Y13 [EN]: Chapter 39

Y13-39 Summer League

Youngjae continued to improve significantly through his individual training, and before he knew it, July 15th, the final stretch of the Summer League, had arrived. From that morning, Youngjae found himself struggling to calm his restless heart.

“What’s wrong? Is your secret lover coming or something?”

While having a light breakfast, Boboua, who had become close to Youngjae, chuckled with a mix of jest and seriousness as he devoured a hamburger filled with meat and vegetables. Youngjae, who was craving Korean flavors that day, sprinkled spicy chili sauce on his hamburger, cut it with a knife, and shook his head.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Secret lover, my foot.”

“Aha—there you go again. I wonder how you’ll ever date. You train and analyze all day long, like some kind of practice addict. Don’t you feel suffocated living like that?”

Youngjae chewed on his chili-flavored hamburger and tilted his head.

“I don’t know, I’m not interested yet. It’ll happen when it happens. Right now, I just enjoy playing basketball the most.”

“Sigh, you’re such a boring guy. But then why can’t you stay still like that?”

“It might not be a big deal to you, but I’m just a little, very little, excited because we have a game against Washington today.”

Washington Wizards. Youngjae remembered it clearly: the confident smile of the player who was called first a few weeks ago. The man who wore a hat with the Wizards logo, smiled brightly, and received all the spotlight.

“John Wall…”

“John Wall, huh? I heard he’s amazing even in the Summer League.”

Boboua mumbled, not even swallowing his hamburger. Youngjae avoided the chunk of meat that popped out as Boboua spoke.

“I heard rumors that he’s already a shoo-in for the Summer League MVP [Most Valuable Player]. Well, it’s probably natural since he’s at the top in both scoring and assists. The reporters and media are all talking about John Wall.”

“It can’t be helped. We can’t deny that he’s a skilled player.”

As a point guard, he had the necessary wide court vision, the passing sense to deceive the enemy and deliver quality passes to allies, the ability to break through the defense with skillful dribbling, and even a decent mid-range shot. His few weaknesses were his inaccurate three-point shot and long twos (shots from further than mid-range but not quite three-pointers) behind the high post, and the need for acceleration when breaking through.

“Knowing the weaknesses is meaningless if we can’t exploit them.”

Youngjae chuckled at Boboua’s complaining and poured the rest of his hamburger into Boboua’s bowl, saying,

“You won’t be popular with girls if you’re so down.”

“What? Out of the blue. I’m much more attractive than someone who’s just tall, so I need to be a little down to even it out.”

“Oh, really? Come to the court. You need to get your act together!”

Youngjae and Boboua were joking around and even ended up in headlocks, bickering with each other. As they were heading to the court, tangled together, Youngjae noticed an Asian player eating quietly alone at a table.

Starting Lineups

Dallas Mavericks (3 wins, 0 losses)

Rodrigo Boboua PG [Point Guard] 6-2 (188cm)

Youngjae Yoon SG [Shooting Guard] 6-5 (196cm)

J.R. Giddens SF [Small Forward] 6-5 (196cm)

Omar Samhan PF [Power Forward] 6-11 (211cm)

Moussa Sek C [Center] 7-4 (223cm)

Washington Wizards (2 wins, 0 losses)

John Wall PG 6-4 (193cm)

Cartier Martin SG 6-4 (193cm)

Mike Sweetney SF 6-8 (203cm)

Trevor Booker PF 6-9 (206cm)

JaVale McGee C 7-0 (213cm)

Ten players stood facing each other on the court. Five players in blue Dallas Summer League away uniforms and five players in white Washington Summer League home uniforms with red accents were looking at each other, each calming their emotions.

‘John Wall…’

Youngjae swallowed hard as he looked at John Wall, who was facing Boboua on his left. Youngjae had faced Matthew Dellavedova in college conference league, followed by Greivis Vasquez, Rodrigo Boboua, and Ty Lawson, but John Wall was a player of a different caliber. Of course, John Wall was still a rookie, so he might be lacking compared to Boboua or Lawson, who were in their second year, but he would probably surpass them within this year.

‘Yoon will man-mark John Wall on defense. Washington’s power forward, Trevor Booker, and center, JaVale McGee, have already played in the NBA [National Basketball Association]. They are skilled and experienced, so they will provide a lot of help when John Wall develops the offense. Pay attention to the screen defense, especially in 2-on-2 pick plays.’

Youngjae slowly mulled over Dwayne Casey’s instructions, who now spoke casually and treated him as one of the players, trying to fully understand the strategy. Booker and McGee. They have NBA experience, but if they are playing in the Summer League, it means they have short careers or lack something. He thought there would be no problem overcoming them.

‘…’

Especially, head coach Rick Carlisle and owner Mark Cuban, who were sitting on the bench, were bothering him today. The two had been watching the games and talking to the players since the second Summer League game, so he was used to it, but today, the fact that they were watching the game felt like a burden. Thinking that all this pressure was due to John Wall, Youngjae was able to ignite his fighting spirit while looking at John Wall.

[Hello, this is the 2010 Las Vegas Summer League, bringing you the game between the Washington Wizards and the Dallas Mavericks, who are both on the rise. This is Mike Breen from ESPN [Entertainment and Sports Programming Network].]

[And I’m commentator Brian Dunton. Even though it’s the Summer League, this game is specially scheduled, so those who are interested in the NBA are probably looking forward to today’s game. Today is the fourth game for Dallas and the third game for Washington. Both teams are undefeated.]

