Cahoon's words were not mere politeness. Players always needed time to recover and readjust after returning from injury. Walker's injury was neither especially serious nor insignificant; after resting for a month, there was no way he could immediately regain his feel the moment he stepped onto the court.
After playing Pittsburgh, UConn rested for several days before heading on the road to face West Virginia University.
West Virginia University was also a prestigious school. The most famous player in its team history was "Logo" Jerry West. Last season, they had been the Big East Conference Regular Season champions, entered the tournament as the second seed in the East Region, and made it all the way to the Final Four.
This season, their strength had declined after their core players left, but they were still ranked fifth in the Big East Conference and fighting to break into the top half of the standings.
It was a clash between two strong teams. From the opening tip, they went at each other needle to needle, sparks flying everywhere. Smith even picked up a technical and was ejected as a result.
Just over eight minutes into the game, the score was tied at 9.
At that point, Cahoon substituted Walker in for Napier, hoping he could break the deadlock.
Right away, UConn ran its most classic play: a high Pick and Roll Cooperation between Tang Tian and Walker.
Wary of Tang Tian's Three-pointer shooting ability, the opponents did not dare double-team Walker. Walker went one-on-one against their forward and took a shot after changing direction.
That had originally been Walker's specialty, but the range of his change of direction was clearly a little too small. He failed to completely shake off his defender, and his shot was nearly blocked. After leaving his hand, the ball drifted off the rim.
After grabbing the rebound, the opponents immediately pushed in transition. Their guard hit a Chasing Three-Pointer, instantly igniting the atmosphere in the arena.
"Kemba..." Ollie started to say, then stopped.
Cahoon said nothing.
Something was clearly off about Walker's condition, but it was hard to say exactly why.
In fact, after the previous game, Cahoon had privately spoken with Walker and asked whether his injury had not fully recovered.
Walker's answer had been that the injury no longer affected him.
The game continued. Walker missed another Driving Layup from the right side, failing to capitalize on two straight opportunities.
Seeing Walker struggle, the on-site fans booed loudly as well.
In the end, UConn lost 61-71 on the road, and its four-game winning streak came to an end.
Walker played 20 minutes, shooting 2-for-10 for just 4 points and 3 assists. His performance was not much different from the previous game.
After the game, Cahoon chose to avoid all questions related to Walker.
After that day's game ended, the players showered and rested in the locker room.
When Tang Tian came out after showering, he did not see Walker. He asked around, but no one knew where he was.
After thinking it over, he finally went to the visiting team's Training Facility, grabbing a bottle of water on his way out.
At this hour, if Walker was not in the locker room, then given his personality, he had most likely gone to get in some extra work after playing poorly.
When Tang Tian arrived at the Training Facility, sure enough, Walker was there training, drenched in sweat.
"Kemba," Tang Tian called as he walked in.
When Walker saw that it was Tang Tian, he wiped away his sweat and forced a faint smile.
"Take a break. Your injury just healed, and you just finished a game. It could easily flare up again," Tang Tian said.
Walker nodded after hearing that and walked over to sit by the court.
Judging from the way he walked, there really did not seem to be anything wrong with his ankle.
Tang Tian handed Walker the water.
"Thanks." Walker took it and drank a couple of sips.
"Are you worried about your ankle?" Tang Tian suddenly asked.
"What?" Walker looked at Tang Tian in surprise. The look in his eyes showed that Tang Tian had guessed correctly.
"You're worried that your ankle will get injured again, so you don't dare exert yourself," Tang Tian repeated.
Lamb's poor performance earlier had been a matter of mentality, but Walker was obviously not like that. As a junior, he had weathered plenty of storms, and judging from how he had performed since getting injured, his mind was incredibly strong.
Of course, it could not be a matter of ability either. If his ankle had fully healed, Walker was absolutely a top-ten point guard in the NCAA.
If it was neither mentality nor injury, then his poor performance had to be caused by something he was holding back over.
The only thing that could make him hold back was the ankle he had just injured.
Tang Tian had coached so many players in his previous life that he understood such things quite well.
"Yeah." Walker nodded with a bitter smile, unconsciously reaching down to touch his ankle as he spoke.
A month-long injury was not an especially long time, but it was still the worst injury he had encountered in the NCAA.
For a player like him, who relied mainly on driving, an ankle injury was different from other injuries. If he injured it again, even if it was not a major injury like before, he really would not be able to play in the tournament.
Without him, UConn would not get far either, and all his efforts that year would go to waste.
Walker did not say any of that, but Tang Tian could fully sense it. After spending so much time together, he understood Walker well. Though not tall, Walker was strong inside, and his ambition did not lose to that of any other player in this class.
"I have a suggestion. I don't know if you want to hear it," Tang Tian suddenly said.
"What suggestion?" Walker looked at Tang Tian curiously.
"You need to adjust your way of exerting force," Tang Tian continued.
"Way of exerting force?"
"That's right. You're a driving-type player, so it's impossible to completely change your offensive style overnight. With only a little over half a month left before the tournament, there isn't enough time for that either. But you can try adjusting your way of exerting force, shifting from using your ankles to using your thighs and hips," Tang Tian said.
For players who relied primarily on driving, unless they were built like iron like Iverson, ankle injuries were inevitable. The most typical example was Stephen Curry. During his Rookie Contract, his repeated Change of direction drives nearly ended his career. He suffered more than a dozen ankle injuries of varying severity. Later, he survived only after changing his way of exerting force and his offensive style, which gave him the chance to become a superstar.
Of course, the NCAA was not the NBA, and Walker did not have as much time as Curry to change his offensive style. Therefore, changing his way of exerting force was the most feasible solution.
Walker was very curious. It was the first time he had ever heard of something like this.
That was perfectly normal. The NCAA was not a Commercial League, and in many respects it was far less professional than the NBA. What Tang Tian had described, like his physical training methods, was knowledge he had mastered while coaching in his previous life.
Over the following period, Tang Tian explained the specific methods to Walker. After listening, Walker looked enlightened, and the gloom between his brows seemed to disperse by more than half.
He could neither tell his teammates nor the coaching staff about his worries, because no one could solve them. But what Tang Tian had said was different. Tang Tian had given him a way to resolve those worries, and it was one that could truly work.
"This will take time to transition, and since you still have to play, I suggest that you focus more on driving from the left side first. During the transition period, even when you exert force, you'll rely more on your left ankle rather than your previously injured right ankle," Tang Tian added.
Congratulations to Too Lazy to Change Name for becoming this book's second Hall Master.
Before you continue