Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 166 Leader
Looking at the scenery outside the car window, Chen Fang felt that he had gradually adapted to this kind of road trip.

Because of cost considerations, the tour basically uses buses as transportation, traveling to the next stop on the highway. Chen Fang and his teammates have already started heading to the next stop.

City of Springfield.

Here, the Lamy Falcons will compete with three teams to get enough points.

In the month of March, they have already traveled through two cities on a similar journey. The Ramey Falcons are playing games from top to bottom along the highway in Missouri. As the number of games increases, more and more people are starting to pay attention to this team led by the Big Falcons. They use tight defense and efficient offense to tear apart all the teams they play against.

Just like their team name, hunting birds flying off the ground, and their slogan, is quickly becoming their label.

7A Sports Network reported the state tournament with a frightening headline: "Hunting Time"

(I'm very sorry. As I added more information, I found a bug. Missouri actually had two initial EYBL teams. One was mokan. I found MOKAN first and didn't continue to check. I didn't expect that the other one was Lamy. Their status is the same. Well, I thought about it again and again and decided to use this reality. I will make emergency revisions to the previous chapters after this chapter is published. I'm sorry again for my inaccuracy.)
As the only opponent they can fight against, the Missouri Shovelers (the name in front is the title, and the name in the back is the team, which changes every year. The Missouri Shovelers are a fish unique to the Missouri River. They have existed since the dinosaur era and are both endangered species like the Chinese sturgeon in China.) are waiting for their arrival in Kansas City.

The two teams are in different situations because of the points issue. Because Ramy reorganized the team, they cannot inherit the previous points. They need to fight again and get enough points to be eligible to play in the EYBL qualifying round EYCL (also known as the EYBL regular season, divided into three stations, the top 24 points will play in Peach Jam, which is the EYBL finals).
After the Springfield battle, as long as they win two games, they will get enough points, and the Wild Falcons will start the EYCL national tour journey with the Shovel Sturgeons.

At this moment, the Wild Falcons team has a total of 9 members. In addition to the Chaminade B team, the other 4 are from various high schools in the surrounding areas of St. Louis. They are all good players with a minimum of five years of playing experience.

Some of them have already played against Chen Fang in the league, and after getting along with him for a month, everyone has tacitly accepted the fact that Chen Fang is the boss.

It's not just because Chen Fang has four henchmen around him, but also because his performance in the game is beyond dispute.

As the boss of the team, he will sit in the front of the bus, which is relatively quiet. In the front are the seats for administrators, coaches, and referees.

Joe Mazzula unexpectedly became the head coach of the Wild Falcons in the competition. He has a good resume. He played in the NCAA and was said to be an assistant coach in the second-tier league. For some reason, he was invited by Ramy to be the interim head coach.

(Yes, those who often watch the NBA should know who this person is. Joe Mazzula has never served as a head coach in the EYBL, but I personally admire his coaching style. I think he is a very good coach. His success is inseparable from his coaching philosophy.)
Don’t think that EYBL is just a paradise for players. It is actually a promotion channel for young coaches. Many university basketball directors are not only observing players, but also looking for coaches.

Many NCAA college assistant coaches have coaching experience in EYBL, so Joe Mazzula’s purpose may be intriguing.

Chen Fang glanced at this guy who looked a bit like an Indian. He was said to be of Italian and African descent. He was already balding, and it was obvious that he was a serious coach. Joe Mazzula seemed to feel that Chen Fang was looking at him, so he raised his head.

When the two looked at each other, relatively speaking, Chen Fang's status was actually no lower than that of the coach, and the two were on an equal footing.

Joe Mazzula began to speak. The journey was boring and talking would help relieve fatigue.

"What do you think of the adjustments made in the last game?"

Joe Mazzula was talking about the game that had just ended. He moved Chen Fang to the small forward position, but still let him play the role of organizer, and the task of passing the ball in the half court was given to the young point guard Cliff Watson.

Let Chen Fang be the first receiving point after halftime, and let him take one or two steps on the wing, that is, cut parallel to the free throw line to the area between the wing and the top of the arc.

At that time, Joe Mazzula spent half an hour explaining his ideas and prospects for this tactic, which he named the rib tactic.

The guard dribbles across half court and passes the ball to the small forward at the elbow. The guard then sets an off-ball screen for the point guard, who goes around the elbow and goes to the baseline, taking away the defense on this side.

The shooting guard then sets a screen and moves to the top of the arc, creating a one-on-one situation for the small forward in the elbow area.

During this process, Chen Fang can read the game. If no one follows the point guard to the baseline, he can pass the ball over the top and let the point guard attack the basket.

If the opponent continues to double-team, pass the ball to the shooting guard at the top of the arc for a three-pointer.

Since neither option offered any good chance, Chen Fang decided to play solo.

While playing one-on-one, the power forward pulled to the free throw line, then suddenly moved down, and Chen Fang waited for an opportunity to pass the ball to the power forward to attack the basket.

The center will pull to the other side and provide screens for the point guard who is slipping to the baseline at any time, and then let the point guard go to the other wing as the third receiving point.

