Calipari conducted a summary of yesterday's game on the second day after the match, with everyone sitting together watching the game footage for analysis.
Every game is like an exam; they praise what was done well and continue to improve what was lacking.
Zeng Xingyang's shooting was praised, but his defense was criticized slightly. If not for a nice-looking block, he would have been yelled at.
Of course, Towns was also named for his defense. Towns' defense wasn't really bad, it just didn't show his physical talents.
Many times, Towns appeared somewhat lazy on the court.
After the summary, Calipari went on to practice some of the tactics that hadn't been in place the night before.
After the regular training ended, Zeng Xingyang stayed behind for extra practice.
Yesterday's game had greatly drained Zeng Xingyang's stamina, and today his muscles were a bit tense.
However, Zeng Xingyang knew that his body was still adapting to the intensity of games and training; after playing a few more games, it should be fine.
Pulling up the system, Zeng Xingyang glanced at the attributes and found that defense was the attribute with the biggest improvement during the match.
[Defense: Level 2]
[Experience: 687/800]
[Remarks: NCAA Level defense capability achieved]
This was just one game that increased over a hundred points in defense for Zeng Xingyang.
"This is probably because the current level is low, and then on the court every play is full-on defense."
"Encountering those players with NBA level offense while at Level 2 is still tough."
"Experience gained from matches is much faster than from training; wondering if it would be even faster in the NBA?"
"Thinking too much. Once the level is higher, the difficulty of gaining experience will definitely increase. It's better to be practical and strive to level up to Level 3 in the next few days. Wonder if it will be NBA-level defense then."
In addition to preparing to practice defense further, Zeng Xingyang also added some dribbling practice.
Although he knows that even if he levels up to Level 3, it won't significantly increase his ball-handling offense capability, it will enhance his offensive variability, making it harder for opponents to defend his rhythm.
[Dribbling: Level 2]
[Experience: 40/500]
.....
Compared to defense, which increased a lot during a game, dribbling increased only a little.
However, Zeng Xingyang's expression was still very relaxed, as every step forward showed positive feedback.
It's very exciting, although he was not sure if not training would cause some attribute experience to decline.
Testing it by not training?
Impossible; Zeng Xingyang loves training.
In two days, the next game will occur. Zeng Xingyang hopes his performance will be better than in the first game.
Only by consistently showing good performances, will the goal get closer.
After experiencing the opening match, Zeng Xingyang understood the game more deeply and learned many things that the system and training couldn't provide.
Like ball-handling on the court, shot selection, practical tactical application, etc.
All these require constant accumulation of experience on the court.
While thinking, Zeng Xingyang also posed himself, with feet apart, bending the torso, alternating dribble between left and right hands, gradually speeding up, and touching the ice cream cone in front.
After simple warm-up dribbling training, Zeng Xingyang chose to combine dribbling and shooting again.
Using various shots to emulate the effects in actual combat.
Zeng Xingyang knew that only through repeated practice during training, continually consolidating and improving, could he bring out the results on the court.
Improving attributes takes time and patience, not rushing into actions.
After the dribbling and shooting training, it was defense training...
....
The next morning, Zeng Xingyang grabbed Booker for early training.
After training, the two went together to the school cafeteria for breakfast. Just as they sat down, Towns came late.
"Were you two just finished training?" Towns asked with droopy eyes.
Zeng Xingyang nodded, biting into a beef bun.
Zeng Xingyang's current weight is just 85 kg; for his height, he's a bit lean.
The nutritionist's recipe for him is to eat more meat to gain weight, which Zeng Xingyang is complying with.
"Don't work so hard, you make the pressure on me, a top draft contender, very high." Towns shrugged.
After the debut game, Towns' fame surged again, which made him quite happy.
A while ago, Towns was practicing with Zeng Xingyang, but this time it has reduced significantly. Towns inherently isn't very diligent.
Zeng Xingyang and Booker heard Towns' bragging.
Booker gave him a white-eye, and Zeng Xingyang flashed Towns a middle finger.
Towns' talent ensures that only basic training volume will confirm his status as a top three pick.
"Honestly, wouldn't you be too tired training like this? I'm feeling really worn out," Towns asked.
In Towns' view, Zeng Xingyang's willpower is simply invincible.
Training like this isn't just physically exhausting, but mentally draining too, yet Zeng Xingyang always appears full of energy daily.
"Actually, you just need to get used to it. Having a plan and rhythm for enhanced training makes it better," Booker chimed in, taking a bite from a piece of toast.
"Don't you feel training is a kind of enjoyment? Although training is dull, every single session offers improvement, a feeling that draws one deeply," Zeng Xingyang asked.
"Training maniac!"
"Too crazy."
Now came the turn for Towns and Booker to unite and ridicule Zeng Xingyang.
While the three were chatting, plenty of students in the cafeteria started focusing their gaze on them.
"They seem to be players from the Wildcats."
"That's Karl-Anthony Towns, that's Devin Booker, um, who's that other guy?"
"Chinese Zeng!"
"Oh, I remember, they said that guy is modeled after Klay Thompson."
"Karl has the chance to become the top pick, ESPN said he'd be first next year."
"Devin Booker's skills are outstanding."
"Chinese Zeng's three-point shot is quite accurate, too."
More and more students were starting to talk, and a few acquaintances waved to the trio.
The classmates in the school showed great discretion, not interrupting the trio's meal.
Upon hearing these conversations, the trio's faces instantly turned into smiles.
In public places, one should maintain composure and avoid inappropriate gestures and foul language.
Because now, to a certain extent, they are public figures.
After breakfast, and taking a few photos with enthusiastic fans, the trio headed to the gym.
The interlude lifted their spirits a lot.
Achievements on the basketball court will make them more noticeable in life.
....
In the two subsequent games, the University of Kentucky easily scored big victories over Morehead State University and the University of Richmond.
These two teams were weaker in strength, and their lineup didn't include any players with NBA prospects. Facing the all-around attack of Kentucky, they only resisted for half the game before conceding.
Zeng Xingyang scored 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 12 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists in these two games, respectively.
His performance on the offensive end was relatively stable, but his defense was quite average.
In the first game, he still had statistics for blocks and steals, but in these two games, he had no steals and blocks, those two categories resulting in a goose egg.
The opposing teams happened to be driven by shooting guards, whose scoring and break-through abilities were very strong, mainly relying on the perimeter for scoring, which placed a lot of pressure on Zeng Xingyang.
Facing such strong scorers from weaker teams, Zeng Xingyang sometimes couldn't keep up with the first steps, getting passed several times.
Seeing this, Calipari reduced Zeng Xingyang's playing time.
"Zeng Xingyang's defense can't be said to be very poor, but it's just quite average, facing slightly stronger offensive players, he doesn't have a good solution."
"Zeng Xingyang is indeed more fit as a substitute; this level of defense can't cut it as a starter."
"The comprehensive strength of Kentucky Wildcats this season is much stronger than last season; this season, their goal is the national championship."
"Zeng Xingyang's offense is decent, shooting percentage is sharpshooter level, but similar to other sharpshooters, his defense is not that good."
Fans, after watching the three matches, have formed some basic judgments on Zeng Xingyang.
They recalled the scene of Zeng Xingyang being passed in one step, disregarding whether the players he faced were especially strong against his defense or not.
Zeng Xingyang himself, when watching the footage, also found it frustrating; a Level 2 defense is still not enough.