Geniuses nowadays were very pragmatic.
Everyone wanted to join a powerhouse, put up good results and beautiful stats, and participate directly in the draft to become millionaires.
A degree?
How much was that damn thing worth?
So Knight wasn't having an easy time now. His outdated methods couldn't help him recruit talented players.
Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice. Without genius players joining, no matter how much ink he had in his belly, it was useless.
Thus, to solve this chronic illness, part of TTU's recruiting scope had extended overseas in recent years.
Yamashita Shio knew this, so he mentioned Yuuto to Bob Knight and provided relevant game tapes.
After watching, Bob Knight immediately became interested in Yuuto.
He even actively proposed letting Yuuto play in Japan for two years to prepare before landing in the US.
At the same time, he stated he would continue to follow Yuuto for these two years, designing training plans and tactics for him.
This way, when Yuuto lands in the US two years later, he could help him integrate into TTU and the American basketball style as quickly as possible, ultimately helping him realize the dream of entering the NBA.
After listening, Yuuto couldn't help but look at the old man in front of him.
If he didn't know in advance what kind of guy Bob Knight was, he would probably be grateful enough to prostrate himself and acknowledge him as a godfather on the spot.
The problem was Yuuto knew what kind of person Knight was and guessed his current situation.
Bullshit "wait two years for everyone to be ready."
Bob Knight was probably worried that if Yuuto played two years of high school in the US, he wouldn't have the chance to bring him back to TTU.
"Sounds good, but that's not what I want, Coach."
"Why?"
Yamashita Shio was stunned. He thought this was the best arrangement for Yuuto.
After all, that was a legendary NCAA coach who had coached the Dream Team and won gold medals.
"Coach, my goal is the NBA."
Yuuto said helplessly.
The NCAA was just a springboard for him to enter the NBA.
With the NCAA custom of leveling up in the first year, starting to play in the second, and becoming a team starter in the third or fourth year... he would need at least two years to have a chance to participate in the draft and be selected.
Yuuto didn't want to spend that much time on campus basketball.
He hoped to play in the high school league sooner, using his performance to attract NCAA powerhouse universities to join.
Only in this way could he get a lot of playing time in his first year of college, then put up stats and participate in the draft directly.
So, Bob Knight and TTU had no attraction for Yuuto. After all, draft stock was heavily related to team performance.
The most watched time for the NCAA was March every year.
At this time, even NBA general managers would turn their eyes to the college league to see how these rookies performed under pressure.
The better the team performance, the higher the attention received, which could greatly increase a player's draft stock.
Greg Oden beat Durant to become the number one pick largely because he led his team to overturn Florida University in the NCAA finals.
Yuuto naturally wanted to join a powerhouse and achieve good results, not Texas Tech, whose strength hovered in the middle tier.
Also, the most important point was...
He could no longer feel pressure in Japan. He needed more games and greater challenges to keep improving.
"Coach, I can't find opponents in Japan anymore. I need a bigger challenge."
Yamashita Shio fell into thought upon hearing this.
He certainly knew about Yuuto's "Correction" talent. It was just that the US was different from Japan.
Basketball there relied more on physique. Going over rashly without preparation might harm him. There were countless examples of geniuses failing.
Yamashita Shio had actually prepared to use the American methods to fully help Yuuto train for the next two years, even possibly changing the team's tactics to Bob Knight's.
This way, when Yuuto arrived in the US, he could establish himself as a starter at TTU with the fastest speed.
It could be said he had considered everything he could do; he truly wanted the best for Yuuto.
Yuuto knew what his coach was thinking by looking at his expression, but being indecisive wasn't his style.
Time waits for no one.
Preparation?
Prepare for two years this time, how long for the next?
He had seen too many cases of people having their edges ground down during "preparation," ending up mediocre.
...
Walking out the door.
Yuuto sighed, not blaming Yamashita Shio.
For most players, following Yamashita Shio's arrangement would actually be smoother.
But Yuuto wasn't part of that majority.
"Looks like I have to contact Kagami's master later. If worst comes to worst, I'll just run to the US directly after this year ends."
If nothing unexpected happened, Kagami's master would come to Japan during the Winter Cup.
This former female professional player had quite a few connections, as shown in the movie.
She recommended and sent her disciple Kagami Taiga to a famous basketball high school in the US.
What Yuuto wanted, Alexandra Garcia had.
Making up his mind, Yuuto went to the school rooftop again, lying comfortably on his "Frozen Throne."
He had completed the simulation last night.
The talents obtained were unsatisfactory; even after fusion, there was nothing that satisfied him.
It is worth mentioning that he didn't encounter Team Jabberwock in this simulation.
It seemed the movie's events didn't happen before last year's Nationals, but after the Nationals.
"Mm... can only wait until the Winter Cup."
Yuuto's current target was no longer the Generation of Miracles, but Team Jabberwock and Nash.
Nash was strong. Although his Dao Heart was broken in the NCAA, at this stage, he was Yuuto's biggest target.
The ability to suppress the Generation of Miracles without entering the Zone spoke for itself.
Judging from online information, Nash performed as a top 20 player in the nation during high school, a five-star recruit, and part of the most talented batch of players in this generation.
As for who broke his Dao Heart?
Looking at the rookies in 2009 tells a thing or two.
Griffin, Harden, Curry, DeRozan... etc.
Looking at it this way, Nash getting beaten into retirement seemed quite reasonable.
...
After the Nationals, Yuuto welcomed a rare vacation.
The basketball club didn't hold a farewell ceremony because there was still the Winter Cup to play; the third years' retirement would be after the Winter Cup.
This year.
Yuuto didn't require the members to gather for training every week like at Homi Academy.
He went on two separate trips, each lasting a week.
One was with Sora, the other was with Momoi.
The things that happened therein could fill a hundred thousand words!
Anyway, after returning from these two short trips, even the Lion of Okukozome had to rest for a few days.
By the time the vacation ended, it was already autumn.
At this time, the start of the Winter Cup wasn't far off.
To welcome the upcoming qualifiers, all teams were seizing the time to practice.
Training camps were happening everywhere.
As the National Champion, Seiho didn't need to participate in the qualifiers and would enter the championship round directly.
However, to keep the team in shape, Yamashita Shio still arranged several practice matches for Seiho.
...
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