Y13 [EN]: Chapter 72

Y13-72 2010-11 Regular Season

Please read the afterword and take the survey.

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In addition to articles like this, various rumors related to the Korean national team continued to surface. It would be great if the KBL [Korean Basketball League] shared the same thoughts as Coach Heo Jae, but considering the precedent of Choi Jin-soo’s unreasonable selection, it wasn’t an easy topic for Youngjae to approach either.

Youngjae didn’t usually read many news articles, except for Twitter or web surfing for personal hobbies. However, he couldn’t help but check news related to the national team.

“National team, huh…”

In his past life, Youngjae was naturally often selected for the national team. As a Korean, if you became a professional player, 99.9% only thought about the domestic league, and only a very small number of players advanced and challenged overseas. Ha Seung-jin, Bang Sung-yoon, Kim Joo-sung, etc., were just a handful. Therefore, the KBL had a frog-in-a-well atmosphere, a league of their own. In that atmosphere, even as a backup member, Youngjae, who had survived several seasons in the NBA, was a must-draft target for the KBL.

In the past, Korea had reigned as a powerhouse in Asia with its unique accurate outside shooting. In the recent 11 Asian Games, the Korean men’s basketball team had a good record of 3 wins and 6 second-place finishes. However, as the shooting accuracy of new players gradually declined, and even free throw percentages dropped, professional league coaches couldn’t hide their frustration. One professional team coach commented that players who graduated from college still had to learn how to set screens when they came to the pros. Lee Sang-min (38), a star from the Basketball Festival era, was still topping the All-Star voting, living only on past memories.

“Korea, I don’t really want to go.”

Youngjae didn’t feel the need to go to Korea. He was much more accustomed to living in the United States now, and even though he was Korean, he had almost no interaction with Koreans. He didn’t live with his family, and he didn’t have Korean friends to keep in touch with. When he wandered around Dallas, he didn’t even bother to find Koreatown. Youngjae was now more comfortable saying he was American. Moreover, if he were drafted, he would have to spend almost every offseason with the national team.

“Even thinking about it now, it wouldn’t be very helpful.”

Youngjae turned off his smartphone and put it in his pocket. Instead of getting his mind all worked up by looking at various news, it was more beneficial for him to rest a little.

“……”

Youngjae briefly looked around the bus. Everyone was either asleep, listening to music, reading a book, or watching a movie. Youngjae felt more comfortable in that atmosphere. Being a member of the Dallas Mavericks was the best place for Youngjae right now.

“As you all know, our opponent today, the LA Clippers, is a perennial bottom-ranked team. They don’t have any outstanding points in either offense or defense. Moreover, Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman are out due to injuries. However, we must not let our guard down.”

Coach Carlisle gathered the players before the game and gave a brief briefing.

“If I were to pick the most impressive player on the Clippers, it would definitely be Blake Griffin. He has a short wingspan, but he has good power and is skilled at penetrating the paint, making him the core of the Clippers, responsible for scoring and rebounding.”

At the name Blake Griffin, the players all nodded. Originally, Sasha Pavlovic should have heard this explanation as well, but he did not receive an offer for an additional contract extension due to a broken nose he suffered in his last game of his 10-day contract. He scored high marks for being a solid bench member, but he was too lacking to fill Caron Butler’s void.

“Another player is DeAndre Jordan. His BQ [basketball IQ] is low, so he can’t execute intelligent plays properly and only relies on his athleticism. His hardware is definitely solid, but he doesn’t know how to utilize it well. That’s why his playing time is less compared to other starting centers. However, his box-out ability is good. Chandler, Hayward, these are the players you have to face today. You must not be pushed back in the rebounding battle.”

DeAndre Jordan was certainly rough, but he dominated the paint with tremendous power and fearlessly grabbed rebounds, showing truly tremendous destructive power.

“However, the biggest weakness of both players is their free throws. Blake Griffin’s free throw percentage this season is 63%, and DeAndre Jordan’s is only 45%. If you have fouls to spare, it’s good to make aggressive contact. Moreover, DeAndre Jordan has virtually no individual offensive ability, so you should focus more on guarding Griffin. Keep this in mind and defend your opponents.”

