Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 440 Durant, as agile as a guard

Oak Hill High School, Virginia.

This is a boarding school.

In the early morning, in the boys' dormitory, a middle-aged Black woman quickly pushed open the door of a dormitory room.

Inside the room, a tall, thin young man was resting on the bed.

The woman didn't hold back, stepping forward and slapping her son awake, shouting, "Kevin, what are you doing?"

Durant, who was in pain, woke up in bed and was startled to see his mother, Wanda. He hurriedly asked her why she was there.

"Tell me why!"

Wanda, hands on her hips, slapped her son again in anger.

"Although your league has ended, I heard from the coach that you're not even going to training anymore!"

"Damn it, what are you doing?"

"Also, I asked you to register, did you register? I heard from your coach that you didn't?"

She got angrier the more she talked and slapped him again.

In front of his mother, Durant was like a little chick, not daring to look her in the eye.

After giving him a lecture, Wanda's tone softened. She sat down and took Durant's arm, saying, "Kevin, Charles's situation is a terrible tragedy, but there's nothing you can do about it. You have to accept this reality."

Just two weeks ago, on April 30, Charles Greg, Durant's mentor whom he regarded as a father, was shot and killed on the spot by a criminal while standing up for a friend.

This incident completely destroyed Durant.

Wanda was also sad, but this only strengthened her resolve.

“You know what kind of place we live in. It was that terrible environment that led to this tragedy.”

"Kevin."

Wanda cupped her son's face in her hands, her gaze intensely focused: "I hope you can pull yourself together. You've already seen it; we live in hell."

"And now you have a way out of this hell, and that is basketball, kid. You can't give up on yourself."

Durant could no longer hold back and buried his face in his mother's shoulder, bursting into tears.

Charles Gregg's death was a complete shock to him.

Outside the dormitory, the team's head coach, Steve Smith, sighed silently.

Upon hearing the news, Durant was in shock for a moment, and for the next few days he was in a daze, neither crying nor laughing.

Hearing Durant break down in tears, Smith realized that bringing Wanda in was the right decision.

Durant looked up, his eyes brimming with tears, and asked his mother what he should do.

Wanda's eyes were red-rimmed, but her gaze remained as firm as ever: "Of course, you should keep working hard, go to the court, play, and hone your skills."

"Kevin, I asked you to register. Tell me, did you register?"

Tang Sen's grand plan dominated all the media, making it impossible for Wanda not to know about it.

Wanda believes her son meets the age requirement and is the most talented player, so he should be enrolled.

Durant's gaze was somewhat evasive.

He's been so lost and confused these days that he hasn't paid any attention to these things.

Wanda was so angry that she was about to raise her hand to slap Durant again.

While dodging the question, Durant said with a lack of confidence, "There will definitely be a lot of people signing up, and geniuses from all over the world will be signing up. Mom, I'm afraid I won't be selected."

Tang Sen himself said that he wanted to search for super geniuses all over the world.

From a young age, Durant has always worked hard, won many games, and everyone calls him a genius.

But Durant knows very well that everyone who enters the NBA is a genius.

The player Tang Sen wanted was a genius among geniuses.

Durant doesn't believe he has that ability.

He can't even beat his own good friend, Michael Beasley, so what right does he have to be chosen by Townsend?

Wanda immediately retorted, "Kevin, I know it's not easy, but it's an incredible opportunity. How do you know you can't do it if you don't try?"

Her gaze was firm and unwavering.

She came here not only to wake Durant up, but also to supervise his registration.

She had read too much news, and everyone was saying it was an amazing opportunity. If she was selected by Townsend, she could become the best player on the planet and the next Michael Jordan.

No one can resist such temptation.

Especially for someone like Wanda, who is in hell.

"Kevin, Mom believes in you. You'll always be Mom's MVP," Wanda said, gripping Durant's shoulder as a final word of encouragement.

Durant nodded slightly.

