Chapter 3: Solo Duel

  Bainam's eyes widened slightly, and he clapped his hands together loudly, exclaiming: "I know you! You're the UCLA Wolverine! Weren't you struck by lightning? Oh... sorry."

  It turns out that I am also a celebrity, or should say a famous loser. Ye Feng smiled wryly: "Right, I'm the one who was struck by lightning, just out of the hospital for a while, thinking of finding someone to exercise with, so I came to the ballroom to take a look."

  Bainum burst out laughing: "It's really you! I love football and have watched your games. You're too ruthless, the running back from Arizona State was knocked flying by you and did two flips in mid-air, that guy's neck seemed to be broken. And that Stanford guy who took an elbow strike from you, I saw him being carried off the field with a white cloth covering his face!"

  Wow, is this a compliment? Ye Feng didn't know whether he should be happy or not. Since Baynam knew him, things would be easier to handle.

  "Bynum pointed to the black man beside him and introduced, 'This is my cousin Thomas, buddy... you're not going to foul me if I'm your practice partner, are you? That's a penalty on the basketball court.'"

  Ye Feng rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I know the rules of basketball, and it's an honor to play with future all-star players."

  "Do you think I can become an All-Star?" Baynam burst out laughing, excitedly clenched his fists, he is now just a 7.8 points 5.9 rebounds role player, and his goal is to become an All-Star player.

  Yue Feng knew that Bynum would make progress in the future, and he was selected as the Western All-Star starter in 2012. If not affected by injuries, maybe he could have done better. He smiled: "Yes, I think you're okay. If you play 35 minutes per game, score more points, I think your data should reach the level of 15 points and 10 rebounds, and you are very intimidating on defense, playing as a starter is much better than Kwame Brown. I'm an old ball fan, I know people well, you will become an All-Star sooner or later."

  Bayern likes to hear words of encouragement, shook hands with Ye Feng and smiled: "Thank you. Nice to meet you."

  "Me too."

  Two people talked about the practice, Lakers assistant coach "Skyhook" Jabbar was Bynum's master, he asked Bynum to mainly practice low-post back-to-the-basket and hook shots, Bynum's current low-post skills are very poor, scoring mainly relies on jump shots. Pulling him to high position, his pick-and-roll ability does not meet the coach's requirements, such a center cannot dominate the inside line. To make a name for himself in the NBA, Bynum gave up his vacation. He certainly wanted to find someone to practice with, but it was not easy to find an inside player who could keep him out of the three-second zone, now Yifeng came to him just in time, rugby players are all very strong, let alone UCLA's famous "Hungry Wolf"?

  Bayern shrugged his shoulders and smiled: "Come on, try it out. You want to hold me back from behind and make it hard for me to turn around easily. Thomas, you pass the ball."

  "Alright, I'll get ready first." Ye Feng said lightly, but his heart was racing and almost jumping out of his throat. Just a day ago, he was still a member of the "paparazzi team", and being an NBA player's practice partner seemed like a dream come true. This wasn't just playing around with ordinary people - by 2007, Bynum had already become a starting power forward, and his potential had been recognized by experts.

  I'm so lucky to be reborn, I didn't even have the chance to give Bayern a gift before. This is simply God's blessing. Ye Feng took a deep breath, took off his T-shirt, and revealed his perfect muscle lines, with bulging chest muscles, perfect abdominal muscles, and powerful long arms filled with explosive power. The wolf head tattoo on his right arm was particularly eye-catching, giving people the feeling of an invincible warrior. He jogged around the court for a lap, then did two sets of sprint runs.

  Even after two seasons, Baynam was still amazed by his speed. Not even Kobe had such explosive power! He asked bluntly: "What's your 100m dash time?"

  Ye Feng didn't know, he roughly estimated and smiled: "I don't know, it's been a long time since I last ran the 100 meters, probably around eleven seconds or so."

  Bayern swallowed his saliva, the pressure doubled, facing the olive ball player, he must play up to standard. Ye Feng is not under pressure, even if he can't defend it's normal, and won't lose face.

  Both players stood at a 45-degree angle on the right side of the three-second zone, which is the position where inside players like to receive the ball. When receiving the ball with their backs to the basket, they have a wide field of vision and can easily find space to pass after attracting double teams.

  Baynes exerted himself to the utmost, Thomas hung the ball over. Baynes' height reached 213CM, Ye Feng was only about two meters tall, looking a bit smaller than him, but he took two steps and found that Ye Feng's strength was beyond his imagination, under his impact almost motionless, both legs like nails on the floor.

  My God, it feels like running into a wall, Baynes is almost as suspicious that there's Ben Wallace behind him.

  At this moment, Ye Feng has a feeling of being in his element. Scientific research shows that human muscles also have memory, and competing with Bynam, he has an unspeakable comfort. At first, he was still a bit tense, but now his confidence has surged again, resisting Bynam is easier than he imagined, of course, this is not because Bynam is weak, but because he is too strong. On the football field, he often has to withstand the full-force impact of the opponent's frontal tackle, which is a low-body melee, and the back-to-back collision is child's play in comparison.

