Champion, please stay!

Chapter 36. First Triple-Double!

"Guardian of the Basket: You have the potential to become a defensive master in the three-second zone; when defending in the three-second zone, your vertical jump height and speed will reach the level of a running jump, your core stability will be improved during aerial confrontation when jumping vertically, and your awareness of judging the driving lines of penetrating players will be improved; the efficiency of basic rim protection training will be increased by 50%."

After reading the talent description, the first person that came to Yi Shui's mind was naturally Hibbert, whom he had just played against last night, but he quickly thought of another center.

In fact, in the NBA during the era of the defensive three-second rule, the first center to make good use of 'vertical rim protection' was Dwight Howard in the 09 playoffs.

In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavaliers, Stan Van Gundy devised a unique defensive strategy for LeBron James, with the top priority being to prevent Dwight Howard from committing too many fouls on the rim, which led to the creation of the 'vertical rim protection' strategy.

不以盖帽为目标，以罩住攻框空间、给予空中对抗为起跳目的，霍华德这个防守方式，配上外线尼尔森勇猛的延阻，把第一战30投20中拿到49分、第二战23投12中拿到35分的詹姆斯搞得在第三战28投仅11中。

From the 04-05 season to the 08-09 season, Howard's number of blocks increased every year. However, in the 09-10 season, Howard, who was only 24 years old, began to decline in the number of blocks. On the contrary, his rim protection efficiency increased instead of decreasing, and he won the DPOY three-peat. It was this rim protection method that made him successful.

The reason why Hibbert is more famous in this aspect is that... Howard had many strengths before his back injury, and defense was only one part of it, while Hibbert's outstanding ability was only rim protection.

Another point is that once Howard's jumping ability and aerial combat ability decline, he can no longer play such defense. His major injury and impaired athleticism occurred before Adam Silver made that rule change. The rule change certainly had an impact on him, but it can only be described as adding insult to injury.

Hibbert is different. He is 218 cm tall with a wingspan of 224 cm, and his vertical reach is almost the same as Yao Ming's. With these static physical conditions, he could have maintained his rim protection performance until he was 35 or 36 years old, just like Mutombo. But Adam Silver's decision cut Hibbert in half at the age of 28, who was just entering his prime, leaving him no way out. That's why fans are so disappointed.

Yi Shui has accepted that the match between talent and skills should be somewhat related to the center position. It would be even better if it were like Rondo, who has more rebounds than the team's center, or Durant, who is taller than the team's center.

This time it's his talent as a rim protector, which he can accept and thinks is amazing. But once he enters the NBA, he'll be penalized with a three-second violation, and in a few years, Adam Silver's guillotine will be waiting for him.

He could only console himself by not worrying about future rule changes. Jordan, O'Neal, who hasn't been hacked by the rules?
As the saying goes, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Stern tried to shut down O'Neal on both ends of the court by adding the three-second rule and allowing early double-teams, but Phil Jackson took advantage of this and created a pseudo-zone defense around Kobe's top-of-the-line defense and O'Neal's rim protection.

Adam Silver's extreme restrictions on the defender's cylinder range not only make it easier for penetrating players to attack the rim, but also provide an epic boost to outside shooters.

It just so happens that Yi also knows a little about shooting and driving!

Moreover, while the rules have reduced his defense, they haven't reduced his inherent talent. He still has the same boosts as Beast in terms of vertical jump speed and core strength. It's just that he can't replicate Beast's defense. It's better to have something than nothing.

Composing herself, Yi Shui used the last reward she received last night to open the box!
"You have 1 intermediate blind box, in use... Congratulations on winning the intermediate blind box grand prize: Transfer Station (skill)."

Mid-course: Within three seconds of receiving the ball, if you pass it without dribbling, your pass speed, power, and angle will adaptively adjust to the optimal level based on your assessment of your teammate's receiving action, but will not exceed the level your own passing ability can achieve (for example, when passing to what you believe to be a receiving shooter, the pass angle will be higher and the power will be softer, but the corresponding pass speed will be affected; adding spin to the pass will also affect the skill effect; you need to experiment and adapt to the specifics).

