Chapter 15 The Philadelphia high school student who does not want to be named in the corner
The reporter from the open-air stands had originally planned to do the same as the mainstream attitude of the American media towards anything related to China, which is to belittle every aspect. If Zhang Hao reacted strongly, there would be more content to write about.
But Zhang Hao's reaction was very calm. The reporter in the open-air stands was very experienced in interviews and knew that he could not anger Zhang Hao. Moreover, he did not know much more about Zhang Hao, so the following interview suddenly became very harmonious.
"Which player do you most want to play against in this training camp?"
"Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Mike Bibby, and Richard Hamilton."
“Hamilton?”
"Yes, his style is very similar to mine, both of us are run-and-shoot catchers."
"You said you were a shooter? I thought you were an athletic forward. You were the dunk champion in high school."
"Actually, I don't really like dunking in competitions. Shooting is my strong point. I just won the dunk contest because I was in a bad mood."
At this point, the reporter finally remembered another topic about the Chinese high school student in front of him - he had good grades and a high ranking as a player, but no university offered him a full scholarship, so he asked, "Are you in a bad mood because your college application was not going well?"
"It's not important. I scored nearly 1400 on the SAT last year, so it's easy for me to get into college."
“…”
So he is also a top student? The reporter ended the interview here. He failed to anger Zhang Hao. There were not many points to hype in a training camp, but the reporter still found a point to use.
Journalists are always looking for trouble. If they can't attack Zhang Hao and China, then attacking American universities... will be equally interesting!
…
Zhang Hao finished the interview and came to the reporting place. He arrived quite late, but he arrived just in time. The Adidas staff had not yet left work, otherwise he would have to wait until the afternoon.
After completing the registration procedures smoothly, Zhang Hao received his room card and went to the nearby Four Seasons Hotel.
When he arrived at the hotel lobby, Zhang Hao saw a signpost indicating that the restaurant had been booked by Adidas. High school students participating in the training camp could go there for free breakfast, lunch and dinner with their room cards. Lunch time was from 11:30 to 1:30.
When we got to the 5th floor, his room number was 8.
Coincidentally, Zhang Hao saw two very familiar... high school students who were very familiar to him walking out of No. 7 on the 5th floor next door.
Kobe and Hamilton!
These two people share a room.
Take the initiative to get to know them first! Zhang Hao greeted the two: "Hello, I'm Zhang Hao, my English name is Aix, I'm from China, and I'm a senior at Inglewood High School."
Kobe responded, "Hi, I'm Kobe Bryant, a senior at Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia. This is Richard Hamilton from Kurzweil High School in Pennsylvania. You're my toughest opponent. I know you. You defeated Vince Carter to become the high school dunk champion. I'll definitely compete with you if I get a chance. I'm excited to think about attending training camp with you."
A little surprised! Zhang Hao thought Kobe would be the noble and cool one, and Hamilton would be the one to take over the conversation, but the situation was reversed. Hamilton should not be called cold, but "shy"? Kobe was not so cold, and his choice of words and sentences was quite polite.
However, Zhang Hao thought about it and thought that Kobe grew up in a wealthy family and his personality was probably competitive, but his family education should be better than most black people.
Zhang Hao smiled and said, "For a dunk contest... I actually want to compete with you in shooting, that's my strong point."
"Oh...I'm looking forward to it."
After a brief chat, Zhang Hao put away his things. The luggage was already placed on another bed in the same room, and the three of them went to the restaurant for lunch together.
Originally, Zhang Hao thought he would be excited to see those future superstars in the training camp, but after actually meeting them, he found that he was not that excited. Instead, he became full of curiosity about these future superstars who were still high school students.
There were more than 100 high school students, but Zhang Hao only knew a few of them.
Although Kobe was not so cold in private, he was obviously not a warm person either. He didn't talk much with Zhang Hao, obviously just being polite because he won the McDonald's Slam Dunk Contest.
After lunch, in the afternoon, Zhang Hao came to the San Francisco Auditorium to familiarize himself with the venue where he would train for at least the next week.
Gym, training ground... most of the seats in the stadium were removed and converted into a basketball court with 8 half courts.
Infirmary, physical therapy room, trainer's office... everything is available.
There are also some coaches’ offices. Adidas has invited some very famous personal coaches to coach Chris Irving, who is very famous in the player world for shooting, and Gion Kawhi, who earns millions of dollars a year, to coach endurance training...
From these aspects, Zhang Hao could see the difference between this training camp and the McDonald's All-Stars. This is a real training camp that can really bring progress to the participating players.
After the visit, Zhang Hao came to the training ground for shooting training.
Although the effect of the growth card has ended, we cannot stop training just because there is no bonus. As for technology, practice makes perfect. If you don't improve, you will regress.
Compared to the dunk, this mid-range shot is the foundation for his future in college or street competitions, because his ball control is indeed very average. Compared with ordinary people, it is definitely okay. In high school, he occasionally held the ball to organize offense. His passing awareness is still good and his passing accuracy is also okay, but if he is in a professional arena, he will definitely not be the one controlling the ball.
