Chapter 542: 541. The Stupid Coach Kruger
The Cavaliers said in an interview that other teams don't have to try out Ohio State's best high school student in the United States, LeBron James, and their only goal for this year's draft is James.
The Cavaliers are a team from Ohio. James’ hometown is still in Akron, a small city circle in Samika County on the banks of the Cuyahoga River in the northeast of Cleveland. Who would you choose if you don’t choose James?
Although experienced the Kwame Brown tragedy two years ago, this time the Cavaliers announced that no one other than James was a reference candidate for the No. 1 pick, but not many people thought it was inappropriate.
Kwame Brown also performed very well in high school. For another team, even if it wasn't selected by Jordan, Kwame Brown might also be selected as the No. 1 pick. That year was a high school year.
But Kwame Brown performed well that year, but he was not invincible. It was more similar to Tracy McGrady in 1997. He showed talent in high school and had a good year with Tyson Chandler, Eddie Curry and others. , but relying on the success of Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant and O'Neal after changing teams in the 2000-01 season, and there were really no good college students in the 2001 class. Except for Gasol, who was the strongest in Europe at the time, they were all high school students, and Kwame was the most talented among them.
But James is different. When the Cavaliers announced that James was the only candidate for the No. 1 pick, all of James' high school resumes were dug out.
Started wandering with his mother at the age of 5, started playing rugby to make money at the age of 9, was injured playing rugby at the age of 12, and could only wander with his mother again at the age of 13, discovered by coach Walker-Frank, who was called "Godfather" by James, and took him to his home , took James to play basketball, under 15 years old, was sent to St. Mary's High School by coach Frank, James, who was only 15 years old in high school, led the team to an invincible record of 27 wins and 0 losses, and won the championship in the Ohio Secondary High School League, He led the team to a record of 26 wins and 1 loss in his sophomore year. James, who was under 16 years old, became the youngest All-American first-team player in American history. In the same year, he also won the Ohio State High School Football Player of the Year and Ohio State Mr. At the age of 16, James was ranked fifth among high school students in the United States.
In the third year of high school, James' team advanced to the top high school league in Ohio. James led the team to a record of 23 wins and 4 losses and won the runner-up. He gave up rugby due to a finger injury in playing rugby, but was selected to the All-American First Team for the second consecutive year. He won the Ohio State Mr. Basketball and became the best high school student in the United States, ranking first in the list of high school students in the United States.
In the senior year of high school, before the start of the season, James said that he would not enter the NCAA and would directly enter the NBA. His mother went out to buy a car with a loan, and his strength cheated a wave of sons, which violated the regulations of the American High School Basketball Association. The first game After the game, he was almost suspended, and then James won the lawsuit. James had a record of 26 wins and 1 loss in his senior year. The only game he lost was the game he was sentenced to lose because of a violation. He was selected as the No. The first team and Ohio State Mr. Basketball also scored 52 points in a nationally televised game against California's strongest high school team in Los Angeles.
James' high school basketball career can be described in one word-domination! Comparable to Kobe Bryant's performance in high school.
After Liu Mang finished the team meeting in the morning, he read the newspapers. They were all about James, covering up the light of the playoffs. Seeing James’ resume, Liu Mang couldn’t help sighing that James was too young when he was young. It's hard, earning money to support the family since the age of 9, this is considered a great responsibility for everyone... It's just that a high school student is so arrogant, he actually dominates the screen! I squeezed the news about the second game of the Eastern Conference finals tonight to the sub-page, and I must teach this future rookie a lesson.
"James must be the No. 1 pick. This guy may be as good as Kobe in the future, right? Ace, do we still want to play? The Cavaliers are unlikely to be influenced by us. They dare not not choose James." Having lunch on the sidelines Jason Terry asked.
They are all outsiders, high school is so strong, seeing Kobe's current strength, and James' physical fitness is better, the team that won the No. 1 pick will not choose him, especially the Cavaliers are still James' hometown team. Will be spit on by Cleveland fans.
"Of course we have to play. We can't control who is the No. 1 pick, but we can create some trouble for them. James may be as good as Kobe, but he is not as showy as Kobe. Kobe is just a high school prom. With a big star like Randy as a dance partner, a high school student can’t learn well at all.” Liu Mang complained a bit, and then asked Jason Terry seemingly casually: “By the way, Jason, you seem to be in the same class as Kobe. high school student?"
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"No, you look older than him..."
"Damn! Don't run if you have the guts..."
...
On May 30, the second game of the Hawks-Nets series is coming.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the Eagles came to the Gross Athletic Center in the small town of Rutherford to prepare for the game. After the simple tactical training, there were no other training arrangements, allowing the players to accept interviews, take a break before the game, study the opponent's video, etc. .
Since there is a guy like Liu Mang in his own team, the coaching staff is afraid of being interviewed by their own players.
Not only was he afraid that Liu Reck would make some big words, but he was also afraid that other players would be misled by Liu Reck, and they would piss off their opponents in an interview and anger them.
