The Way of the Center

Excited, An Jie hurriedly ate lunch, then went back to the school dormitory to pack up his equipment and prepare to go to the gymnasium. The dormitory for freshmen at Iowa State University is a two-person room, and Anjie's roommate is Andy Jason, who just played with him.

Like most boys' dormitories, their room was a bit messy. Shoes were randomly placed everywhere, a basketball lay quietly on the floor, there were also clothes and pants and all kinds of gadgets everywhere.

But the most eye-catching thing is the star posters that cover the walls of the entire room, and it really covers almost every place that can be pasted except the ceiling. This shows how passionate the two are about basketball.

Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Vince Carter, you name it, you can find their posters in this room. Of course, most of these players are Andy Jason's favorite. Compared with Andy, the star posters posted by Anjie are a bit different. Ben Wallace, Yao Ming, Alonzo Mourning, African mountain Mutombo...

These people are not the most dazzling stars in the NBA league, they do not have elegant jumpers and elegant dunks, nor dazzling dribbles and sharp breakthroughs. But they are the rulers of the penalty area, and they are the best in the ancient position of center forward. They work hard to grab every rebound to ensure the team's possession of the ball, take the strongest impact in the penalty area and then block the opponent's way, and dominate the basket with hand-to-hand combat inside.

An Jie likes such players and the position of center forward. So, he's been following these guys he's posted on his wall as models, and his style of play has been greatly influenced by them.

An Jie took the vest, shorts and a pair of outdated Jordan 4 basketball shoes, and set off towards the gymnasium with endless expectations.

………………..

An Jie stood in the middle of the basketball court and looked around, marveling at the complete facilities of the arena. There are a large number of auditorium seats, high-quality wooden floors, various lighting, electronic screens and other facilities are complete.

This basketball court is different from the outside. The outside court is completely open to the outside world. The only purpose of this indoor basketball court is to train the Iowa State University basketball team except for games. In other words, being able to play here also proves a person's strength to a certain extent. You have to be one of the best players in this school to be able to train and play in this arena.

"In China, I may never have the chance to play on such a venue in my life." An Jie became more and more excited. Today is really a day full of good things.

"Hey, who let you in?" Just as An Jie was immersed in excitement, a person shouted at him from behind. Maybe An Jie was so focused that he didn't even know anyone was coming to the arena.

An Jie turned his head away, and a black man looked at him with a frown. The guy has a braided head similar to Iverson's, and most of the skin on his arms and neck is covered in tattoos. He is only a little shorter than An Jie, but he is very strong, and his muscles are much more developed than An Jie's. When An Jie saw the visitor holding a basketball in his hand, his eyes lit up instantly. He seemed to have found a common language with this stranger.

"Are you also called by Coach Ricard?" An Jie pointed to the basketball in the opponent's hand.

"Yes, is it possible that you are too?" The black man looked An Jie up and down. Although he was tall, he was as thin as a bamboo pole compared to him. He didn't look like he could play in the NCAA. Can Asians play basketball? He really can't think of a second name besides Yao Ming. He looked at An Jie with a hint of disdain.

"Yes, haha, we will be teammates from now on." Most Chinese people are friendly by nature, and An Jie is no exception. He smiled and stepped forward to shake hands with the black man. "My name is An Jie, how about you?"

However, the other party did not respond to An Jie's extended hand,

Questions about names were also not answered.

"Teammates? Do you know how many people will come to tryouts this year? There are at least 30 people, all selected by the coach. And the final roster of a team is only 15 people. Don't put American college basketball It’s so simple, it’s not sure whether you can stay.” The black man replied coldly.

An Jie withdrew his hand in embarrassment, this was not the first time he encountered such a situation. The cultural differences between the two countries have led to completely different ways of getting along with the youth of the two countries, which has also prevented An Jie from being able to integrate into university life well.

Looking at An Jie who was embarrassed and at a loss, the black man felt elated. He likes this feeling, and he just wants to embarrass the foreigner. Now it's better to let this ignorant yellow-skinned guy experience the level of American college basketball, he came up with a brilliant idea.

"Anyway, it's still early for the meeting time, why don't we play first?" The black man started to shoot the basketball without waiting for An Jie's consent.

"Okay." An Jie readily accepted the challenge. He didn't agree because he wanted to retaliate for what the other party said just now. The reason he agreed to the challenge was simply because he simply liked playing basketball. There is an opportunity to learn from each other, why not do it?

………………..

There were only the two of them in the empty basketball gymnasium, and the only sound heard was the sound of sneakers rubbing against the floor and basketballs banging.

The black player goes first. He is a big man at 2.08 meters. Dazzling dribbling is not what he is good at, but he is very proud of his strong body. Facing An Jie who was two steps away from him, he chose to break through directly.