Yi Shui's eyes widened in surprise. "Good stuff!"

Pitchers like Robinson and Price always complained that his passes were too fast and hard, but when he drives and passes, he doesn't care about those things. They could practice that, but he doesn't have the time. He's already lucky if he can pass the ball in place.

Sometimes his passing angles weren't good either. Yad complained that his passes were always too high, and when he received the ball, he had to press down and jump, unlike Price's passes which were as stable and comfortable.

However, this skill also has its drawbacks. It can only be used when supporting an opponent, and his passing ability is not high. Even with the 'Rhythm Flow' talent, he's only at level 79... No worries, take it slow! He'll level up eventually with passing skills.

Moreover, since you're used to that way of passing the ball when you're supporting the team, you might be able to apply that to your usual passing habits.
It's impossible to perfectly replicate it. Just like the blocking and jumping power of "Covering the Sky," even if he tried his best to learn it, it would be difficult to achieve the same effect as the jumping and blocking. But having it is definitely better than not having it at all.

...

Over the weekend, Yi Shui spent his mornings reviewing his lessons, his afternoons training at the Kangda Gymnasium, and his evenings lifting weights.

On December 10th, a new week began, and his training time was forced to be reduced because there were exams every day. Fortunately, he worked hard in his major courses and felt good about the exams. The elective and basic courses that required exams this semester were just formalities; it just took some time to go and take the exams.

After the exams, the fall semester officially ends, and winter break begins, lasting from December 16th to January 12th, a total of 4 weeks. The spring semester starts on January 13th.

However, the school team did not have a holiday. From 9 am on the 16th to the 21st, the first and second teams of the men's basketball club, a total of 31 players, participated in a winter training camp lasting a week. The coaching staff provided targeted intensive training for each player on both teams.

Everyone stayed at a hotel near the main campus that the basketball club partnered with, which can also be considered a 'team building' trip.

Previously, even among his teammates on the main team, most people had only heard from the coach how hard Brook, the "prodigal son who has turned back," trained, but they had never seen it with their own eyes.

Since they are located on different campuses, they occasionally train together, either as a team or in a targeted tactical manner. Basic skills training is usually done separately, and most people leave after finishing their training.

So, regarding the coach's description of Yi Shui as "someone else's kid," some believed it, while others scoffed. This week, with training from 9 am to 5 pm every day, his teammates saw Yi Shui practicing shooting in the morning, practicing techniques in the afternoon, interspersed with passing, ball handling, and footwork drills. After everyone else's training ended, Yi Shui would still go to lift weights… and the next morning he would still be full of energy and continue training…

While his teammates felt admiration, they also empathized with Robinson: These geniuses... no! Geniuses like Brooke, they're really something else!
They are more talented than them and work even harder than them. How are they supposed to survive?
However, Calhoun's idea of ​​using Yi Shui's training attitude to inspire the other players had almost no effect.

Because in the eyes of his teammates, apart from Thabeet, the others were from a different world than Yi Shui...

Yad and Robinson recalled the dinner party six months ago, and Yi Shui's question, "Why not?" revealed that their best buddy was serious!
After training on the 21st, the basketball club was given a break from the 22nd to the 26th, and then returned to the team on the 27th. On the 30th, they will continue the second half of the regional competition.

On the morning of the 22nd, just like the previous week, Yi Shui drove the new car left by Ya De to the Kangda Gymnasium.

My two best friends took a late-night flight home yesterday. They'd been away for months and were both eager to get back.

Yad, whose hometown is in Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, invited Yi Shui to his home for Christmas.

Harrisburg is one of the largest logistics hubs in the northeastern United States. Yad's family runs a moving company, which is essentially a labor dispatch company that loads and unloads goods for logistics companies. His family wanted him to study logistics so that he could move from a manual labor company to a logistics company. He is not extremely wealthy, but he is quite well-off. He wanted to entertain Yi Shui, but Yi Shui declined.

It's not appropriate for an outsider like him to join in when the family is celebrating the New Year together. As far as I can remember, he has spent Christmas alone at school for the past two years, and he didn't even go when Clark invited him. Even though they have a good relationship, they should at least maintain a good sense of boundaries.

