Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 200 Trojans, war is coming!
"I plan to let you play the last game." Two hours before the game, head coach Andy said to Chen Fang.

Chen Fang shook his head: "Coach, let's divide the order of appearance according to grade."

So, Chen Fang became the first to appear at the Galen Center of USC, the first home court of the USC Trojans, and opened their 11-14 season journey on November 2016.

A D1 team's regular season is divided into two parts. The first part is non-conference games, which are concentrated from November to late December, usually 11-12 games.

These are one-off encounters, played just once this season.

At the end of December, the league's civil war begins. There are 12 teams in the PAC12 league, so each team will play 12 games, home and away, until the beginning of March.

Finally, in just a few days, the league playoffs will be completed, the champion will be decided, and the qualification for the tournament will be obtained.

Today's opponent is the Omaha University Mavericks, a member of the Summit League (MBB). MBB is a minor league, with teams ranked between 200 and 300, and is a mid-tier league among the 1 teams in D346.

This is undoubtedly a good opponent for the opening game, but the team did not take it lightly. If they lost, it would not be a fun thing.

Before entering, according to the exit ceremony, everyone will gather together and perform some traditional prayers, including collective motivational slogans and personal salutes from core team members.

It was Chen Fang's turn. He felt a little embarrassed. To be honest, he was not opposed to these things, but he felt a little ashamed.

But this is part of the American game. In the Chinese competition, because Chen Fang did not have his own personal motivational moves, the whole team spontaneously choreographed them for him. But Chen Fang was unable to obey. His brain was simply unable to remember such fancy and complicated gestures. He practiced repeatedly for a whole afternoon, but still made mistakes, resulting in him not being able to warm up properly.

Finally, Chen Fang begged everyone to let him go and let him write one himself.

After thinking for a while, Chen Fang had no idea, so he simply performed a set of Eight Section Brocade at 8X fast forward, and ended with the Taoist Jishou.

In fact, the American style is all about being cool and trendy. The weirder it is, the more people like it. Everyone screamed and was fascinated by Chen Fang's moves.

So everyone started to learn it in the same way, because they were supposed to do the same movements, but that was impossible, so Chen Fang had no choice but to simplify it, starting with the first move of holding up the hands to the sky, the second move of making bows to the left and right, then shaking the head and tail, and finally with clenched fists and glaring, putting the hands together and bowing to finish the ceremony.

Marshall, the team reporter and sports columnist, was holding a camera and faithfully recording this scene.

Chen Fang stood alone in the front, and the other 12 people stood in two rows facing him.

Chen Fang's horse stance was solid and his movements were crisp and clear, while everyone else copied him in a hurry, and finally all 13 of them clasped their fists to each other.

This is a very strange scene, but it became the opening scene of the USC legendary documentary.

Then the whole team shouted together: "Palmam qui meruit ferat! Trojans!" (Latin, meaning: Let victory belong to those who deserve it! Troy!)
At this time, the stadium sounded USC's exclusive fight song "Fight On!", which is the school song of USC and also the fight song of all sports. In November 1923, "Fight On!" participated in the song competition held by the USC Assembly Committee and was unanimously recognized by 11 judges. Since then, it has become the motto of USC.

Just like that, Chen Fang was the first to rush to the court following the war song.

DJ also shouted: The eagle from the east hunts all prey in the air and on the ground. He belongs to the sky and is the lookout of the Trojan army. He makes it impossible for the enemy to hide. He guides us on the right path!
Well, one can only admire the Americans' ability to flatter. Chen Fang stood under the spotlight with a blushing face and a beating heart. Except for the court, the rest of the stadium was dark, with only countless mobile phone lights flashing like stars.

Even though Chen Fang became USC's first triple-double, it was not in the United States after all, and many student fans who were present were still in a state of information stagnation. For the first person to appear, there was only a polite cheer, and then nothing else.

But Chen Fang showed no sign of abnormality. Perhaps this scene was enough for him. He stood there with his hands behind his back, quietly waiting for his teammates to appear one by one.