[It seems that Washington Wizards’ young gun, John Wall, the first overall pick who made the 2010 draft the John Wall draft, is starting today as well. However, I don’t think Dallas Mavericks’ young gun is lacking at all.]

Brian Dunton exclaimed with admiration and raised his voice as he watched the two players zoom in on the camera.

[Last year’s 2009 draft 25th pick, Rodrigo Boboua, and this year’s 25th pick, Youngjae Yoon, are here!]

[That’s right. Coincidentally, both players were 25th picks and are rookies that the Dallas Mavericks are expecting. If the two players’ skills blossom as the Mavs expect, another type of backcourt (point guard-shooting guard) duo could be born, following the current backcourt duo of Jason Kidd and Jason Terry.]

With Mike Breen’s commentary, the game began with a jump ball.

[Wow! JaVale McGee! He wins the ball with tremendous jumping ability against Moussa Sek, who is 7-4 (223cm)! Moussa Sek, what a waste of height. Why is his jump so low!]

[As expected, JaVale McGee is a big man who is said to have the best athleticism of all time.

His low BQ (Basketball IQ) sometimes causes him to commit incomprehensible turnovers, but those aspects make it difficult to give up on him!]

McGee immediately handed the ball to John Wall after winning the jump ball. Youngjae was just bouncing the ball, but he felt a chill looking at John Wall and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Thud!

John Wall’s erratic dribble. Shaking his upper body left and right, a hesitation step. As expected, he seemed to be a level above the players he had met so far. While watching his feet, body, and legs as a whole, John Wall quickly scanned the court.

‘He’s reading the flow of the court well.’

Court vision is not only necessary for offense. Youngjae was also thoroughly grasping the entire court while playing tight man-to-man defense. He also had to understand and predict how the players were moving back and forth around John Wall to create open space. That was the true value of Youngjae Yoon, who was praised for his excellent BQ [Basketball Quotient].

‘Screen!’

Youngjae felt Trevor Booker, who was coming to set a screen to open Wall’s path, running from behind him to the front. He had to choose here. The moment Booker came out, John Wall would smoothly rush to the rim. Even if his side steps were good, it would be impossible to catch up with John Wall’s acceleration without predicting it in advance.

Bang!!!

Beeeep!!

Youngjae stared sharply at Booker, who was coming out in front of him and gathering his hands, while facing John Wall with his arms outstretched, pretending to rush towards Wall.

[Ah! Trevor Booker’s offensive foul!]

[Trevor Booker was making a move to screen for John Wall, right? In a screen situation, if you move, a moving screen foul is likely to occur if there is friction with the opponent. In a split second, Trevor Booker shows his intention to screen by gathering his hands while moving, so Yoon immediately collides with Booker, right?]

[Ah—I see. Looking at it again, he collides with Booker, who is trying to come out in front of him while keeping John Wall in front. It’s a very clever play. Are there many players who can defend like this?]

[There aren’t many. This scene proves that Yoon is a smart player. Against a super prospect like John Wall, if it’s difficult to block 100%, finding another way can be another method.]

As Mike Breen said, Youngjae judged that he didn’t necessarily need to block only John Wall to stop him. Blocking John Wall meant cutting off Washington’s offense and gaining possession. Since Trevor Booker’s clumsy screen was visible, Youngjae had no reason to miss it, nor did he need to.

“Hoo.”

The offensive possession was switched, and Boboua was in charge of the point guard role again today. Boboua, who was dribbling the ball over the half-court line, seemed nervous as well, as he sighed in a way that didn’t suit him and tried to calm down. Boboua’s opponent was Cartier Martin (6-4/193cm). The Washington Wizards also analyzed the previous games and devised a strategy to put point guard John Wall on Youngjae and, instead, put shooting guard Cartier Martin, who was relatively weak in defense, as Boboua’s marker.

Boboua raised two fingers and shook them left and right once, giving tactical instructions to the players. Boboua, who had reached the top of the key, checked the remaining 18 seconds of the shot clock and slowly started to get into rhythm.

Thud- Thud!

One step with small steps, leaning to the left, then immediately darting to the right, Rodrigo Boboua. Cartier Martin noticed that the first movement was a feint and read Boboua’s direction, but it was impossible to catch up with Rodrigo Boboua, who was considered to have the best speed in the NBA.

Boboua quickly drove to the low post. But as soon as he felt a hand coming in, Boboua quickly slowed down and pulled the ball towards his body.

“……”

John Wall. His steal almost came in a flash. Boboua had a narrow field of vision, but he felt that help defense was coming, so he barely avoided being stolen, but he felt a chill down his spine, thinking, ‘As expected, it’s John Wall.’

“Tsk.”

Only then did Boboua realize. He used the steal to kill his speed by grabbing the ball with both hands, not necessarily to steal the ball. Just like Youngjae induced a foul using Booker’s screen.

But John Wall couldn’t read the meaning of the two fingers. Boboua smiled and threw the ball to an open spot.

After his breakthrough, he would attack using the left and right corners. Boboua said so during the attack, and the player that John Wall, who had come in for help, had to guard was moving in the direction Boboua was looking, with no marker.

‘I really can’t understand it no matter how many times I see it.’

Fast and clever off-the-ball movement. A clever play that instantly grasps the situation, appropriately uses allies and enemies without regard, creates open space, and penetrates into it. That was Youngjae Yoon’s play.