No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 102: How has that guy been able to endure for so many years?_2

Chapter 102: How has that guy been able to endure for so many years?_2

So Kupchak had always known that Zhang Yang’s physical condition was quite good.

On the contrary, the scouting report described a high school player who primarily utilized his athletic ability as "average" in the NBA, with a mid-range shot, outstanding details in his shooting technique, and even several highly difficult skills, including starting to ponder post-play rhythm, which surprised Kupchak.

Kupchak felt that the scouting department needed to be reorganized. How could they view high school players through tinted glasses? They only focused on physical ability and didn’t notice the skills.

Also, there needed to be a comparison. At today’s Lakers workout, only he and Bynum were high school players. Compared to Bynum, his athletic potential was clearly more ordinary.

And at yesterday’s Grizzlies workout, including the two of them, there were a total of 22 players, most of whom were guards.

Zhang Yang’s height, wingspan, and weight ratio were indeed the best among this year’s draft-eligible high school guards, and his overall athletic ability was also top-tier among high school players.

Originally, there was Gerald Green, who could have been compared to him, but Gerald Green only had nine fingers. Whether it was dribbling or the stability of shooting, it could have an impact; thus, the Grizzlies downgraded his physical ability rating.

The only high school player who possibly had better athletic ability than Zhang Yang, the second-ranked in the nation, rejected tryout invitations from all teams apart from the top three picks. Naturally, Zhang Yang stood out as the most prominent guard among that group of high schoolers from yesterday.

Add to that he was at least eight months younger than the other high school players...

That’s why Grizzlies head coach Floyd was so surprised by his physical condition.

On the other hand, in terms of skills, before the tryout with Zhang Yang, Floyd thought that a 16-year-old Chinese exchange student who won Mr. Basketball in California must excel in technique. Similar to how Kupchak perceived Zhang Yang’s physicality, Floyd had psychological expectations, which made him less surprised.

...

Zhang Yang experienced a complete individual workout.

In the morning, he underwent two hours of testing, and at noon, he was taken to the hospital for X-rays and a bone age test.

After lunch, the Lakers arranged individual training for both players.

On Bynum’s side, Kupchak was training him in low post footwork.

At 206 centimeters tall, Kupchak was a key player who earned two championship titles for the Lakers in the early 80s, a substitute for Jabbar, and at the time, he was considered the Center with the best footwork on the Lakers team.

On Zhang Yang’s side, he was being trained by assistant coach Frank Hamblen, one of the NBA’s top shooting coaches.

Hamblen was Syracuse University’s basketball team captain in the 60s, skilled in shooting, but suffered a serious injury during his junior year, damaging his knee and ending his player career. He then became a trainer, with 35 years of experience. Jordan’s turnaround fadeaway jump shot improvement and Kobe’s jab step shooting technique development are largely credited to him.

As soon as the shooting training began, Hamblen’s eyes lit up.

With a standard shooting action, good attention to detail, and solid fundamentals... he was perfect for training! There was no need to correct the details of the shooting form, and he could immediately start teaching techniques!

Hamblen tried to teach Zhang Yang a shooting technique—the post-turnaround step-back shot.

Prior to arriving, Tellem had mentioned Hamblen, and Zhang Yang was eager to learn.

After a few trials, Zhang Yang started to like this move.

This post-turnaround step-back shot focuses on the step-back, which is very special; the ball is already shot by the time the step-back is completed, with an extremely low release point. During the shot, the body is in the downward motion of stepping back, which makes it prone to being blocked, but the advantage is the extremely quick release!

Combined with Zhang Yang’s already fast release, it became even quicker, and a surprise shot like this could definitely catch an opponent off guard.

If he could also integrate Larry Bird’s post-play rhythm into it...

One willing to teach, and one eager to learn; one teaches well, and the other is suitable to learn and learns quickly... the two began an afternoon journey of fine-tuning.

In the Lakers’ training facility, the sound was especially pleasing to the ear.

Kupchak had finished guiding Bynum at some point, had left the trainer with Bynum to practice free throws, and came to watch Zhang Yang train with Hamblen.

Coaching Bynum was truly a torment.

It wasn’t that Bynum lacked talent in footwork; on the contrary, his low-post talent reminded Kupchak of Shaquille O’Neal.

But Bynum grew impatient after practicing for a while, causing Kupchak both headaches and speechlessness.

Big guy, you are at a tryout! How can you show so little respect for the general manager?

But when someone has talent, they can do as they please. Besides, the Vice President liked this high schooler quite a bit. A flawed personality was something Kupchak could accept since he was only 17 years old.

However, sometimes comparisons shouldn’t be made.

Seeing Zhang Yang’s thirst for knowledge, his determination to understand every detail, practicing over and over, and continuously improving his movements... Kupchak felt envious!

Like his mentor, after watching Zhang Yang’s training for a while, he too became interested in Zhang Yang.

In his view, Zhang Yang was far less impressive than Kobe when he blew past 40-year-old Michael Cooper during a tryout nine years earlier, but the Lakers have always had patience in developing guards!

They were already quite interested in Zhang Yang—for business reasons.

But their owner clearly knew that continuing the glory of the Purple and Gold dynasty was more important.

They were popular not because they were in Los Angeles, but because they were always strong.

Therefore, they were more interested in Bynum’s talent than in Zhang Yang’s potential commercial value.

Plus, next summer they could compete for Yao Ming. With Bynum on the team, the odds of landing Yao Ming would be a bit higher.

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