The NBA website's registration process is not yet closed, and there is no deadline. It will close when Townsend selects his preferred candidate.

Under his mother's supervision and with the coach's help, Durant signed up.

They carefully filled out their personal information and also attached all the honors they had received in previous years.

Although Smith knew these accolades were insignificant at the NBA level, like a resume, they needed to be embellished a bit. He then attached a highlight reel of Durant's performance.

And it wasn't just Durant; Smith required all the players on the Oak Hill High School team to sign up.

This opportunity is too precious to miss; it would be a shame to miss it.

He's just a few months shy of 17 years old, 2.06 meters tall, with a wingspan of 2.24 meters, and he averaged 19.9 points and 8.8 rebounds throughout his senior year of high school.

His field goal percentage is as high as 65%, and his three-point field goal percentage is 43%.

He helped the team achieve a record of 32 wins and 1 loss in the 04-05 season.

As a nationally renowned basketball powerhouse that has produced super talents like Carmelo Anthony, Smith felt that such a performance was enough to attract Tangsen's attention.

In fact, it has attracted attention.

Durant passed the initial screening smoothly and scored highly in the next round of screening.

His information was sent to Tang Sen.

Tedsky pointed at the screen and said, "Don, look at his speed, it doesn't seem like he's a 6-foot-9-inch guy at all."

The screen was playing match highlights.

Durant executed a crossover dribble, cut to the basket, and finished with a powerful reverse dunk.

Tang Sen narrowed his eyes slightly, staring intently.

Standing at 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters), he's tall enough to play power forward.

He could even play center like Wes Unseld.

How tall is Unseld, who's always fighting for rebounds against a bunch of 7-foot giants? He's actually 5 centimeters shorter than Durant.

Despite his height, Durant can play like a guard; that's what talent is all about.

“He’s just too thin,” Tedeschi said.

Some of the registration information showed that Durant weighed only 81 kilograms.

Tedsky initially thought he had made a mistake.

Many heavy guards are heavier than this. I watched the highlights and confirmed it. This kid is skinny, as skinny as a skeleton.

Tedsky said, "So I'm worried that he's only so agile because he's thin, and that he'll lose that agility once he gains weight."

There are many similar examples in the NBA, where the draft process is incredibly fast.

But once he entered the NBA, he started to gain weight to adapt to the intensity of the NBA, and then he lost his speed. Once he lost his speed, he also lost his skills, and in the end he became just another ordinary person.

To truly gain weight and still maintain the original speed—that's what talent is, that's what makes someone a monster.

Tang Sen nodded slightly; this was indeed something to worry about.

And there's also the worry about whether he can get his muscles to hang up. Some players are naturally thin and don't have enough muscle to hang up.

Being so thin, combating physical challenges would become a major issue.

But this kid has undeniable talent, the kind of talent Tang Sen needs.

That is, the talent of a supermodel.

With that height, speed, agility, and an amazing wingspan, if he were to jump shoot, the height would give him a mismatch advantage against anyone.

It's just a pity that it's too high.

After all, Townsend was trying to train a Jordan, and Durant, with his height, could even play power forward.

The key is that he's not even 17 yet, so he might still grow taller.

Then...

It seems like it will only get more powerful.

That is, to maintain the existing flexibility.

Who is this power forward who plays like a guard?

The first person that popped into Tang Sen's mind was Hakeem Olajuwon.

Seeing that Tang Sen remained silent, Tedsky asked him what he thought.

"Who knows."

Tang Sen shrugged.

Whether it works or not, just watching highlights is useless.

After playing basketball for so many years, who can't put together a highlight reel?

Tang Sen still felt that his height was a bit too tall.

"Okay, let's send an invitation."

seeing is believing.

Tang Sen's original plan was to invite the selected players to New York for a period of time to personally evaluate them.

Whether it works or not, you'll only know after you've seen it for yourself.

(End of this chapter)