Is Qin Yue really that good?
The answer to this question clearly depends on the perspective from which you view his growth over the past summer.
As a freshman, "Qin Yue" also possessed exceptional natural talents, yet at that time, Prose considered him merely as a backup resource for the team.
Why?
Because that "Qin Yue", in his first team training session of his college career, used his poor performance to demonstrate that he was not an investment-worthy object.
Prose still remembers the scene vividly.
Facing the opponent's on-court provocations and taunts, "Qin Yue" not only showed no signs of wanting to fight back, but he even retreated further, leading Prose to have to remind him: "Kid, you're playing basketball, not hide and seek."
What left Prose feeling helpless was that after that training session, "Qin Yue" thoroughly started to slack off.
Talent is undoubtedly important.
But if you don't have a strong heart...
How can you make the most of the gift that heaven has given you?
In fact, this summer, when Prose learned that Qin Yue had dominated the Beast in the River Valley Cup, his first reaction was that he must have heard it wrong, "How is this possible? Could it be that the 'Beast' was comparing sumo wrestling with that kid?"
By the end of last semester, Prose had caught a glimpse of "Qin Yue" from afar.
Prose clearly remembers how "Qin Yue" walked at that time:
As he walked, the fat on his body trembled along, making him appear like a giant meatball.
Even after the River Valley Cup ended, even though he sought verification immediately afterward, Prose still couldn't believe that Qin Yue could dominate the Beast.
Until that sunny afternoon.
Until Prose saw with his own eyes the transformation taking place in Qin Yue.
Until Qin Yue personally said to him, "Coach, I want to play basketball."
Only then did Prose realize that the Qin Yue in front of him was entirely different from the "Qin Yue" in his memory.
During the latter part of the summer vacation, Prose watched as Qin Yue honed his basic skills little by little.
He watched as Qin Yue used his remarkable willpower to shed the fat on his body bit by bit.
Though in Prose's seasoned eyes, Qin Yue was still a rough gem that required time and patience to polish, through this period of observation...
Prose became convinced that this child growing up under his watch was like a beast about to be unleashed.
As long as he can persist, as long as he remains grounded, when the day comes that he breaks out of his cage, the entire American college basketball community will hear his roar.
The tiger roars in the mountains and the beasts scatter.
"You know, Victor, the beast from Wake Forest is about to be unleashed." On the court, turning to his assistant coach, Prose said with eager anticipation.
"So, is that why you specially picked North Carolina as his college debut?" Victor asked curiously.
Prose smiled, "Only an opponent like North Carolina is worthy of this beast's debut."
Victor nodded, "How much time do you plan to give him?"
Prose touched his chin, "Fifteen minutes, even though it's November, he still needs time to adapt to the rhythm of college basketball.
But during those fifteen minutes, I will make him the core on the court."
Victor pondered for a moment and said, "What do you think he can achieve in the game?"
Prose set down his teacup and replied, "I don't know, but I am looking forward to that day."
...
Under Prose's watchful eye, as Qin Yue completed the special training plan the old man set for him, this year's September faded into the dust of history.
After September, Qin Yue's weight dropped to 141.5 kilograms.
Compared to his earlier drastic weight loss, Qin Yue's recent slimming speed had clearly slowed down a lot.
However, even with numerous challenges, before the big match against North Carolina in November, Qin Yue still set a goal for himself to reduce his weight to around 130 kilograms.
Additionally, in October, as per the promise made to Qin Yue, Prose finally let him join the team's routine training.
"Did you suddenly realize that college basketball isn't as tough as you imagined?"
On this day, watching Qin Yue shine in the intra-team scrimmage, Prose beamed with a spring-like smile.
Hearing this, Qin Yue nodded.
"That's why I had you undergo a month of individual special training.
Team practice certainly allows you to familiarize yourself with teammates and understand the team's play style and specific tactics.
But only through individual special training can you further unleash your potential." Prose said to Qin Yue.
Prose was quite aware that the previous "Qin Yue" had numerous flaws and bad habits in his basic skills.
This meant that, no matter how much talent he had, it was difficult for him to showcase it on the court.
