mountain top

Chapter 32 God's Watch (New book, please collect monthly tickets and recommend tickets)
14分、22个篮板、7次助攻、4记封盖、2次抢断。

The next day, looking at the report card he handed in last night, Qin Yue fell into deep reflection.

Although in the eyes of Duncan, who happened to call to congratulate him that day, Qin Yue's reflection could only be described as unreasonable.
But just as Qin Yue couldn't understand why Duncan congratulated him, Duncan also didn't understand why Qin Yue, who had performed so well, still needed to reflect?
"The reason why I congratulate you is very simple, because through this game, you have proved that you still have great potential." Duncan said to Qin Yue on the phone.

After a pause, Duncan continued, "And this year, you have led Wake Forest to tie the second best record of my college career."

Yes, even as strong as Tim Duncan was, the best record he led Wake Forest to in March Madness was just one quarterfinal appearance.

The round of 16 is Duncan's second-best record in his college career.

In addition, judging from Qin Yue's performance in March Madness this year, Duncan was very happy that his junior followed his previous teachings.

Especially this big game against Connecticut.

Even though he knew there was a tiger lurking in the mountain, he still frequently sat in the low position and successfully pinned down three opposing generals for his teammates.

On the court, he always goes out of his way to screen for his teammates.

Even if the pick-and-roll cannot provide him with more intuitive data that can impact people's hearts, he will not hesitate.

Defensively, he is a replica of himself:

——Guarding the basket alone, no matter which direction the wind blows.

Because he has the same "roots" as Qin Yue, Duncan has a natural affinity for Qin Yue.

As for now?

"When I was a sophomore, I scored 25 points in a game against Wallace University. After the game, Jerry West decided that I would be the No. pick that year. (Duncan actually became the No. pick two years later)

Now, I want to tell you that if we have the No. 1 pick next year, I will definitely let 'Pop' bring you to San Antonio."

What Duncan saw in Qin Yue was not just his talent and understanding.

What is more important is his indomitable willpower and his great character of being willing to sacrifice for the team.

Friends come and go, and in the NBA where only the championship flag flies in the wind, Duncan has seen too many geniuses.

Duncan knew very well that most of them would eventually flash by like shooting stars.

Because their character cannot support them to keep climbing up to the top of the mountain.

“The next year will be important for you, do you have Dave’s contact information?
He is a devil who is so strict with the basic skills of inside players that he will make you repeat every unsatisfactory move hundreds or thousands of times.

I think he would be happy to help you if you need it.”

Duncan said to Qin Yue on the phone.

However, shortly after Duncan told Qin Yue the contact information of Dave Odom.
Qin Yue suddenly changed the subject: "If I want to improve my outside shooting skills, senior, do you have any good suggestions?"

Hearing this, Duncan fell silent.

Although Duncan made a total of 17 three-pointers in college, and although, in some games, he would dribble across half court and initiate fast breaks after grabbing rebounds like a guard.
But Duncan still didn't understand why Qin Yue was so obsessed with outside offensive skills.

Could it be that he, who is 211 cm tall with shoes on, wants to make a cool mid-range shot after continuous dribbling between the legs like Michael Jordan?

Or is it like Allen Iverson using that almost floor-touching crossover to dribble past his opponent?

Or does he think deep down that he is Magic Johnson II and wants to use that unpredictable pass to pass the ball to his teammates?

At this moment, Duncan did not stop his junior from fantasizing about a bright future.

After all, it's not a bad thing for young players to want to develop in all aspects.

but
Duncan hung up the phone immediately.

Qin Yue was puzzled by this and even thought that he had accidentally offended his senior during the conversation just now.

In fact, after entering March Madness.
The reason why Qin Yue gives people the feeling that he is closer to the traditional power forward position is mainly because his current outside shooting skills cannot support him to show off in the March Madness games.

In the ACC league, because Qin Yue has a lot of tolerance, he can certainly make various attempts.

But in March Madness, Qin Yue knew very well that only by playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses could he show his better side to the world.

This is the adjustment that the players themselves have to make as the level of the game increases.

For example, Yi Jianlian in Qin Yue’s memory.

As the sixth pick in the first round of the NBA, when Yi Jianlian's skills can no longer support him to continue to play the core role in the NBA, he will naturally become a space-type power forward.

What if you say you don't want to?
I'm sorry, even if you are a noble sixth pick in the first round, even if you have the huge potential of the Chinese market, the NBA will choose to close its door to you.

In this life, Qin Yue, who can view his talents through the visualized data of the [Mountain Top] system, knows very well that his future will never stop at the traditional fourth position core.

