Chapter 6 Tactical Culture

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  "Defender with ball control? Isn't there one in the lineup?" Zhuang Fei put down his cup and said with a smile.

  "Where?" Mark Allen looked again and still couldn't find the point guard. He could only ask with a puzzled expression, "Zhuang, where is the point guard?"

  "It's just the third name"

  "Third name? What, Vinskaite? How is that possible, he's a small forward, how can he be a point guard?" Mark Allen exclaimed.

  "Mark, do you think Vinska's dribbling is bad?"

  "No, of course not. Vince's ball control is excellent, but are you trying to make him a point forward?" Mark Allen thought for a moment and immediately understood Zhuang Fei's intention. He wasn't someone who didn't know the trends, and point forwards weren't unheard of either. One of the most popular players in the league right now, Grant Hill, was an excellent point forward. In his rookie season in the NBA, Grant Hill had put up 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists per game, making him one of the best point forwards around. Another outstanding small forward in the league, Scottie Pippen, was also a great point forward.

  "I understand, but do you think Vince Carter has the ability to be as great as Grant Hill? To know that Vince was a finisher in high school and not an organizer, he's different from Grant Hill, should say that his organizational skills are far behind. How can he become a player like Grant Hill?" Mark Allen didn't mention Scottie Pippen but mentioned Grant Hill, it's not that Mark Allen looks down on Pippen, but rather Hill's performance and reputation in college were too incredible. Mark Allen is precisely a college coach and not an NBA coach. The Duke University where Grant Hill was at is also an ACC league team just like the Wake Forest, can say that the coaches of the ACC league are the most familiar with Grant Hill. In the ACC league there are two god-like players, one is Jordan and the other is Grant Hill, they belong to North Carolina and Duke respectively. Grant Hill participated in last year's NBA draft, from 1991-1994 he led Duke University to win 2 NCAA championships and an NCAA runner-up."

  "Why not? Grant Hill is great, you can say that Grant Hill is already perfect now, but Vince's talent is also very good, I think it's worth a try, he can do what Grant Hill does, he has the potential"

  "But even if Vince has that potential, he can be ignored in terms of organizational ability and experience at this moment. He is not an immediate force to be reckoned with." Mark Allen said with a worried face.

  "I know, but I'm willing to let Vince try it out, I'm willing to give him time and space to grow" The idea of letting Carter play point guard was not there at first, he had gone after Marbury and Terry in the summer, but both were rejected. If they couldn't get a decent point guard, then having Carter convert to point guard would be better. Due to various reasons, he had confidence in Vince Carter, although Carter didn't show much organizational ability at first, it didn't mean he didn't have that talent, however Mark Eversley wasn't back from 2012, so he didn't know Carter very well.

  "Take a look at this tactical diagram." This diagram was drawn by Zhuang Fei just before Mark Allen came in, matching the starting lineup.

  "What is this? Triangle formation tactics?" Mark Allen's mouth opened wide in surprise once again.

  The terms "Triangle Offense" and "Point Forward" have been very popular in recent years, and can even be said to have appeared together. Not all teams that use the Point Forward tactic will necessarily play the Triangle Offense, but the pinnacle of the Point Forward tactic is indeed the Triangle Offense. At a time when Grant Hill had not yet grown to his peak, Scottie Pippen was still the best Point Forward in the league, and Scottie Pippen was also the initiator of the Bulls' Triangle Offense.

  After Tex Winter, the creator of the Triangle Offense, joined the Chicago Bulls as an assistant coach under Phil Jackson in 1989, he combined Pippen and Jordan to push the reputation of the Triangle Offense to its highest point. This indirectly made the Triangle Offense a synonym for Phil Jackson, the Chicago Bulls, Scottie Pippen, and Point Forwards for a period of time.

  No one would have thought that the Triangle Offense was first implemented in the NCAA. The Triangle Offense has high requirements for players, and although many teams want to try it out, they may not necessarily have the conditions to do so.

  "Zhuang, I have to admit that your idea is very attractive and bold, but Zhuang, do you really have so much confidence in our team players?" Mark Allen said with a wry smile after a brief daze.

  In recent years, with the emergence of the Bulls' first three-peat dynasty, almost every coach would go study the Bulls' triangle offense tactics, just like how everyone started studying the "one center, four shooters" tactic after the Rockets won back-to-back championships this season. Mark Euston is not unfamiliar with the triangle offense's routines and requirements; in fact, almost every American basketball coach wouldn't be unfamiliar with it.

  The triangle offense, like many other offenses, is an evolution of the basic give-and-go play. However, it requires players to have a good understanding of their positions on the court and form a "scoring triangle" with specific spacing. Each player must also be able to share the ball, pass, and move without the ball to create space and prevent defenders from collapsing. This creates one-on-one opportunities and open shots for teammates. In addition to requiring individual skills and strong personal abilities, this strategy demands high tactical awareness from all players. Mark Allen is concerned about the team's ability to execute this tactic due to the players' lack of tactical awareness.