At Rick Carlisle’s words, the players quietly nodded. Think carefully and foul wisely. When Griffin and Jordan shoot, foul them to reduce the chances of them scoring 2 points.

“However, it’s not like there are no threatening players in the backcourt. Baron Davis is the most noteworthy player among the Clippers’ guards. Despite being a short 6-3 (191cm), his hefty weight of 211 lb (96kg) is a testament to his power. Of course, his skills are noticeably declining due to his age, and his speed has decreased a lot, but his power is still there, and his game management, powerful drives, and finishing at the rim haven’t died.”

Carlisle finished explaining about Baron Davis and instructed the players to do voluntary training. Dirk Nowitzki’s first game back after his injury, so Carlisle and the other coaches had to focus on Nowitzki’s condition. The players didn’t pay much attention to that and proceeded with their own training.

Youngjae was wondering what kind of training to do with the guards when Barea smiled at the players and suggested a bet.

“Want to have a 3-point contest? How about the losers buy dinner after the game?”

The players knew that Barea’s 3-point percentage had been good in January, so they tried to avoid it, but Kidd, the most senior player, said, ‘Why not give it a try?’ and set the mood, so the other players didn’t try to avoid it any longer.

“The bottom two have to pay. Got it? Two people.”

At Kidd’s words, the remaining players now had two candidates who had to buy dinner, but since he had already taken the initiative, he couldn’t back out. He knew that Kidd’s 3-pointers weren’t very good, so he thought he could avoid being last, but with the number increased to two, he might get caught.

Based on the players’ salaries, it might be pocket change, but no one wanted to be last, so the bet quickly ignited the players.

“Can I join that bet?”

At that moment, a man wearing black training clothes appeared from behind and casually put his arm around Kidd’s shoulder, joining the conversation. A 6-10 (208cm) tall player who could play in all positions from small forward to power forward, an all-time 3-point shooter who had made 1700 career 3-pointers, and a scorer who had scored in double digits for 13 consecutive seasons. It was Peja Stojakovic, who was urgently recruited to fill the void left by Butler, who was out for the season.

Peja Stojakovic, who led the millennium Kings in the early 2000s, couldn’t defy his age. Back injuries and chronic knee pain that had plagued him for years had made him a journeyman since the mid-2000s. Moreover, this season, Dallas was his fourth team after going through Toronto-New Orleans-Toronto. However, his 3-point shot was solid, so his presence alone forced the defenders to come out, creating gaps.

He hadn’t officially signed a contract yet, so he couldn’t play in the game, but Peja Stojakovic had joined the Dallas team training, and he had only not signed the final contract.

“Are you sure? You might end up buying dinner for a complete stranger?”

Even at Kidd’s barbed joke, Peja shrugged his shoulders slightly and said as if it didn’t matter.

“Let’s get dinner from someone who might be a complete stranger. Let’s not be so prickly. Maybe they won’t be a complete stranger?”

Peja seemed to show it with action instead of words, picking up a basketball lying on the court and shooting a 3-pointer from the top without any preparation. Not fast, but at a moderate speed. The motion he had shot thousands of times was more stable and unwavering than anyone else.

Swish-

A clean 3-point shot that went in as if he wasn’t a player who had been released three times this season. Peja smiled, saying that he should be able to join the bet.

“……”

Youngjae was secretly looking forward to a bet with a player with the tremendous name value of Peja. However, Kidd and the other teammates hadn’t reacted yet, so he didn’t go out and act rashly. Then, Terry, who had been watching quietly, playfully smiled and patted Youngjae on the back!

“Let’s do it. Our youngest looks like he’s dying to do it? Shoot!”

Terry took the initiative to ease the atmosphere that could have become tense. Kidd also wore a relieved expression at that sight, and tapped Youngjae on the back of the head, telling him to do it if he wanted to.

“Hoo.”

