The Way of the Center Chapter 2:First meeting

After,an excited An Jie hurriedly ate his lunch, he returned to the school dormitory to pack up his equipment and prepare to go to the gym. The freshman dormitory at Iowa State University is a two-person room. An Jie's roommate is Andy Jason, who just played with him.

　　 Like most boys' dormitories, their room looks a little messy. Shoes are randomly placed everywhere, a basketball lying quietly on the floor, there are clothes and pants and all kinds of gadgets that can be seen everywhere.

　　 But the most eye-catching thing is the star posters covering the entire wall of the room. It really covers almost all the places that can be posted except the ceiling. It can be seen how enthusiastic the two are for basketball.

　　 Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Vince Carter, all the stars you can call famous, you can find their posters in this room. Of course, most of these players are loved by Andy Jason, and the star posters posted by An Jie looks a bit different compared to Andy. Ben Wallace, Yao Ming, Alonzo Mourning, African Mountain Mutombo...

　　 These people are not the most dazzling stars in the NBA. They do not have elegant jump shots and elegant dunks, nor dazzling dribbles and sharp breakthroughs. However, they are the rulers of the penalty area, and the leaders in the old position of center. They worked hard to take every rebound to ensure the team's possession of the ball, receive the strongest impact in the penalty area,then used blocks to tell their opponents that there was no way, and they ruled the rim with inside melee.

An Jie likes such a player and likes the position of center.Therefore, he has always used the people he posted on the wall as an example, and his playing style has been greatly influenced by them.

An Jie took his vest, shorts and a pair of Jordan's fourth-generation basketball shoes that looked a little dated, and set off toward the gymnasium with boundless expectations.

　　.....

　　 An Jie stood in the middle of the basketball court and looked around, marveling at the perfection of the facilities in this arena. A large number of auditorium seats, high-quality wooden floors, various lighting, electronic screens and other facilities are all here.

This basketball court is different from the outside. The open-air court outside is completely open to the public. Except for games, the only purpose of this indoor basketball court is for the Iowa State University basketball team to train. In other words, being able to play here also proves a person's strength to a certain extent. You must be one of the best players in this school to be able to train and play in this arena.

　　 "I may never have a chance to play in such a venue in my life in China." An Jie became more and more excited. Today is really good.

　　 "Hey, who let you in?" Just when An Jie was immersed in excitement, someone shouted at him from behind.An Jie was so focused that he didn't even know about anyone coming to the arena.

Anjie turned his head, and a black man looked at him with furrowed brows. This guy had a braided head similar to Iverson, and most of the skin on his arms and neck was covered by tattoos. He is only shorter than An Jie, but he is very strong, and his muscles are much more developed than his. An Jie saw the visitor holding a basketball in his hands, and his eyes instantly lit up, as if he had found a common language with this stranger.

　　 "Are you also called by Coach Ricard?" An Jie pointed to the basketball in the opponent's hand.

　　 "Yes, is it possible that you too?" The black man looked up and down An Jie, an Asian who was tall but thin like a bamboo pole compared to him, did not look like he could play in NCAA. Can Asians play basketball? He really can't think of a second name except Yao Ming. There was a trace of disdain in his eyes looking at An Jie.

"Yes, haha, everyone will be teammates in the future." Most Chinese are friendly by nature, and An Jie is no exception. He smiled and walked forward to shake hands with the black man. "My name is An Jie, how about you?"

However, the other party did not respond to An Jie's extended hand, nor did he answer the question about the name.

"Teammates? Do you know how many people will come to try out this year? There are at least 30 people, all of whom are elites selected by the coach. And a team's final squad is only 15 people. Don't think American college basketball is so simple, it's not certain weither you can stay or not." The black man answered coldly.

An Jie put his hand back in a little embarrassment. This is not the first time he has encountered this situation. The cultural differences between the two countries have led to completely different ways of getting along between youth of the two countries, which also prevents him from being able to integrate well into university life.

Looking at An Jie who was embarrassed and unsure of what to do, the black man became proud of himself. He likes this feeling, he wants to make this foreigner embarrassed. Now it's better to let this yellow-skinned guy see the level of American college basketball. He came up with a brilliant idea.

"Anyway, it's still early,the assembly time is still far, why don't we play first?" The black man didn't wait for An Jie's permission, so he shot the basketball.

"Okay." An Jie readily accepted the challenge. He did not agree because he wanted to retaliate against the opponent's words just now. The reason why he agreed to the challenge was simply because he simply liked playing basketball. There is an opportunity to learn from each other, why not do it?

　　.....

There are only two of them in the empty basketball hall, and only the sound of sneakers rubbing the floor and basketball banging.