He wants to get more ball possession like Jokic does, thereby increasing his influence on the game.

He also wants to have the ability to decide independently to shoot from any area of the court like Durant.

But the prerequisite for achieving all this is.
After spending nine months removing constraints and laying a solid foundation, he must use his sweat in the next year to tell the world:
He has the ability to continue playing like he did in college when he moves to the NBA.

……

Wake Forest's journey this year ended in the Sweet Sixteen.

Just as Qin Yue remembered, Connecticut fought all the way to the end and defeated Georgia Tech in the final to win the NCAA championship trophy as expected.

Emeka Okafor, known as the best college student in the United States, was selected as the MOP of this year's final four.

After the game, in an interview, Okafor, the favorite for the No. 1 pick, unsurprisingly expressed to the outside world his good wish to bring his talent to the NBA.

In addition, when talking about this year's NCAA journey, Okafor also said: "We had already played the finals in the round of 16. Wake Forest taught us a lot in that game. Qin is a very good opponent, and I look forward to meeting him in the NBA in the future."

Another Connecticut star, Ben Gordon, also announced after the finals that he would enter this year's NBA draft.

However, compared to the humble Okafor, Gordon said bluntly in an interview: "In this year's March Madness, we only encountered the test in the top 16.

So I thought it was time for me to challenge the NBA.”

Although in the interview, Okafor and Gordon wanted to express almost the same thing.

But no matter how you listen to it, Gordon is more like saying:

I'm not picking on anyone, I'm just saying that everyone here is garbage except for Wake Forest.

The Connecticut twins are about to leave for the NBA.

After returning to Winston-Salem with the team
The Wake Forest twin stars Qin Yue and Paul have made it clear that they will both choose to stay in school and continue to compete in the NCAA.

As a freshman, Paul was still far from the point guard god in Qin Yue's memory.

Historically, he would have led his team to a loss to St. Joseph's University, led by Jameer Nelson, in March Madness.

Moreover, in that game, he would be beaten to a pulp by Nelson. (Note ①)

In this life, Paul escaped by luck, but through this year's games, Paul still saw how big the gap is between him and NBA-level players.

"I plan to gain muscle this summer, and LeBron told me that he will provide me with help in this regard during the summer vacation." Paul said to Qin Yue after returning to school.

In response, Qin Yue, who did not want to hinder Paul and James’ emotional exchange, said: “You really need to gain muscle, Chris.

Now you are like a primary school student in front of Raymond, Deron and Jamal, weak and vulnerable to the wind. "

Hearing this, after punching Qin Yue on the knee, Paul said, “Hey, buddy, how good can you be?
I still remember your clumsy post-up singles in front of Emeka." Seeing this, Qin Yue spread his hands and said, "But I got 14 points and 22 rebounds in that game. If you only look at the statistics, I should even be the No. pick in this year's NBA draft."

As the relationship between Qin Yue and Paul became closer, bickering became a daily occurrence between them.

It’s a pity that in this regard, it’s difficult for Paul to be Qin Yue’s opponent.

Because in his previous life, Qin Yue had rich experience in online confrontation on the Internet.

……

In April, Qin Yue returned to Wake Forest and took the time to improve his basketball skills and focus on his studies.
On this day, he had originally agreed to study some learning materials in depth with Rachel Carlisle, and he also received a piece of news from the other party that made him very interested.

"You mean, Nike headquarters offered you an internship?" Qin Yue said, looking down at Rachel sitting on his lap.

"That's weird, isn't it? I never sent them a resume, but they offered me a job," Rachel said.

Is it weird?

No, not surprising at all.

Because this is exactly what Nike usually does when poaching talent.

Before the NCAA reform, college players could not obtain sponsorships or commercial contracts by signing with agents or other agents, nor could they benefit from social media, autographs, training camps, advertising, etc.
Therefore, this also became one of the reasons why one talented high school student after another rushed to bring their talents to the NBA before the NBA banned high school players from participating in the draft.

In 2001, UNC head coach Matt Dougherty wanted to show DeSagana Diop the "meager income" of a first-round NBA pick at the time and tell him that if he could play in North Carolina for a year, his "meager income" in the future would likely double.

But what Doughty never expected was that after Diop learned that the "meager income" of the NBA's first-round pick at the time was as high as millions of dollars, Diop immediately decided to skip college and go directly to the NBA.

For Diop, who grew up in a poor family, since he can go to the NBA to make a lot of money, why should he go to college and play hard for a year?
Improve your skills? Improve your understanding of basketball?

