Chapter 9 of 100
Chapter 9
17 min read4,352 words
"I feel like these guys are looking at me strangely."
On the morning of June 2nd, the second day of the three-day Chicago Rookie Combine, Lin Han learned from Bruce Bowen that while yesterday's physical tests were designed for the top talents, today's second day of the rookie training camp would be the true stage for the lower-tier rookies.
Because if they could perform well in today's group drills, they would basically secure their positions in the final draft. After all, the physical tests designed to evaluate players' physical talents did not apply to everyone, or rather, their reference value was not that significant. For example, Bowen, who had the almost worst performance in this physical test, only took 3.40 seconds in the three-quarter sprint, while the best performer, Anfernee Hardaway, was just 3.13 seconds. Even the big man Chris Webber achieved a 3.25-second sprint, showing that whether it was a big man or a guard, a genius or an ordinary player, it was impossible to judge them solely by physical tests. The gap between them was not that significant, especially since even some of the ordinary players in this training camp were among the top few dozen prospects in the entire country.
Of course, Lin Han was an exception. His physical test results were so different from the other rookies that they could be considered in a different category.
Therefore, for these rookies, the most important opportunity was the group drills, which many top prospects were eagerly anticipating. How could they quickly improve their draft positions? The simplest way was to outperform the players ranked ahead of them in the games.
Thus, Lin Han learned from Aili that in the Chicago Rookie Combine, direct confrontations between rookies were not allowed after a few decades, as the media's influence had grown so much that even a small confrontation could have a significant impact. Many highly anticipated prospects feared losing in these games and causing a drop in their draft positions, so no one dared to come to the training camp anymore, leading to the cancellation of this event.
However, at the moment, whether it was the high-draft prospects or the ordinary ones, they were not afraid of failure. The media had not yet reached a level where a failure here could have a huge impact on them. Moreover, the NBA atmosphere was not as commercialized as it would be in the future. Both rookies and NBA players still maintained a pure love for basketball, unafraid of challenges or being challenged.
Therefore, Lin Han was eager for today's training session. With his current physical condition, he was just an ordinary Asian with no chance of entering the NBA, and even a regular NCAA team would not want him. However, in actual games, the purple-gold skill he possessed, which ignored the intensity of the game and personal stamina, could greatly enhance his performance.
As a result, when he woke up this morning, Bowen was filled with fear and unease about today's training, but Lin Han was extremely excited.
"Yeah, these guys are indeed looking at me strangely. Maybe you're the only Asian player in this year's training camp. Don't take it too seriously."
After arriving at the training camp with Lin Han, Bowen noticed that many of the rookies were pointing and whispering when he and Lin Han walked in, especially about Lin Han. Some even sneered and laughed at them, which surprised Bowen.
Could they have become the stars of the training camp in just one day?
Of course, at this moment, neither Lin Han nor Bowen knew that Lin Han's physical test results from yesterday were so 'shocking' that he broke the record for the worst performance in the history of the rookie combine, earning him the title of the worst rookie ever. Due to the camp director's outburst, Lin Han had become the biggest laughingstock.
"Hehe, this guy is the Asian, right? He doesn't even have a decent muscle on his body. His calves are short and fat. It's not surprising that he got such results."
"The worst rookie and the second-worst rookie are unexpectedly good friends. They complement each other perfectly, hahaha."
"Hehe, don't laugh so loudly. I plan to teach these two a lesson in the upcoming group drills. It would be best if they could serve as stepping stones for me to enter the lottery."
"Hahahaha, they are both in the fifth tier of the seed prospects, so they will be in different groups. It's impossible for you to beat both of them at the same time. The groups with these two will likely be eliminated in the first round and won't make it to the finals."
Although Lin Han did not know why he suddenly became the focus of everyone's attention, he did not take it too seriously. In the past at Utah Valley Community College, he had always been a very self-centered person. If he had cared too much about others' opinions, he would not have been able to survive there.
