Y13 [EN]: Chapter 183

00183 2011 Off-Season
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“Training alone is good, but it’s time to start training with others. It won’t be the same as a real game, but we need time to adapt to various situations. The other players are doing their own thing. Since everyone’s already doing individual training, we decided to get together.”

“That’s right. Training one-on-one with a coach is different from training one-on-one with a player. By the way, Kidd, you’ve bulked up, so help me with post-ups. Terry, I’d like you to check my pull-up jumper. I think I’ll have to shoot a lot this year.”

Youngjae mentioned the areas where he wanted help from Kidd and Terry. Kidd was one of the best post-up guards since Jordan, and Terry was a master of jumpers.

“Okay. You probably won’t use it much, but it’s good to learn it to some extent.”

“I’ll watch you after you’re done with Kidd. You’re not going to do it for long anyway, right?”

Kidd and Terry readily nodded. They had been brought in to teach him at least one more thing, so they had no reason to refuse.

“Great. We’re also working out with our personal trainers in the morning. We need to do fitness training first, so we train at the nearby gym on our own. Then we eat lunch and gather together in the afternoon to do various training, so I’ll watch you then. And let’s do two-on-two or three-on-three together.”

“Kidd, even if we don’t say this, that guy will do well on his own. If one more person comes, we can practice three-on-three. Hayward said he’ll be here soon.”

At Terry’s jest, Kidd sighed and shrugged, saying that they should be worried about themselves instead.

“You’re always here before we arrive and leave after everyone else is gone. I forgot that for a moment.”

“That’s what it means to be getting old… Ugh!”

*Thwack!*

After exchanging such warm greetings, Youngjae introduced Jonas Im, who was helping him with his training, to the other players and immediately began team training. Im showed smooth sociability among the other players’ personal coaches and adapted well. Youngjae greeted Mahinmi and Boboua, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, with pleasure.

“Well, since Yoon is here for the first time today, let’s practice isolation lightly. I’ll pass the ball, and Yoon, Boboua, and Terry will receive the ball and penetrate into the paint, assuming it’s a mismatch with Mahinmi, and play one-on-one. You can think of it as practicing Mahinmi’s defense and our finishing around the basket.”

Terry was the first to step up. After receiving Kidd’s pass, Terry smoothly ran forward and bumped his shoulder against Mahinmi. Of course, Mahinmi, who couldn’t be pushed back, had improved his defense to some extent after being miserably defeated in the meantime, so he didn’t attempt any reckless steals or foolishly jump out in front. However, he kept his upper body close to Terry’s shoulder, lowered his center of gravity, and spread his arms wide to the left and right, waiting for Terry’s next attack, so that Terry couldn’t step back and shoot or suddenly perform a spin move.

“You’ve gotten better?”

But Terry was Terry. He momentarily faked and then took a step back. Mahinmi realized he was in trouble and reached out, but Terry had already launched a fadeaway shot that was flawless.

*Swish!*

The ball barely grazed Mahinmi’s fingertips and went straight in without even touching the rim, and Mahinmi couldn’t help but exclaim in disappointment.

“Okay, next.”

This time it was Youngjae’s turn. This training was the first practical training on how to utilize his bulked-up physique. That’s why Kidd suggested this type of training.

*Thump thump-*

Boboua, Kidd, and Terry also watched the two players’ matchup with curious eyes, wondering how Youngjae’s bulk-up would work.

Even though it was just a straight dribble, Mahinmi felt a completely different sense of pressure than before, and all the nerves in his body were on edge. As the more solid Youngjae rushed in, driving in and pushing his left shoulder, Mahinmi couldn’t help but brace himself against Youngjae’s strength.

“Heuup?!”

It certainly wasn’t a strong force, but compared to the previous Youngjae, the strength was definitely solid to the point of being embarrassing to compare. Mahinmi was surprised, but thanks to the improved defense he had gained while facing Kidd and Terry, he took his left foot back, firmly fixed his center of gravity, and calmly watched Youngjae’s next move.

‘He’s gotten better.’

After making contact with Mahinmi, Youngjae felt that his balance was better than before. He didn’t think for a moment that he could beat a center even if he bulked up, but the reason why Youngjae had fewer free throws last season was because he avoided contact. Youngjae last season tried to avoid contact as much as possible, even if it meant making difficult selections, because his upper body balance and power were not good.

“Heup!”

Even if he jumped after making contact with Mahinmi once, his center doesn’t shake much. Youngjae once again faked lightly and then attempted a layup. Mahinmi defended as tough as he could, almost to the point of fouling, as Youngjae had asked, and despite the collision, Youngjae’s nerves were focused on his fingertips.

*Swish-*

“That’s it!!”

And the ball that left Youngjae’s hand lightly brushed the rim and was sucked in.

Youngjae steadily trained with Kidd, Terry, Boboua, and Mahinmi for several days. Hayward joined in the middle, and they played three-on-three practice games every day. It was a pity that there was no forward, but with two centers and four guards, it was the perfect ratio.

He steadily practiced post-up attacks against Kidd and Terry and continued to practice finishing around the basket against Mahinmi and Hayward. However, he was feeling somewhat lacking with just three-on-three practice.

“Yoon, are you free in a week?”

It was the same as any other day, after finishing practice, showering, and eating dinner. Suddenly, Terry asked Youngjae if he was available next week.

“Well, I don’t have anything special. As you know, I’m just training all day like I have been.”

Youngjae was still focused on basketball all day long. He trained regularly every day, and even during his remaining rest time, he watched the videos that Jonas had taken with him, discussing whether his shooting form was distorted, whether his landing posture was good, and what his steps were like. It was amazing that Youngjae was digesting all of that every day, but it was also amazing that he didn’t miss a single day of contact with Emily, who was doing the same intense training.