The last person to appear was Elijah. His playing style and personality have won him a lot of fans at USC. When he appeared on the stage, the cheers from the entire audience reached a boiling point. Chen Fang was also a little shocked, but he couldn't help but smile as he looked at the proud Elijah.

Then all the lights in the Galen Center came on. The visiting team did not have the spotlight. The DJ also announced the members of the Omaha Mavericks in a calm and quick tone. No one had any objection to this.

This is the treatment for everyone at the away game. Not booing is the best courtesy.

If you've seen UCLA come here and get booed for several minutes, you'll be satisfied with this moment.

All pre-match preparation rituals are like the etiquette before a meal. There is no possibility of loss or perfunctory performance.

When everyone was singing the national anthem, Chen Fang did not move, but just looked down at his toes. Today he was wearing Kobe 6, the color was very nice, there were several color combinations. Just as Chen Fang was thinking about it, the American national anthem finally ended.

Well, this might be the time in a game when Chen Fang feels he needs to be distracted the most.

Chen Fang was not arranged to start. He sat next to the coach and started his NCAA schedule.

The starters are: Shaqquan Aaron, Benny Boatwright, Nick Rakocevic, Ilya Stewart, Jordan McLaughlin.

Before Chen Fang came, this was the starting lineup of USC, along with Chimezie Metu, who would sometimes replace Benny. Except for the power forward position, there were no changes in the other four positions.

The strength of the Omaha Mavericks is here. The starters played very easily. McLaughlin is very experienced. He did not take up too much ball possession. When he dribbled across half court, Elijah would receive him, Shaqquin would do the pull, Benny would go to the top of the arc to set a screen, and Nick would position himself strongly.

McLaughlin then passed the ball according to the running positions of his teammates, received the ball, and passed it again.

Chen Fang asked curiously: "Why is it different?"

"It's specially for you to see." Andy's answer surprised Chen Fang.

"Yes, let me show you how the USC used to play. Watch carefully and tell me the difference."

After playing for 7 minutes, Andy started to make substitutions. Metu replaced Benny, Devin Fleming replaced McLaughlin, and Devin Fleming replaced Elijah, leaving only Shaqquin and Nick in the starting lineup.

"Usually I will make adjustments based on the score after seven or eight minutes. If we are ahead, I will replace three substitutes to keep the team active. If we are behind, I will send in offensive players to increase the intensity."

Chen Fang listened attentively as Andy told him his coaching intentions step by step.

The Chinese reporters who came to the scene specially seemed very impatient. They were all looking forward to Chen Fang's appearance, otherwise they really didn't know how to write today's article.

Zhao Xiang complained to his colleagues: "As expected, the Chinese competition cannot be taken seriously. Chen Fang was the first to compete, but there is no sign of him playing. He was praised so much before, but he still has no status. Alas."

His colleagues echoed: "Yes, they are making fun of us Chinese."

Similar remarks were heard everywhere in the stands. Today, there were about 400 Chinese students at the scene. Their wish was simple: to watch their compatriots play live. For them, it was a great way to relax from their heavy academic workload.

But there is no hope of relaxing now, and it makes me even more tired.

"Remember the offensive and defensive instincts of each teammate. Shaq likes to shoot after physical confrontation, so once there is no one in front of him, he will hesitate. But if he is in a one-on-one situation, he will be very motivated and have a strong desire to catch the ball. But you have to judge whether his opponent is defending well. Through these, you will know what will happen if you pass the ball to him?"

"Was it the opponent's fast break, or was it a semi-conversion?"

Chen Fang was very confused after listening to Andy's analysis. He asked, "If this is true, what should I do?"

"If you judge that he has a 50% chance to score, then you can give it to him, but you have to be prepared to control the other party's initiator in advance. Once Shaqquin misses the shot and the other party gets the rebound, choose one of the people who can advance the ball the most to delay him and prevent him from receiving the ball."

"I see." Chen Fang suddenly realized that if no one guided him, he would have to play countless games before he could figure out these very detailed things.

