When Luke Connett signed a four-year, $41 million contract with the San Antonio Spurs and put on the Spurs' No. 7 jersey for the first time, bursts of laughter burst out at the press conference.

What makes people laugh is not the number 7 itself, but Cornet's explanation of this choice: "I only hope to reach one-third of Tim Duncan."

Such a witty answer quickly sparked heated discussion on social media. While netizens were teasing Cornet's "full score in mathematics", they probably did not realize that this new Spurs player really gave a full score answer in the SAT (US college entrance examination) math exam. As an outstanding representative of the graduating class, he also received an academic scholarship from SMU (South Methodist University) in advance for his excellent grades.

Connet even thought at the time that if there was no college team willing to ask for him, he would simply go to SMU to be their team manager...

Connet is a veritable "second-generation ball" - his father Frank is a former professional basketball player with 2.06 meters tall. He once led Vanderbilt University to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen as a starter and later Bulls champion center Will Pudu to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, and was also selected into the All-SEC League best team in his senior season.

At the 1989 NBA Draft, the old Connet was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 30th overall pick in the second round, playing for the team for two seasons. During this period, he and Horford's father, Titu Horford, also worked as teammates.

Theoretical, Connet, who inherited his father's height, was destined to be a basketball player since he was born. But when he said he was worried that no college team would want him, it was definitely not a joke. In March 2013, when Cornett finished his senior year at Liberty Christian School, a private school located in the suburbs of Dallas, not within the scope of college scout radar, there was no scholarship from the Division I league before him. Even those secondary league schools from local (Texas) have not sent an olive branch.

Connet was extremely tall since childhood. Under his father's careful training, he was very skilled in various basic skills. However, at that time, he had grown to 2.08 meters, but he weighed only 82 kilograms. His overly thin body shape is one of the reasons why he failed to attract widespread attention.

Speaking of which, this is related to the choice of parents. Cornett was very smart since childhood. His academic ability—whether reading, learning profound vocabulary, or solving complex math problems—is obviously one level higher than his peers, so his parents decided to enroll him one year early, which means he is always one of the youngest children in the class.

, and Cornett was developing late - according to his mother Tracy, he only started to change his voice in his third year of high school and started to grow a beard in college, so compared with other children around him, he was several levels of physical maturity.

"He looked like a 12-year-old child with his neck up." This is how his father described Cornet when he graduated from high school.

Of course, Connett's basketball talent is still obvious. In addition to his height from 1.85 meters to 2.08 meters in four years of high school, Connett's shooting feel and outside ball control skills are quite rare for players of this size. On the court, he runs more like a small forward than a center.

More importantly, Frank firmly believed that his son would quickly grow up and become stronger as he was 30 years ago. In the eyes of the old father, Connet is definitely worthy of a scholarship from the first-level league.

To achieve this goal, Frank used his connections to help his son contact a high-level AUU team called "Texas Elite Team". In less than ten minutes, he convinced the team's head coach Sean Williams to join the team in the upcoming championship series.

The next weekend, Connet led the "Texas Elite Team" to the championship game of the "Rock City True Skills" Championship, and scored 17 points in the finals, quickly attracted the attention of the college basketball circle with his dazzling performance. In the following days, the ringing of the phone between Cornet and his father almost never stopped.

Coach Tim Myers of the University of Nebraska was the first to call, and the University of Arizona also contacted them. In addition, there are coaches from dozens of universities including the University of Oklahoma, Purdue, Kansas State University, TCU (Texas Christian University). However, the most exciting moment for Cornett, among all suitors, also included his father's alma mater, Vanderbilt University.

Also excited were Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Storlings. He was surprised that he didn't know that an alumnus who had played in the NBA had such a baby son of 2.08 meters. So after the on-site inspection, he decisively gave the last scholarship place to Cornet. The two sides hit it off and quickly signed a letter of intent to join.

"If I hadn't had my father's phone call, I would probably not have played college basketball." Cornet later recalled.

And the next path is up to him.

Connet's college career was far from smooth sailing. He suffered an ankle fracture shortly after joining the team. After the freshman season officially began, he suffered a lot in the confrontation with inside opponents represented by Julius Randle.

But Cornet never lost confidence. Now that he realized the gap, he made double his efforts: he began to spend time in the gym every morning and enjoyed it more and more. In the words of my sister Nicole, he saw the changes brought to him by exercise and had an unprecedented new confidence. ”

In the following days, Connet became stronger and better day by day. In his freshman season, he averaged only 15.4 minutes per game and scored just 4 points. By the time he was in his sophomore year, he became a stable main player and shot 40% of his long shot percentage. By the end of his senior season, Connet had transformed into a star player of the "Captains", a real inside behemoth who was 2.16 meters tall and weighed 110 kilograms.

This year, he averaged 13.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, and was selected as All- The first team in the SEC league and was selected for the All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive season. Not only did he become Vanderbilt's history blockbuster, he also broke and maintained the NCAA record of 7-foot-long three-point shooting to this day.

