Procopio and Thompson exchanged greetings, then Procopio looked at Thompson questioningly, seeing someone else was there.

"This is my friend, Tang. He's a student at the University of Connecticut and will be entering the draft this year too," Thompson introduced.

"You're Tang?" Procopio looked at Tang Tian, puzzled.

"Uncle Mike, do you know him?" Thompson asked, confused.

Tang Tian was also a bit puzzled. He knew Procopio in his previous life, but in this life, they'd never even met.

"Shawn told me about him. He said he's public enemy number one for Duke fans right now," Procopio said with a smile.

After hearing Procopio's words, Tang Tian realized that Shawn must have been Shawn Battier. He was probably referring to the buzzer-beater he had in the tournament against Duke.

Procopio had extensive connections in the NBA. Even if he didn't watch NCAA games, he'd still hear some news.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Tang Tian said, taking the initiative to shake Procopio's hand.

"Shawn said you have a big heart. You know, he also led his team to a 22-point comeback in the semifinals back then. Now, his school got reversed by you guys," Procopio said with a smile after shaking Tang Tian's hand. He was quite talkative.

"We just got lucky," Tang Tian said modestly.

Procopio burst out laughing after hearing that.

An NCAA topic quickly bridged the gap between them.

After chatting for a while, the training started.

With Procopio's help, Thompson began his catch-and-shoot three-point training, while Tang Tian trained quick three-point shots on his own on the other half of the court.

"Clang!"

"Swish!"

"Clang!"

…

Completely different from slow three-point shots, his accuracy plummeted after increasing his release speed. His originally flawless three-point shot dropped to around 50%.

This was expected. After players adjusted their shooting form, their accuracy would fluctuate greatly. The same was true for increasing release speed.

If it were that simple, Novak would have changed his shooting style long ago in the NBA.

Once shooting habits and rhythm are formed, it's easy to change, but maintaining the same level after changing is very difficult.

Fortunately, Tang Tian wasn't really Novak. He was just using Novak's skill, so he had plenty of time and room to adjust.

He slowly adapted to the increased release speed, but after practicing for a while, there wasn't much improvement. His accuracy topped out at around 60% at best.

60% didn't look bad, but in the NBA, especially for rookies, if you missed one or two wide-open shots, the coach would sub you out, not to mention the accuracy decline caused by fatigue.

Things were a lot more troublesome than he'd imagined.

After a few rounds of shooting, his arm felt a little sore, so he sat down on the sidelines to rest.

At this time, he looked over to the other half of the court, where Thompson was shooting very smoothly with Procopio's help, the ball constantly going in.

And it had to be said that Procopio deserved to be a top-level trainer. The quality of the passes he gave Thompson was comparable to that of a first-class NBA point guard. The catches were comfortable, and the rhythm was there without even trying to find it.

They stopped shooting after a while, and Thompson wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel on the sidelines. Procopio talked to him for a couple of sentences, then walked over to Tang Tian.

Tang Tian was quite surprised to see Procopio coming over, after all, Thompson was the one who'd hired him.

"I was watching you just now. Are you adjusting your shooting form?" Procopio asked as he walked up to Tang Tian.

Tang Tian was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

Sure enough, the professionals were the professionals. He hadn't even said anything, and Procopio had already figured it out completely.

"I'm increasing my release speed. In the NBA, my old release speed was too slow." He didn't hide anything, since he was talking to the most professional trainer.

"Can you shoot a few for me to see? The old way and the new way," Procopio said.

Tang Tian nodded. He could sense that Procopio was intentionally trying to help him.

He got up and shot a few baskets with his old and new release speeds.

The difference was obvious. The first few shots were flawless, but only about half of the last few went in.

"Your shooting talent is quite outstanding," Procopio said, not holding back his praise.

Procopio had trained many players, including quite a few stars, so this assessment was by no means a compliment.

"However, your release speed is a bit slow, which will be a disadvantage in the NBA. The idea of increasing your release speed is correct," Procopio continued.

Tang Tian nodded.

"It's just that your method is a bit problematic. Simply speeding up the pushing motion during the release will have a big impact on your accuracy," Procopio added.

Tang Tian was overjoyed to hear this.

He had indeed felt very uncomfortable during this training session.

"Then what should I do?" Tang Tian asked with a hint of anticipation.

"Come here." Procopio said, picking up a ball.

"First of all, you have to change your shooting habits. I've noticed that after you catch the ball, you unconsciously put the ball under your crotch first. That's actually a big waste of time, so you have to adjust that. Like this, hold the ball at your chest, and then shoot."

Tang Tian nodded. He hadn't really noticed this himself.

"And then there's the use of your guide hand. Although shooting relies on the shooting hand, the role of the guide hand is very important. After increasing your release speed, if your guide hand can't support the ball properly, it will have a big impact on your accuracy. That's a very key factor in your accuracy fluctuations."

"In this regard, you can do one-handed shooting drills under the basket. After extra one-handed shooting practice, add a small movement of quickly supporting the ball with the guide hand and then quickly removing it. This will ensure that your ball direction and trajectory remain as familiar as before, even with a consistently fast release speed."

Procopio demonstrated while talking.

Tang Tian nodded repeatedly after listening. He was a coach in his previous life, but he was more inclined towards tactics and motivational speeches. Because the team had an assistant coach responsible for shooting training, he didn't really know much about these shooting details.

Procopio's suggestions really gave him a feeling of sudden enlightenment.

"Are you a ball-handling offensive player or a catch-and-shoot player?" Procopio then asked.

"Catch-and-shoot."

"That's good, because if you were a ball-handling player, you'd also have to learn how to quickly get into a shooting rhythm after dribbling. I really like that kid Stephen Curry. He gets into a shooting rhythm very quickly, so he can have a very fast release speed. But if you're a catch-and-shoot player… I think you need to hire a trainer to pass the ball to you. A good trainer can quickly help you get into a shooting rhythm, so you can adapt quickly when you get to a team," Procopio added.