“Then, would you like to go to a charity game with me? It’s a game hosted by Josh Howard, a friend I used to play with. It’s on November 12th, and the stadium isn’t far away. It’s like a real game, so it’ll help you improve your game sense. Other players are also participating in street basketball or charity games because the off-season is getting longer.”

Josh Howard. An All-Star small forward who was the only successful draft pick in Dallas for nearly a decade. Despite being the 29th pick in the first round, he grew to All-Star level but was traded for Caron Butler due to a sharp drop in form. He still had a house in Dallas and was very attached to Dallas.

In the Miami area, LeBron [James], Wade [Dwyane], Paul [Chris], Anthony [Carmelo], and many other superstars were gathering players they were friendly with and holding charity events with Nike. In addition, many players were holding charity games in various regions. Due to the unique situation of the lockout, many charity games were held, relieving some of the thirst of basketball fans, unlike any other time.

“I’m fine with that. I’d welcome the chance to play a game. But, who’s coming?”

Youngjae was very excited about his first official game since the national team game. In particular, if it was a charity game for NBA players, the players who would be playing together would also be NBA players. Josh Howard had also played in the NBA for a long time, so he would have several players he was friendly with.

“The players you’re close to would be Wall [John] and Brewer [Corey]. Twelve people will play lightly for about 30 minutes. I’ll give you the address later, so just finish your morning training that day and come there. It’s a place called P.C. Cobb Athletic Complex in the southeast of downtown.”

“Wall and Brewer, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them. I’ll have to test if it’ll work well against them too. Looking at the date and location, I can just think of it as doing it instead of the afternoon team training. But aren’t Kidd or the other players going?”

“Kidd said he has other things to do that day. And since this is hosted by Howard, only players who are close to Howard will be invited. Howard went to Washington, so he must have become close with Wall.”

Terry replied casually. Howard was from Dallas, but after Howard left the team, the only players who played with Howard who were currently remaining in Dallas were Kidd, himself, Nowitzki, Barea, Boboua, and Marion. The remaining players were players who joined after Howard left.

To Yoon,

I’m sending you an email because I need to enclose the details. Last night, a verbal agreement was reached on the CBA [Collective Bargaining Agreement] negotiations. It may take some time for the official agreement, but the season will open within the next month. We didn’t get everything we wanted, but it was completed on reasonably good terms.

As for the most important issue, the players’ salaries, it won’t be unfavorable. Well, you can see these things in the attached file. It’s eight pages long, but it’s good to read it. I’m an agent, but I think it’s good for you to know as much as possible. I know Yoon is interested in this kind of thing.

And I heard that you’ve been training steadily, so I’m not too worried. Some players who took a break other than those who went to overseas leagues may have some problems. They haven’t built up their bodies, but the season will open urgently. Yoon, please build up your body well. Next month, training camp and the FA [Free Agent] market will open, and contact between clubs and players will be allowed.

And this season will be a shortened season, so it will be very tight. It won’t go as far as back-to-back-to-back (three consecutive games) like before, but the number of back-to-back games will definitely increase. The secretariat hasn’t announced how many games there will be yet, but those people would have already prepared everything.

Therefore, you will have to prepare more physically than last year.

Then, if you have any other questions, please contact me or Jay. Have a good time.

November 17, 2011

From Bill Duffy.

“As expected… I remembered it was around this time. I remembered that it wouldn’t go over the year, but I couldn’t remember the exact time, so I kept building my body, so it’s a relief.”

Youngjae was preparing for the season according to his memory. He remembered that the players who had been resting due to the lockout had not properly built their bodies for the shortened season, so they were sluggish or rapidly aged.

In particular, Dallas, which had many veterans, would be severely affected. So, after watching the Major League game last time, he jokingly chided Nowitzki [Dirk] during dinner, telling him not to rest too much and to do some exercise.

The players who were training here or participating in the tournament had no problems, but Marion [Shawn] and Nowitzki, who were still resting, would suffer considerable aftereffects.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

★Thank you to those who gave advance reservations, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

@Hoo, I met a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time yesterday, and he wouldn’t let me go, so I was late;;;

@On November 16, the CBA verbally agreed, and the training camp and FA market will officially open on December 9, along with the official announcement. The FA market is so short that it was a whirlwind season.

goimosp/// ㅋㅋ He’s a practice bug that’s not inferior to Kobe [Bryant]. He’s not a superstar with a lot of schedules yet, so ㅋㅋ

Kimarie/// Thank you for the coupon~ Please continue to enjoy reading~

Heukgom12/// What to write is decided, but the length is not yet confirmed. However, it seems that the game will be released soon. It is difficult to say the number of episodes rashly. About 190 episodes…

Eunseolya, Financia, Vanishing Soul/// Thank you for your comments!!

H0h/// Ah ㅋㅋ That’s what you meant. An episode with the concept of a sponsor will be released soon. I don’t know the length ㅋㅋ;;

Chin/// Ah, you’re not in a situation where you keep cutting off for three months like me ㅎㅎ.

Ultra10/// It has to be a much better slasher than last year ㅎㅎ. I’m a little late today too ㅠ.ㅠ

Yabes/// Hakeem School mainly goes to big men. They mainly teach big men who are not good at ball handling. Also, Hakeem [Olajuwon] is in a position to invite, but as Youngjae has no connection with Hakeem…

Espressoh///Haha thank you. I also feel a lot of regret in the plausibility of some novels I sometimes see, so I’m trying to thoroughly address that part. Thank you for enjoying it.

Dsmk12/// MLB and NBA seniors teach their juniors a lot. Even though they don’t know if they will remain on this team next year because they are a FA, it seems that a culture has been established where they directly demonstrate and teach rookies and young players during games or when they are on the bench.