Sorry, Diop had no time to think about anything else when it came to having enough food to eat.

Qin Yue's previous life, in the future, after the NCAA reforms, you will be surprised to find that many players who originally needed to hone their skills in college suddenly become interested in going to school again.

But in fact, in the American basketball world, how many young players know that they should go to college to hone their skills, or just want to go to school?
Some are just:

Everyone in the world is benefiting.

The world is hilarious, all come for profit.

Qin Yue knew very well that although restricted by the current NCAA regulations, it would be impossible for Nike to finalize a contract with him immediately.

But if Nike really waits until I decide to run for the election before communicating with me, then I'm afraid it will be too late.

Providing jobs to people around or related to the athletes they like has always been a prelude to Nike's preparations to poach talent.

Historically, in the bidding war for LeBron James, Nike had already trained Maverick Carter, who was next to James, into an "inside player".

Even earlier, in the 70s, when Nike was preparing to discover track and field star Steve Prefontaine, it even assigned an employee to serve as Prefontaine's "whisperer."

In Wake Forest, the relationship between Qin Yue and Rachel is not a secret.

Therefore, after deciding to recruit Qin Yue, Nike immediately set its sights on Rachel.

Through Rachel, Nike can not only grasp Qin Yue's dynamics at the first time, but they can also establish contact with Qin Yue through this "hidden line".

In this way, Nike can perfectly bypass all NCAA regulations and plan ahead for future cooperation with Qin Yue.

You see, the NCAA has many regulations.

But rules are dead, but people are alive.

That day, looking at Rachel, who had a standard American sweet girl face, Qin Yue smiled and said, "I think you must have guessed why Nike headquarters offered you this internship."

Hearing this, Rachel, who had no intention of hiding it from Qin Yue, said frankly, "But I can't betray you."

Rachel knew that she had now been labeled as "someone close to Qin Yue".

Therefore, as long as she decides to accept this internship and help Qin Yue reach a cooperation with Nike in the future as Nike's "dark line"
Judging from Qin Yue's current situation, she undoubtedly has a job with a bright financial future and a promising future.

But even so, Rachel remained quite sober.

Because she knew Qin Yue's character and understood his personality.

So compared to this job, she cared more about Qin Yue's feelings and the fact that she must not betray Qin Yue.

Nike hopes to be the "dark line" that they can use to communicate with Qin Yue.

But Qin Yue didn't say that he hoped to be that "hidden line".

"Since Nike wants to show us its sincerity, what reason do we have to refuse?" Qin Yue said after pinching Rachel's soft part.

At this moment, Rachel noticed that Qin Yue used "we".

This means that in his mind, his status has been raised to a higher level.

"But since we are showing our sincerity, it shouldn't be too much for me to make some small requests of them, right?" Qin Yue suddenly said to Rachel.

"What do you want to ask of them?"

"With their resources, they must know a lot of top trainers. Of course, I don't want them to pay to help me hire a trainer because I have my own money."

As someone who has been through this, Qin Yue knows very well how much help a top trainer can provide for his subsequent special training.

Although he knew the names of many top trainers, for these top trainers with different personalities, sometimes money may not necessarily buy their services.

What's more, Qin Yue didn't have enough money to make the other party drop his current work and come to guide him regardless of everything.

So taking advantage of Nike's goodwill towards him, Qin Yue saw this as an opportunity to establish a good cooperative relationship with these top trainers.

A day later, Nike responded to Qin Yue through Rachel, the "hidden line".

Nike executive Lynn Merritt agreed to Qin Yue's request without hesitation.

"Who is the trainer they hired for me?" Qin Yue asked curiously.

"Tim Grover."

After a pause, Rachel suddenly said in a panic: "Also, Nike hopes that you can take some time to go to Charlotte next time, because someone there wants to see you."

Hearing this, Qin Yue took a breath of cold air.

Tim Grover, there are many legends about him
But you just need to know that his greatest achievement was helping Michael Jordan ascend to the throne.

As for making time to go to Charlotte?

Charlotte during this period
Is there any other big shot who can let Nike get in touch with him through "secret lines" like commanding his younger brothers?
The time point in 2004.

The only person who could have this power in Charlotte was that man:

——The God of Basketball, Michael Jordan.

……

注①：在历史上疯三与贾马尔-尼尔森的这次交手中，保罗总计拿到了12分8助攻3抢断，而尼尔森则是拿到了24分7助攻3抢断。

As a fan who grew up watching Paul, don't ask me why I have so much data and information about Paul, because I know every loss and beating of Paul.

PS: I’m begging for collection, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets for my new book!

(End of this chapter)