Superstar Athletes’ Black Tech Systems

Li Liang did not expect that it was Adolf Rupp who came to teach him this time.

When he was playing in school in Kentucky, Li Liang knew this old man, the pioneer of Kentucky basketball.

As early as 1947-1948, he led the University of Kentucky to its first NCAA championship in team history.

In the four years from 1948 to 1951, he led the Kentucky Wildcats to win three championships and created an era belonging to Kentucky in the NCAA.

He taught at the University of Kentucky for 41 years, from 1930 until his retirement in 1972.

Rupp has been in the NCAA for 40 years, led Kentucky to win four championships, entered the finals five times, entered the national competition 20 times, and won countless honors.

But if you look at the list of players Rupp has coached, you will find that there are no super players.

The most famous ones are Pat Riley and Dan Issel (Li Liang followed suit).

Riley isn't known for being a good basketball player, but for being a coach and manager.

In other words, Rupp's players have never been great talents.

He doesn't have Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton like John Wooden, nor does he have Jordan and Worthy like Dean Smith.

He coached some relatively mediocre players.

In Rupp's 41 years coaching the University of Kentucky, 80 percent of the players he recruited were Kentucky natives.

Of course, the basketball talent of a state cannot be compared with that of the whole United States.

Such an achievement under such circumstances is enough to explain Rupp's level of coaching.

He also became famous in Kentucky.

Because he knew Rupp in the Kentucky Basketball Hall of Fame before, and knew that he was the patriarch of his school, Li Liang was a little nervous when he entered the system.

It can be seen from the name that Rupp is a German with a kind face. Because he always likes to wear brown suits, he is called "the man in brown".

Seeing Li Liang, Lupu stepped forward, reached out and shook Li Liang's hand.

Every coach has his own coaching style, Bob Knight is violent, John Wooden chicken soup, Don Huggins is tough, Rupp is cold and precise.

This is different from the kind of coach who likes to yell, Rupp doesn't like to yell at players.

But Rupp's requirements for players are very, very high, especially in terms of basic skills and details.

That's why Rupp was able to succeed with players who didn't have talent.

He digs out every technical and tactical detail to the extreme, and uses precise tactical coordination to make up for the lack of talent in the players.

Li Liang had heard about this, so when he saw Lupu looking him up and down, he felt a little nervous for some reason.

"Are you wearing a pin?" Rupp asked suddenly.

Li Liang was taken aback, what's the problem, a pin?

Li Liang scratched his head and said, "No."

Lupu said: "Next time, bring a pin, this time it will bring you good luck."

Li Liang has black threads all over his head, why does a pin bring good luck?

Later, Li Liang figured it out. It turned out that Coach Rupp, like many NBA players, was also a big superstition.

He believes that on game day, finding a pin, or a hairpin, on the field is a sign of good luck.

Also, on game days, he carries a horse chestnut leaf in his suit pocket as a lucky charm.

And about his brown suit, which he wore until it got old.

Because once he changed into a new blue suit to coach a game, and the team lost badly.

Since then, Coach Rupp has never changed his suit, and has been wearing the old-fashioned brown suit.

It can only be said that in the basketball world, feudal superstition has a very broad basis for dissemination.

Afterwards, Li Liang followed Rupp to the training ground, and met Pat Riley as expected.

Li Liang and Riley are really close.

In reality, I have met chatting and laughing together, in NBA missions, we played against each other, and the cunning duo worked hand in hand.

In the tactical training mission, I met Riley, who was young in college, the foul king.

Li Liang joined the Kentucky Wildcats training in 1966.

The Wildcats were called Rupp's Runts, or Rupp's Shorties, because none of the players on the team were taller than 6-foot-5 (1.95 meters).

But it was such a dwarf team that even reached the NCAA finals that year.

Kentucky's opponent that year was Don Huggins' West Texas United, the first all-black team to start.

The last time Li Liang learned double-team tactics, he was studying with the West Texas United and Huggins.

I didn't expect to meet Lupu when I came to learn man-to-man today. This system must be intentional.

