Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 141 America's Strongest

Late one night on the last day of October, Perez, the second-team coach and first-team chief scout, knocked on Bennett’s office.

"Please come in."

Then Perez pushed the door open and saw Bennett rubbing his eyelids. The TV next to him was playing the team's training match video this week.

"I saw the lights in your office were still on, so I came over to take a look." Perez raised the beer in his hand.

"Ice cold, would you like some?"

"Of course!" Bennett perked up.

In the West, there is no concept of snacks to go with alcohol, let alone beer.

The two of them each had a bottle, and after clinking the bottles together, they tilted their heads back and took a big sip.

"Wow." After letting out a long breath, Bennett felt like his soul had mostly returned. He had been very busy during this period, training during the day and analyzing games at night.

"Do we have an answer for the starting lineup?" Perez asked.

"That's almost it. You picked such a good one that it's hard for me to refuse." Bennett smiled bitterly.

The two clinked their glasses again, and after a sip, Perez said, "I have a list too, why don't we take it out and look at it together."

"Okay." Bennett smiled. He quickly wrote on the paper and folded it, leaving the blank space for Perez.

After the latter finished writing, he spread out the paper. The two of them looked at it and laughed together.

"Old man, it seems we are all thinking the same thing."

"Tatum, Chen, Murphy, Logan, Theo." Bennett read the names on the note, and then asked: "What is your reason?"

"Chen and Jason are unshakable. They have already developed a chemistry. Jayne can switch freely between the S and F positions, while Chen can rotate between P and G. They can even both play inside, one as S and the other as F. Their offense on the court is very strong, and their defense can also be described as strong. This is a rare offensive and defensive killer." Perez began to narrate his logic.

"So we have to build around them and match the team. Murphy's rim protection and tonnage are trustworthy, and Theo's assist defense ability is excellent. He is a safety lock on defense."

"In comparison, Raymond can only serve as a rotation substitute for the two of them."

"I've thought about the remaining G position for a long time. Bud, Logan, Vio, and Bobby, the four of them are competing for the shooting guard position."

"Vio is not aggressive enough and his defense is a weakness. I will rule him out first, even though he is a veteran of the team."

"Bud's defense is a problem, but his advantage is that he has a certain degree of independent offensive ability. He can serve as Jason's substitute and strengthen the bench."

"Poppy's strength is his breakthrough. During this week's training, his breakthrough ability was very strong, but because of this, I didn't choose him."

"Why?" Bennett listened attentively and asked with great interest.

"Because there is no space." Perez sighed, shrugged and explained: "This is not my fault. Chen Fang's appearance was not in my plan. My national recruitment this time was tailor-made for Tatum. He needs a breakthrough player to compress the space so that he can have more shooting space."

"But Chen's appearance completely made Bobby a tactical pawn."

Bennett nodded, a point of view he agreed with.

Imagine that Chen is on the outside and Jason is inside, there is enough space, and an additional Poppy who is rushing around will completely affect the overall offense and defense.

"So, only Logan, who is also an excellent defender and has a certain scoring ability, can link the two iron gates of Chen Fang and Jason together."

"So, our five starters have the best defensive index in the United States!" Perez said excitedly, slamming the empty wine bottle on the table with a bang.

Bennett laughed and said excitedly: "Old man, this is what I thought. Our starting lineup will definitely attract the attention of the whole country."

"Our problem now is that we only have Raymond in the interior rotation." Perez expressed his concerns.

"Jason plays 4, Chen plays 3." Bennett said, and then he continued: "Tevin plays 1, Logan continues to play 2, Tevin's defense is also good."

"So, our defensive strength can always be online." Perez nodded in agreement.

"With 12 people, we have to get busy. We need to develop three main lineups and two secondary lineups. Based on Jason and Chen's characteristics, we need to develop at least eight individual tactics to deal with the enemy's targeting."

"I see. There's still a week left. That's plenty of time."