However, it is such a "space-type fifth position" who is outstanding in arm-show, who can accurately hit three-point shots and continuously send blocks in the inside, but he was defeated in the 2017 NBA Draft!

That summer, Connett signed a two-way contract with the Knicks, but it was not until February 9, 2018 that he welcomed his NB A debut. In that away game against the Raptors, Connet became the second rookie player in the Knicks history to score a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks), but this still failed to help him win a stable roster spot.

In the next few years, Connet still struggled to get stable playing time. He signed a two-year contract with the Bulls and was traded to the Celtics, and then signed two ten-day short contracts with the Cavaliers and the Bucks, and then rejoined the Celtics' Development League team Maine Celtics.

20 On February 12, 2022, the Boston Celtics finally made up their minds to train Cornet and signed a formal contract with him. Although he was still left in the Development League for the next days, as one of the key training targets of the Farm Program, the team has tailored a detailed transformation plan for him.

"Luke is undoubtedly an NBA player," said Maine Celtics head coach Barlow. "What we really tried to help him practice was the feeling of shooting near the basket, because he was going to land more at the basket, rather than always floating outside and shooting three-pointers like before. ”

"We also want to make him more versatile on the defensive end. Last year we arranged some defense replacement practices for him, which was very helpful for improving his overall defensive ability. ”

So, we saw a brand new Connet. He made more than 50% of his three-point shooting in the first four years of his career. In the 205 games in the following three seasons, he only made 17 three-pointers in total, while the shooting within 0-3 feet of the basket accounted for more than 70%. The adjustment of the offensive method has brought about a significant improvement in efficiency. In the past three seasons, Connet's real shooting percentage has never been lower than 68% (the best performance in his career was 53.9% of the 2019-20 season), of which the 2023-24 season reached an astonishing 73.6%. This data has been in all stable rounds of the league. ranks first among players.

At the same time, Connett has become extremely fierce in rebounding. In the past 2024-25 season, he averaged 5.3 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game, of which almost half of the frontcourt rebounds (2.6 times per game).

It is necessary to mention that the "Void Block" that was popular. The current Celtics chief assistant Will Hardy saw Connett jumping on the spot near the penalty area for the first time, raising his arms high to try to interfere with his three-point shooting 5 or 6 meters away, his first reaction was funny and confused.

"My feeling at the time was that this was too funny. You are 20 feet away from the ball, why are you going to jump there? "Hardie said in an interview with ESPN, "But after watching the video, you realized that for a moment, the opponent's shooter really couldn't see the basket." ”

As a seven-foot-long man with slow movement, how can he pounce from the basket to the three-point line to interfere with his opponent's shooting? This is a difficult problem that Connet has faced repeatedly throughout his entire basketball career. After repeated thinking, the clever one finally found the answer, that is: don't just pounce!

From Vanderbilt University to the NBA, and then to the Development League, years of experience have led Connet to a conclusion: if it can interfere with the opponent's sight, it can reduce his shooting percentage to a certain extent. At the beginning, he just tried this with those big opponents with range. , and only after it was found to be effective, it was carried forward.

Especially after the Maine Celtics asked him to stay in the penalty area as much as possible, this became an important strategy for him to exert defensive influence whenever possible.

Although when Connet did this, there was always a burst of laughter on the scene, making him look like a sensational clown, but Connet, who was determined to help the team win, was distracted by this:

"This action is indeed very strange and uncomfortable, but compared to it, it is more embarrassing to watch the opponent take action and do nothing. Since the results prove to be valid, there is nothing to hesitate to win. ”

Hardy was just a representative of the Boston coaching staff. At first they scoffed at Cornet's void defense, but then realized that as long as the timing is right, this move can indeed produce a defensive effect.

"Even if this move can only reduce the opponent's hit rate a little, you should do it every time. "Hardie said. He also gave this move a name - The Eclipse. In Chinese, it can also be called "Covering the Sky and Covering the Sun".

Another "Celtics", Scala Brian, who is currently working as a TV commentary, simply used the name of Cornet as a homophone, calling this move "Kornet Kontest".

No matter how you name it, the void cover is indeed effective. Enough tracking data has proved that under the interference of Cornet's defensive approach, the opponent's shooting percentage is indeed significantly lower than the average NBA's full open three-point shooting.

Now, people are also beginning to imagine how the Spurs will "cover the sky and the sun" scenario next season will be with Cornet and Vinban Yama?

In the past few years, Connet has won universal respect in the Celtic locker room through his "cold" "Daddy Meta" that makes people die of lifeless, his lively performance on the bench, and his professionalism at any time and willing to do anything for the team.

Now, when he comes to San Antonio, he not only brings actual influence on both offense and defense on the court, but also has valuable championship experience on the court and a clear perspective after going through thousands of sails.

"Peace of mind comes from calm acceptance of the status quo and doing the best on this basis, rather than just twisting it."

"Instead of wasting time and worrying about things that are not within your control, it is better to seize the opportunity and do your best. This is the attitude that can really make you do something."

Welcome to our WeChat official account "Houchang Village Sports Team", which has more NBA and CBA-related archaeology, comments and character content>>

(text/shanqiu)