In this way, the four people all cooperated with Chen Fang.

Whether to attack or pass, and who to pass to, is determined by his reading of the game. (In fact, this is a variant of the triangle offense, a tactic Kobe frequently used during the Lakers playoffs.)
It has to be said that after learning about it, Chen Fang had great respect for Joe Mazzula. He was still in the ignorant stage about advanced tactics, and faced with a coach with strong professional capabilities, he was really willing to get involved.

"Very good, but our team is still lacking matching players," Chen Fang replied.

Joe Mazzula nodded: "Yes, Watson is too short. He is not the best fit when it comes to attacking the basket."

“Similarly, his three-point shooting is not good enough. Strictly speaking, he has lost two options, the first and the last option, which is not good in my opinion.”

Joe Mazzula had to look at Chen Fang with new eyes. He became interested and asked, "Anything else?"

"It's okay for Hyde to come to the top of the arc. I trust his three-pointers. But if he doesn't take the shot, how should this tactic continue?" Chen Fang asked.

Joe Mazzula was thinking, Hyde's dribbling ability was not enough for him to break the defense, so he could only be used as a turret. "I think we can do this, let the PF go to the top of the arc to set a screen, and then go down, that way, we can attract the opponent's defense and give me time to go down to the short corner, giving me another chance to post up."

"Hyde can use the pick-and-roll to move to the same wing as me and return the ball to me again. If I am double-teamed again, I will pass the ball to Hyde on the wing and he will have a second chance to shoot a three-pointer." Chen Fang said.

Joe Mazzula was inspired. He took out the tactical board he carried with him and started drawing. Chen put it next to him and talked. The two began to have an in-depth conversation.

This is a wise choice, which not only helps to pass the long journey, but also enriches oneself.

Many people get a headache when they hear about tactics. In fact, this is the same as elementary school mathematics. First you learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, then learn equations, and finally calculus, plus geometry, which will gradually make you a mathematician.

The same is true for basketball, its essence consists of four aspects.

Pass, cut, break, screen (pick and roll), and assist.

Everything about team tactics is derived and combined from these four aspects.

The system generated based on needs and goals also follows this underlying logic.

So as long as you understand these four aspects, you can slowly become a coach, accumulate experience through actual combat, and then further your studies, continue with actual combat, and reach the highest level.

Joe Mazzula was willing to talk about tactics with the Chinese teenager, not only because he needed someone to inspire him, but also because Chen Fang was an organizer and he was the person on the team who most needed to understand coaching.

The fat black man sitting in the front yawned. He must have been woken up, but he didn't blame anyone. He just listened for a while and turned his head away.

"Hey, Chen, these are useful, but not as useful as convincing the referee." After saying that, he winked and made a face.

Ollie Merick, the eldest of the three referees, is in his fifties and has been a referee for nearly twenty years. He is a very interesting person, an old kid. He always brags about how he bullies future stars, using unnecessary whistles to instantly make these arrogant youngsters behave and show them who is the boss of the court.

Chen Fang likes chatting with Oli very much. This old man would always take advantage of Chen Fang and tell him some tips on how to avoid penalties, as well as tips on how to quickly build good relationships with unfamiliar referees.

What Chen Fang lost were a few bottles of whiskey and steak burgers.

Now it has become Chen Fang’s habit to chat with the old man before going to bed.

"You know what? Referees don't like teams that follow the rules." Ollie muttered.

Joe Mazzula also stopped writing, and the two of them listened attentively.

"Even in the NBA, it's the same. Any referee likes to see fierce competition and confrontation. Because it makes us feel present."

"Is it true that all referees like to seek attention?"

"That's right, you play basketball because you love it, and we referee the game because we love it too. Why should we let you have fun while we drink tap water?" Oli's question made both of them smile bitterly.

“But I still say that the most important ritual before the game is to bow your heads to the three referees. Don’t be arrogant. We have hundreds of ways to make you regret it.” Oli laughed.

"Okay, Daddy Ole, do you have any brothers in the NBA?" Chen Fang asked. The way they chat is very equal, and mocking each other is a daily routine.

"I can't afford to lose this guy! My brothers are all in the NCAA. Listen, you will need me for help many times in the future! The same goes for you!" Oli pointed at the two of them.

"Ha, I really hope I can go to the NBA soon and escape from your clutches!" Chen Fang counterattacked.

Joe Mazzula also smiled and said, "That's my wish, too."

The two men laughed, and were greeted by two middle fingers from Papa Ollie.

Theo was a few rows behind, and he too smiled as he watched the scene.

The players, the coach, and the referee, these three people get together, what an interesting little story.

Maybe I can still show off when reporters interview me in the future.

Theo began to think divergently, and he couldn't help but think of Chen Fang's encouragement to them.

Guys, we can do it, we can not only go to D1, but also to the NBA, believe in yourself, let's work hard together.

He looks like a leader now, Theo thought, looking at Chen Fang's smiling profile in the front row.

　I'm going to post a short and weak chapter before midnight. My hands are cold from writing and my fingers are sore from typing on the keyboard. Typing in this winter is a chore.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)