"Yes, we will hone our skills in the preseason in November. Our old rivals are eyeing us eagerly and are waiting for us in the regular season in the second half of November."

"Yes, we have many old enemies," Perez said with a smile.

"We must avenge last year with blood this year. It is also our duty to help them become men!" Bennett said nonchalantly.

"Let's get started." The two old partners smiled at each other, and everything was said without words.

As high school coaches, they know too well the underlying logic of how this league operates.

No one is always strong. There will always be a period of dominance because someone recruits or discovers a supernova. Just like the Red Devils had three ups and downs, reaching the top of the state league three times with David Lee, Bill and Tatum.

Now, they are in their strongest moment. The 15-16 season will surely go down in school history, and tons of honors are waiting for them.

In life, when you are at the bottom, you persist silently and never give up; when you are at the peak, you indulge yourself and enjoy all the glory.

The same goes for teams. Even the powerful Lakers and Celtics have to follow this rule.

※※※

While the two coaches were ambitious, Chen Fang was feeling very agitated.

The reason was that when Wu Zi was on her way home from school, she was chased by a gang. Two gangs chased each other in a car and fired at each other, causing a passerby to be shot and injured.

Although Wu Zi did not witness it personally and the incident happened across the street, when Chen Fang heard about it, his hair stood on end and he felt like he was waking up from a beautiful dream.

It is difficult for ordinary people to understand the sense of crisis of a reborn person. After returning home and hearing about this incident, Chen Fang was restless. He searched on the computer and found out that St. Louis was such a ghost place.

The worst public safety in the United States!

It was like seeing a ghost. Chen Fang slapped himself twice.

Thinking back to the reminder from the grade director and the community security, I didn’t think about it carefully at the time, and now I’m really horrified.

Seeing Chen Fang's behavior, Lu Yun also had a headache. He was of course aware of this. At the same time, he also knew that since his family did not stop him from coming, they were naturally sensible.

On the contrary, Chen Fang was rough and sloppy at the beginning, but now it seems that he really has no idea of his own limits.

"Let's change places." Chen made a big decision, which shocked Lu Yun.

"Wait a minute!" Lu Yun hurriedly stopped Chen Fang's thoughts. He said, "I'm bothering you. Even if I'm not on the same team, I know that the Red Devils are terribly strong now. This is your best choice. Are you kidding me?"

"But!" Chen Fang looked at Wu Zi, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room, reading a book calmly, with a conflicted look on his face.

"If you do this again, I won't like you anymore!" Wu Zi couldn't help but put down the book and became unhappy.

Chen Fang scratched his head and wilted. Seeing the always arrogant Chen Fang being controlled by Wu Zi was not the first time Lu Yun had seen it, but he did not make fun of him this time. Instead, he said to Wu Zi very seriously, "It's right to care about you. Your school is only two lines away from the red alert line, not like here, there are still two lines."

Lu Yun was talking about the patrol lines of police cars. The overlap of patrol lines means safety.

Generally speaking, the area covered by three intersecting patrol lines is very safe. The number of police interrogations increases exponentially, and gangsters are unwilling to come.

Wu Zi stopped talking. Chen Fang thought about it and pulled Lu Yun to the small balcony in the backyard.

"Didn't you say that your family has security for you?" Chen Fang asked in a low voice.

"Yes, but I don't know where they are. I think they will be activated as soon as I leave school." Lu Yun understood what Chen Fang meant.

"Then can I..., I can pay for it." Chen Fang hesitated.

"Okay, stop talking, I'll take care of it." Lu Yun interrupted Chen Fang and pulled Chen Fang back, saying earnestly, "Don't get flustered when it comes to the people you care about. This is not a good character."

"Just calm down, everything will be fine."

Chen Fang also felt that he was a little confused just now. He returned to the living room and saw Wu Zi looking at him, so he forced a smile.

"It's okay." Chen Fang was worried that Wu Zi was under pressure.

