David robinson, a legendary NBA superstar, has the reputation of "Admiral". This nickname is precisely because he comes from Annapolis Naval Academy, the cradle of the US Navy. He is a real naval officer (he graduated as a lieutenant and was finally named "Admiral" by fans because of his achievements in NBA). Robinson's experience in the NBA has long been familiar, but if you don't know his naval career, you can't really know David Robinson.
David's father Ambrose Robinson retired from the navy and became an independent contractor specializing in public projects. At that time, David was still a high school student.
David's father often had to travel to Washington, D.C., and finally he simply moved from Virginia Beach to Darfur, Virginia, and settled in a middle-class community called woodbridge.
At first, David was not particularly enthusiastic about basketball, but he showed excellent sportsmanship. He is a competent first baseman and likes playing football and bowling. At the age of twelve, he won the golf championship. Besides, David is an expert in computer programming and has a high interest and enthusiasm for piano playing. Basketball, for David, who entered high school only 1.75 meters, has only been recruited by the school team once. "At that time, I didn't play well." David later said so frankly. After that, David's height grew to 1.93 meters, but basketball never attracted his main attention. David is too versatile. He has music, a computer and friends. ...
After David moved to northern Virginia, he transferred to Osborne Park High School, which was 0/3 miles away from home, with a small number of students, and immediately applied to Annapolis Naval Academy. Just as his father is also a sailor (David's father has been a taxi officer and sonar technician in the navy for 20 years), David also yearns for the navy, and the application process is very smooth. But David's father asked David to think it over carefully, because after graduating from the naval academy, there is a five-year military service constraint, but David is optimistic about the positive side of this voluntary service-as long as you can graduate, the navy will give you an iron rice bowl for five years.
At this time, David, who grew to 2.0 1 m, caught the attention of Art Ryan, coach of Osborne Park High School Team.
By this time, the date of selecting new talents had already passed, but Ryan made an exception and asked David to accept the selection alone. David told the coach that he would like to join the school team, but he didn't even have a decent pair of basketball shoes. Ryan was not disappointed and stopped insisting on formal selection, but he hoped that David could come to the gym after school.
Ryan recalled, "As soon as he got to the gym, he took off his shoes and was completely eager to try; I watched him catch the ball and pass it carefully. Someone said, "Hey, let's watch the slam dunk. "Without saying anything, David stepped forward to catch the ball on the spot and performed a smooth dunk barefoot."
At this point, David became a member of the basketball team of Osborne Park High School.
Moreover, David's luck was not bad. The original main center of the school team was injured, so David played the center as soon as he entered the team. He didn't miss a game and made five fouls. At this time, David also showed the ability of accurate jump shot and good blocking in high school. Although it did not reach the top level, such performance began to attract the attention of the naval academy. Paul evans, then the navy coach, made a plan with the coaching staff when he entered the navy to train David into a first-class small forward.
1On July 6th, 983, David entered Annapolis Naval Academy, became a member of the 87th Military Academy, and began his college career and his acquaintance with basketball.
Before coach paul evans entered the Naval Academy, the winning percentage of the navy had been below 50% for 20 years. In fact, the navy is not a strong team in NCAA, and the main reason for the long-term weakness of the navy lies in the height limitation of the naval academy. The Naval Academy only accepts students whose height does not exceed 2.03 meters, which makes it difficult for the school basketball team to recruit excellent players. When applying for the Naval Academy, David was only 2.03 meters tall, but after that, his height soared rapidly, which undoubtedly injected a shot in the arm into the naval basketball team.
Coach Evans and his assistant coaches were delighted with David's joining. At this time, David has grown to 2.06 meters and has the height and physique of a center.
At this time, the main force of the navy is the tallest student in the history of the naval academy, starting center Cliff Mora at 2 2. 10/0m and Veron Butler at 2. 010m. They are also David's opponents in practice. David has no foundation at this time, just like a blank sheet of paper, but it also means that he has no bad behaviors and habits and a strong desire to learn. Although David, who was thin at first, was always bullied, he soon got into this situation.
Evans also said that David is the material of the center in his mind, so try to let David specialize in one position and don't be distracted from playing other positions. Although David doesn't get angry as fast as the center.
Soon, under the transformation of Evans, the Naval Academy set a record of more than 20 wins for the first time since its establishment: 24 wins and 8 losses. David, on the other hand, averaged 7.6 points, 4 rebounds 1.3 blocks in less than 13 minutes, becoming the rookie of the year in ECAC southern district.
At the end of his first year in the military academy, David not only did well on the court, but also got a B in math. However, the summer vacation of naval academy students is not free. David actually spent his summer vacation in the navy. One month's voluntary maritime patrol and one month's military training on board, compared with other university players, they can polish their skills outside the season and take part in some short-term basketball games to exercise themselves. David's free time is only in the last month of summer vacation.
And David didn't give up this month's precious time. He began to lift dumbbells so that his weight of less than 90 kilograms could be thicker. At the same time, he joined the Washington Suburban League, where he met a stronger opponent and scored an average of 65,438+07 points in five games.