All-around players are bullshit in Zhang Hao's eyes. What he needs to do now is to gain a foothold in the basketball world, get into college, enter the NCAA Division I league, and then make further plans.
I practiced two sets of 100 mid-range shots. I made 91 in the first set and 94 in the second set.
Zhang Hao was quite satisfied with this accuracy. He estimated that no one in this Adidas training camp could shoot better than him! This was a top-notch mid-range shot at the NBA level! Not to mention high school students, Zhang Hao was confident that few people in college could match his mid-range shot. Although this was his only strength, mid-range shooting had become the source of his confidence.
After two sets of shooting training, Zhang Hao originally wanted to practice for a while longer, but there were too many people coming and going, and it was easy to be distracted, so he just wandered around.
The more people there are, the more clearly Zhang Hao feels that there are huge differences between people. Not every player who looks extremely talented in high school can perform well in college, because the talent that is most likely to dominate in high school is athletic ability. Players with relatively mediocre athletic ability may not look that outstanding in high school.
But in fact, when it comes to college, most of the players who play well are not the ones with the best athletic talent, but the ones who can be patient and improve their skills.
However, most of the top athletes in high school are obsessed with their own athletic abilities.
Just like in the McDonald's All-Star Game, Zhang Hao didn't see many people who were willing to train after arriving at the gym. He could more or less see something - this was a training camp that brought together most of the top high school students in the United States, and most of the more than 100 people in it would never have the opportunity to enter the NBA.
What Zhang Hao didn't know was that there was a guy who wanted to occupy half the court to practice for an entire afternoon, and he didn't care about the people coming and going. But after watching his two sets of mid-range shooting training out of curiosity, this guy felt that he had suffered a critical hit, squatted in the corner and began to doubt himself - why is a dunker so accurate? Is this really a high school student?
After a long pause, the 16-year-old high school student, who did not want to reveal his name, finally cheered himself up when he saw his roommate coming and began practicing mid-range shots like crazy.
…
…
A large-scale event can boost the surrounding economy. This training camp is not a closed one. Although Adidas has made this training camp very professional, it is ultimately a commercial event, mainly for advertising.
Zhang Hao believes that if the McDonald's High School All-Stars can get the same attention from colleges and even the NBA as this training camp, they will also be as professional.
In addition to the more than 100 high school students participating in the training camp, there are also many fans who come to watch the fun, as well as reporters sent by major media. Therefore, the hotels nearby have seen a certain increase in traffic, and the surrounding catering industry will also do well in the next period of time, with many drive-in restaurants opening nearby.
Some high school students were accompanied by their family members or friends, and high school basketball players could be seen everywhere near the San Francisco Auditorium.
There are many players like Zhang Hao who wander around with the mentality of finding out details. Zhang Hao met several real geniuses.
Lamar Odom, Shareef Rahim!
The former gives a polite smile to everyone he meets and looks... a little silly.
The latter was truly aloof and clearly felt out of place with the other black players.
Zhang Hao tried to interact with every member of the training camp he met. Some were easy to talk to, some were cold, some were arrogant, and some even looked down on him... Zhang Hao was not annoyed when the interactions were not smooth. With more than 100 people, he was sure to meet all kinds of people.
Build good relationships with people who are easy to talk to, and don’t have too much contact with people who are not easy to talk to.
Just now, Zhang Hao was teased by a guy who was jealous of him for winning the McDonald's Slam Dunk Contest, "Come and dunk for me . "
Zhang Hao ignored this guy, laughed and chose to leave.
At around 4 p.m., Zhang Hao returned to the hotel room and found that his roommate in the next bed had not returned yet. He was really curious about who his teammate was.
At dinner time, Zhang Hao sat with Kobe and Hamilton again. It was actually Zhang Hao who took the initiative to sit next to the two of them at noon, but this time it was Kobe who knocked on the door and asked him to have dinner together.
In the afternoon, Kobe and Hamilton went to the gym for training and noticed Zhang Hao's actions. After eating a piece of steak, Kobe wiped his mouth and said, "X, you don't need to get to know those people who have no ability. Nine out of ten of them will no longer have the title of genius after entering college."
It's easy to talk without any pain! Zhang Hao really wants to complain that Kobe is not even 17 years old yet. However, after Garnett announced that he would skip college and participate in the NBA draft, some basketball media predicted which talented high school students would be able to play in the NBA directly. Kobe, who will only turn 17 in August, is predicted to be selected in the first round at this age!
Kobe doesn't have to worry about his future at all, but Zhang Hao can't do that! If he had Kobe's talent, if he also had a father who played in the NBA, if he also had the attention of so many stars who retired from the previous era and entered management, he could also be so noble and cool.
However, Zhang Hao still responded: "Yes, compared to you, those people are indeed not geniuses."
Hearing this, Kobe curled his lips and said, "Compared to you, what are those people?"
"……?"
Zhang Hao felt that Kobe seemed to dislike him! He no longer had the polite attitude he had when they first met at noon.
But why did she knock on the door and ask him to have dinner with her?
Although the tone of his words was harsh, they were not bad words... But what did he mean by that? Was it a compliment from Kobe, a 16-year-old high school genius with a unique way of thinking?