The main reason is that he's not really into Christmas and doesn't think there's anything wrong with spending it alone. After spending a few noisy months on the school team, he just wants to take advantage of these few days of holiday to have some peace and quiet.

Although the basketball club was on holiday, Clark still arranged a trainer for Yi Shui.

Yi Shui felt that this was not a good idea, as it would delay the trainer's rest.

Clark told him that if there was overtime, the trainers would scramble to do it because they only received the minimum wage during holidays, which was not enough. This was especially true for the single mother trainers on the women's team, who had to sell their blood to ensure their children could have a proper holiday. They only needed to avoid scheduling trainers on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day... This reminded him of a news report he had stumbled upon earlier, which said that the United States exported more than half of the world's blood products last year. However, after briefly sparking heated discussions among netizens, the report disappeared without a trace.

Most importantly, their Husky team is the highest-earning sports team in all of Connecticut. The school provides ample funding, the training facility can be used freely, and labor costs can be spent as much as possible within the rules, without anyone saying anything.

...

The five-day holiday was neither too long nor too short. Yi Shui had just started to feel a little lonely after spending a few days alone when it was time to return to the team.

On the 27th, the Husky team regrouped and conducted two days of pre-match training.

Just as Yi Shui felt that a 5-day holiday was just right, it was also just right for the other players on the Husky team. They went home and had a good Chinese New Year, feeling relaxed and refreshed. The fatigue from the previous games and training was swept away, but they didn't play so much that they lost their competitive edge.

After a three-week break, Yi Shui has made some progress. His long-range shot from the left 45-degree angle has finally reached 85, and his long-range shot from the right 45-degree angle has improved to 87. However, his long-range shot in the other three areas is still 81. This is mainly related to his training focus. Most of his shooting training is concentrated on attacking the rim, mid-range shots from the 45-degree angles on both wings, and three-pointers. He has only maintained basic training in other positions, after all, the holiday is so long.

My ball control is still only 89, which can only be improved slowly, but my passing has finally reached 80! Those nearly 20 hours of training were worth it.

In terms of mid-range shooting, overall, it's just over 60, but after hard work, the accuracy at the 45-degree angles on both wings is noticeably better. If we consider the area slightly outside the center of the free-throw line, that's a different story, but in the NCAA environment, it's difficult to get a shot from that spot.

It's Sunday, December 30th. Yesterday, the Huskies traveled to Providence, Rhode Island. Today, they're at the Duncan Donut Center, playing away against the Godfrey University Brothers.

Facing the weakest team, the Husky team kicked off the second half of the regional stage with a 93-60 massacre.

As the saying goes, "People are afraid of becoming famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat." Yi Shui has become famous, but the competition environment has become more difficult. Tonight, he faced a lot of double-teaming. He played for 31 minutes and only managed to take 13 shots, making 6 of 13, including 1 of 3 three-pointers. In addition, he made 2 of 3 free throws. His streak of scoring 20+ points in 5 consecutive games has ended.

But he also had 11 assists! His first double-digit assist total in his college career!

Since he was being marked when moving without the ball and double-teamed when he had the ball, Yi Shui immediately changed his playing strategy, actively going to positions with good vision to receive the ball and then pass it.

The new skill 'Transfer Station' proved incredibly useful in the very first game! Even Frostowski, who had always disliked him, praised him after he assisted on a three-pointer, saying, "That was a really good pass."

15分10板11助攻2抢断3盖帽4失误2犯规……易水拿下大学生涯首次三双！
Yi Shui was happy to get a triple-double, his teammates were happy to score a lot, and the coaching staff was happy that the team won.

Only the president of the neighboring family, who came to watch the game, had mixed feelings—he has scoring talent, rebounding talent, defensive coordination talent, shot-blocking talent… and even playmaking talent!
Seeing his colleagues excitedly calling their bosses before the game was even over, the neighboring CEO had no choice but to call his own boss as well—either he should stop causing trouble for the assassin, there was no need to get the team back on track now, let the assassin fully demonstrate his abilities and lead the team to where it deserved to be...

(End of this chapter)