Champion Creed-Chapter 968 - 316: When You Are Someone Else’s Pillar of Support (Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_3
Chapter 968: 316: When You Are Someone Else’s Pillar of Support (Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_3
Right then, Amar’e Stoudemire huffed and puffed as he ran up to Roger, handing him a black bag.
"What is this?" Roger looked puzzled.
"It’s what you asked me to buy."
"When did I tell you to buy something for me?"
"Stephen said you asked me to buy something." The freshly graduated high schooler Stoudemire looked innocently at Stephen Jackson, who had ordered him not long ago.
And that old subordinate of Roger was already laughing so hard he was clutching his stomach.
Roger knew Stoudemire had been pranked, but he still wanted to see what was inside the bag.
Upon opening it, there were dozens of boxes of blue pills.
"Amar’e, do you really think I need something like this? Anyone asks you to buy and you just go do it?"
"Stephen said this helps you surpass greatness, and I believe in your ability more than anyone, but 20,000 isn’t a small number."
Once Amar’e Stoudemire said this, the whole training facility erupted in laughter.
The instigator, Stephen Jackson, handed the bag over to Roger: "See, Roger? The kid truly wants to support you!"
Roger turned his head to look at Allan Houston, who hadn’t spoken a word.
Due to the big changes in the Warriors’ lineup, and with Roger leading the locker room, today Allan Houston felt like he was a new addition.
He hadn’t spoken a word, seeming a bit constrained.
Roger deliberately asked him: "Allan, you’ll support me too, right?"
Allan Houston nodded: "Of course."
"Great, help me take five boxes! Anyone else want to support?"
Allan Houston laughed as well, this was a vibe he had never imagined.
Last season, the atmosphere within the Warriors was not good.
Gilbert Arenas constantly complained about his role, while Antawn Jamison could barely utter a word. And Allan Houston? He wasn’t a leader figure and couldn’t gel the locker room together.
So last season for the Warriors, player relationships were quite distant, with basically no interaction outside of games.
A scene with everyone in the training facility laughing like this, Allan Houston had never seen.
Anyway, now the Warriors looked more like a real team, rather than a dozen individuals who hardly interacted.
"Okay, folks," Hubie Brown clapped his hands, interrupting the players’ shenanigans, "I’m Hubie Brown, the head coach of this team next season. It’s a pleasure to coach all of you. Also, meet Jeff and Erik, they’ll be helping me in game management."
"Perhaps you’ve all heard the saying, defense wins championships. Let me tell you, in the 21st century, that saying is bull.
It should be changed to: Defense and Roger win championships!
Now, this great number 14 is right beside us, right here in this training facility. So what are we missing to succeed?"
"Defense!" everyone answered loudly.
"Exactly, gentlemen, I don’t care how you played before, but starting today, no player on the Warriors can slack on defense, no one can be unfocused, no one can be uninvolved, no one can lack toughness!
If you dare to pant with your hands on your hips in defense, if you dare to ignore defense for a quick steal, then I dare to bench you the whole game.
Here, even if you average 40 points, you still have to defend seriously.
Every possession, every battle, we must choke the opponents, pursuing defensive excellence every time to make them suffocate!
Be fiercer, be more ruthless, seize victory like bandits!
Roger and defense, that is our Champion Creed!"
Though Hubie Brown is already 69, the oldest active head coach, his words are still powerful, full of vigor, unquestionable.
Old Hu’s words brought a sense of tension over the whole team, they were all aware: this old guy means business, want to earn playtime? Better focus on defense.
This is why Roger needed Hubie Brown as his ’Founding General’, he needed a coach who could shape the team’s culture.
In the original timeline, the Memphis Grizzlies made their first playoff appearance under Hubie Brown’s leadership, and the defensive gene he infused into the Grizzlies benefited the team for over a decade, Roger believes his team needs this defensive gene as well.
Moreover, Roger is really looking forward to one thing — how Amar’e Stoudemire will develop under a defense-oriented team?
Stoudemire possesses all the physical gifts to become an excellent defensive player, he had started to change some in high school, but it’s not enough yet.
If Amar’e Stoudemire can train up his defense, then Roger’s championship plan will be realized sooner than expected!
In the upcoming training camp, Hubie Brown made demanding defense a daily requirement.
And Amar’e Stoudemire was the one who got scolded the most.
As a rookie fresh from high school, Stoudemire’s defensive habits were really poor. Despite focusing on defense in his last year of high school, one year is merely a beginning for shaping defensive habits.
In every training game, you could hear Hubie Brown’s yelling.
"Damn it, Amar’e, even my daughter can easily break through your defense!"
"Good, keep playing like that, Amar’e, keep it up, and you can sit on the bench all year, effortlessly taking home that $3.1 million salary!"
