Champion, please stay!

Chapter 72, Section 70: The Loan, the Top Scholar's Reward!
If you get attacked online, compete with the attacker to see who can attack you more viciously.

They attack indiscriminately without knowing which competitor did it.

Moreover, he's a bit clever. If there are specific rumors, he attacks those specific rumors; if there aren't... when attacking Love, he brings up Brook Lopez, using Lopez's toughness to highlight Love's softer personality; and off the court, he's tough, cool, and talented. Right after graduation, he participated in a fashion show in Los Angeles with his clothing designs, so he's compared to Rose's performance in Madness.

Seeing that the situation was quickly thrown into chaos, Yi Shui felt that this was indeed a simple and effective method.

As the saying goes, it takes only a mouth to spread rumors, but it takes a lot of legwork to refute them. It's too difficult to fight back against negative news. It's okay when there's a game, because winning can overshadow everything, but now it's the hype phase before the draft.

Instead of wasting words, it's better to engage in a magical duel with the opponent.

Unsurprisingly, the agents of other popular draft picks also launched a counterattack, but because they didn't know who was behind it, they, like Bartelstein, started indiscriminate attacks.

When everyone is covered in scandals, things get funny. Fans go from attacking every scandal they see to treating it as a joke.

After spending two days watching the 'magic clash' for fun in his spare time, Yi Shui lost interest and threw himself into training.

During the first three days of training, aside from getting used to shooting from the new three-point line, he spent most of his time undergoing intensive training under Clark's guidance.

We will promptly improve and correct the problems exposed in the third phase of the pandemic.

He trained using the corresponding training card and quickly met Clark's requirements. Subsequent enhancements could then be carried out during normal training.

Clark was numb to this and wasn't surprised at all.

After this phase of training ended, Yi Shui entered a new phase of training on the 24th – trial training and preparation.

On the day Bartelstein announced the signing of Yi Shui, he hired draft expert John Gwyn for Yi Shui.

Yi Shui didn't know this expert, but Clark did; he was quite well-known in professional circles in neighboring New York.

He learned from Clark that these draft experts were very knowledgeable about what NBA teams looked for during tryouts and had a targeted understanding of the preferences of each team's management and coaches.

Based on this, the specific training direction is determined according to the player's specific situation and draft goals.

This time, it was Gwyn who decided on the training direction and Clark who arranged the specific training.

Actually, Bartelstein originally planned to hire a professional trainer, but after seeing the top trainer in the Big East League, Gion Clark... that saved him the money.

The training itself wasn't anything special; it was just regular training, only the direction was clearer.

The first thing to practice, just like Yi Shui thought, is to quickly adapt to the NBA three-point line distance.

He made 19 of 50 three-point attempts in the six games of Third Madness, for a 38% success rate.

It's definitely not comparable to the player with the most outstanding three-point performance, who made 25 three-pointers in 4 games.

But for a forward or guard whose primary role is to drive to the basket, this performance is quite impressive.

Both Clark and Gwyn believe that NBA teams will definitely focus on whether he can adapt to the NBA three-point range.

The NBA is placing increasing emphasis on three-pointers these days. Even a tanky team like the Pistons is averaging over 15 three-point attempts per game.

The Spurs, led by Gregg Popovich who hates three-pointers the most, have averaged 20 three-point attempts per game. In the 06-07 season, three-point attempts accounted for more than 25% of the total number of shots taken in the NBA.

Gwen's goal is for Yi Shui to get used to the NBA's three-point shooting distance before the joint tryouts; as long as they can demonstrate that, that will be enough.

NBA teams don't directly compare two players' three-point shooting accuracy; instead, they make judgments based on the specific circumstances.

In a few days...

Looking at Yi Shui's training records, Gwen felt a sense of existential crisis.

In today's final round of shooting practice, at the NBA-standard three-point line, Yi Shui underwent a full-load 100-shot shooting drill, consistently making over 60 shots from each of the five angles.

The most impressive was the right 45-degree angle, where he made a total of 75 shots in one go, while the left 45-degree angle consistently made around 70 shots.

If he were a pure three-point shooter who was eliminated early in the third crazy game, and had been practicing for a month or so, Gwyn wouldn't be surprised by his performance.

But Yi Shui is a breakthrough player, and his three-point scoring accounts for just over 30% of his total points. He won the championship, and the season only ended on the 5th. He has been training with the new three-point line for less than 10 days!
We've been focusing on training to improve our three-point shooting distance for only five days!
Moreover, after taking on the job, he studied Yi Shui's performance during his university years and knew that he definitely hadn't practiced NBA-level three-pointers during his university years!
In addition, Yi Shui's recovery ability also impressed Gwen. Every day after training, she would lift weights until she was exhausted, but she would be full of energy again the next morning!
He knew Yi Shui was talented, after all, he lived in New York, but this was just too much.

Clark, however, was no longer surprised and was even teasing Gwyn for being ignorant...

Yi Shui remained calm about this progress.

I spend 80% of my training time on shooting every day. I have both the 'Training Card' and 'Intensive Training Monthly Card' active. The training efficiency of the top arc and wings is increased by 150%, which is 2.5 times the training efficiency. The 45-degree angle area on the wings is even more efficient, reaching 3.5 times.

