basketball player

Chapter 37 Chapter 038: Not playing cards according to the routine

Regarding Stephenson, Henson and Bird talked about it many times.After weighing the pros and cons in the end, both Henson and Bird believed that, at least at the basketball level, Lance Stephenson was a young man worth cultivating.Bird has the confidence to transform him. To be precise, he believes that Henson has the ability to transform him.

For Stephenson, the Pacers actually made a lot of preparations in the early stage.Bird sent Sellars to conduct a detailed investigation of Stephenson and his family, including interviewing them for a long time, conducting psychological tests, and going to his Lincoln High School to do random interviews to hear what the children in the school would say about him.After all these things were settled, Henson and Byrd finally made the decision.

If Hassan Whiteside is cut early, they'll take Lance Stephenson.

It does take courage, because Stephenson's rusty past is well known across America.If it weren't for the interference of these negative events, Stephenson would certainly not have fallen to the second round and no one cares about him.If the Pacers don't draft him, it is estimated that no second team has the courage to do so.

In July 2008, USA Basketball removed Stephenson from the U7 selection team after he was found to be linked to a drug case.

During his junior year in high school, Stephenson gained notoriety when a girl accused him of sexual harassment.According to the girl, at a bus stop, Stephenson made obscene gestures to her and tried to moles her.
Indeed, apart from Bird and Henson, no lunatic would dare to use such a player.

But if you understand Stephenson's background, it's not difficult to understand why he did such things.Born in a poor family in the Harlem area of ​​Brooklyn, he suffered from cold eyes and exclusion since he was a child. Only by relying on a pair of steel and iron bones given by his parents, can he find the dignity of survival on the basketball court.

Henson knew that Stephenson was a maverick, disobedient to discipline, and would often do some outrageous things.But he is still very confident about this interview. After all, basketball is the common language between two men.

When Henson arrived on Stephenson's block, even he had trouble keeping his composure.The slums of Brooklyn are not as glamorous as other parts of New York. It is no exaggeration to say that here you can see gangsters with "guys" on their waists everywhere. Drug dealing in this neighborhood is as common as buying and selling newspapers.

Living in such an environment since childhood, do you still long for Stephenson to be a good boy?
After finding Stephenson's house, Henson knocked on the door.A black woman opened the door immediately, presumably she had been waiting by the door for a long time.

"Oh, Mr. Henson! Welcome, come in quickly, I have afternoon tea ready for you!" It was Stephenson's mother who opened the door, and she was obviously very excited about Henson's arrival.After all, after all the shitty things her jerk son did, there was still a team willing to give him a chance, and as a mother she certainly appreciated it.

"You're very polite, ma'am. Oh, Mr. Stephenson, hello." Henson greeted the two parents with ease, and it was obvious that the parents had tidied up the house to welcome Henson.

But even so, the dilapidated furniture and cheap carpets bought deliberately to cover the holes in the ground still couldn't cover up the hard life of the Stephenson family.

On a dilapidated sofa that looked like a product of the last century, Henson and Lance Stephenson faced each other for the first time.

He sat there neatly, looking directly at Henson, but didn't say a word.Henson could tell that this guy was going to be screwed.

But looking into Stephenson's eyes, Henson also found that this guy also longed for an opportunity, a chance to change his destiny, a chance to prove himself, and a chance to win respect!

"Born Ready, huh?" Henson pointed to the tattoo on Stephenson's hand. "I like the nickname very much, but I don't know if you are really ready."

Born ready, Stephenson's nickname comes from Babbitt Garcia, an on-site commentator at Rock Park, New York's basketball mecca. In 2006, he watched the 16-year-old Stephenson abuse adults in Rock Park, and everyone said that the kid was NBA material.Hearing this nickname, you will know how crazy Stephenson is.

But that's precisely one reason why Henson and Byrd like Stephenson. He's so confident, so confident.He's the type of player who craves the big scene, and he's fearless.As long as he stands on the basketball court, he has the aura of daring to challenge No. 1 in the world.

"Mr. Henson, hello." Stephenson stood up politely and bowed, because his mother forced him to do so because he heard that Chinese people should bow to represent respect.After bowing, Stephenson shook hands with Henson again.

Henson could barely hold back a laugh, and it was perhaps the most disciplined few minutes of Stephenson's life.

"Hello, Lance. Ma'am, sir, why don't you give us some privacy?"

After Henson finished speaking, Stephenson's parents returned to the room knowingly, leaving only Henson and Stephenson sitting in the crowded small living room.

Stephenson took a deep breath, and he had already started waiting for Henson to make an appointment with himself.

If you're on the team, you can't do it, you have to do it. Stephenson is tired of hearing that. Every coach from high school to college will say it when they meet him for the first time.In his opinion, the Chinese coach who just took office will definitely do the same thing.

Henson looked at Stephenson with a half-smile on his face again.Confidence, Stephenson has never seen the same confidence as himself in any coach's face.

"Lance, are you willing to defend?" Henson said, but what he said was quite different from what Stephenson thought.

"Ah?" Stephenson shook his head, "I will do whatever you want me to do, I must be willing."

Stephenson was a little confused, this Chinese didn't play cards according to the routine at all!
"Then what if I ask you to defend the opponent's top scorer? Think about it, you are facing Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant on the court. Sorry, these people may be too strong for you. I guess your legs are already weak when you see them."

"I don't think you understand, sir." Stephenson interrupted Henson. "I'll do what you want me to do. You want me to guard the other's leading scorer. I'll guard the opposing team's leading scorer. I'll do my best, and I'll do everything I can to make them miserable, if you give me the order, sir."

"I like a guy like you. I'm really fed up with those beautiful words from mothers-in-law. But you just talk is not enough, Lance. I want you to show me, from the beginning of the summer league. You will go with me tomorrow. While we are still talking here, the team has already started training. If you don't win the summer league championship this year, you will leave me. What do you think?" Henson finished speaking, leaned back on the sofa, and took out a cigar.

It's Bird's fault, too, for letting Henson take his first cigar, and for letting Henson fall in love with smoking a cigar.

Stephenson was stunned, why did the coach in a suit and leather shoes opposite him look even more jerk than himself?
"You don't have anything to ask?" Stephenson looked at Henson cautiously. This Chinese man seemed to have an inexplicable temperament that made people afraid of him.

In fact, this is not the inexplicable wife, but the pressure on Stephenson brought by Henson's blunt speech and indifferent expression.Of course, the way Henson smoked a cigar gave him the feeling of a "big guy".

"What else? I have all your stats, from high school to college, from height to wingspan. If you're referring to your old shit, there's no point, because the whole of America knows it, and I don't think your stories are funny. I only care about one thing, Lance, and that's whether you can bring me victory. No matter how beautiful people make competitive sports, winning is always the core of competitive sports. You can win for me, you are a good player. You can't win and fuck off the field, You are an idiot. What I want you to do is to play the game well for me in the summer league and train well in the summer, because the NBA is not as simple as you think. What's the problem? Mr. Lance Stephenson."

Stephenson shook his head hastily, "I also like to win, Mr. Henson! I must be the kind of good player you need!"

Stephenson was overjoyed, this Henson was completely different from those idiots who could only make three chapters!Stephenson can see that this coach has ambitions, he is confident, and he will do whatever it takes to win.In this regard, he himself is the same!
"Very well, then let's stop today's conversation. By the way, I don't like my players calling me Mr. Henson. It's too restrictive, like the stupid headmaster in the school."

After Henson finished speaking, Stephenson smirked, and it really touched his heart!
"Understood, boss!"

Henson nodded in satisfaction, Lance is really a smart kid.

(End of this chapter)