This venue, famous in Spokane as a concentration camp for old basketball hooligans, was booked out by a group of Gonzaga University basketball players.
In the city of Spokane, the most popular team has never been the Seattle SuperSonics, also from Washington state, but the city's Gonzaga University Bulldogs.
News of the Bulldogs players' presence at Manhattan Park Arena spread quickly.
Attracting a large number of basketball fans from Spokane to watch.
At this time, the Gonzaga Bulldogs players were warming up, and the outside of the venue was filled with spectators who had heard the news.
You must know that these players usually train in the school gym, especially Dan Dickau, who joined Gonzaga last year. Spokane fans have never even seen him play in person.
Lu Yu stood in the crowd wearing a black hoodie, silently watching the basketball players warming up on the court.
The one wearing the No. 7 jersey and with long flowing brown hair is Dan Dickau, who transferred to Gonzaga from the University of Washington last year. Because he was not allowed to play within a year after transferring to the NCAA, Dan Dickau was the one to play at Gonzaga this year.
Saga's first season.
This player, who would later be selected to the Associated Press and Wooden Award All-Pro teams, has already shown his talents and is more calm than other freshmen.
Even senior player Casey Green, the team's leading scorer, dare not say that he is better than Dan Dickau.
Lu Yu silently watched Dan Dickau's warm-up movements.
It looks like...that's it.
"Give way."
Suddenly a rough voice came from behind.
Lu Yu looked back and was suddenly startled. This man was very tall and had a thick build.
A bald black boy who was a few centimeters taller than Lu Yu looked like a bad boy. Like Lu Yu, he was wearing a black pullover sweater and blue jeans underneath. When he walked past Lu Yu, he looked
When he saw the basketball in Lu Yu's hand, he looked at Lu Yu again before walking over.
"Caron Butler?" Lu Yu frowned slightly.
"Why is he here?"
"It seems to be getting interesting..."
Lu Yu thought to himself.
It's just a pity that the original appointment with Mark Foyou today may have to go to waste. It seems that we will still have to find opportunities to start with Jessica in the future.
Butler took two steps inside, and his aura of always hanging out on the road made the crowd around him consciously make way for them to walk directly into the stadium. But Butler turned his head, looked at Lu Yu, and said:
"Brother, do you want to play ball?"
Lu Yu stared at him and said, "You want to play?"
"of course not."
Butler said dismissively: "I'm just here to play."
"Okay, then count me in." Seeing the disdain in Butler's eyes, Lu Yu smiled.
On the court, Casey Greene and Dan Dickau had already noticed the black man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt on the side of the court. He looked young, but he had a rough look on his face and it was obvious that he was not easy to mess with.
Kathy Green felt a sense of solemnity.
This person is very strong.
Just when he was about to reject the crowd waiting to enter, Dan Dickau who was next to him had already walked over.
"Karon, long time no see."
Dan Dickau smiled and said hello.
"I just wanted to come and see if Gonzaga has any strong opponents this year, but I didn't expect to meet you. It's really disappointing."
Butler's words were merciless. He has been playing in the AUU league for two years and joined the University of Connecticut this year. However, he has always been lazy and has not reported yet. Instead, he came to Spokane.
Although Gonzaga and Connecticut are in different divisions, Butler's goal is the final four.
Last year in the NCAA tournament, Connecticut almost lost to Gonzaga in the eighth round.
"Do you want to compete?"
Looking at the arrogant Caron Butler in front of him, Dan Dickau tied his shoelaces again, his eyes full of fighting spirit.
Although he knows that Butler is very strong, as the future leader of Gonzaga, he will not give in easily.
"good."
Butler smiled, showing his white teeth: "But we don't play one-on-one. I know that Gonzaga's scoring champion last year was Casey Green, so I called one... Hey, what's your name?"
Butler turned around and asked.
"Lu Yu."
"Oh, his name is Lu Yu. It's a very awkward name. Of course, you can tell that he is an Asian. Hey, man, how many years have you been playing basketball?"
"One year."
Lu Yu thought for a while and answered truthfully.
Butler smiled even happier. He felt that his vision was great: "Dan, I didn't bully you. This time I chose a pure rookie."
Dan Dickau's cheeks were slightly red, and he felt that this was Butler's humiliation to him.
"I think you'll pay the price for picking a rookie."