But after this month of special training, as his basic skills grew increasingly solid, Qin Yue's terrifying natural talents were correspondingly further activated.
And at the same time...
The dynamic talent hidden within Qin Yue's body has recently begun to stir restlessly.
For American college basketball, it's not uncommon for a player to suddenly take off in a semester due to activating their dynamic talent.
Yet, as he noticed his own flexibility increasing recently, Qin Yue still couldn't quite believe it...
His body, over 205 centimeters tall, actually possesses such terrifying coordination.
As is well known, due to various unavoidable objective factors, generally speaking, the taller a person is, the more they are often equated with being bulky.
Back then, one of the reasons Yao Ming could become the NBA's number one draft pick was largely due to his rare agility for a player over 220 centimeters before gaining weight.
Qin Yue didn't know to what extent his body's coordination could reach after he completely loses weight.
But such coordination obviously did not exist in the "Qin Yue" he remembers.
In Qin Yue's view, during his weight loss period, his body might have undergone an earth-shattering transformation quietly.
Yes.
Don't forget, before activating the Mountain Peak System, Qin Yue could exchange a bottle of nutritional supplement from the system every day.
"The potential rewards I previously received from the system regarding physical attributes will only be added after the system is activated, meaning that I will still receive an epic boost when the system is officially activated in the future?" Clenching his fists, Qin Yue thought inwardly.
At this moment, Qin Yue is more eager than ever for the day he officially activates the [Mountain Peak] system.
Because he wants to see with his own eyes whether his body's dynamic and static talent can really rival those superhumans in his memory.
In October, according to Prose's prior arrangement, Wake Forest played warm-up games against four relatively weak D1 schools in succession.
Under Paul's leadership, Wake Forest won these four games easily.
"Chris is truly amazing. It turns out that as early as last year, when he promised to choose Wake Forest, he had already started studying the tactics of the Devil's Deacon Team."
As a spectator after watching these four games from the sidelines, Qin Yue couldn't help but sigh, seeing how Paul seamlessly connected with the team and, in some sense, made the team better.
Indeed, there isn't a single NBA star, from his memory, who's just there for the ride.
In this life, after spending several months with Paul, Qin Yue discovered that if Paul were really as incompetent as those critics in his memory claim, how could he later become universally recognized as the God of Point Guards?
Ha?
Who acknowledged him?
Emmmmm...
Who knows?
Anyway, through this period of interaction with Paul, Qin Yue has developed a completely different understanding of him.
"Next game, we're playing against North Carolina."
On this day, after the team's last warm-up match in October ended, Paul specifically reminded him, seeing how Qin Yue had been becoming increasingly robust recently.
"I know, that match will be my college debut." Qin Yue pretended to remain calm.
Hearing this, Paul, who saw through everything, smiled and said, "Do you need me to share some experiences on how to overcome pregame jitters?"
Qin Yue shook his head, "Don't ever think I'm that weak, Chris, man, I've got a rock-solid heart."
Paul shrugged, then suddenly extended his right fist towards Qin Yue. "You just said it wrong, Qin. The next match will not only be your college debut, but it will also be our first time teaming up in a college game."
The next second, as their fists bumped, Qin Yue, feeling a lot less nervous, looked down and said to Paul, "Thanks, Chris, you're really a good guy."
"So are you, Qin." Paul said after patting Qin Yue on the back.
The battle against North Carolina is approaching.
On this day, quietly watching this tall and short duo giving each other compliments, Prose always felt like in that upcoming battle, not just one beast will be unleashed.
Yes.
In the battle against North Carolina, Wake Forest might unleash two beasts.
Because of Felton, Paul has always been waiting for this day to come.
"Because we already have Raymond, so we're sorry, we cannot provide you with the playing time you want."
Whenever he recalls the North Carolina coach's words in his head, Paul, who has never been convinced, can't help but get angry.
Although, in high school, Felton was indeed the better point guard.
But Paul never believed he didn't have a chance to surpass Felton in the future.
And now...
An excellent opportunity has already presented itself to Paul.
Even if it's just a friendly match.
Paul wants to prove himself to the North Carolina coaching staff.
Prove that between him and Felton...
He is the better one.
...
PS: New book requests for collections, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets.