Chapter 4

"Chirp chirp chirp"

"Screen and roll, screen and roll!"

"Keep moving, don't stop your feet!"

"Rebound, rebound!!"

Inside the U17 national youth team training hall, an internal training match was underway.

"Run the eagle!"

Chen Jianghua, the point guard of the white team, was controlling the ball in the front court. He dribbled with his right hand and made a gesture with his left hand that resembled the number "6," but the three middle fingers were not fully retracted, instead extended forward, making the entire hand gesture look like an eagle spreading its wings.

"Tap tap tap tap"

Seeing Chen Jianghua's gesture, everyone on the white team started to move. Through constant off-ball movement, the shooting guard reached the baseline and made a screening action.

"Chen Mu, you take this one!"

After exchanging a glance with the shooting guard, Chen Mu understood and immediately turned to run out.

"Bang"

The red team player defending Chen Mu was tightly screened by the white team's shooting guard. The red team's shooting guard hurriedly followed, taking a few steps forward to block Chen Mu's path back to the basket.

Mismatch achieved!

"Whoosh"

Chen Jianghua made a high pass, delivering the ball steadily to Chen Mu. Chen Mu received the ball outside the key, turned, and prepared to post up.

"Strong side spread, four position isolation!"

Chen Jianghua loudly gave the tactical instruction, signaling the players to create enough space for Chen Mu to isolate.

"Bang"

Chen Mu dribbled, leaned back, felt the defender's position, and then started to push inward, posting up.

The eagle play is a very basic offensive movement, involving many complex running techniques, but its ultimate goal is to create a mismatch for the perimeter attacker.

This time, the white team's shooting guard lacked the skills for isolation, basically just a shooter. Therefore, during execution, Chen Mu and the shooting guard made a simple variation. They ran a baseline screen to create a defensive mismatch, and then Chen Mu posted up.

"Tap tap"

Behind Chen Mu, the red team's shooting guard, though much shorter than Chen Mu, had solid fundamentals and was the starting shooting guard of the U17 national youth team. He lowered his waist, pushed forward forcefully, and leaned against Chen Mu's back, with no significant defensive issues.

"Bang, bang, bang"

Chen Mu dribbled, pushed inward, and easily reached the basket using his height and weight advantage, then turned and attempted a layup.

"Whoosh, clang!"

The basketball flew through the air, hit the backboard, and after a bounce, did not smoothly enter the hoop but instead hit the rim and bounced high.

"Beep beep beep"

As soon as Chen Mu shot, a notification sounded in his head, and a green light flashed before his eyes. A circle appeared above the defender's head, rapidly flickering.

"Rebound!"

The red team's interior players had been pulled out by the white team's perimeter players and could not return to the key in time to grab the rebound. They shouted loudly, hoping their perimeter players would rush for the rebound.

"Tap tap tap tap!"

Behind Chen Mu, several footsteps sounded, clearly indicating that the opposing players were rushing for the rebound. He quickly turned, using his broad back to block their path, then extended his long arm into the circle.

"Whoosh, slap!"

He easily grabbed the rebound, without lowering his hands, and immediately shot again.

"Slap, clang!"

Another "brick" sound, Chen Mu's shooting motion was very stiff, clearly not his strong point. This time, he failed to control the power and the ball hit the front of the rim.

"Rebound!"

At this moment, the opposing interior players had returned to the basket, ready to contest the rebound. However, they did not have the circle notification in their heads.

"Beep beep beep"

The circle flickered in the air just in front of the rim. Chen Mu smiled slightly, moved sideways, and extended his left hand into the circle, once again grabbing the rebound.

"Tap tap, whoosh!"

After grabbing the rebound, Chen Mu pivoted on his right foot, elegantly moving to the right side of the basket, and then attempted a skyhook.

"Whoosh"

The ball soared high in the air, and everyone watched its trajectory. Chen Mu, however, took a few steps and was already on the left side of the basket.

"Damn, this body's skills are too poor, the feel is so stiff, not at all smooth!"

Cursing himself in his mind, Chen Mu's eyes still flickered with the circle. This time, the landing point was on the left side of the rim, very close to the rim. Chen Mu had already planned his scoring method.

"Step!"

Arriving under the circle, Chen Mu jumped without hesitation, reaching high into the air, and extended his hands toward the circle.

"Clang~"

As expected, the basketball still did not go in, lightly tapping the left side of the rim and falling accurately toward the circle.

"I won't be polite~"

Chen Mu chuckled to himself, firmly grabbed the basketball in the air, and then slammed it into the nearby basket.

"Bang!"