So for interviews, the players have to participate, and the coaching staff does not stop them, but they will not wait for the reporters to interview like other teams, because the Eagles have Liu Mang, and there is no shortage of exposure, unlike many Like the team, I want to do something to expose it.
Fortunately, the Eagles players are used to interviews. Since the second half of last season, the Eagles have not stopped interviewing, and now they are not so keen on interviews, except for the headlines.
After finishing the tactical training before the game, coach Kruger is ready to wait leisurely for the game in the evening. He has already grabbed a home court advantage. The Eagles now have a psychological advantage, so coach Kruger accepts the pre-match interview smiling all the time.
When coach Kruger was being interviewed, he suddenly felt a little uneasy, and then saw that the players who took a shower after training did not go to rest, but came to the training ground in a group, and the waiting reporters swarmed up...
Originally, after each training session, although there were reporters waiting, the only ones who came to be interviewed were the pushy ones, such as Jason Terry, Barnes, Emmanuel and others. Shim and Muhammad wanted to be a bit more coquettish, and had to be called by the press officer. Liu Mang has been honest for a while, except for a few interviews with major TV stations, he hasn't been in the limelight for a while.
But this time, Coach Kruger actually saw Liu Mang, Jason Terry, and Raheem taking the lead, and a group of people came together for an interview!
Coach Kruger is going crazy. This troublesome disciple hasn't done anything for almost a month. Is the co-author trying to hold back his big move?
God! Coach Kruger's heart is broken at the moment, but he can't run to stop the players from being interviewed. If the players don't come, the reporters won't be interviewed. At most, they will say that the players are playing big names. Next time there is news, they will still be fart. He rushed over, but if the team came forward and refused to allow pre-match interviews, it would mean that the team had a direct relationship with the media, and Coach Kruger didn't want to take the blame.
So Coach Kruger could only smile, with blood dripping from his heart, get closer, and listen to what kind of wild words this bastard disciple Liu Mang asked these teammates to say.
Just after Coach Kruger approached in grief and indignation, he found that it seemed that he was not doing something wrong, but just had an opinion on this year's draft!
Since the Hawks' pick was the 14th pick in the first round, the team management didn't pay much attention to the draft lottery, they just looked at the final result.
Coach Kruger relaxed half of his heart, but he still didn't dare to relax completely. He listened there, and if someone said something to irritate the Nets, he would immediately interrupt it, because the interview had already been done for a while, so it was considered an interruption. It won't upset the media so much.
However, Coach Kruger didn't hear anything bad when he heard it at the end. The team members collectively praised a college student whose name he had only heard of, and that he was an optional candidate for this year's draft provided by the scouts, saying The most talented junior possible outside the lottery.
Coach Kruger's head was full of question marks, why did this group of players praise this guy? How nice is this guy? Such a boast, if other teams believe it, their own team will not be able to choose!
So it's not like forcing the team to pick this rookie, it's purely to create momentum for this rookie, and it seems that the relationship is very good.
This made Coach Kruger depressed and puzzled. You guys like this rookie, so why not ask the team to pick him? Although the 14th pick this year is valuable, it would be good if this guy can become a qualified substitute.
But what does it mean to boast like he is the No. 1 pick?
And after boasting, a group of people just left... gone... gone...
Coach Kruger stood there eavesdropping, feeling like an idiot, what the hell are these players doing!
...
...
In the news flash in the afternoon and evening, there was a very interesting interview video circulated on major TV stations.
A dozen or so members of the Eagles team expressed their views on this year's draft.
This is not a rare thing. Like this year, there are more T1 crotch rookies than the previous three years combined. It has attracted much attention. It is normal for active players to express their opinions. Wait until the end of the season and before the draft. The major TV stations themselves will go to interview their views on rookies.
However, the Eagles seem to be collectively recommending an "unknown" college student, touting that!
"I heard there was a great guy at Marquis, yeah, I went back to my hometown during the All-Star, yeah, Milwaukee, saw one of his games, it was great, he's the best I've ever seen Best college student ever!" This is Milwaukee-born Dean Grove, even though he moved to Charlotte before he turned a year old...
"If we had the No. 1 pick, I'd suggest the front office take Wade... You don't know who Wade is? Then you'd be out of a job, he'd be the No. 1 pick! He's great, He's like Jordan 6cm shorter!" This is Raheem.
"Do you know who I am most optimistic about in this year's draft? Dwyane Wade of Marquis University! I think he is the best rookie this year. Believe it or not, he will definitely be the first pick! Cavaliers Will change their minds!" It was Jason Terry.
"The Cavaliers made a wrong declaration, they will regret not choosing Wade, definitely!" This is Boozer.
"James and Anthony are both good, both of them can be selected with the first pick, but I hope they can't ignore the little brother Dwyane Wade..."
"..."
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The Eagles players praised Wade one by one.
Finally, finally, Liu Mang was about to speak, and all the reporters surrounded him.
"LeBron? Yeah, he's great, he's my brother... yeah, we met at the McDonald's All-Star Game, he's got a lot more talent than me, he deserves to be the No. 1 pick, but he Still too young, I think he might be as talented as Bryant, but you see, Bryant took two years to adapt to the NBA, I think the Cavaliers should take Wade, Wade is so good, you can go and see Watching his game, watching his training attitude, he must be the first rookie to become a superstar in this draft, he can directly reverse the current situation of the Cavaliers like my teacher, believe me!"
...
In the past NCAA season, the limelight of the NCAA was all on Anthony and Hinrich, the limelight of overseas players was all on Milicic, and the limelight of high school students was all on James, so even if Wade was selected for the first team in the United States , Not many people know that James and Anthony are too popular in the United States this year.
A man with big cheeks who was waiting for a lottery team tryout invitation in the dormitory of Marquis University in Milwaukee saw the news on TV and saw a group of Eagles praising him as if they had a good relationship with him , the man with cheeks was so confused, he didn't know what happened at all, and he wondered if he had lost his memory and had these "brothers"?
Just when he began to doubt his life, there was a knock on the door: "Hey, Dwyane, great news is here! Brother, you have to invite me to have a good time!"
The man who was doubting himself, the more suspicious his cheeks were getting bigger, went to open the door of the dormitory suspiciously. What he saw was the administrator of the dormitory, a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes, with a meticulous haircut.
Under Wade's self-doubt, doubt, and doubtful eyes, the middle-aged man stretched out his hand and said, "Hi, my name is Jeff Schwartz, I don't know if you have heard of me, and it doesn't matter if you haven't." , this is a letter from Ace Liu to you..."
Ace Liu! Just the guy who praised himself to the sky on TV just now! NBA All-Stars! Schwartz... seems to be the agent who helped Ace Liu win the endorsement fee which set a new record in history!
It's been two months since the NCAA's March Madness ended and no big-name agent has found him. Wade was forced to sign a second-rate agent until mid-June.
Wade didn't expect that Jeff Schwartz, who relied on Liu Mang to become a first-line agent, would actually find him!
Just like what the dormitory administrator who has a good relationship with Wade and often helps Wade said, the great news is here!
Wade grew up in a slum, his parents divorced, his father reorganized the family with two children, and then the children became six...
So Wade has been changing his sister's old clothes since he was a child, and he can only live on a scholarship when he was in college, but the dormitory administrator helped him a lot, because it can be seen that Wade will definitely enter NBA, as long as you enter the NBA, even if you are a substitute, you are also a rich man.
...
The news of the Eagles attracts the attention of fans every time, especially when Liu Mang is interviewed, he always makes some big news. Just at this time a month ago, Liu Mang just released the classic " I'm thinking about my opponent in the next round." The Hawks news came out this time, and many people are paying attention.
But they seem to be recommending a rookie? Build momentum for a rookie who is entering the draft!
This really makes people curious, who is this rookie recommended by the Eagles collectively?
In particular, some team owners, including the owner of the Cavaliers, couldn't help calling scouts to send reports.
When Wade was selected by the Heat, some media didn’t even know him, because people paid attention to the predicted high-ranked rookies, especially those with the top three picks like Cavaliers, Nuggets, and Pistons, or even others. Teams with lottery picks are not interested in predicting Wade in the middle of the first round. With Wade's physical talent, he may not be able to enter the lottery, but he will definitely not fall out of the first round, so the second round pick must not be considered. Happy Players are unlikely to bet on Wade's talent. Wade's knee injury was also a problem when he was in college. There are so many T1 rookies this year. Not enough rookies with potential injuries?
Therefore, the teams in the lottery area have hardly paid attention to Wade.
But the Hawks recommended Wade in this way, blowing up Wade one by one, making people feel that Wade entered the NBA as a super player like Kobe, Carter, and Iverson.
Although many people don't believe it, it doesn't stop them from researching it! Except that the Pistons have enough outside manpower, and they are quite eager for insiders with good offensive skills. They only invited Milicic, Bosh, and Kaman to try out in advance. The teams in the pass zone are all interested in Wade.
Even for the Cavaliers, they didn’t feel that what Liu Wei said was wrong for James to adapt to the NBA in two years. James himself saw the news and didn’t think Liu Wei was wrong. Kobe is so good now, and he just entered the NBA. Sometimes he is also a substitute, and James himself is ready to enter the NBA and slowly suffer.
People’s views on the draft have not yet completely changed. Those who have played in college for several years like Wade still have a certain market. Otherwise, there is a risk of injury. Marquis University's sports club qualifications, sophomore performance is not bad, junior year is a short shooting guard with a mediocre record and a height defect. , maybe none of the predictions in the middle of the first round.
These days, college experience is still an important condition for teams to consider.
Anyway, it's not a disadvantage to have a trial training. Most of the lottery teams have begun to study Wade and sent scouts to conduct detailed investigations on Wade.
At this time, the South Coast is enjoying the sunshine, and I think that this year, the fifth overall pick will be the best rookie that everyone can't think of, who doesn't forget to get his hair done even in the sun After the greasy-headed man heard the secretary's report, he was in a bad mood!