"You've seen enough, go on stage. I'll leave you five minutes in the first half." Andy patted Chen Fang on the shoulder.

Chen Fang perked up, he stood up, took off his coat, walked to the center line and squatted down.

His action caused a stir. Many people who were looking forward to Chen Fang's performance began to smile and cheers broke out.

Chen Fang replaced Shaqquin, who played for 15 minutes today, scored 6 points and 1 rebound, and his performance was only average.

The two men high-fived, and Chen Fang tucked his jersey into his shorts. He liked to wear a smaller size and did not like pants that went above the knee, but his upper body had to be a little loose. In this way, he did not look very thin, but rather a little sturdy.

For Omaha, No. 21 Chen was not their main focus before the game. Head coach Roots stood there with his hands on his hips and didn't even look at Chen Fang.

Now they are 6 points behind USC, and the overall situation satisfies him. Although he has thought about winning, it is very difficult to play away from home, and it is also the Mavericks' first game. He hopes that his teammates can get back to their form through the game.

But Chen Fang's first ball caught his attention.

Chen Fang played as a small forward. He first went to the top of the arc to hand off the ball to Devin, then made an off-ball screen, walked to the free throw line, staring at the person defending him, and suddenly cut sideways to a position one step inside the left wing.

Devin first went to the right side, then passed the ball back to Nick who was in the pick-and-roll. Nick used his height to pass the ball to Chen Fang.

So, Chen Fang received the ball as soon as he arrived at the position. His teammates still had the inertial thinking of passing the ball, and when they saw Chen Fang, they subconsciously wanted to pass the ball.

But the next second after Chen Fang touched the ball, he passed the ball back to Nick who was following suit. The latter was also surprised to get the ball, but quickly made a layup without stopping, catching the opponent off guard.

"Support the small forward?" Roots asked his assistant.

"Seems to be."

From the entire passing idea, it is obvious that No. 21 is an important part of the tactics.

Roots blew a whistle to remind Abby, who was defending the Chinese, that he needed to raise his center of gravity and focus on defending the opponent's passing route.

When the ball is changed, the Omaha team still uses up a very old tradition. The 35-second offensive time will always use up the first seconds, and there are many unnecessary passes from the four outside players to mobilize the defense.

But Chen Fang kept reading, and he discovered something interesting.

The person who passes the ball at the top of the arc will prefer to pause, as if he is looking for a better passer, but in fact this is just a bad habit of his. His habitual arm movement will still be to pass the ball to the person on the right wing.

He silently moved sideways a step, giving the defender more space to receive the ball. Suddenly, Chen Fang pushed off the ground and took a step forward. Using his speed and arm span, he intercepted the ball in a flash.

After getting the ball, Chen Fang did not brake, but moved forward according to his instinct. He did not hold the ball through the middle, but slowly moved to the side. Omaha No. 3, who had just made a pass error, was desperately chasing him, trying to make up for his mistake.

He was totally oblivious to Devin speeding up behind him.

Chen Fang slowed down on his own initiative and moved closer, then made a back pass and the basketball bounced in front of Devin who was catching up, allowing him to reach out and catch the ball very comfortably. He took a step forward without dribbling, jumped up and put the ball into the basket with one hand.

Busen, who was in charge of recording the data, quickly recorded it on the data sheet. He did not simply write an assist, but made a detailed table.

The occurrence process and location of each piece of data were recorded, and marked and arranged in chronological order with red and blue pens on a full-field map.

This is a very detailed record, a basic record specifically used to study advanced data. Busen hasn't done this for many years, but he came into Andy's sight through a video analyst.

In the next round, Omaha didn't dare to pass the ball like this. They chose to try the inside, but the Nicks defended the ball and grabbed the rebound.

Chen Fang subconsciously wanted to receive the ball, but suddenly he reacted and ran slowly to the front court.

He is adapting to his new role and reading how to play better in the semi-conversion as a participant.

Devin dribbled the ball, but faced with the delay of the whole-court defense, he tried to break free, but the opponent seemed to have arranged a tactic and someone quickly went to double-team him.