Given his natural talent for long-range shooting and his top-tier 'long-range' shooting ability, if he doesn't even make this much progress in adapting to the new three-point line, he might as well just kill himself.

April 29th marks the 6th day of Yishui's trial training and preparation.

Because he was progressing too fast, Gwyn and Clark volunteered to work overtime last night to adjust the training plan.

Of course, I still need to practice three-pointers. I've already adapted to the NBA's three-point standards, so I definitely need to adjust my expectations.

The two temporarily raised their expectations for Yi Shui's three-point shooting level before the joint tryouts to a stable 70 or more three-pointers per spot, reaching a level where he could guarantee basic consistency in open shots during NBA games.

Today we're starting training on another aspect of Yi Shui that NBA teams will definitely be focusing on – on-ball pick-and-roll passing and cutting, off-ball pick-and-roll execution and cutting, and stretching out for shots.

Both of these are standard abilities for current NBA forwards.

After inquiring, Yi Shui learned that today's focus was on attacking the basket, so he changed the designated activity for the day on his monthly card to close-range shooting, and equipped it with a close-range shooting training card for a 150% bonus. Time to start training!
At 3 p.m., Yi Shui finished his 5-hour trial training session for the day. He was just about to rest for a while, grab something to eat, and then begin his '7th day' training when a system notification suddenly appeared!

The last time there was a system notification was after he received the championship ring, reminding him to "pay off the loan".

He quickly opened the system.

"The registration period for the 2008 NBA Draft has ended. Your draft profile has been reviewed by the NBA, and you have officially become a candidate for the draft."

You are full of confidence in yourself and have a very high opinion of your draft prospects, with becoming the number one draft pick as your sole goal... You have one wish opportunity. Would you like to use it?

Upon seeing the system notification, Yi Shui remembered that there was such a thing.

He was glad he had chosen an agent, otherwise he would have been standing shoulder to shoulder with Birdman.
Furthermore, he didn't need to worry about subsequent communication with NBA teams, scheduling, and so on; all of that was handled by Bartelstein.

But... I need to take out another loan? System, can't you be a little more generous?!
To take out a loan or not? Of course you should! Buy early and enjoy early, no discounts if you buy late.

"You promised to be the number one pick in the 2008 NBA draft. Due to the significant gap in overall level between the NCAA and the NBA, particularly in terms of physicality, you have been awarded the highest achievement reward in the draft: Power Transformation (Growth Card)."

"Growth Card: Power Transformation".

The system has determined that your strength level is 80 (top-tier) in an NBA game environment. After completing the training goals, your strength will increase to 88 (top-tier, NBA).

Training goal: From optimal physical training to exhaustion, the training content must be related to basketball and meet the system standards, and a total of 30 days must be completed. (Progress: 0/30).

Note: Rapidly increasing strength will have a significant impact on your technique, fundamentals, and fighting style. Therefore, it's necessary to rationally plan your training goals, schedule progress, and arrange training programs accordingly.

Yi Shui checked his profile and saw that his strength was 89 in the NCAA, but it dropped by almost a whole level in the NBA!

If he doesn't gain 1 point of strength by increasing his weight to 96 kg, and doesn't gain 1 point of strength by winning the All-American Player of the Year and Wooden Award first place, his NBA-level strength will only be 70+!

This gave him a better understanding of the level of competition he would be competing in six months later.

He thought of Gay, who was a power forward in the NCAA and could play power forward in his sophomore year. He was considered skinny in his rookie season in the NBA, but he became much stronger in his second year and took off, averaging 20 points per game.

However, he was definitely stronger than Guy was back then.

Oh, right, something came to mind, and he asked it in his mind.

"Skill: Iron Wall, grants +5 Strength when setting a screen as a pick-and-roll executor. This is a fixed bonus and is not affected by changes in the game environment. It is based on your Strength in the current game environment."

Relieved, Yi Shui switched back to the growth card interface and looked at the training goals.

This goal is likely to be very difficult. As a reward for achievements in the draft, the system anticipates that it will take an entire off-season to complete.

To train to exhaustion and recover to peak physical condition, you need at least one day of rest in between, right? If you train continuously, the rest time will be even longer as the training duration increases.

In addition, there are some miscellaneous matters after the draft, such as the Summer League, which may really take the entire offseason to complete.

But he encountered a bug last year!

I just don't know how the system determines what kind of training is related to basketball. Does the weightlifting training on 'Day 7' count? ... We'll find out by trying!
After a day of training, Yi Shui returned to his dormitory, turned on his computer, and went to the NBA website to check the published list of candidates.

Seeing my name, my worry disappeared.

Beasley and Mayo, the two top draft contenders, are undoubtedly on the list.

Rose, a potential rival, is also in the picture, along with Westbrook, Love, Brook Lopez, Gordon, and others. They are all pretty much the same as the top contenders for this year's draft.

But that's not what he wanted to see. He meticulously searched through the list of over 150 American college student candidates... and found it! Stephen Curry!

(End of this chapter)