At the end of the summer vacation, David gained 10 kg, reaching 2. 1 1 m, breaking the height record of the former senior Mora Naval Academy students. Since then, he is not only stronger, but also more confident.
At the beginning of the new season, David was named the best player of the week by Sports Illustrated. Since then, the naval academy has attracted the attention of the whole country to this originally humble team.
In the face of these sudden concerns and starting to become the focus of attention, David has always maintained a normal heart. In an interview with Sports News at the beginning of that year 1 month, David said, "Until now, I still don't think I am a first-class basketball player." He said modestly, "It doesn't matter whether I can become a star or not. What's important is that I play now purely for fun. "
Although he has gradually become a national star, David's academic pressure has not been alleviated in the tense competition; Unlike the first-class basketball players in other schools, the naval academy is not easy because you are an excellent player. David is also a good student. He finished a semester of his sophomore year with an average score of 3.22, and completed 18 credits in thermodynamics, navigation, calculus, physics, computer, etc. in the winter vacation. And slowly, the naval academy also boarded the national broadcast. When David became a famous star and the object of discussion in America, only at the Naval Academy did David look ordinary. Like other military students, he ate together, stood guard together, was on duty together, and saluted the seniors together. Get up at 6: 30 every morning, shave, wash and clean the room for half an hour; Reorganize the team three times a day, or stand guard for eight hours occasionally.
After the end of the regular season, the Naval Academy reached a new high, ending the season with 26 wins and 6 losses, and won the right to participate in the NCAA 64 championship that the Naval Academy had not seen for 25 years, and has been advancing to the second round. This is the peak of the naval academy in 25 years. David and his teammates became heroes of the naval academy.
David has handed over 23.6 points, 1 1.6 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and 64% high shooting percentage this season.
19-year-old David faces his first choice in life. In addition to the school spirit and academics, he was attracted by the Naval Academy, which provided him with an iron rice bowl for five years of compulsory military service. However, these five years may cast a shadow over David's bright basketball road.
Many students in the Naval Academy have dropped out of school in the second year or even the third year. After leaving the official school, these people are completely free without any obligation or punishment. These people may not be able to stand military discipline 24 hours a day, or they may not want to lose it five years after graduation.
However, David is different. His reason for leaving school is even stronger. If David transfers, he can enter any university, enjoy a full scholarship, continue his favorite subjects and continue to play basketball. In fact, many universities have expressed their intention to win David's participation, such as UCLA, Georgetown University, Kentucky University, Duke University, and the University of Virginia in David's hometown.
David wants to take care of both sides; He hopes to get rid of these five-year obligations by being overweight and then join the NBA. And anyway, he hopes to graduate from the naval academy first, especially as his father expects.
Ambrose Robinson is not only David's father, but also the object of worship in David's heart. And David's father always protects David on the road of growing up and plays the role of persuasion. David's father joined the navy to prevent his children from growing up in an environment of racial discrimination, because the navy has no discrimination and can protect his family; In order to give his children a better education, he resolutely moved into a community where most people live in white. David didn't disappoint his father. He has always been excellent in mathematics and physics, and he is also gifted in music and sports, so Ambrose never thought that his son's career would be on the basketball court.
David and his parents hope that the navy can be flexible, especially now that David is of great significance to the navy. He made the box office of the naval academy full, and he let the naval academy enter the NCAA championship. As a sailor, he is active on the court, attracting the media and publicizing the advantages and benefits of the naval academy. Such a powerful live advertisement is very important to the navy.
"I am very happy to make up my mind. I am looking forward to these two seasons." 1On April 3, 985, David, a junior at the Naval Academy, finally announced that he had decided to complete his university education in an official school. The Robinsons are pleased with this choice, and their teammates at the Naval Academy are also very excited. Although millions of people in the country can't believe that David finally made this decision, it can be said that he gave up the million-dollar annual salary of professional players.
This summer, David, who was determined to stay in the naval academy until graduation, first served as a submarine navigator for a week, and then received training in the Marine Corps. Although David sometimes hesitates and is confused, "when I run four miles in boots, when I think of players from other universities struggling on the court, I can't help but think about my decision;" But I believe that what I achieved this summer may never happen to them. David accepted his choice optimistically and chose to become a sailor first, even though he has the skill of being the first person in college basketball today. But just like his talent in music, computer, mathematics and physics, he has too many David, so he has to put basketball after his ideal of being a sailor first.
Just after summer training, David was selected for the American national team. His teammates are all first-class players from major universities in the United States. David was impressed by their attitude during the pre-match training. Seeing their devotion and persistence in basketball, David finally focused his attention on the basketball court. In the past, the biggest criticism of David's playing was that he was often absent-minded, lacked strong attention and was easily distracted; However, training with these first-class players in the United States gave David a different intensity of practice for the first time.
Other players, almost all of them regard college basketball as a springboard for NBA, and all of them advise David to transfer. They are puzzled that David 19-year-old teenagers are willing to give up the million-year salary of professional basketball, but in any case, David's decision, whether they understand it or not, makes David a hero in the team.
1In the autumn of 985, David returned to Annapolis to continue his studies at the Naval Academy. New York Governor Guo Mo said in a national radio program:
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