Harden didn't give Xu Yong any answer in the end, and Xu Yong didn't say anything else.

He has said everything he needs to say, and he said these things on the one hand because he gets along well with his roommate Harden, and on the other hand because the Devils team really needs Harden.

Harden played well, which is a good thing for himself, the other players on the Devils team, and of course Xu Yong.

Of course, this is all Xu Yong can do.

He was reborn, but he didn't really know any Eastern magic that could change other people's minds.

Harden is an adult and he has his own opinions.

The next day, Xu Yong got up at 4:20 in the morning as usual.

When he got up, he subconsciously glanced at Harden's bed.

Harden is still asleep.

He withdrew his gaze and continued his day's training.

After finishing breakfast, he arrived at the locker room a little early.

Before going in, he heard people playing table tennis inside.

After entering, when he saw two people playing table tennis inside, he was a little surprised at first, but soon he showed a relieved smile.

One is Shipp, and the other is Harden.

Change doesn't happen overnight, but at least things are moving in a good direction.

After the day's training, Harden invited the entire team to have a meal outside the school.

He didn't say the reason, but everyone knew it was because of what happened in yesterday's game.

This works very well. There is no problem in student life that can't be solved by a meal.

If so, then two meals.

After eating and drinking, the group sat down and chatted, and naturally talked about the next game.

"Stanford is not easy to deal with either," Glaser said.

The reason why he mentioned Stanford first was because their next opponent was Stanford University.

In the predictions at the beginning of the season, Stanford ranked 10th in the survey, second only to UCLA in the Pac10 league.

Since the start of the season, they have not lost a single game, just like UCLA.

And among the opponents they defeated, Washington State University, University of Oregon and University of Southern California are all strong teams in the Pac10 Conference.

In terms of strength, they are weaker than UCLA, but still much stronger than Arizona State University.

"The Lopez brothers' twin towers dominated the restricted area on both offense and defense. Jeff and Xu will face great challenges in the next game," Glaser analyzed.

The Lopez brothers refer to the older brother Brook Lopez and the younger brother Robin Lopez. Both of them are 2.13 meters tall and Stanford University often uses them to play twin towers.

In a league where a 2.03-meter-tall Xu Yong is pulled to play power forward, this height undoubtedly gives him a huge advantage in the interior.

Xu Yong's eyes were also on Harden at this time.

Facing Stanford University, it will be a test not only for him and Ayers, but also for Harden.

With two seven-foot big men in the interior, it will be difficult for Harden to use his expertise in breakthroughs to create damage.

Although Harden seems to be changing for the better, the schedule doesn't give him much time to adjust.

This can be seen from Harden's serious expression.

"They may not play at the same time. Even if they do, if we play with speed, just like UCLA did, the advantage will be on our side," Xu Yong took over.

He was helping Harden relieve the pressure, but he also touched upon the most crucial point.

The twin towers tactic is very retro and has been gradually eliminated in the development of basketball. The main reason is that the retreat speed is too slow.

If they fail to complete the attack in the positional battle, what may await them is likely to be a situation where two defend three or even two defend four in the backcourt.

Therefore, as long as you can defend the positional battle for a few rounds, the twin towers are actually not that scary.

And if Stanford gives up the twin towers, then even if they are in good shape now, the situation between the two sides will be 50-50.

The others nodded after hearing this.

The reason why Xu Yong can become the leader of the locker room, or the captain recognized by them now, is not only because of his communication skills, but more importantly, his understanding of basketball.

After the dinner, they all returned to school.

After a short rest, Xu Yong prepared to continue his training.

This time Harden went to the practice gym with him.

And after arriving, he began to train three-point shooting in a very targeted manner.

Although Harden doesn't like to express his ideas, he is really smart and knows clearly what to do and when.

Since the twin towers will limit his breakthrough, it won't be a problem as long as he can shoot from the outside.

And at this time, whether it was playing table tennis or practicing three-pointers, Harden took the initiative to do it.

He is actively seeking change, which is a positive sign.

After observing for a while, Xu Yong withdrew his gaze and began to concentrate on training with Cooksix.

He also needs to improve his ball handling skills as soon as possible.

They still have one more chance to play against UCLA away from home, and if they want to get revenge, everyone of them has to give their best performance.

While they were practicing, Ship suddenly came into the gym excitedly with a magazine in his hand.

"Xu, you're on the Sports Illustrated draft prediction list!" he shouted when he saw Xu Yong.

Xu Yong nodded to Ship, but did not stop training.

Harden stopped training and walked over.

Generally speaking, major talent show websites will not release the first talent show prediction list until March, which is before the "March Madness" begins.

Because by that time a season is over, the strength of most players has been determined, and the predicted rankings will be more accurate.

The predictions made by Sports Illustrated are more casual, after all, they are not specialized in draft predictions.

After all, this is Sports Illustrated, the best-selling sports magazine in North America. Being able to appear in it is a kind of attention.

Seeing Harden coming, Ship's face suddenly looked a little strange. He probably didn't notice that Harden was there when he came in.

But Harden has already come over, and it would be inappropriate for him not to show it to Harden.

Harden quickly saw Xu Yong's position in the prediction list.

The 24th pick in the first round is expected to be selected by the Phoenix Suns.

This ranking is not low.

Don’t think that because Yi Jianlian was selected at the sixth pick last year, Xu Yong will also easily be selected in the lottery, because the two play very different positions.

In the interior, whether it is center or power forward, height limits most players, especially in this era, "selecting big men with eyes closed" is a draft tradition, so it is easy for interior players to be ranked high.

However, outside players are what the United States has the most of, because the competition is more intense and there are more things to examine.

Especially in 2008, it was a serious year for talent shows, with many talented people.

The top eight picks back then, just like Yi Jianlian, were all hyped up by the domestic media.

Xu Yong is currently a typical forward-guard swingman. If he were given a best draft template, the most suitable candidate would be Paul George.

The two are very similar in height, wingspan, and what they are doing in the NCAA now.

Of course, this was before Xu Yong's ball handling ability was developed. After that, his ceiling will be even better.

And he has potential in this area. Not to mention the benefits brought by rebirth, before he got sick, he averaged 3.4 assists per game in his second season in the CBA.

In the CBA environment where assists are strictly counted, this is already a considerable number for a forward player.

As a comparison, in the two seasons in which Ding Yanyuhang won the MVP award in a row, his average assists per game were 2.5 and 3.2 respectively.

This draft pick is obviously also related to the UCLA game. In that game, Xu Yong not only played well without the ball, but also showed his potential with the ball and toughness in the game, which are rare qualities for a swingman.

And his characteristics are indeed very consistent with the Suns.

But soon, Harden's attention was attracted by his own name.

He is projected to be selected by the Houston Rockets at No. 21 in the draft.

His expression suddenly turned ugly.

He knew that this prediction was not authoritative, and he also knew that it must be related to his poor performance in the last game.

But knowing it and blowing it directly in your face are two completely different things.

Just then, he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder.

He looked back and saw Xu Yong, who had finished training at some point, standing behind him. He said calmly, "This is motivation, isn't it?"