Now, in the evening, the three of them have a daily routine of chatting together in the backyard after dinner, or taking a walk on the trails in the community to digest their food.

Then after 7:30, I go back home and start reviewing today’s class and preparing for tomorrow’s.

It usually ends on time at ten o'clock, and after washing up, everyone goes back to their own room to rest.

But today was an exception. Just a few minutes after Chen Fang went to bed, he heard a faint knock on the door. He got out of bed quickly and saw Wu Zi when he opened the door.

Wu Zi didn't say anything, but turned off the light, and then hugged Chen Fang tightly in the dark. "Today, I want to sleep here with you." She whispered shyly.

Chen Fang expressed his attitude with actions. He picked up Wu Zi and put her on the bed in the dark.

It felt like returning to that day in Weishan. In the end, Wu Zi put one hand on Chen Fang's mouth and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito's hum: "It's OK."

Chen Fang stopped angrily, lay on his back, breathing heavily.

The two were still touching and kissing each other, and if they went any further, Wu Zi would immediately stop them.

"Go to sleep, you have to get up early tomorrow." Wu Zi put one foot on Chen Fang's belly. This was her favorite sleeping position. Poor Chen Fang.

But Wu Zi was right. Ever since Chen Fang knew that Tatum arrived at the school gym at 6 o'clock every day, he adjusted his time to match him.

The two made a bet that whoever came last would run 10 more shuttle runs.

After regulating his breathing, Chen Fang slowly entered into meditation, and then relaxed his entire mind.

He didn't notice that Wu Zi had been looking at him infatuatedly in the faint night light.

Wu Zi also did not tell Chen Fang how satisfied she felt when she heard Chen Fang say that they wanted to change cities.

Women are like this. Sometimes, they are satisfied with just one word. And sometimes, no matter how much you do, she won't be moved.

Fate is important, but being in sync is more critical.

In Lu Yun's eyes, this is childish and unpromising, but in Wu Zi's heart, this is the reason why she came all the way to the United States.

Because Chen Fang put her first.

※※※

"It's good today!" Although his face was frowned, Chen Fang still made the shot. After landing, Tatum praised him.

"Yes, my Rex Rabbit." Chen Fang wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"No, call me REX." Tatum shook his head.

REX means executive king in Latin, which seems less popular than the English word KING. But after Tatum knew why he was called Rex, he laughed and accepted the first half of the sentence.

Because REX is the name of the popular Tyrannosaurus Rex in Toy Story, and Tatum happened to like this green-skinned Tyrannosaurus Rex very much, he soon asked for this nickname to be his.

Americans are very obsessed with nicknames. Once they determine that there is a necessary connection between them and themselves, they will believe that it is God's arrangement.

The two continued to practice against each other. They began to match up in many exercises, the shuttle runs, the number of field goal attempts, the time of high intensity dribbling, and finally the one-on-one duel.

It was not until after 7:30 that the two finished their daily training, prepared to go to the cafeteria to eat breakfast, and started going to class.

When they left the gym, Bennett and Perez appeared at the door. They watched the two men's receding figures. Perez said, "I didn't expect Chen to be able to hold on."

"It's already been ten days, and it seems like he's enjoying it." Bennett was the first to discover that this was Tatum's exclusive training time, and he had been doing it rain or shine since his freshman year of high school.

Some players wanted to follow, but no one stuck with it.

It’s not that he can’t get up at this time, but Tatum has been learning Kobe’s creed.

You can train with me, but I will keep attacking you until you are exhausted and give up. I don't want to train with weaklings, but if you want, I will give you a chance to prove whether you have the willpower to match mine.

Kobe would try every possible way to attack anyone who trained with him in the morning, but no one could do it until he retired.

Tatum is a brainless Kobe fan. He is learning Kobe's words, deeds and behavior, including his playing style, which is independent, so he got a nickname: Lone Mamba.

Unexpectedly, Chen Fang has persisted for ten days and seems to be holding his own.

