Chapter 2 I sign myself!
The time was April 10, 1995.
The location is an international student apartment in Inglewood, Los Angeles. The school he attends is Inglewood High School, one of the top private high schools in California.
More than a month ago, he and Pierce led the team to win the California High School League Championship. Pierce was elected California Basketball Player of the Year, and he was selected to the California High School All-Star First Team.
At present, just a few days after the NCAA March Madness ended, Eddie O'Bannon led UCLA to win the NCAA basketball championship after 19 years.
Just two days ago, UCLA, which won the NCAA championship, rejected Zhang Hao's application for a basketball scholarship and suggested that he be admitted based on his test scores.
But Zhang Hao doesn't want to care about this for the time being.
"Is there another year left to live?"
Zhang Hao was lying on the bed, looking at the word "Countdown" written on the subtitles, feeling mixed emotions .
The memory of the "future" and a year of being able to be lively and energetic are simply a godsend for him.
However, the memory of this current body had a great impact on him. Another thought in his mind was - it is so tragic that a young high school student only has one year to live!
Two complex emotions intertwined together, and the final thought was - I really want to live!
Zhang Hao recalled every detail of his study in the United States and couldn't help but smile bitterly... In those days, when racial discrimination was at its most severe in the United States, he actually came to the United States to study and even wanted to bypass the domestic system and enter the American sports industry. Isn't this a joke?
I think my dad is a smart businessman, but he is still a little naive to project his dreams from his youth onto his son.
This is Zhang Hao looking at the current situation from the perspective of his "future" memory, because the him in the future memory is stronger than the him in the present memory in terms of knowledge, vision, personality, and social skills... so he naturally takes the lead. Because both memories have become part of his memory, the one that knows "more" naturally takes the lead.
It is now 1995, the second semester of his senior year in high school. The state high school league has long ended, and even the NCAA competition has ended. Basketball teams from major universities are chasing after high school talents, and he has already applied for admission to major universities.
He had passed various exams in his senior year last year and achieved excellent results in academic subjects, so he had no shortage of opportunities to go to university, but this was not the problem before him.
A basketball scholarship! That's what he wanted.
Many years ago, before he even started elementary school, his father, who had just retired from the army, saw his "potential" and wanted to train him to play basketball. His father was also a good basketball player in the army and had participated in the tryout for the Bayi team's second team, but was unsuccessful.
As for his "potential"...it's just that he grows tall, runs fast, and jumps high.
But the current financial situation at home is not very good. If I want to study in a prestigious private university in the United States, the tuition fees are too high for Chinese people in the 1990s.
So I need a scholarship!
The full scholarship for the NCAA Division I league in the just-concluded 94-95 season was US$13,772. With the US dollar to RMB exchange rate of around 8.4 this year, it can save the family a lot of money.
However, it is very difficult to get a full basketball scholarship from a Division I league!
There are only a limited number of universities in the NCAA Division I league...although there are quite a few, the proportion is extremely small compared to the large number of college students in the United States.
Although the NCAA Division I basketball teams have 15 full basketball scholarships, college teams are not professional league teams, and a team cannot have only 15 people. The first-line players and reserve players from freshman to senior year add up to at least 30 to 50 people, and large schools may have hundreds of people. Not every game is played by all the first-line players. In the event of injuries or temporary leave, the reserve players will naturally have to take over. Therefore, the scholarship cannot be given to only those dozen players. There may be several or even dozens of full scholarships allocated to all the people on the list designated by the college coach, and the players who can get a full scholarship individually are not rare, but there are probably only two or three people in each university.
All of these people were the brightest stars in high school.
For example, Pierce, who was talking a lot just now, may be a little fat boy, but he is so talented and has extremely comprehensive skills. It seems that he knows everything before he even goes to college.
However, the biggest headache for Zhang Hao is not whether he played well in high school. He is also quite famous and was among the top 30 high school students in the United States...but the key is that he is Chinese!
Zhang Hao stood up and went to the bathroom to wash his face with cold water. His situation was not good now. Just as April Clark said, he could choose to go directly to college. His SAT scores were very good, but the key was money!
After washing his face and drying it, Zhang Hao looked at himself in the mirror...
"With my physique, I could earn at least 500 yuan a day moving bricks... No, this was the 1990s, so I could earn at least 50 yuan a day. I was tall, strong, and handsome..."
Just as Zhang Hao's thoughts began to wander, Pierce's voice came from outside the room: "Aix, your dad called..."
…
…
"I know, Dad. I will work hard to get the scholarship. I know I don't have to worry about the money. I know you will find a way, but why not take it if I can..."
Zhang Hao hung up the phone, thinking about his past two years, and sighed. Although his family funded him to study at a Division I university, his status on the team would definitely not be that good if he went in that way! Scholarships represent not only money, but also status on the team!
Seeing that Zhang Hao had finished the call, Paul Pierce didn't understand what Zhang Hao said, but he found that this forward partner, high school friend, and most honest tenant was in a bad mood. Pierce patted Zhang Hao on the shoulder and said, "Let's go to school to practice?"
"You go first. Auntie said you're not going to UCLA?"
"That's right, I'm not going. The coach from the University of Kansas invited me to go."