  Bayern dribbled the ball towards the middle of the road, and Ye Feng immediately stuck to him, blocking his path. His reaction was quick, no need to think, it's a conditioned reflex developed from years of playing rugby. Before, he had to defend against some explosive running backs, having to keep up with their speed and make tackles, how easy was that? Keeping up with Bayern's speed was also too easy for him.

  If I can't even beat an amateur, how can I become a star? Baynam was a bit unhappy in his heart. He changed his strategy and brought the ball to the left side with a light swing. Ye Feng's center of gravity moved with it. Baynam immediately turned around in the opposite direction. Ye Feng chased after him, wanting to cover him, but Baynam relied on Ye Feng, not letting him jump up. He took advantage of his height advantage and made a single-handed throw to hit the board.

  Ye Feng clapped his hands and laughed: "Beautiful."

  "Your defense is also very good." Baynam sincerely praised. This ball was thrown very satisfactorily, and he felt the pressure of defense. With this attack, he had already decided to ask Ye Feng to be his sparring partner.

  After a few rounds, Bynam gradually figured out Ye Feng's defensive route. His weaknesses were very obvious and he was easily fooled by fake moves. This was due to his lack of combat experience, but Bynam couldn't get excited about it. He couldn't bear the thought of being beaten by someone half a head shorter than him.

  Onlookers are clear, Thomas, who is responsible for passing the ball, feels that Ye Feng is too aggressive. Although Bynum scored four goals in five attacks, they were all dodging and hiding, and amateur players can actually force Bynum to this point with their bodies.

  Ye Feng also found his own problem, he was too focused on Baynam's fake moves, in fact, as long as he stuck to the opponent and wasn't passed by, raising his hand to create interference would be better. His only successful defense was done this way.

  Baynam stopped and said with the ball: "UCLA's basketball team should really ask for your help. I suspect you can withstand all the inside lines in college."

  Yefeng felt a bit proud when he heard the praise, and it seemed that the job of accompanying practice was in hand. "Hearing you say this, I even want to switch to playing basketball. In terms of defense, basketball is easier than rugby. Such physical confrontation on the rugby field doesn't count for much."

  "Come on," Baynam said with a laugh.

  "I'll be more forceful, you be careful." Ye Feng said with a smile. He wanted to change his defensive approach, he had roughly figured out Baynam's attacking style, which was usually to feint first and then turn around in the opposite direction. As long as he didn't fall for the feint on the first move, he could keep up. If Baynam jumped for a shot, Ye Feng would go forward to block his vision and disrupt him. Blocking vision defense was a very common defensive approach in the NBA, and Battier of the Rockets was particularly skilled at it. He wanted to give it a try. If Baynam broke through to the basket, he would look for an opportunity to block the shot.

  Although the soul has changed, Ye Feng's competitive spirit had long been ingrained in his bones. As long as he was competing with others, he wanted to win. Being able to defend against Bayern was a very fulfilling thing.

  Isn't this guy going all out yet? Bynum wouldn't back down, smiling: "Then I'll also go all out, don't hold back."

  Baynam got the ball in the same position again, this time he found that Ye Feng was not defending him so tightly. No matter how the player made fake moves, they had to shoot in the end, and Ye Feng prepared to block his shot when he released it.

  Baynes didn't know what the opponent was thinking, he wanted to make a strong attack, aiming to break through the interior and dunk. He first turned his back to the right side and shook lightly, then quickly turned around to the baseline, bringing the ball under the basket. This turn was relatively easy, and he took a step forward with one hand holding the ball and jumped up for a dunk.

  Ye Feng didn't get blocked this time, he actively gave way and quickly retreated to the basket. Seeing Baynam turn around, he started from the side, took a step forward and jumped high.

  He jumped all the way to the basket, his head almost hitting the rim, and his left hand accurately pressed on the basketball... Bynum didn't expect Ye Feng to catch up and block his dunk, using only half of his strength. His right hand met Ye Feng's left hand, but neither had the advantage. A surge of power came, Bynum lost his balance, not only was the ball slapped away, but he also fell awkwardly on his butt to the ground.

  The leaves fell steadily to the ground, looking at his own hands, he couldn't believe it, feeling damn cool!

  Thomas's mouth was agape, as if he could swallow a duck egg. In the NBA arena, it is rare for someone to cover Baynam like this, and if it were a game, it would be one of the top ten plays.

  Baynam sat on the ground, looking at him with a frown and said: "You're really worthy of being a hungry wolf. I was slightly distracted and almost got played to death by you."

  Ye Feng pulled him up and smiled: "Sorry, I told you to be careful."

  Bayern smiled wryly: "I think you've chosen the wrong profession, on the football field, your jumping ability can't be played out, you should play basketball. Do you have free time? I'd like to ask you to be my long-term training partner."

  Ye Feng was overjoyed. He had found a job that would not only make him money, but also allow him to exercise his body. In a very practical tone, he asked, "Of course I can do it, how much will you pay me?"