The black player first strikes. He is a 2.08-meter big man. His dazzling dribble is not what he is good at, but he is very proud of his strong body. Facing An Jie who was two steps away from him, he chose to break through directly.

Seeing the opponent rushing towards him, An Jie did not back down, he quickly moved across to block the opponent. When they made physical contact, An Jie felt that he was forcibly squeezed away by a powerful force, so he was forced to give up the road. The black man went straight into the restricted area and completed a heavy dunk with both hands. An Jie has played a lot of games in the U.S in the past few months, but the opponents that he met and this guy in front of him in the field are not at the same level.

"What's the matter, huh? Didn't eat at noon?" The black man was not satisfied after the goal, and started to trash talk.

"Come again!" An ignored the provocation, just threw the ball to the opponent and ran to stand in the defensive position.

"Not convinced kid ? Remember my name, Andrew Morris. After the trial, I will be the main center of the Iowa State University Cyclones !" Before the trial began, he was already competing for the position. The guy launched a challenge. An Jie still ignored him, waiting for the opponent to kick-off.

Morris held the ball again, and he decided to use the same method again to humiliate the tall and thin man in front of him. But when he rushed towards An Jie for the second time, he couldn't easily break through again.

This time An Jie was prepared and sustained Morris's strong impact. It's not easy, this is almost his limit. If his opponent was just a bit stronger, maybe he will be passed by strenght again.

Seeing that the breakthrough was unsuccessful, Morris immediately turned around and started back-playing, intending to go to the basket step by step.

Morris pushed inward a few steps. Although he was able to advance, the resistance behind him was too great and the interference made Morris very uncomfortable. An Jie also endured the huge force from Morris pushing in, and backed again and again, but tried his best to shorten the distance of the retreat. Neither of them could take advantage of the other. An Jie had never felt so strenuous in the inside.

Morris saw that the distance was almost good, so he turned around and made a hook. An Jie tried his best to take off but did not block the ball. Although Morris is strong, he is not so good at low post skills. This hook shot was very stiff, and An Jie's defensive height gave him a certain amount of deterrence and interference. The basketball did not enter the net as hollow as he envisioned, but came out of the box.

Anjie immediately opened his arms to box out and got stuck in the position, and steadily picked off the rebound.

"Hey! In our bullfighting here, as long as one side doesn't score, the ball will be exchanged. You don't need to grab the rebound." Morris was very dissatisfied with this miss. He shouted at An Jie to vent his anger.

An Jie still ignored him, of course he knew the rules of bullfighting here, and he had played a lot on large and small field courts in Ames. However, this habit of boxing out has become a conditioned reflex of him. As long as he sees the opponent taking a shot,he will unconsciously start to box out and prepare to fight for rebounds.

The ball is exchanged, this time it is An Jie's turn to attack.

Anjie held the ball outside the three-point line, and Morris actually retreated directly behind the free throw line.

According to his understanding, An Jie will definitely choose to forcibly break into the penalty area or try a back shot near the free throw line. Anyway, the first choice as a center is to go to the basket. In Morris' head, there is no threat from center outside the three-second zone.

However, his idea is only limited to his own level. Seeing that the opponent didn't mean to push up, An Jie dribbled the ball into the three-point line and took a big step, then pulled up and shot.

"Hehe, you can't do anything when I stand inside. This guy didn't even dare to try inside, so he was forced to take a shot." Morris was secretly proud, and didn't even look back at the ball. He walked directly beyond the three-point line, ready to wait for the ball to hit the frame before it was his turn to attack.

However, he heard the sound of the net rolling. He looked back in surprise, the basketball bounced on the floor, and An Jie retreated beyond the three-point line, ready to kick off. Just now, it was a hollow net!

"Huh! Is a guy who can only shoot the ball still count as a center?" Morris turned on the mouth-cannon mode again and continued to express his disapproval of An Jie. Now there are not many centers who can shoot. He didn't expect that the person in front of him is one of the few.

In fact, many insiders in the United States have this common problem. They have good physical fitness and athletic ability, but their mastery of basic basketball skills such as shooting, dribbling, passing and even the close to the basket skills is unsightly. Morris is one of this type of players. This ball just exchange An Jie and Morris and give him an open shot, and he might not be able to score it.

As always, An Jie ignored the other party's words. He was such a big guy who didn't talk much, and he often didn't say a word when he played.

An Jie attacked for the second time. This time, Morris did not retreat to the free throw line and waited for Anjie to send himself to the door. From the beginning of Anjie's dribble, he sticked to it and pressed step by step. He doesn't plan to give the opponent a chance to shoot easily, and then use his physical advantage to prevent the opponent from breaking through. Morris feels that he is surely got this kid this time.