  Duncan wasn't worried, Duncan had already fought in the NCAA for two years, and Stephon Green was also a veteran. Although they weren't very familiar with the triangle offense tactics, their passing, running, cutting, screening, and covering were far better than Carter's group of newcomers. Especially Duncan, Mark Allen didn't doubt whether Duncan could adapt to the triangle offense at all, but he had reservations about Vince Carter, another core player in the triangle. No matter how great Carter's talent was, he was still just a college freshman, and it was unlikely that he had been exposed to complex tactical training in high school. Letting him play as a point forward might not be successful, let alone controlling the more complex triangle offense tactics? This made him the initiator and core of the triangle offense, wasn't this asking too much of him?

  "You're worried about Carter and those newbies' tactical abilities, aren't you?" Zhuang Fei said helplessly. The team's newcomers were just too many.

  "Yes, Carter and Posey are very talented. I think if they can work together with Duncan, our team's strength will not be worse than last season. We can let Duncan and Carter, or even Posey, play more one-on-one like Coach Odum did last season. Although this tactic seems simple, I think it is the most effective way. With Carter and Duncan's ability to score individually, we can enter the top 16 like last season, or even further. We really don't need to take risks and try a triangle offense. Few college teams use the triangle offense now, and in the NBA, only the Bulls do. The requirements for the triangle offense are too strict." Mark Allen's idea is completely reasonable, it's what any coach would choose.

  "Mark, you're right. With Duncan and Carter on our team, we can indeed become a powerhouse in the NCAA. However, as you also said, our lineup has a flaw - the lack of an excellent point guard, which will greatly impact our offense. Perhaps we'll still be a strong team, but winning the championship won't be easy."

  "What?" Mark Allen also hesitated, Zhuang Fei was right, the team lacked an excellent point guard, who could integrate Duncan and Carter, these two strong players?

  "If our team had Marbury, or even if we didn't have Marbury but had a Terry, I wouldn't want to go through the trouble of developing Carter's organizational skills. I'd just take Marbury and Carter, or Duncan and Carter, and Duncan, and crush other teams." Zhang Fei slammed his hand on the table and laughed.

  Mark Jackson was also teased by Zhu Fei's action, indeed, if you have three players like Marbury, Carter and Duncan, it would be much easier as the head coach, just give the ball to these three people on the court.

  "Moreover, in my opinion, we do have the foundation to achieve a triple threat. Let's not mention Duncan, Carter, Lagabell, Wally Szczerbiak, and even James Posey are not players with low IQ and basketball IQ. Give them opportunities, they might surprise us. And Mark, don't you think that the Washington Wizards lack team culture?"

  "What's team culture?" Mark Allen asked in puzzlement.

  "That's right, it's the team culture. We've always been a strong team, but we lack team culture. In these few years, our results have been pretty good, that's because we had excellent players like Duncan and Randolph. If we lost those excellent players, we would immediately become mediocre, isn't that right?"

  "Is that so? What do you mean?" Mark Allen wasn't a fool, and with just a slight reminder from Zhu Fei, he understood.

  Zhuang Fei nodded in agreement, glanced at Mark Allen and continued: "That's right, I want to cultivate the team culture, let the team have a long-lasting spokesperson in some way. North Carolina has been enduring because of Jordan, every year there are countless excellent players following in Jordan's footsteps into North Carolina. We may not have Jordan, but we can have our own team system, we use the team's tactical system to attract excellent players."

  "Although in the world of basketball, tactical systems are advancing every year, but in my opinion, the triangle offense tactic will not be outdated for at least 20 years. Now we have a batch of excellent players and it is also the best time to cultivate team culture and implant this tactical culture into the team's blood."

  The triangle offense will not be eliminated, at least it will not be eliminated in 2012 when Zhuang Fei came across, and in the Lakers of 09 and 10 years, they used Odom, Kobe, and Gasol to achieve a three-peat again.

  Zhuang Fei is a later comer, he has more vision than Mark Allen and others, which is also the source of his confidence. In his view, Carter may not be worse than Odom, and Duncan may not be worse than Garnett. Although Wally Szczerbiak is far from Kobe, triangle offense does not require everyone to have one-on-one singles ability, let Carter and Duncan do it. Triangle offense also needs someone who can make mid-range shots, Wally Szczerbiak is such a role, his shooting ability will not be much worse than NBA top players, even better in some cases.

  "Of course, Mark, these are all my ideas. To actually implement them, you and Bill will need to put those young players through even more rigorous training, so they can turn my ideas into reality. Your task won't be easy," Zhuang Fei said with a smile to Mark Allen. He had self-awareness; although his vision was broader than Mark Allen's and Bill Lanbo's, when it came to actual training, this Chinese coach couldn't compare to American coaches, especially those from renowned American basketball schools, whose level wouldn't be lower than NBA coaches.

  "Coach, your performance today has left me speechless. The shock you brought to me today is too great. You may be the greatest coach in team history, even greater than Coach Odom. I will do my best to help you achieve this dream. Making Vicksburg become a school like North Carolina has always been my dream." Mark Allen looked at Zhu Fei with changed eyes, and the respect in his eyes became more intense.

  "Mark, trust me, we're gonna make it happen, and Vicksburg will become one of the greatest basketball schools in the nation."