Seeing the opponent rushing towards him, An Jie didn't back down, he quickly moved across to block the opponent. The moment their bodies came into contact, An Jie felt that he was forcibly squeezed away by a powerful force, and he was forced out of the way. The black man went straight into the penalty area and completed a powerful two-handed dunk. An Jie has also played a lot of golf balls in the United States in the past few months, but the guy in front of him is not at the same level as the opponent he met in the field.

"What's the matter, en? Didn't you eat at noon?" The black man was not satisfied after scoring the goal, and started to attack with his mouth.

"Again!" Ann ignored the provocation, just threw the ball to the opponent, and ran to the defensive position to stand up.

"Don't be convinced, boy, remember my name, Andrew Morris. After the trial training, I will be the main center of the Iowa State University Cyclones!" Before the trial training started, he was already competing for the same position. challenged. An Jie still ignored it, waiting for the opponent to kick off.

Morris has the ball again, and he decides to humiliate the lanky guy in the same way. But when he rushed towards An Jie for the second time, he failed to break through easily again.

This time Anjie was prepared and withstood Morris' strong impact. An Jie is not easy, this is almost his limit. No matter how strong the force is, it might really be forcibly broken through again.

Seeing that the breakthrough was unsuccessful, Morris immediately turned around and started hitting back, planning to go to the basket step by step.

Morris pushed in a few steps. Although he was able to push forward, the resistance behind him was too great, which disturbed Morris very uncomfortable. An Jie also endured the huge force from Morris pushing in, and retreated again and again, but tried his best to shorten the distance of retreat. Neither side could take advantage of it. An Jie had never been so strenuous in the internal melee.

Morris saw that the distance was almost there, so he turned around and made a hook. An Jie tried his best to take off but failed to block the ball. Although Morris is strong and strong, he is not so good at back-up skills. The hook shot was very stiff, and Anjie's defensive height gave him a certain amount of deterrence and interference. The basketball did not enter the net hollowly as he thought, but bounced out of the frame.

An Jie immediately opened his arms to block the position, and took off the rebound steadily.

"Hey! As long as one side fails to score in the bullfight here, the ball will be exchanged. You don't need to grab rebounds." Morris was very dissatisfied with this miss, and he yelled at Anjie loudly to vent his anger.

An Jie still ignored it. Of course he knew the rules of bullfighting here, and he had played many fields in Ames City, large and small. However, this habit of blocking has become a kind of conditioned reflex for him. As soon as he sees the opponent make a shot, he will unconsciously start to block and prepare to fight for rebounds.

The ball was exchanged, this time it was An Jie's turn to attack.

Anjie held the ball outside the three-point line, and Morris actually retreated directly behind the free throw line.

According to his understanding, An Jie will definitely choose to break into the penalty area or start playing back near the free throw line. Anyway, as a center, the first choice is of course to go to the basket. In Morris's concept, a center outside the three-second zone has no threat at all.

However, his idea is only limited to his own level. An Jie saw that the opponent didn't intend to push forward, so he directly dribbled the ball and took a big step into the three-point line, then pulled up and shot.

"Hehe, you have nothing to do if I stand inside. This guy didn't even dare to try inside, so he was forced to make a shot." Morris was secretly proud, and didn't even look back at the ball. He walks directly beyond the three-point line, ready to wait for the ball to bounce out of the hoop and it will be his turn to attack.

However, he heard the sound of the net tumbling. He looked back in surprise, the basketball was bouncing on the floor, and An Jie retreated beyond the three-point line, ready to kick off. Just now, it was a hollow net!

"Hmph! Is a guy who can only shoot the ball considered a center?" Morris once again turned on the talk mode, continuing to express his disdain for An Jie. Now there are not many centers who can shoot. He did not expect that he would The person in front of him is one of the few.

In fact, many insiders in the United States have such a common problem. They have good physical fitness and athletic ability, but the mastery of basic basketball skills such as shooting, dribbling, passing and even basket skills is unsightly. Morris is one of these types of players. If he had an open shot just now, he might not be able to make the shot.

As always, An Jie didn't pay attention to the other party's words. He is such a big boy who doesn't talk much, and he often doesn't say a word when he plays.

Anjie attacked for the second time. This time, Morris did not retreat to the free throw line and wait for Anjie to send him to the goal. He stuck to Anjie from the beginning of the dribble, pressing hard every step of the way. He didn't intend to give the opponent another chance to shoot easily, and then use his physical advantage to prevent the opponent from breaking through. Morris felt that he was sure of this kid this time.

Angie was really uncomfortable being guarded. Want him to dribble like a guard and make Morris dizzy? Come on, he is a center with a height of 2.10 meters and above and has not received systematic professional basketball training.