An Jie really is uncomfortable being guarded like this, want him to dribble like a defender to make Morris dizzy? Please, he is a center with a height of more than 2.10 meters and has not received any systematic professional basketball training.

However, Morris was still too anxious to get the ball back. He grabbed at the ball many times, causing his defensive position to become more and more biased, and his center of gravity was too forward. Finally, after Morris failed to dig the ball again, his center of gravity moved forward greatly.

Anjie seized the opportunity and stepped past Morris who had moved forward in a big step. He successfully broke through, and the road ahead to the penalty zone was unimpeded.

The basket is getting closer and closer. He takes off with his feet, ready to use a dunk to return the color.

However, things backfired. Just as An Jie rose into the air, a huge impact came from behind, it was Morris!

He fanned out the thin Anjie with the ball. An Jie didn't have any mental preparation. He lost his balance in the air and slammed on the floor abruptly.

"Oh, I just tried a little bit, I didn't expect your weight to be so light." Morris pretended to be innocent, watching An Jie who fell, his heart was dark, and he talked coldly.

However, what he said is true. He didn't expect An Jie's confrontation to be so bad. He did just go for the ball. In this case, where he would at most interfere with the opponent's layup and apply for a foul he knocked his opponent out.

An Jie rubbed his painful back lightly, and realized the physical gap between NCAA players and ordinary basketball enthusiasts. This is completely different from his playing on the field. What's more, Morris is not yet an official NCAA player. Except for an open shot, he didn't have the upper hand in other areas. It seems that it is not as easy as I thought to pass the trial training and play in the NCAA Division 1 league.

After,the competition continued between the two.

An Jie did not move Morris with his back at all...

Morris leaned on An Jie and turned to the basket and forced a dunk...

Anjie took advantage of his height and wingspan to easily block Morris's close-range shooting...

Morris knocked down An Jie in the penalty area again, but he ignored An Jie who fell to the ground and easily put the ball into the hoop in the face of an empty basket...

The two sides fought for a long time, and Morris had the upper hand during the whole process, but he was also a little embarrassed. Just now under An Jie's interference, he missed the hook again, and An Jie also won the ball again.

"What else do you have? Take it out." So far, Morris has used the advantage of physical confrontation defensively to contain An Jie, which makes Morris a little arrogant.

An Jie started to dribble, strode in a few strides and squeezed to the middle of the penalty area on the right side of the basket, and then changed to a back attack.

The simplest and rude duel between centers!

Although An Jie was weaker in strenght, he still did not give up. He pushed in hard, pushing the wall between himself and the basket as much as possible.

The effect is not good, but somehow it has advanced a little distance. An Jie stopped dribbling and started to move, his shoulders swayed to the left side first.

"Turn left?" Morris's center of gravity was shaken, but he didn't act rashly.

Sure enough, that shoulder shaking was just a fake action! After turning to the left, An Jie immediately began to turn to the right, holding the ball above his head with both hands, and his heels off the ground, ready to shoot.

"Seen through you kid!" Morris smiled slightly, and took off with all his strength to fan the ball fiercely. But when he jumped up and was still rising in the air, the ball that An Jie raised above his head suddenly disappeared. Morris then realized that he was being tricked, and just now the turning around and shooting was a fake action!

It turns out that An Jie just lifted his heel off the ground, but the sole of his foot was still firmly on the floor. After a realistic shooting feint tricked Morris into the jump, he quickly retracted the ball he lifted, then dodged the jumping Morris, and easily scored the basket.

　　.....

An Jie used his footsteps under the basket to make Morris jump again like a frog...

An Jie turned around and shot,Morris thought it would be a fake move and did not react to the shoot as a result, the basketball went into the net again...

Morris's shooting rate dropped sharply, even if An Jie lost the ball, he could quickly get it back in the next round...

The match between the two continues in this way, under the gaze of one person.

....

"The confrontation ability is seriously inadequate. Morris can only be regarded as good physical fitness among the many NCAA players. However, this has made An Jie a little overwhelmed. The inside combat in official games is more difficult than this. But his excellent basic basketball skills makes up for some of his physical disadvantages. He has good footsteps under the basket, soft shooting touch, and never give up on defense. He is indeed a player worthy of attention.

As for Morris, his physical advantage may not be so obvious in the NCAA arena. If he can't learn to play with his brain, he can only be a rotation player in the team.

George Ricard had actually been waiting at the basketball hall a long time ago. He sat in an inconspicuous corner of the audience, and no one found him.

Inadvertently he saw this heads-up match and sat quietly watching, watching the game while continuing to complete the two players' reports in his notebook.

"Very well, at least the players are very competitive and hardworking." Ricard smiled with satisfaction, he looked at his watch, twelve forty, it was time for him to come forward and end the competition. Let everyone prepare for training.