Zhang Hao looked around. Fortunately, no one else heard their conversation. Otherwise, if Kobe's two words got out, how could Zhang Hao continue to develop towards becoming a future head coach?
Although Zhang Hao is not afraid of offending people, and the world is so big that no one would recognize him if he moved to another place, he can start over, but there is no need to... The key point is that he only has more than a year to live, and there is no time for him to start over.
At this time, Zhang Hao's impression of Kobe has changed compared to that at noon - this is a troublemaker! A troublemaker who can cause trouble anytime and anywhere!
Zhang Hao felt that he should stay away from this kind of person, otherwise he would be implicated by this guy's mouth at any time.
Zhang Hao was not in the mood to chat. Kobe didn't talk much, and Hamilton was a shy type. After dinner, Zhang Hao said goodbye and went back to his room to rest.
Kobe and Hamilton then packed up their dishes and left the restaurant.
When they were getting on the elevator, Hamilton, who had been puzzled for a long time, asked, "Kobe, you seem to be paying special attention to the guy next to you?"
"Richard, do you believe that there are high school students who can shoot better than the two of us?"
"I do not believe."
When asked about this, Hamilton, who has always given people the impression of being 'shy', looked quite confident and answered without hesitation.
"I didn't believe it either, but today I believed it. I saw him training mid-range shots this afternoon. He reminded me of Andrew Toney."
"Uh…who is that?"
“…”
…
…
Deciding to stay away from trouble, Zhang Hao returned to his room. When he opened the door, he knew that his roommate had finally returned because he had turned off the lights when he went out.
I was curious about who my teammates were the whole afternoon. I didn't know until I looked, and I was shocked...
The person in the room also heard the door open. He was packing up and looked towards the entrance hallway. He frowned and asked, "Is it you?"
"It's me," Zhang Hao nodded, "I didn't expect it to be you."
“…”
“…”
The two fell silent, not knowing how to continue the conversation, and the situation was a little awkward.
At this time, Zhang Hao chose to break the awkwardness and put his arm around the other person's shoulders: "I never thought that my roommate would be you, Mike. If both of us make it to the final list, we will team up and make the other person cry!"
Bibby instinctively resisted such intimate actions, but he was helpless when he met a shameless guy. The main reason was that he recognized Zhang Hao's strength, a forward with top athletic ability and amazing shooting skills, who was indeed quite compatible with him, so he was not angry.
Bibby broke free from Zhang Hao's arm around his shoulder without leaving a trace, and went back to the bed to pack up his things. While sorting out the clothes he brought with him, he said, "I believe you will definitely make the final list. If even a guy like you can't make the final list, there is no need for such a training camp to exist."
“…”
Why does Zhang Hao feel that the two strongest outside players he met today are weird?
In terms of strength, Zhang Hao believes that Kobe and Bibby are the strongest outside players in this training camp, but these two always say things that make him feel very weird.
It is very different from the stars he has in mind! Zhang Hao thinks that these future stars are still young and will change after entering society.
Being roommates with someone Zhang Hao knows is better than he had expected. Although Bibi has a weird personality, he is not difficult to get along with. Look, Bibi is very quiet as he starts to organize his things. Although chatting with him is troublesome as this guy is arrogant and a little weird, it is okay not to chat. Not everyone likes to chat.
Zhang Hao himself has a quiet side, and he is used to this way of getting along.
Thinking about the training camp starting tomorrow, there might be many times of cooperation training or sparring with those future stars... Zhang Hao feels very excited. If it were the original Zhang Hao, at most he would be excited about training with top talents like Garnett, Kobe, and Bibby, but it is more likely that he would not participate in this event and would continue to look for those universities to join. Maybe it is really possible that sincerity can move mountains...
Now Zhang Hao is not only excited about these three people, but more importantly, he knows that two of them will be super geniuses in the top 50 in basketball history, and one of them will be in the top 10 in basketball history!
In addition to these three, players like Rahim, Marbury, Billups, Odom, Jamison, O'Neal Jr.... this year's training camp definitely has the most luxurious lineup since Adidas held a training camp!
With excitement and anticipation, Zhang Hao fell into a deep sleep. Nothing happened that night... No, something happened. In the early morning of the next day, when the chickens were still sleeping, the phone in their room 8 on the 5th floor suddenly rang!
Zhang Hao pulled the quilt over his head and ignored the ringing of the phone.
But Bibby on the other bed couldn't do it. He turned on the bedside lamp, answered the phone with a gloomy face, picked up the receiver, listened to one sentence, and then shouted rudely: "Damn Axel, looking for you... Hello, hey, hey..."
Bibi forcibly woke up Zhang Hao who wanted to continue sleeping.
Zhang Hao took the phone in a daze and glanced at the small black and white screen of the phone. It said 03:45 a.m.
He got angry instantly! Zhang Hao also asked rudely: "Who is it?"
The person on the other end of the phone seemed to be used to being yelled at on the phone... or used to being yelled at on the phone at this time, and responded calmly: "I, Kobe, have you ever seen San Francisco at 4 a.m.?"
"……are you crazy!"
