Not long after Xu Yong arrived at the training hall, Cooksix followed.

After training with Xu Yong for two months, he was more familiar with Xu Yong's training habits than Harden.

When Xu Yong saw him coming, he directly returned the Xbox 360 to him.

However, Kuksix did not reach out to take it, but said: "Xu, you have trained me for so long, this is my thanks to you."

Xu Yong was stunned for a moment. This Kuksix is ​​quite worldly-wise.

But he shook his head. He knew Cooksicks' family conditions. His father abandoned his wife and children when they were young, and his mother raised them alone. It was a classic African American family.

With such family conditions, they must have paid a lot to buy this Xbox 360.

Moreover, it would be more accurate to say that he was the one who trained Cooksicks, rather than that the latter served as his caddy for two months.

"Then just leave it with you. I have a part-time job on weekends and don't have time to play with this on weekdays." Kuksix still didn't answer.

Xu Yong was also quite moved when he saw this.

It was Kuksix who approached him at the beginning. He thought the other party would give up after a while, but he didn't expect that two months had passed in the blink of an eye.

He then suggested: "If you don't need it, then put it in the locker room as entertainment before training. As for the money you spend, I will let those who want to play share it."

Kuksix looked a little disappointed, but he nodded anyway.

If Xu Yong insists on not accepting it, this is indeed the best solution.

After putting the Xbox 360 on a stool nearby, Xu Yong continued, "My training method may not be suitable for you."

Kuksix was delighted when he heard this. He could tell that Xu Yong was trying to give him some advice, so he immediately asked, "Then what should I do?"

After witnessing Xu Yong's beating of Ship as soon as he arrived at the team, he was impressed by Xu Yong. After training with Xu Yong, he admired Xu Yong even more.

This was by no means an exaggeration. He had never seen anyone as persevering as Xu Yong before.

And more importantly, Xu Yong's clarity in planning his career was something he had never seen before.

"I can only give some suggestions, but the choice is up to you." Xu Yong said after careful consideration.

Kuksicks nodded rapidly.

Seeing this, Xu Yong also sat down, and Kuksix followed and sat beside him.

"Your biggest problem is that you started playing basketball late, and your skills are rough, especially your shooting is not good. Your advantages are height and good wingspan. Before you improve those problems, my advice to you is to focus on defense, improve your defense to the NCAA elite level, and ensure that you get playing time." Xu Yong said.

His proposal was not made up on the spur of the moment, but was based on many successful cases.

Players such as Leonard, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and some other less well-known swingmen all started out as defenders and then established themselves in the NBA.

The reason is very simple. Defense is a thankless job and most contributions will not be reflected in the data. This also leads to many stars being unwilling to invest too much on the defensive end.

But someone has to play defense, so rookies who have just entered the league, especially those with obvious flaws or deficiencies on the offensive end, will fight for playing time by playing defense.

Although defense will not be reflected in the data, the team coach can see it. Every team needs stars, but they also need hard-working defensive players.

The same applies to Cooksicks.

But the disadvantage of doing this is that you really won’t get much data, especially in the NCAA. Without data, it’s difficult to be noticed by NBA scouts.

Therefore, Xu Yong can only give suggestions. As for how to choose, it depends on Cooksicks himself.

Kuksicks fell into deep thought. This was not an easy choice for him.

Seeing this, Xu Yong stood up and started stretching, preparing to start training.

Just after Xu Yong finished warming up, Cooksix also made his own choice.

"I have four years. I will first improve my defense and then slowly develop my offensive skills. There is definitely enough time."

Xu Yong smiled and nodded when he heard this. Cooksicks has such patience that even if he can't enter the NBA, he can still make a living from basketball.

Moreover, Cooksicks' choice is also a good thing for the Devils. With Ayers and Xu Yong in the interior, the team's defense will not be too bad, but Glaser and Harden in the outside are not good defensive players, especially Harden who still needs to invest heavily on the offensive end, so only the small forward can bear the defensive responsibility.

As for Shipp, he is undersized, and as a veteran he is unwilling to invest too much on the defensive end, and if Cooksix can eventually step up, it will be a boost for the Devils.

"What are you waiting for? Come on." Xu Yong stretched out his hand and waved.

…

The Xbox 360 was eventually placed in the locker room, which also had a TV that could be connected to play.

All members of the team shared the Xbox 360, and for them on campus, there were not many ways to entertain themselves.

And after sharing, the contribution required by each person actually becomes very little.

This is just like a country building aircraft carriers in the future. Each person only needs one cigarette and the country can build aircraft carriers continuously.

Harden soon bought the latest version of "Halo 3", a very popular first-person Star Wars shooting game.

In Xbox 360, its picture quality change is also maximized.

This also allowed it to quickly replace 2K8 and become popular within the Devils team.

In order not to delay training, the team members made a rule that they could only play for 15 minutes before training.

Then Harden always explodes during this period of time and is invincible on the team.

The trend of the Devils Invitational Tournament is just like Harden's performance in the game.

After getting off to a good start, the Devils played 16 invitational games in about two months, with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses!

Compared with the 6 wins and 9 losses in the same period last season, this record is like the second brother meeting Miss Gao and having a completely changed face.

Moreover, among the opponents they defeated were Kansas State University led by Michael Beasley, the University of Texas Longhorns led by DJ Augustin, and Indiana University led by Eric Gordon. These are all teams that will give them extra points with the NCAA organizing committee.

The combined performance of Harden, Xu Yong and Ayers also showed an upward trend.

After 16 games, Harden averaged 17.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists, Xu Yong averaged 15.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.5 blocks, and Ayers averaged 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds. The three of them accounted for half of the team's points.

What is more important than data is tacit understanding and complementarity.

Harden is gentle and introverted, Ayers is mature and steady, and Xu Yong is confident and extroverted. When they play together, they neither lack passion nor lose control due to excessive passion. Coupled with the positions of the three on the court, they look a bit like a mini version of the Celtics.

It was in this atmosphere that they finally entered the official regular season stage.

Their opponent in the regular season opener is their city rival, the University of Arizona.