Chen Fang immediately moved sideways and came to the middle, like a defensive lineman in a football defense, and immediately blocked the man who was trying to double-team him. Devin also successfully went around Chen Fang and came to the frontcourt.

Andy nodded, and said to Tony, who was sitting one seat away, "He's using his brain."

"Yes, I like his focus and decisiveness."

Afterwards, Devin and Chen Fang passed the ball to each other. Many times, everyone would see this scene in the game and think that this was a particularly wasteful pass, but in fact, it was a particularly useful pass combination.

It's like when you are doing a triple threat and shaking your shoulders left and right. As long as you do this, the defender will not come forward to get close to you, but will immediately adjust his footwork to prevent you from breaking through.

The effect of this kind of pass within three or four meters is the same. Before the tactic is launched, or it takes a few seconds to transition, you are holding the ball alone and are easily pressed. But when the ball is passed to each other, both defenders will stop moving and switch to passive defense instead of offensive defense. Chen Fang started shouting, he raised his arms and ran to the top of the arc. Nick pulled out and attracted the attention of Omaha's defense. Three defenders gathered in the middle.

At this time, Devin dribbled the ball to the wing, and this action pulled the three people in the middle. This tactic is called: tearing meat with hands.

As the name suggests, tear a large piece of meat horizontally.

This is the standard starting run for the strong-side and weak-side transition. Nick gave Chen Fang an off-ball screen. Chen Fang went to the penalty area, bringing with him Omaha's rotating defender. He made a circle and suddenly went to the short corner.

At this time, Devin threw the ball to him in a half-high throw. Chen Fang paused after receiving the ball, waiting for the defender to get close to him. He slightly turned sideways, turned his head to look behind him, just a quick glance, and with a side pass, passed the ball horizontally to Nick who had just finished screening for Chen Fang and was going down to the basket.

At this time, the person following Nick was the one who had previously defended Chen Fang. They had just made a rotation, and the center who was supposed to defend Nick went to cover for Chen Fang.

So, this man who was only 193cm tall looked at Nick who was 210cm tall and shot the ball into the goal.

"That's right, this is the support for the small forward." Omaha head coach Rotz confirmed.

Good boy, you got 3 assists in just a few minutes on the court?
Since when did D1 assists become so easy to get?
Chen Fang kept the coach's words in mind. He started with supporting the team, and everything went smoothly. But when he started with attacking, things became increasingly difficult.

This is how basketball games work. The stronger you are, the greater the defensive intensity and pressure you will get. How to play efficiently and smartly is what Chen Fang needs to learn.

He needs to get rid of his previous mindset of scoring aggressively, attracting double-teaming and then assisting, and start to step into a new role and new mindset.

Because of this, you can integrate into the team and drive the offense.

As before, with the intensity and level of the competition, the road will become narrower and narrower.

The first half ended with a buzzer, and Chen Fang walked off the court. Every teammate around him took the initiative to high-five him.

Yes, everyone has data, and they can personally feel the changes brought about by placing it on the court.

Scoring is becoming easier for everyone.

48: 36.

In the last five minutes, the Omaha Mavericks went from trailing by 6 points to trailing by 12 points, which made Chen Fang's efficiency value suddenly become +7.

The efficiency value is abbreviated as PER, and its calculation formula is PER=MP(PTS+REB+AST+STL+BLK)(FGAFGM0.44×FTATOV).

PTS: player points, REB: player rebounds (offense + defense), AST: player assists, STL: player steals, BLK: player blocks.

FGA, FGM: the number of shots attempted and made by the player, FTA: the number of free throw attempts by the player.

TOV: number of turnovers committed by a player, MP: minutes played by a player.

0.44: is an adjustment factor that reflects the value of a free throw relative to a field goal attempt.

There is also a more intuitive calculation, which is not accurate, but the positive and negative are very clear. That is, when a player comes on the court and leaves the court, the change in the score represents the positive and negative value of this player.