Peja shot the ball without any preparation. Youngjae wanted to shoot the same way Peja did, but he dribbled a few times and looked at the rim with a strange sense of rivalry.

Swish-

A quick shooting release. The high-angle arc to avoid being blocked by the opponent slowly fell and went in cleanly without touching the rim.

“Oh~ This guy is useful. He deserves to be called Y13! Hey, everyone else, shoot once. You know that ‘it’s just practice because it’s the first shot’ doesn’t work, right?”

At Peja’s playful provocation, the players grabbed the ball one by one and shot 3-pointers from the top. Most of them made the 3-pointers, but when Barea, who had led the bet, and Kidd, who had said that the bottom two would buy, missed their shots, the players exchanged jokes such as, ‘I’m going to eat so well that I’m going to explode!’ or ‘As expected, the people who speak first in these bets get caught!’

“What are you talking about? I’m just giving you a break because my 3-pointers are so good these days?”

Barea looked flustered, but he put on a confident expression again and cleanly put in his second 3-pointer. Kidd said, ‘Ha, it’s a good thing the bottom two are buying,’ and cleanly put in his second shot.

Coach Carlisle watched the scene and didn’t stop them, thinking that Peja seemed to be making a sincere effort to adapt to Dallas. The guards’ shooting bet eventually reached the ears of the forwards and centers, and eventually all the players started shooting bets from their respective shooting distances. Of course, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson, who didn’t want to join such games, focused on individual training, but the remaining players put down the burden of competing for positions and focused on the bet for the first time in a long time.

“Aww!”

Marion, whose shooting wasn’t very good, cursed and became frustrated when his so-called long 2 shot from the high post licked the rim and came out. Then, Mahinmi and Ajinça, who shot between the high post and the low post, smiled awkwardly as they watched the ball hit the rim and come out.

“You should practice shooting a little more~”

Swish-

Chandler effortlessly made a mid-range shot, making Mahinmi and Ajinça look embarrassed, and Ajinça, who was young, joked, ‘I’m still young~’ making everyone laugh.

============================ Afterword ============================

★Thank you to those who gave 선작 [pre-emptive interest/bookmark], recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

＠There are various opinions on the military issue. Since today’s comments are mostly about the military and national team issues, I’ll briefly explain. First of all, Youngjae must resolve the military issue to maintain his Korean citizenship. As you know, Korea does not recognize dual citizenship at this time. We don’t really want to write about the Korean national team story either. However, we are willing to describe it if necessary. Therefore, there are several options. We will decide which way to go based on the readers’ reactions.

1. Maintain Korean citizenship, participate in the national team, and allocate many episodes to the national team part, describing not only the news and results but also the games.

2. Maintain Korean citizenship, participate in the national team, but omit the games as much as possible and describe only the results, news, and conversations between players, proceeding with the national team part in a small number of episodes.

3. Give up Korean citizenship and obtain U.S. citizenship.

First of all, in options 1 and 2, the Korean national team won the gold medal under the leadership of Coach Yoo Jae-hak at the 14th Asian Games. If Youngjae is drafted, he will naturally win the gold medal. Military exemption is unconditionally possible. However, he will have to participate in tournaments such as the Asian Games, Asian Cup, World Basketball Championship, and East Asia Cup almost every offseason. Please choose 1 or 2 on how to describe this part.

Option 3 was not originally considered, but it was added to the options because of various opinions in the comments. We need to investigate the conditions for obtaining U.S. citizenship separately, but I think it is probably possible.

Perhaps because basketball’s status in Korea is not as high as baseball or soccer, and the association’s incompetence is the most serious, fans’ views are harsh. Moreover, baseball now has almost no A matches [international matches]. Soccer’s A matches are sometimes more attention than club matches. Basketball has a considerable number of games, but the attention is far below.

Yabesu-nim/// Harden and Curry have completely different styles. Harden wouldn’t do better in Curry’s place, and Curry wouldn’t do better in Harden’s place. This is because the team rosters of Curry and Harden are tailored to them. Personally, I think they are equal.

myus1004-nim///Thank you for the coupon!!