This dunk was crisp and satisfying, the entire rim shook, and the basketball hit the ground with a clear sound.

"Great job~"

Chen Jianghua clenched his fist slightly and high-fived Chen Mu, who was running back to their half of the court. The two laughed and ran back to their basket.

"This guy...!"

The red team players watched with envy, picked up the basketball, and slammed it on the floor a few times, reluctantly returning to the baseline to inbound the ball.

"Click click click click"

Chen Mu's impressive performance was recorded by numerous cameras on the sidelines. Reporters took photos and videos, afraid to miss any of Chen Mu's performances.

"White team number 5, Chen Mu, 3 rebounds, 2 points."

A reporter on the sidelines had taken on the role of a statistician, but the data sheet only had two names.

"Seventeenth minute of the internal training match, Chen Jianghua has 11 points and 3 assists, Chen Mu has 8 points, and..."

The reporter carefully calculated and then looked surprised, raising his head to look at Chen Mu, who was running and defending on the court, and muttered, "18 rebounds...!"

"Bang!"

Just as the reporter was surprised, Chen Mu had already grabbed another defensive rebound and passed the ball to Chen Jianghua to start the offense. Another reporter patted the stunned reporter on the shoulder, shaking his head and smiling bitterly, "Already 19 rebounds..."

"Tap tap tap"

On the court, the game continued. At the door of the gym, a foreign face peeked in, occasionally taking photos, all of which were focused on Chen Mu.

"Sir, non-media personnel are not allowed to take photos or videos here."

A staff member noticed the situation and politely asked the foreigner to leave. The foreigner quickly took out a business card and hurriedly handed it to the staff member, scratching his head and saying in broken Chinese, "Sorry, sorry, I was introduced by Mr. Yao, hahaha..."

"Whether it's Mr. Yao, Mr. Liu, or Mr. Li, no photos or videos are allowed here!" The staff member shook his head and tried to usher the foreigner out.

"Wait a moment."

The commotion caught the coach's attention. He took a few steps to the foreigner, looked at the business card, and nodded to the staff member, "I did receive a call before, let him in."

"Thank you, thank you."

The foreigner was quite tall, with a humble and shrewd expression, typical of a businessman.

"May I ask, are you Mr. Bill Daugherty from Yao's team?"

After sitting down, the coach watched the game while talking to the foreigner.

"Yes, I am Bill Daugherty, but my role is not just a partner of Yao's team..."

Bill Daugherty smiled slightly, took out an elegantly bound booklet, and handed it to the coach, "I am also the head of BDA Sports Management in the United States."

"Quite a few stars under your belt..."

The coach flipped through the booklet, reading out the names of well-known players: "Prince, J. Williams, Gooden... and Steve Nash?"

"Hehe, that's right. Because Mr. Yao has his own team, we can only be considered partners. So Nash is currently my biggest client, an All-Star and this season's MVP!" Bill Daugherty smiled slyly, "Nash and I are alumni, and I managed to sign him with this connection."

"Your company is impressive, but I don't quite understand." The coach put away the booklet, frowned, and asked, "What brings you to our U17 national youth team?"

"Using your Chinese term, it's a 'jade in the rough.'"

Bill Daugherty's eyes instantly lit up, looking up at the court as if watching a rising star, appearing quite excited.

"I am here for the 'jade in the rough'...!"

"Bang!"

On the court, Chen Mu grabbed another offensive rebound, turned, and made a layup, bringing his stats to 12 points and 24 rebounds.

All of this was achieved in a 20-minute continuous training match.

Since Chen Mu's rise to fame in the U.S. training camp, all his background information was dug up. This domestic power forward with international-level physical attributes quickly became a hot topic in the sports media.

Outstanding physical attributes, well-proportioned body, good bone structure for weight gain, poor skills, but an incredible rebounding ability. Chen Mu's emergence not only sparked discussions among domestic media and fans but also in the basketball nation across the ocean. However, few agents like Bill Daugherty came to China to negotiate in person.

Three days later, the U17 national youth team held a press conference, announcing that the rising star Chen Mu, who had performed well in the U.S. training camp, had signed with BDA Sports Management, becoming the first Chinese player to sign with this major agency.

Subsequently, Chen Mu's name appeared on the 2005 NBA draft list. At 16 years and 11 months old, he became the youngest player in the draft. After the NBA announced that it would no longer recruit high school players starting from 2006, Chen Mu, carrying the hopes of 1.3 billion Chinese, boarded a flight to the United States.

The 2005 NBA Draft is about to begin. Mobile users, please visit http://m.piaotia.net

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