After saying that, he walked back to the team and started discussing with Casey Green. After all, he knew that Caron Butler was much stronger than him. Maybe he had to use the help of Captain Casey to win.
Hope of the game.
Lu Yu stood aside and listened quietly to the bickering between Caron Butler and Dan Dickau.
Just when he was bored, he saw Mark Four and Jessica walking towards the sidelines, and he suddenly became energetic.
Lu Yu originally did not want to play against Gonzaga players too early, especially when he was not sure he could make the team, which could easily cause disunity within the team and affect the friendship between teammates.
"But in order to get into the team, I don't have to worry about so much..."
Lu Yu hesitated for a moment, and a flash of determination flashed in his eyes. If he couldn't even get into the team, then there would be no so-called friendship. As for whether to destroy it or not, it didn't matter.
"What's more, I also want to know what level my strength will be after practicing the breathing method."
After making the decision, Lu Yu immediately walked into the stadium.
"Senior Casey, Senior Dan, I am a freshman at Gonzaga..."
Lu Yu hugged the basketball and ran to the school team players. Looking at the boy in front of him, Dan Dickau had a look of doubt in his eyes.
Isn't this the rookie that Caron Butler just found?
Casey Green didn't know about it and glanced sideways at Lu Yu: "Do you want an autograph? But we have to play a game with our opponent later. You can come to me after the game."
Lu Yu shook his head, and then said seriously: "I will be your opponent in the competition later. Today I can compete with two seniors, especially Senior Dan. I hope you will not show mercy."
He was really worried that Dan Dickau would let himself go so that he would not be able to show his true strength in front of Mark Foyo.
Dan Dickow looked confused.
If I remember correctly, this guy just said that he has only been learning basketball for a year.
Are you still asking yourself not to show mercy?
"What?"
Casey Green was stunned for a moment, thinking he heard it wrong: "Dan, did Butler pick this Asian guy on the sidelines to be his teammate?"
Dan Dickaw blushed and nodded.
"Then he will definitely lose."
Casey Green had a long face: "As long as this defensive loophole exists, Butler will never win this game."
Although Dan Dickau felt that winning like this was not honorable.
But he encountered the contemptuous Butler and this rookie who didn't know the heights of the world.
Dan Dickaw also wanted to vent his anger.
…
However, the fans on the sidelines were stunned.
"Captain Casey and Dan Dickau are going to play a two-on-two match with each other? The big black guy looks very strong, but the yellow-skinned Asian..."
The audience all looked in disbelief.
It is common knowledge for many Americans that Asian players are inherently bad at basketball.
Gonzaga's players had begun to clear the court, leaving only Casey Green and Dan Dickau on the court. On the other side, Caron Butler didn't even change his clothes and walked onto the court in a sweatshirt and jeans.
Lu Yu was more cautious and at least tightened the loose shoelaces.
"..."
Everyone was speechless. Butler was very strong, so it didn't matter if he had an arrogant attitude, but why was this rookie so arrogant?
"Maybe he doesn't know how to play at all?"
Many people have this idea.
Butler just glanced at Lu Yu in surprise, but didn't say anything, because for him, Lu Yu was just used to make up numbers.
…
The other side of the field.
Mark Four was sitting in the auditorium, drinking Pepsi-Cola leisurely and watching the turmoil on the field.
Jessica looked at him anxiously: "Can Lu Yu's body be able to bear it?"
Mark Four is not worried at all.
He has seen Lu Yu's defensive strength, especially when Lu Yu cuts the ball, which is fast and accurate. What's more, Lu Yu also has an excellent shooting hand. Dan Dickao wants to take advantage of Lu Yu. It's not easy.
However, Lu Yu only had one year to practice football.
He was originally worried about Gonzaga's No. 2 position, but he didn't expect to meet such a gratifying player in this small arena.
"Why, are you worried about him?" Mark Foyo looked at his niece narrowly.
Jessica's cheeks turned red.
"I'll just ask."
She didn't know why she was inexplicably worried. Maybe it was just because Lu Yu was a bit handsome... Bah, how handsome was he? It could only be said that he was not annoying.
"I'm just worried that he's been knocked out of his confidence by Dan Dickau."
Jessica pushed her long brown hair behind her ears, and then whispered to herself: "After all, he promised me to enter the NBA..."