However, Morris was still too eager to get the ball back. He grabbed the ball many times, causing his defensive position to become more and more biased, and his center of gravity was too forward. Finally, after Morris made another failed shot, his center of gravity moved forward greatly.

An Jie seized the opportunity and took a big step past Morris, who was moving forward. He successfully broke through, and the road ahead to the restricted area was unimpeded.

The basket was getting closer and closer to Anjie, and he jumped with both feet, ready to return the color with a dunk.

However, things backfired. As soon as An Jie took off into the air, there was a huge impact force from behind, it was Morris!

He slapped the skinny An Jielian with the ball. An Jie didn't have any mental preparations, he lost his balance in the air and hit the floor abruptly.

"Oh, I just exerted a little force. I didn't expect you to be so light." Morris pretended to be innocent and looked at An Jie who fell down. He felt dark and said sarcastic remarks again.

However, what he said was the truth. He didn't expect An Jie's confrontation to be so bad. He was indeed just going for the ball. Normally, in this case, he would at most interfere with the opponent's layup and then apply for a foul by himself. However, this time He knocked his opponent away.

An Jie rubbed his aching back lightly, and also realized the physical gap between NCAA players and ordinary basketball fans. This place is completely different from his playing on the field. What's more, Morris is not an official NCAA player yet. He didn't have the upper hand in anything other than an open field goal. It seems that it is not as easy as I thought to pass the trial training and play in the NCAA Division I league.

The subsequent competition continued between the two of you coming and going.

An Jie's back attack did not push Morris at all...

Morris leaned on Anjie and turned to the basket to force a dunk...

Anjie took advantage of his height and wingspan to easily block Morris's close-range shot...

Morris knocked down Anjie in the penalty area again, but he ignored Anjie who fell to the ground and put the ball into the basket with ease...

The two sides fought for a long time, and Morris had a slight upper hand throughout the process, but he was also a little embarrassed. Just now, under Anjie's interference, he missed the hook again, and Anjie also won the ball again.

"Show all your abilities." So far, Morris has used the advantages of physical confrontation to defend and contain An Jie very well, which makes Morris a little arrogant.

An Jie started dribbling the ball, stepped in with a few strides and squeezed into the middle of the penalty area on the right side of the basket, and then changed into a back-up state.

The simplest and most brutal duel between centers!

Although the door was blocked in front of him, An Jie still did not give up. He pushed in hard, pushing the wall between himself and the basket as much as possible.

The effect is not good, but at any rate, it has advanced a little distance. Anjie stopped dribbling and started to move. His shoulder swayed to the left side first.

"Turn left?" Morris's center of gravity was a little shaken, but he didn't act rashly.

Sure enough, that shoulder shaking was just a fake move! After turning to the left, Anjie immediately began to turn to the right, raising the ball above his head with both hands, with his heels off the ground, ready to shoot.

"I see through you kid!" Morris smiled slightly, jumping up with all his strength and preparing to slap the ball hard. But when he jumped up and was still rising in the air, the ball that An Jie raised above his head suddenly disappeared. Only then did Morris realize that he had been tricked, and the turning around and shooting just now was also a fake move!

It turned out that An Jie just lifted his heels off the ground, but the soles of his feet were still firmly on the floor. After a realistic shooting fake tricked Morris into taking off, he quickly retracted the raised ball, then wiped past the jumping Morris, and easily picked the basket.

………………..

Anjie used his footsteps under the basket to shake Morris like a frog again...

Anjie turned around and shot. Morris thought it was a fake move and didn't respond to the shot. As a result, the basketball hit the net again...

Morris, whose physical strength has declined, has also plummeted. Even if Anjie loses the ball, he can quickly get it back in the next round...

The competition between the two continued like this, under the watchful eye of one person.

……………….

"Confrontation is seriously lacking, and Morris can only be regarded as an upper-level physical fitness among the many players in the NCAA. However, this has already made An Jie a little bit too much. The inside melee in the official game is more difficult than this. But he Excellent basic basketball functions make up for some of his physical disadvantages. He has good footwork around the basket, soft shooting touch, and never gives up on defense. He is indeed a player worthy of attention.

As for Morris, his physical advantage may not be so obvious in the NCAA game. If he can't learn to play with his brain, he can only be a rotation player on my team at most.

In fact, George Ricard had already arrived at the basketball hall to wait. He sat in an inconspicuous corner of the auditorium, and no one noticed him.

He accidentally saw this one-on-one match and sat quietly on the sidelines. While watching the game, he continued to complete the player report of the two in his notebook.

"Very good, at least the players have a strong sense of competition and are full of hard work." Ricard smiled with satisfaction. He looked at his watch. It was 12:40. It was time for him to come out and end the competition. Get everyone ready for training.

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