Chapter 57.2 - A Handsome New Hairstyle

Chrysanthemum Garden.

When he called out the names on the roster for the first half, there was Carlo, Montenegro, Ewing and Reece, but his name wasn’t called.

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As expected…… with his experience, he could only be benched.

“Hey, Coach, why won’t you let Allen play? He lacks experience so we should give him more opportunities to learn!” Carlo said discontentedly.

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“The purpose of a practice match precisely is to give as many people in the team a chance to practice as possible. And Allen… ” Coach Gordon cast a sideways glance at Nie Chuan, “You must understand, the power of observation is also a weapon. Observing like an outsider is even better for you as a point guard in dissecting your opponent’s defense and spurring the offense of the whole team.”

“I understand, Coach.” Nie Chuan nodded and sat back down.

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There’s still a lot of time for more matches. Since Coach Gordon said so, he’ll definitely have a chance to play.

Carlo held his head with a disappointed expression. “What! And I thought I could let Allen out and give those EFU people a surprise!”

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Nie Chuan’s face was full of black lines. How come Carlo’s words sounded more like he was “releasing the beast”?

(tn: literally translated, the phrase in quotation marks is along the lines of “closing the door on NC“ but since that sounds awkward, I took some liberties with this)

DK practically had their main lineup on the court while their opponents, with the exception of their captain, were all newcomers. J3WEme

Carlo frowned and looked at Coach Gordon, his meaning was: These people aren’t strong enough for us to play against, should we let our newcomers out too?

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Coach Gordon smiled and shook his head. ymz3F2

The game was about to begin. When the referee stood in the middle of the court, the noisy basketball hall instantly quieted.

Montenegro, who always had quite an advantage in getting the ball, unexpectedly let the other side snatch the ball. With that, EFU launched the first attack in this practice match. 5Lj9zR

“Wow, their center is so powerful……” The new member sitting beside Nie Chuan sighed.

“Yeah, Montenegro was already one of the best centers in the region last year, but the opponent’s center isn’t bad either!” BcEhD4

Nie Chuan clenched his fists. The jump ball at the beginning of the match was related to the momentum of the team, but it was only a momentary success or failure. Montenegro’s ability to box out under the basket and his capability as a low post single were incomparable to ordinary people. (tn: boxing out means preventing opponents from getting rebounds, low post is an area near the basket, not sure what singles mean in this context)

“Was anyone able to see how much Montenegro missed the other center by?” Coach Gordon asked with a chuckle. sQu3 P

“It’s too fast! How could anyone possibly see!” Zack exclaimed.

“Yeah, it all happened in the blink of an eye…… There didn’t seem to be any gap between the two of them? Maybe the other was just a little bit stronger than Montenegro?” eGBfc9

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Coach Gordon smiled. “Your dynamic vision really is good.”

“Ah! You even saw that clearly, Allen. You’re really amazing! No wonder Carlo and Reece value you so much!” gEp7qn

Zack’s praise made Nie Chuan embarrassed.

At this time, the opposing small forward had already penetrated deep into DK’s half of the court. Ewing stepped forward to defend him from behind while in front of him was Carlo. He could only pass to the side but was easily intercepted by Reece. raYGTH

By the time he turned, Reece had already shook him off and dribbled far away.

The EFU players were straining their voices while yelling, “Block him! Block him!” 9SNokg

Nie Chuan shook his head. “It’s already impossible for anyone to stop him.”

As Nie Chuan had said, Reece had entered unmanned territory. There was clearly still some distance, but he had already taken off, his hang time in the air was very long. When the basketball landed firmly into the basket, the EFU defenders who caught up were already staring foolishly. Otz jf

Nie Chuan’s eyes widened. Reece’s explosive power was really formidable. Furthermore…… it seems he hadn’t taken off the weights in his wrist guard.

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When Reece landed, the whole audience burst into shouts. 6xB29K

The cheers of DK’s cheerleaders also became even more resounding.

Nie Chuan knitted his brows. Every time he thought he was getting closer to Reece, it would turn out that there was still such a huge distance between them. 5ZoTIf

“Wow, Reece is overwhelming them right off the bat! Who wanted Old Bush to let all the newcomers play? Except for getting crushed, how could they possibly have a reversal?” Zack shook his head.

Coach Gordon replied, “That’s precisely what Bush is good at. With the graduation of the old players, these newcomers must grow as quickly as possible. Basketball in high school can’t even compare to the college basketball leagues. Everyone knows in their hearts that it isn’t just about participation, it’s about their future and their careers. That’s why he’s so cruel. Rather than letting these newcomers go all the way to the league then get overwhelmed, it’s better to beat them to the bottom now.” 3dhMEr

“Oh…” Everyone nodded in understanding.

Zack suddenly pointed to the audience seats on the opposite side. “Hey, that looks like a journalist for a pretty popular NBA magazine…… Mr. Lyndon?” gifEpw

“Why’s he here? To watch Reece’s game?”

“Shouldn’t that be a given? Last year, there were already NBA teams inviting Reece to join, there should be even more this year!” 3zbnVJ

Nie Chuan felt somewhat embarrassed because the last time he met Mr. Lyndon, he was in the middle of interviewing Irvin. He impulsively went one-on-one against Irvin and was even bruised on his cheek.