Unlike West Texas United, Rupp is a steadfast enforcer of man-to-man defense.

He has coached Kentucky since the 1930s, insisting on simple but effective man-to-man defense and resolutely not using other defensive strategies.

Even though his team always suffers from height, he still uses tough man-to-man defense full of confrontation and achieved good results.

Rupp has a deep understanding of man-to-man, which seems to be the simplest and least technical defensive method.

"Using good man-to-man defense, everything else is actually not important." Rupp said to Li Liang.

Li Liang thought, that's not what Mike Brown said.

Coach Brown likes to play tricks on defense the most. Anyway, now that the league can defend, Li Liang is tossed in various ways.

For a while sweeping the middle, for a while 1-4 zone defense, for a while blocking the middle and putting the side, and for a while putting the middle and flapping the flanks.

Li Liang is going to be annoyed to death by Mike Brown.

But Mike Brown's defense does have two brushes. When the Lakers' overall defense is relatively aging, it is indeed useful to use strategies to make up for weaknesses and tactics to make up for physical fitness.

Rupp is different. The team he coaches is a college team, and the students do not have physical problems.

However, players have their own characteristics, and the general characteristic of University of Kentucky players is short.

How can this be done with one-on-one defense alone?

Before the training started, Li Liang took the initiative to ask, "If you encounter a tall opponent, should you just use one-on-one marking?"

Rupp looked at Li Liang and said, "If we encounter a tall team, we will use 1-3-1 defense."

"Um?"

Li Liang had a question mark on his head. You just said that if you use a good man-to-man defense, nothing else is important?

I thought you would always have some great ideas, but in the end you also know how to use zone defense!

Rupp saw Li Liang's thoughts, and said: "I am the first coach in the NCAA to promote the use of zone defense, boy, people must continue to learn and improve, and can't limit themselves to death. But man-to-man defense will always be It's the foundation, the cornerstone, of NBA defense, do you think there's a problem with that?"

Although Rupp is a firm supporter of man-to-man defense, he also kept pace with the times, and began to learn and introduce 1-3-1 defense in 1963.

Otherwise, "Rup's Shorty" would not be able to reach the finals.

Li Liang hurriedly said: "No problem, what Ning said is right."

Facing the patriarch, Li Liang's attitude is still very good.

Then, the formal training began.

The content of the training is also very clear, no technical training, because that is the mission goal in [Defensive Ability].

What Rupp practices here is mainly man-to-man awareness and coordination.

Li Liang's perimeter defensive skills are already very good, and the basic skills he practiced in college are pretty good.

After tempering and improving in missions and real competitions, the speed, confrontation, and experience have all increased.

Li Liang thought, if he practiced his defensive tactics again, Nima could be a coach when he went back.

Man-to-man seems to be just "staring at your opponent", but in fact there are routines and coordination.

In the first class, in the case of one-on-one, two-on-two, and three-on-three, if the defense is not lost, they can still cooperate and help each other.

Because the opponent's offensive tactics must revolve around disrupting man-to-man deployment, dislocations, and gaps.

Therefore, a man-to-man defensive player must have a good defensive ability.

At the same time, it is necessary to pay close attention to the movements of teammates and opponents, predict in advance, and rotate in time.

Li Liang learned these things in Kentucky before and later in the Lakers.

However, it is still a little different when entering systematic studies, that is, Rupp's digging is too detailed.

He gave clear rules on distance and time for when players should move, when they should cross positions, and when they should assist in man-to-man defense.

Rupp almost used a ruler to measure the distance between the players.

During training, if the distance between the players is not properly controlled, and the timing of the position change is not accurate, Rupp will stop and correct it.

After half an hour, Li Liang felt a headache.

In the NBA, coaches don't pick such details. In my impression, the only NBA coach who does this is Larry Brown.

He built the '04 Detroit Pistons.

Li Liang thought to himself, none of these famous coaches in the basketball world is a fuel-efficient lamp.

Each has their twists and turns.

Thinking about it this way, Mike Brown is better.