This made both coaches look at him with new eyes, and thus the conversation just now took place.

"For tomorrow's pre-season game, should the intensity of afternoon training be reduced?" Perez asked.

Bennett shook his head: "There is no need for that. The preseason is a stage for rotation and substitutions. My starting lineup will not be revealed so early."

"Yes, let them wait."

In the classroom, after Chen Fang sat down, he saw Lu Yun yawning and walking into the classroom. His popularity was indeed quite good. In just two weeks, he had become familiar with everyone. As soon as he came in, he received many greetings.

On what?
Of course it is eloquence and knowledge, but the most important thing is how to pick up girls.

One has to admire that these rich kids are born with perfect social skills.

In contrast, because Chen Fang did not have the energy to make friends, he no longer had enough time. Studies and basketball completely filled his daily life.

So far, even Zhou Rui would take the initiative to say hello to him.

At first, some people in the class looked at Chen Fang with indifference and strangeness, but after learning that Chen Fang was in VT, the situation suddenly changed.

Chen Fang's indifference actually makes sense.

No one on the Red Devils is easy to get along with. If you talk to Chen Fang, he will respond politely, which is a very good attitude.

Even though Tatum was talking and laughing with Chen Fang, at school, Tatum almost never looked anyone in the eye, except for his familiar classmates, and the expression on his face was always the same.

Including in the team, except for the old players and Chen Fang, Tatum is rather indifferent to the other 7 new players.

Although it's obvious that he's just pretending, there's nothing we can do about it since his idol is Kobe.

Kobe's idol is Jordan.

Don’t expect the master on this line to smile at you.

Although they are in the same class, they will not be together all day. The ESL course is for international students. Chen Fang and Lu Yun have to go to the comprehensive classroom, which can accommodate about a hundred people.

Only then did Chen Fang realize that there were quite a lot of Asians in this high school, from the lower grades to the senior years.

People from Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, speaking various languages, all showed the same expression when they saw Chen Fanglu Yun, which was surprise.

After all, two people who are almost two meters tall are indeed rare.

"じゃあね/ jya a ne!" Seeing Lu Yun waving goodbye to the two Japanese people who left the classroom, Chen Fang couldn't help but ask: "You know Japanese?"

"I learned a little for daily communication." Lu Yun said.

"I didn't realize you were still a queen?" Chen Fang teased.

"Also, isn't it better to say goodbye in Japanese as 'Sayoula-la'?"

"The pronunciation is wrong, it's Sayonara." Lu Yun was really serious and corrected it.

Then he added: "Also, 'sayonara' is something you say when you never see each other again, or when you meet again after a long, long time. Normally, when you meet again the next day, you say 'jya a ne' or 'ma ta ne'."

"Japanese is very simple, just follow my pronunciation." Lu Yun wrote down the letters on the IPOD.

"Why would I learn this?" Chen Fang rolled his eyes, then said with a smile, "You are interested in men now? Are Japanese men also so enthusiastic?"

"Low thinking."

"Japanese people like to socialize and are afraid of being alone. If you get to know one Japanese person, you are almost connected to all the Japanese in the area. If your relationship is good, they will warmly invite you to their gatherings."

"Then you can get to know Japanese girls?" Chen Fang asked along the way.

Lu Yun laughed and slapped him on the shoulder: "It's a pity that you don't have a share. You've already hanged yourself on a tree."

Chen Fang said, "Be careful, and take care of your sister Meimei."

"Bah, can't you expect anything better? Why is it so difficult to talk to you now?" Lu Yun spat, feeling very unlucky.

"Let's get down to business. Do you know how many players the second team will be transferring up for the preseason?" Chen Fang asked.

"I know. The results are out and I'm on the list." Lu Yun was very proud.

Chen was overjoyed: "Sure."

"I can still surpass this level." The two of them muttered to each other, and when they saw the teacher come in, they straightened up again.

The time for relaxation is always short, and all the time is devoted to studies.

(End of this chapter)