Yang Shuai's face flickered with a touch of surprise, but he quickly returned to normal. "Getting into the NBA would of course be the best—who wouldn't want it if they had the chance?"
After speaking, he glanced at Stephen Curry, who was listening carefully beside him. Curry smiled and nodded.
But Dell Curry shook his head. "The pressure of working in the NBA is much greater than you imagine. Take scouts, for example—their phones have to be on 24 hours a day. Getting enough sleep is a luxury for them, and many eventually choose to leave because the mental pressure is too great."
NBA staff and players were entirely different professions. Players only needed to work hard on the court, but staff had far more to consider.
Yang Shuai nodded. Dell Curry was giving him a crash course on the differences between two worlds, the NBA and the NAA—a kind reminder, after all, since Yang Shuai was still just a twenty-one-year-old.
But for Yang Shuai, who had actually experienced an environment full of overachievers even before crossing over, what Dell Curry said was nothing more than an ordinary, everyday matter.
"Thank you, Mr. Curry. I'll keep your reminder in mind." Yang Shuai put on an air of having benefited greatly.
"Dad, you're right, but it's no problem for Hanson." Stephen Curry, who had been playing the listener, spoke up. "Hanson had me use his office computer to study game film. You have no idea how many playbooks are on his desk—he even has several notebooks. Even in the NAA, he does more than the vast majority of people."
Dell Curry looked surprised when he heard this, but he quickly wore an expression of sudden understanding. Now everything Yang Shuai had done before had a reasonable explanation.
His gaze toward Yang Shuai also became different from before. "If you're interested in the NBA, you can contact me. I may no longer be in the NBA, but I still have some connections."
Hearing this, Yang Shuai was stirred. With Dell Curry's help, the difficulty of entering the NBA would indeed be greatly reduced.
All that Yang Shuai had previously done for Curry had ultimately earned him this result.
"Do good deeds and don't ask about the future"—the ancients were not wrong about this.
After defeating Duke University, Wake Forest University pressed on, consecutively defeating the University of Virginia and Georgia Tech, achieving a three-game winning streak after starting with two straight losses.
Just as they had shown against Duke, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry played to their strengths and avoided their weaknesses within this tactical system, fully utilizing their abilities. Plus, Ibaka, once he came off the bench, always contributed on defense. This team had found the winning model that suited them best.
Westbrook's performance was especially outstanding. He averaged 21 points over three games, which also got him onto the class of 2007 draft projections.
The team's winning streak made Wake Forest fans extraordinarily excited. Although the style was completely different, they had regained the feeling of the Paul era.
They might really return to the NAA tournament, and even win the A League championship!
Amid the fans' boundless anticipation, Wake Forest University traveled to Raleigh to face the University of North Carolina on the road.
However, the result of this game once again dealt them a blow. From the opening, the University of North Carolina forced the game into a half-court grind, and Wake Forest could never pick up the pace, ultimately losing 61–72.
Curry played well in this game with 18 points, but Westbrook struggled, shooting 4-of-15 for only 10 points.
The University of North Carolina had become a mountain Wake Forest could never surmount.
That night, after the game, when they returned to Winston-Salem, Prosser called a coaching staff meeting, and Yang Shuai was among them.
It was Yang Shuai's first time at such an occasion. Previously, at most he had only communicated privately with Prosser.
The focus of this coaching meeting was defensive tactics, but it gradually shifted to half-court game discussion, because the foundation of transition offense is defense, and to play successful defense you need to crack half-court offense.
The head coach of the University of North Carolina was Roy Williams, Dean Smith's direct disciple. Unlike Coach K, who was experienced and seasoned, Williams was known for his varied tactical style, making the University of North Carolina's half-court game unpredictable and hard to read.
Throughout, Yang Shuai played the role of listener; he couldn't get a word in at such a meeting, and he could sense that his presence as a regional scout still made some members of the coaching staff dissatisfied.
When the meeting ended, Yang Shuai returned to his office, and Cole happened to come looking for him.
