Tang Sen nodded.

Hamon rushed over.

Tang Sen led her to the side court, asked for a basketball, and gestured for her to attack.

She was still completely bewildered, turning to look at Adubatu, not knowing what had happened.

Tang Sen laughed and said, "Stop looking, hurry up, I have something to do later."

Harmon gave an "oh," glanced quickly at Tang Sen, and then began.

She slowly approached with the ball, and when she was about half a meter away from Tangsen, she paused as if about to change direction, and then suddenly started moving forward again.

It was very fast, and it created a change in rhythm.

Tang Sen made a precise sidestep, and Hamon buried his head in Tang Sen's arms.

The physical fitness gap between men and women is still too large.

Her rhythm changes are actually quite deceptive. Compared to women, she is quite fast, but compared to men, she is still far behind.

She didn't lose the ball, and there were still changes.

First, control the ball with your back to the basket, then face the basket, bend over as if to drive, and then suddenly pull back between your legs.

The magnitude is significant.

Tang Sen had observed before that she would make many sharp changes of direction, whether it was when breaking through or when she was shooting with the ball.

Considering her height, this was a choice made out of necessity.

She voted immediately.

With his knees barely bent, he smoothly gathered the ball with his left hand, lifted it, and pushed it out.

A standard drop shot technique.

For women, a two-stage shot like Jordan's is too demanding; most of their shots are still one-stage jump shots.

Snap!
Tang Sen leaped and gently blocked the ball.

(End of this chapter)