In these five minutes, Chen Fang handed in his first test paper with 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 rebound, and Andy was very satisfied with this.

"Second half, keep going." Andy's words made Chen Fang laugh, which meant that he had more time in the second half.

During the half-time break, in the locker room, Andy patiently commented on everyone's gains and losses. Finally, he clapped his hands to remind the whole team.

"The opponents are not strong, but we have to play as if they are the strongest and stay focused. I am always watching you."

Keeping the players focused is also one of the most important things a head coach needs to do in the midfield.

At the beginning of the second half, what many people were worried about did not happen. Chen Fang returned to the court with the starting lineup. He was very calm. Even though he had not scored a point yet, no one could read a trace of impatience on his face.

Some reporters who have been playing against Chen Fang have found that the number of times Chen Fang communicates with his teammates has increased dramatically. Whether attacking or defending, he is shouting and making gestures.

This undoubtedly gave them a bit of surprise, because judging from the situation on the scene, Chen Fang was the core of the Trojans, and he was involved in almost every end of the attack.

When he stands at a certain position on the court, he will become a fulcrum of the court, and all tactics will run through him.

Chen Fang finally scored his first point. He used a fake pass to knock the defender away.

This poor defender was replacing Chen Fang during a rotation. When he saw No. 21 was about to pass the ball, he instinctively rushed to the next person. Unfortunately, this was just Chen Fang's realistic deception. While he turned his head and tried to defend with his eyes, Chen Fang steadily made a three-pointer.

Afterwards, Chen Fang seemed to have the desire to score. He received the ball in the short corner, turned around, and went in from the baseline. Without being able to see the basket, he jumped straight forward and worked in the rectangular area less than half a meter between the backboard and the baseline.

With a blind pull-up shot in the air, he miraculously hooked the ball into the basket with his backhand. The most incredible thing was that Chen Fang's body was extremely stretched, his body slightly leaning forward, one hand in front, the other hand protecting his head, his legs naturally bent slightly forward and backward, and at the moment of the shot, he actually straightened his waist, and the whole person turned into a big character in the air, which brought a strong sense of visual stagnation.

Countless people exclaimed, stood up from their seats, held their heads, and subconsciously watched the replay on the big screen.

There is a very interesting phenomenon in basketball: if you want to gain fans, slow motion is the best helper.

With just one look, Chen Fang captured the hearts of tens of thousands of USC student fans present at the stadium.

"This is exactly what I imagined basketball to be!" An old fan who is already a graduate student said with emotion, looking up at the big screen.

Seeing Chen Fang score five points in a row, Andy smiled. He shook his head and sighed to his coaching team: "I feel guilty. Chen has a strong desire to score from the bottom of his heart, and he has a romantic scoring technique. God, please forgive me."

Everyone was touched, so when Chen Fang scored his seventh point with a layup, Andy decisively signaled: "Okay, let him come down, I have to do this."

When he found himself signaled to be substituted, Chen Fang calmed down and looked at the time.

Well, Coach Andy, you are a real believer.

Exactly ten minutes had passed.

He played for 15 minutes, scored 7 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds, which is an unsatisfactory result.

I felt a little depressed because many people interpreted Chen Fang's expression as unhappy, so I immediately knew how to write the manuscript.

"I was a little inefficient." Chen Fang admitted his mistake as soon as he sat down.

He was talking about the first few minutes of the game, when he was a little too deliberate in directing the tactics, which resulted in one pass being intercepted, and the remaining four passes had no assists, allowing the opponent to turn it into a fast break and two and a half conversions.

"No need to apologize. It was the first game and it was beyond my expectations." Andy consoled her. He said, "Today I have arranged for you to go to the post-match press conference with me. Please prepare yourself."

"Me?" Chen Fang was a little panicked.

"Yes, get used to it. There will be many more such things in the future." Patting him on the shoulder, Andy focused his attention on the court.

In the end, USC got off to a good start at home, 92:78, defeating the Omaha Mavericks by 14 points.