"I've thought of a way." Cole pulled up a stool and sat down. "What's most crucial now is that we need to know our opponent well enough. That understanding isn't just about the tactical system, but also the in-game tactical details—down to Roy Williams's tactical hand signals. These won't show up in game film, but they can indeed help us target them better."
Although he hadn't attended the coaching staff meeting, Cole, the national scouting director, hadn't been idle either.
Yang Shuai nodded in agreement. To know yourself and know your enemy—if you want to defeat a strong opponent, you must have a thorough understanding of them.
"So we need to attend their other games in person, record those details, and even pose as people from their school to go to their practice facility. That's a more effective method." Cole went into further detail.
"That's not allowed, is it?" Yang Shuai sounded doubtful after hearing this.
Cole nodded. "Remember what that graduate student said during the interview? Giving benefits to students' parents in exchange for influencing their choice—that's also not allowed, but basically every school does it. If you go by the book, you can't win in the competition."
Going against the rules fit Cole's style, but Yang Shuai still had concerns. His goal was the NBA, especially after Dell Curry's promise; that goal was now within sight. Under these circumstances, he didn't want to take risks.
"This is also very common in the NBA. And don't worry—if anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility." Seeing this, Cole again patted Yang Shuai on the shoulder and made a promise.
Cole had put it that way, so Yang Shuai could only say, "I'll think about it."
It was getting late. After they finished talking, the two left the office together.
As they passed the practice facility, they heard noise inside. Looking through the crack in the door, they saw Russell Westbrook doing extra practice.
A look of surprise appeared on Cole's face. They had just returned to Winston-Salem after a tiring trip, yet Westbrook's competitiveness was truly remarkable.
Yang Shuai wasn't surprised at all. He knew Westbrook well enough—that was also why, when the team lost and Westbrook played poorly, he hadn't comforted him the way he had comforted Curry before.
The next day, Yang Shuai took the initiative to find Prosser and told him about Cole's proposal.
"Don't do it—at least, not you." Prosser's reaction was firmer than Yang Shuai had expected.
"Is it serious?" Yang Shuai's expression turned grave.
Prosser shook his head—not because it wasn't serious, but because no school had been punished for this before. "In the NAA rules, this is called 'signal stealing,' and it's explicitly prohibited."
He still wanted Yang Shuai to be his assistant coach, so naturally he didn't want him to take risks.
It was Yang Shuai's first time hearing of "signal stealing," but after Prosser put it that way, he was definitely not going to do it.
Although Cole had shown him trust and given him a chance, he wouldn't gamble his career over this.
After class, Yang Shuai went to Cole's office and told him his decision. Of course, he didn't refuse directly, but used a bit of American-style humor: "I haven't received IA training, so I can't do that kind of work."
Cole smiled, but couldn't hide the disappointment on his face.
The main reason he had sought Yang Shuai was precisely because of this kind of task. Yang Shuai's status as a student was the most suitable; others were easily discovered.
But Yang Shuai was unwilling, and he couldn't force him.
"David, I checked. This is explicitly prohibited in the NAA rules—it's a different matter entirely from giving things to students' parents." Before leaving, Yang Shuai didn't forget to remind him. He didn't want to take this risk himself, and he didn't want Cole to take it either. After all, Cole was a rare good boss.
Cole nodded and said nothing more.
In the blink of an eye, it was February, and the NAA regular season was drawing to a close.
Although they lost both games against UNC during the season, and because of their youth there were some consistency issues that caused Wake Forest to lose some games they should have won, overall their performance was very impressive.
With only two games left in the season, they had already achieved a 10–4 record, ranking second in the A League behind only University of North Carolina. Before the season, no one could have imagined this.
Although they hadn't directly topped the league like in Paul's time, they had still far exceeded fans' expectations.
But just as Wake Forest fans were looking forward to the upcoming NAA tournament, the outbreak of a "University of Michigan signal stealing" scandal dragged Wake Forest into a public opinion vortex as well.
Chapter 21