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When Mr. Lyndon and Nie Chuan faced each other, he smiled and waved at Nie Chuan. r 71kc

“Eh, Allen? You seem to be familiar with Mr. Lyndon?”

“You could say that.” 4AU9XC

At this time, Mr. Lyndon had already made his way over to the DK team. He first greeted Coach Gordon then sat next to Nie Chuan, his arrival making the DK players very surprised.

“I heard that there was a practice match between you guys and EFU today so I rushed here specially. I didn’t think you wouldn’t be playing,” Mr. Lyndon smiled very regretfully. IcYDNb

Nie Chuan also smiled. “It seems as if Mr. Lyndon came specifically to see my game.”

Unexpectedly, the other nodded. “That’s right. Because I really wanted to know, was the strength that you revealed during your match against Irvin that day all you had?” 1nsJPX

“Of course not.” Nie Chuan replied very certainly.

“I didn’t expect you to be this confident.” Mr. Lyndon snapped his fingers, “Alright, I’m looking forward to when Coach Gordon sends you up. Isn’t that right, Coach Gordon?” jSXlMr

Coach Gordon squinted his eyes at Nie Chuan. “You and Mr. Lyndon seem quite familiar with each other. Did something happen that I don’t know about?”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

The coach was unexpectedly sharp. Nie Chuan looked at Mr. Lyndon pleadingly. After all, it’s fine if he only overestimated himself in a one-on-one match against an expert but to also get hit until his face swelled was simply too shameful. 4wsMLJ

However, it was as if Mr. Lyndon didn’t receive Nie Chuan’s gaze. He turned and told Coach Gordon in a low voice, “It’s because Allen made me fall in love at first sight with a skyhook!”

“Skyhook? Are you sure it was Allen and not Reece?” 8MYK4Q

“I saw it with my own eyes. It’s absolutely true.”

At this time, Ewing had passed the opponent and, with a three-pointer, he easily pulled the score gap into double digits. uQZSLW

Although this result was within everyone’s expectations, EFU’s momentum had obviously declined. Their main players were already beginning to warm up outside the court.

“Old Bush wants to use DK as a grindstone, but the effect is a bit much.” Mr. Lyndon commented. Pf0wdZ

Coach Gordon smiled. “DK can’t be anyone’s grindstone because it was originally a sharp blade.”

In the first half, Ewing’s shots from his position on the three-point line were impossible to defend against. Carlo and Montenegro’s cooperation under the basket was also impeccable while Reece gave EFU’s newcomers a fatal blow with his superb skills. eaDdK1

Nie Chuan understood this feeling very well as he had also profoundly experienced it when he faced Owen Wishaw.

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He would get insta killed by his opponent every time and was shaken off with ease. The other was even able to tease him while scoring. He worried that this kind psychological gap wouldn’t be that easy for the newcomers of EFU to traverse. D3Ardz

“Allen, you can go warm up.” Coach Gordon nodded to Nie Chuan.

Nie Chuan stood to warm up his wrists and ankles. Ndwq2a

At the end of the first half, DK one-sidedly held an overwhelming advantage.

After a short break with tactical guidance, the next match came. fYFHkR

EFU substituted their main players while Coach Gordon only substituted Reece and Ewing, with Nie Chuan and Zack.

“Hey! Why do you want to substitute Reece and Ewing?” Carlo asked in puzzlement. “Reece’s performance is great and only with Ewing on our perimeter is us scoring at least somewhat guaranteed!” VU fCW

Coach Gordon, with his hands in his pockets, looked at Nie Chuan and asked, “Among all the people on the basketball team, who do you practice with the most?”

“Of course it’s Reece.” Nie Chuan replied. AwRH3x

“And?”

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“Ewing.” Nie Chuan faintly understood the reason why Coach Gordon replaced Ewing and Reece. iQN0zP

“That’s right. Reece and Ewing are the scoring experts on the team. With them there, you will subconsciously pass to them first. Of course, this kind of judgment isn’t wrong but, as a point guard, I hope that what you leaddrive will be the whole team; this includes Carlo and Montenegro who are also experts at scoring and defending. As for Zack and Peter, they’re also excellent players, perhaps not as dazzling as Reece but you’ll be getting a lot of opportunities to cooperate with them while in the league. What I hope is that no matter who is fighting alongside you on the court, you can display the ability of a point guard perfectly.”

“I understand, Coach.” Nie Chuan nodded. A08R u

Carlo threw his arm around Nie Chuan, the feeling of loss just now because of Ewing and Reece being substituted had already completely disappeared. “That’s what I’ve been saying! Allen, you gotta pass to me lots! In fact, I’m not inferior to Reece at all!”

“Give me a break, you’re clearly a long way off, alright?” Ewing said with disdain. K1dpiF

Nie Chuan took a breath and prepared himself to go up.

Just when he was about to take off the things on his wrist (weights), Reece grabbed him and shook his head slightly. urSBzj

“You don’t need to take it off.”

“But……” Img3M5

“This little pressure should be nothing to you.”

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Nie Chuan could see a faint smile on Reece’s lips. RdAxn4

MadMadamMims: Yesss, let’s go NC, it’s your time to shine!

Drea: Pfft, Reece, are you just gonna let Lyndon get away with his “love at first sight” comment? xD

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