It was the first time for Chen Fang to sit in a post-match press conference. There were about twenty reporters in the audience, including columnists from the PAC12 league and major league reporters from the NCAA. Chen Fang also saw five or six Asian faces.

After asking the head coach a few questions, all the firepower was focused on Chen Fang.

It was PAC12 reporter Derek McCoy who got the first right to ask questions. He asked: "Chen, can you tell me how it felt to play your first home game?"

"It's very exciting, it's a big scene, my heart is still pounding!"

Chen Fang's humorous answer caused a burst of laughter at the press conference, which meant that the players were not nervous, which was a good thing.

"Are you satisfied with your data today?" Derek continued to ask.

"I don't care about the statistics, I care more about the team's victory, so I am very happy now."

Chen Fang's answer immediately made the reporter feel that he was not a fool and it was a very good reply.

Afterwards, several reporters asked questions about his life and how he evaluated his teammates. Chen Fang's answers were flawless, and even Andy, who was ready to remedy the situation, was surprised.

Chinese journalists are obviously being ignored, but there is nothing that can be done about it. According to convention, some journalists who cooperate with the alliance must be taken care of. Their manuscripts have to be published tomorrow, so how can they be published without interviews?
It was not until the end that Chinese journalists were given permission.

Zhao had unexpected good luck. He immediately stood up, took the microphone quickly handed to him by the staff, and asked, "In the China Open, you took 30 minutes last time, but only 15 minutes this time. Are you surprised?"

"It's not surprising. The NCAA is the best league in the world, with a longer history than the NBA. I'm very satisfied with my playing time. The coach and teammates have given me a lot of help. The league is still long. This is the best place for me, and I'm very grateful."

Chen Fang answered very seriously, and Andy looked coldly at this reporter who appeared out of nowhere.

Afterwards, the press conference ended and Andy patted Chen Fang on the back in congratulations.

"It's the first time, I can't tell, it's pretty good."

"My pants are wet." Chen Fang begged: "Don't call me next time."

"It's a rotation, but today is a little special. Besides, why did your compatriots stab you in the back?" Andy asked out of curiosity.

"That's normal. All crows are black. For traffic, reporters don't care what your skin color is!"

"Haha!" Andy laughed, and then assured Chen Fang: "I will have someone keep an eye on them in the future. We can control the reporters you think are bad and not allow them to participate in the press conference."

"The coach is just too ruthless. The more I look at him, the more he looks like Don Corleone. It would be better if he had more white hair on his temples."

"Really? This is the first time someone says that." Andy was surprised.

The two men jokingly returned to the basement parking lot, which was the area reserved for the players' buses, and everyone in the bus was waiting for them.

(The USC Galen Center is located at the southeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and Figueroa Street in the Exposition Park area of Los Angeles, California, USA, across the street from the campus and near the Shrine Auditorium. Therefore, it can be said that the Galen Center is on the USC campus, or at least adjacent to the campus, separated by only one street.)
Chen Fang went up first, followed by Andy. He stood at the front and shouted to everyone who had been waiting for a long time: "Trojans!"

"Win!" Everyone cheered and shouted victory.

"Boys, we've made a good start. Next, let's unite as one and let the Trojan Army conquer everything we see!"

"Fight On!!" everyone shouted again.

Marshall, the reporter accompanying the team, took this photo of the whole team standing in the bus. The light was distinct from the dark, and there were roaring faces under the countless arms.

This is also his cover photo on the school newspaper.

The title reads: Trojans, war is coming!

　I just found out today that the monthly tickets will be doubled. No wonder the increase was so sharp and the ranking dropped out of the top ten in the sports section. We don’t pursue this. Carefully managing our own little world is better than anything else!
　　The New Year is coming soon. It was published on September 9st, and it has been 1 months soon. It is close to one million words. What can I say? I feel ashamed.

　　It’s almost a million words before I start writing about NCAA. Thank you all for your support and patience.

　　I hope everyone is getting better and better. In 25 years, we will continue to watch Chen Fang’s basketball dream!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)