So, after feeling a bit annoyed by the pointing and whispering, Lin Han and Bowen found an empty court to start warming up. Pre-game warm-ups were extremely important for any sport, especially since a match that would decide their fate was waiting for them in an hour.
"Huh? Lin, your jump shot is surprisingly good. Whether it's the jump height, release height, or shooting form, it doesn't look like a beginner's at all. It even surpasses many top NCAA players. And I noticed that your shooting form seems very familiar to me."
After finishing their warm-up and doing some light one-on-one drills, Bowen was surprised when he saw Lin Han complete a free-throw line jump shot in front of him. In his view, Lin Han was definitely a beginner based on his physical test results and other aspects, but this one-on-one drill made his shooting feel like Michael Jordan's, with the same posture, release, and even the way his legs spread after jumping, which was very standard.
"Really? This is a new shooting technique I've been working on recently. It's pretty good, right?"
Since inheriting the purple-gold skill of Kobe's fadeaway jump shot, many of Lin Han's other regular jump shots had gradually shifted towards Kobe's style under Aili's guidance. Perhaps because he had truly inherited Kobe's skills and had already mastered the fadeaway jump shot, his imitation of Kobe's regular jump shots was very effective.
Moreover, this was the first time he had been praised for using this technique in front of others, which made Lin Han very excited. However, his excitement did not last long, as he soon found himself in an awkward situation.
"Haha, Lin, after just a few shots, your form is already deformed. Both your jump height and release height are off. It seems you're not very familiar with it."
Faced with Bowen's teasing, Lin Han shook his head bitterly. It wasn't that he was unfamiliar with the technique, but his endurance attribute of only 5 points and his ordinary physical condition made it impossible for him to sustain such a Kobe-style jump shot. He found that after just a dozen such shots, his stamina was already a problem, which was much worse than when he trained alone. In the past, he could do about twenty such shots in a row, showing that even in light one-on-one drills, Bowen's defense had a significant impact on him. The dozen shots he took had a hit rate of less than 40%, far below his usual 70% when training alone.
"Now I really understand why Aili said that Kobe's fadeaway jump shot skill, which ignores personal stamina and game intensity, is so incredible."
Lin Han looked at his excited friend and thought to himself. If a light one-on-one drill could reduce his mid-range shooting accuracy to less than 40%, then in an NBA game, facing NBA-level defense, his current ability, even with a shooting attribute of 15, would likely result in a mid-range shooting accuracy of less than 20%. Aili's previous statement that his shooting accuracy in the NBA would not exceed 30% was not an exaggeration.
......
......
"Mr. West, welcome to our Chicago Rookie Combine."
At this moment, Lin Han and Bowen were warming up for the upcoming drills, while in the office of the camp director, Wood, the man who had yelled at Lin Han yesterday, was now standing respectfully in front of Jerry West.
Jerry West was sitting in Wood's chair, intently reading the rookie reports Wood had brought. The Lakers' patriarch and the NBA logo seemed to ignore Wood completely, and Wood did not dare to show any dissatisfaction.
It was a joke to be dissatisfied with the first shooting guard in NBA history, the Lakers' patriarch, and the league's logo. With Jerry West's connections, he could easily get Wood fired.
Although he did not dare to show any dissatisfaction with Jerry West's arrival, the camp director was already cursing himself for how this rookie combine had ended up with such a big shot.
While the Chicago Rookie Combine was one of the best, it was not enough to attract someone like Jerry West. At most, teams would send a few scouts, and the most important ones would send their chief scouts. Usually, even the head coaches and assistant coaches of the teams would not come to observe the rookies in person.
"This year's combine is really cursed."
Thinking about these things and looking at the Lakers' patriarch, who was immersed in the rookie reports, and the Asian rookie who had appeared out of nowhere yesterday, Wood suddenly felt that his luck this year was not good.
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