One Year Left to Play-Chapter 199 - 66: You Need to Learn Passing
Tactical training, speaking of which, is simple: the trainer explains the changes in tactics, and then re-explains the revised tactics. The goal of the training is even simpler - just practice until you remember how to run them.
As for players who just can't remember the tactics, well, there's nothing that can be done. If there are substitute players, use them instead…
If there's really no way, then there's really no way.
Without good players on the team, tactics are useless.
After the two tactical training sessions in the afternoon, today's team training was over.
After Zhang Hao finished training and his therapy, he was called to the head coach's office.
Entering Butch Baird's office, besides Butch Baird, Zhang Hao saw Randy Whitman, as well as the team's new shooting assistant coach and technical advisor.
"Aix, starting tomorrow, your shooting training will be in the hands of Chris. He's an outstanding shooting coach, and many star players hire him as a personal coach in the summer. He will provide you with the most professional guidance.
Besides shooting, we also hope you can improve your passing and defense. Make good use of your excellent vision and passing awareness. Alvan, who is quite similar to you, is someone you should learn from," Randy Whitman straightforwardly laid out Zhang Hao's training plan.
Were both specifically hired for Mr. Zhang?
Zhang Hao took a deep breath to calm down, smiled, and said to the two new coaching staff members, "Chris, Alvan, I'll be relying on you for help going forward."
It's hard to strike a smiling face. The two were originally here to work, and through their discussions with the coaches about the job they already knew they were mainly responsible for developing Zhang Hao. Seeing Zhang Hao's pleasant attitude, they felt pretty good and respected.
"Training a shooting genius like you is my honor."
"Randy's wrong; we're not that similar. I just watched your training, and your speed and shooting are way better than mine were during my rookie years…"
After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Hao examined the assistant coaches specially hired back to guide his training.
Chris Owen is quite young. During the training camp, he already knew that this was a great shooter known for his shooting in college, but he didn't make it to the NBA. After playing a few years in Europe, he retired and started coaching shooting at 30, gaining fame in the private sector within a few years.
Alvan Adams has been retired for about seven or eight years, and this year he's only 41, maintaining his figure quite well, though slender, likely still just over 100 kilograms at this age.
Looking at the two, particularly the latter, Zhang Hao seemed to see a treasure trove of technical resources in a player similar to himself!
...
That night, Zhang Hao continued his relentless efforts, once again simulating the turnaround fadeaway technique of Jordan while reflecting on the issues encountered during the day's training.
Entry is tough, improvement is easy, mastery is difficult. Standing on the shoulders of giants, Zhang Hao found it not so troublesome to overcome the hurdle of entry, reaching the improvement stage where progress was rapid.
The next day, October 23, the day before the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Zhang Hao was back at the gym training just before 8 a.m.
Chris Owen arrived early and began guiding Zhang Hao's shooting on his first day.
The guidance focused mainly on the details, and in terms of regular shooting and turnaround fadeaways, Zhang Hao understood no less than Chris Owen. The two could hold fruitful discussions. Chris Owen's strength lay in being an outsider capable of directly identifying Zhang Hao's shortcomings, while Zhang Hao could only rely on personal feel, each having their strengths offering a relative comparison.
Alvan Adams, on the other hand, didn't start teaching Zhang Hao passing right away but rather observed his training once the team training commenced.
Zhang Hao isn't one to stubbornly hold onto pride; he's rather eager to learn. After the morning's team training ended, he actively approached Alvan Adams to ask what he needed to learn.
Seeing Zhang Hao's eagerness for knowledge, Alvan Adams smiled and said, "I'll carefully observe your game this afternoon and tomorrow, then create a training plan. Passing isn't simple. You don't have enough experience in real team games, and I don't know you well enough. You need more game experience, and I need more understanding of you."
A very professional approach, Zhang Hao nodded, "I understand."
Thinking it over, Alvan Adams continued, "There's one thing you can start learning now. In training, avoid thinking of yourself just as a pure shooter. I learned from Butch that your footwork is outstanding. You might try changing your thinking about positioning, not simply viewing yourself as a distraction or catch-and-shoot point, but as part of the team."
Nobody had mentioned it before, and Zhang Hao hadn't realized this point. Reflecting now, in both training and games, the moment he gets the ball, it's decision time – either he shoots or finds a teammate in a better position. If he successfully passes it, the teammate takes the shot, but if not, it's a turnover.
He seems never to have taken on the role of a link player in games, rather a shooting and assist point.
Being an assist point doesn't necessarily contribute to knitting the team's offense together, as the few assists made could have been direct pass opportunities identified by the point guard.
However, realizing this and knowing how to integrate into the tactics effectively to become a link in the strategy… truly baffling!
