Capítulo 52: Butler Blames Himself
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He lowered his center of gravity, dribbling between his legs and subtly shifting Butler's weight.
After crossing the ball between his legs five or six times at a steady pace, Curry suddenly widened his dribbling range, passed the ball to his left hand, and feinted with his left shoulder, pretending to drive past Butler on the right.
Butler slid slightly to his right, and in an instant, Curry passed the ball behind his back to his right hand and pulled up for a three-pointer!
Butler instinctively reached out to contest the shot, but his balance was off, and he reacted a second too late, giving Curry just enough space to release the ball.
Swoosh!
The basketball soared in a high arc, cleanly swishing through the net.
Butler turned and watched the ball drop through the hoop, a look of disbelief on his face.
He had tried his best, even blocking Curry's view, but the shot was perfect, causing the net to barely tremble.
If this were one of his former opponents, there was no way they would have made that shot.
In the following offensive and defensive exchanges, Curry's offense seemed effortless. Butler constantly felt just one step away from effectively guarding him, but could only watch as the ball kept falling through the net.
Aside from Curry missing a couple of shots on his own, Butler didn't manage to steal or block any of his attempts. He even doubted whether he had successfully disrupted Curry's shot at all. The only missed shots were due to Curry losing his shooting touch, not Butler's defense.
On offense, even though Butler had physical advantages, breaking through Curry's defense was no easy task.
Curry anticipated his every move, and Butler's weak ball-handling led to multiple turnovers.
By the end of the game, Butler had only managed to score four baskets, relying on his strength and jumping ability. The game ended 10-4 in Curry's favor.
As the simple bullfight concluded, it was nearly time for training, and the other players began arriving at the gym, gathering on the sidelines to watch.
Once the Bulldogs' players and assistant coaches were present, Liam Gonzalez introduced Butler to the group.
Except for Matthew Graves, this was everyone's first time meeting Butler. They were curious about this new player, who happened to share the same name as the school, and they all came up to greet him.
However, Butler's tough childhood had made him quite reserved around strangers. He wasn't very comfortable with people and responded to them hesitantly, which caused their initial interest to fade quickly.
After receiving the day's training plan from Coach Stevens, the players spread out to different parts of the gym to start their personalized training sessions with the help of their trainers.
Since the start of the next season was still far off, the players were focused on individual skill development. The coaching staff had created tailored training programs for each of them, and once the new semester began, the team would shift its focus to tactical team drills.
Butler was pulled aside by Terry Johnson to undergo a series of physical tests, along with shooting, dribbling, and footwork evaluations. These assessments would help the coaching staff design a training plan suited to his needs.
After the other players had settled into their training, Liam approached Curry, who was working on his dribbling drills.
Between-the-legs crossovers, behind-the-back moves, double-handed dribbling – Curry's ball-handling drills were more varied and longer than any of the other players'.
Curry didn't have the natural ball sense of players like Iverson or Kyrie Irving, but he compensated with relentless practice, day in and day out, which allowed him to perform dazzling moves on the court.
"Stephen, what do you think of Jimmy?" Liam asked after watching Curry for a while.
"His ball-handling is average, he's inexperienced on defense, and his shooting needs work," Curry replied.
"So, you're not too impressed with him?" Liam probed.
"No, that's not it. He's got a lot of grit, and he doesn't let mistakes get to him. I'm sure he won't stay like this for long," Curry shook his head.
"Jimmy's high school wasn't the best – just an ordinary public school. The training he received was pretty basic. After this summer, challenge him again in a one-on-one. I think you'll be surprised by how much he improves," Liam smiled.
"I'm looking forward to it," Curry said before diving back into his next drill.
Liam didn't interrupt him further and instead headed over to where Terry Johnson was finishing up Butler's tests.
"How did the tests go?" Liam asked.
"They went really well. Jimmy's physical attributes are excellent compared to his peers, especially his strength and athleticism. His vertical leap, bench press, three-quarter-court sprint, and lateral movement in the paint are all impressive," Terry replied while flipping through the results.
"But his static measurements aren't great. His wingspan is barely longer than his height, his hands aren't particularly large, and his shoulders aren't very broad. It seems like he's made up for it with hard work in training, otherwise, he wouldn't be this physically outstanding."
Terry glanced at Liam, wondering if their head coach had a special preference for players with shorter wingspans. Curry's wingspan was shorter than average, and now Butler's wasn't great either. Could it be that having a short wingspan was a requirement to join the Bulldogs?
Of course, Liam had no idea what Terry was thinking. If he did, he would have clarified right away.
It wasn't that Liam didn't want to recruit talented high school players with better physical tools, but they had to be interested in playing for Butler University in the first place! Given the school's limited resources, they had to make do with the talent that bigger programs overlooked.
After Butler finished his tests, Liam approached him.
"Jimmy, the coaching staff is going to set up a training plan for you. For the next two days, just keep practicing as you have been," Liam said.
Butler nodded but looked a bit dejected.
"Coach, did I perform poorly?" he asked quietly.
"Are you talking about the game with Stephen?" Liam asked.
"Yeah, you came all the way to Houston to find me, saying the team needed my defense, but I couldn't do anything to stop Stephen," Butler said, blaming himself.
"You don't have to feel bad. If you had been able to shut Stephen down, then he would have wasted his entire year of training," Liam said with a laugh.
"I know he's strong, but I didn't expect to lose so badly… Coach, am I going to be a burden to the team?" Butler asked, looking around at the Bulldogs players, who were dribbling and shooting with ease. His expression was full of doubt.
Liam thought for a moment before speaking slowly:
"Kobe Bryant only averaged 7.6 points per game in his first year with the Lakers, but in his second year, he more than doubled that. That was the result of one year of hard work. You have to understand, Tomball High wasn't exactly a basketball powerhouse. Right now, there is a gap between you and these guys, but once you undergo proper training, you'll improve quickly."
Liam's words were gentle. The training at Tomball High was indeed basic, far behind top-tier programs like Oak Hill Academy.
But that wasn't unusual. Public high schools in underserved communities often lacked the funding to hire experienced coaches and offer professional-level training.
Still, these schools were a vital part of the vast basketball system in the U.S., providing opportunities for players like Butler to rise above their circumstances.
"Coach, I understand. I'll train as hard as I can," Butler said, determination shining in his eyes.
He knew this was his chance to change his destiny.
End of this chapter
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