“Is it also a full scholarship?”
"Yeah, they gave me a full basketball scholarship, too."
Zhang Hao is really envious!
It's so awesome, UCLA, the Bruins! A basketball powerhouse! If I say I won't go, then I won't go.
And there is an invitation from another NCAA powerhouse team, the Kansas Jayhawks!
"UCLA and Kansas only offered me academic scholarships." Zhang Hao was very resentful.
"It's terrible what they did, but it doesn't matter. I believe you can find an ideal university. You have such good grades and you play basketball so well..."
Pierce talked a lot before leaving with satisfaction. Zhang Hao thought about his current situation and felt a little sad.
Five years ago, when he was 13 years old, he was invited to join the youth team of a semi-professional team in the domestic semi-professional A-level basketball league, but his father told him that once he entered the system, he would be trapped and would not be able to make his own decisions regarding anything in his career.
Zhang Hao hopes to control his own future, so he did not join the Beijing Youth Team. Instead, he studied hard and practiced his basketball skills.
Three years ago, due to the arrogance of the Basketball Association or other reasons, it rejected the invitation from the American Basketball Association to a youth basketball competition, and the game became an unofficial competition among the people.
At the age of 15, Zhang Hao, who was a sophomore in high school in China, was recommended by the Affiliated Middle School of Imperial Capital Normal University to participate in the China-US Youth Competition. Despite a very miserable loss to a group of children aged 12 or 13, he performed well. Relying on his height of 183 cm at the time, he grabbed 11 rebounds in 27 minutes, had a good jump shot, and scored 14 points, which attracted the attention of the coach of Inglewood High School.
His family was considered wealthy at the time. His father Zhang Weidong decisively gave up his iron rice bowl in the mid-1980s and went into business, making a name for himself in the seafood industry. When he saw that his son was spotted by an American coach, he once again made a decisive choice and sent Zhang Hao to study abroad in high school in Los Angeles.
Who would have known that in 1993, the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the RMB soared from around 1 to 5.7 to nearly 1 to 9 in the second half of 1993. The prices of imported seafood soared, and so did other import industries. Exports were smooth, but at that time, the domestic basic industries were not yet perfect and urgently needed foreign materials. Domestic prices soared, domestic economic development fell into a bottleneck period, national income growth slowed down, and Zhang Hao's father's assets also encountered great difficulties.
Fortunately, Zhang Hao's father was a decisive man. He directly abandoned the import market, which was relatively cheap before but had more than doubled in price at that time, and entered the domestic seafood market and river fish market to stop losses in time. However, his assets also shrank significantly and he could barely maintain operations. Although he was considered wealthy in China, the tens of thousands of US dollars a year in tuition, living expenses, and other expenses also made the family stretched to the limit. The income decreased, and the US dollars exchanged for RMB also decreased. The degree of difficulty was more than doubled.
Zhang Hao is very sensible and tries his best to reduce his personal expenses. However, not only are tuition fees more expensive for international students, but accommodation, medical insurance and other expenses also cost more than local Americans. Compared with local Californians, Zhang Hao has to pay almost three times as much tuition.
After arriving in the United States, Zhang Hao realized that Americans like international students because they want to use them to increase school and local fiscal revenue and provide high welfare for local students. Unlike some people, they don't pay money to bring back a bunch of foreign trash, and some even force girls in the school to form study groups with the foreign trash.
Inglewood is one of the best private high schools in the United States, ranking 5th in California and 41st in the United States. The tuition is expensive. Even if Zhang Hao received a high school basketball scholarship of 3,000 US dollars a year due to his good performance in the California League, it is only a fraction compared to the annual tuition of 13,000 US dollars for international students.
But my family could still afford my high school education, and now two years have passed and I am about to graduate from high school.
Zhang Hao had no problem with exams. He took the SAT in January last year, and he got a good score of 1316 points even though he was only in his senior year of high school. The average score for that exam was 876 points. With his score, the admission score of the best universities in the United States is almost the same, so he would have no problem getting into a top American university.
As for basketball, his performance in high school was not bad at all, but very good. He was one of the best small forwards in the California High School League. In his senior season that just ended, he and Pierce helped Inglewood High School win the California championship. Many people in California have heard of his name.
But recently, Zhang Hao attended interviews at several universities. UCLA in California was willing to offer him an academic scholarship but not a basketball scholarship. It was not that they were unwilling to offer a full scholarship, but they directly treated him as an ordinary student when applying to join the university basketball club, and he was not even eligible for a partial scholarship. The University of Southern California was willing to offer a partial basketball scholarship but not a full scholarship, and this partial scholarship still depended on whether he could join the school team's first-line team... Almost all universities in California and nearby Arizona are willing to offer academic scholarships, and at most provide partial basketball scholarships.
The difference is huge. If you have a basketball scholarship and don't spend it lavishly, it will at least be enough for a year's living expenses, which can greatly reduce the burden on your family.
If he wants to rely on studying to get into college, even a prestigious one, his high school teacher can write a recommendation letter for him. He is quite good at studying, and compared to test scores, American universities pay more attention to recommendation letters. But for basketball scholarships, teachers will be of little help because the two can be obtained together. As for basketball scholarships, the school team coach can help with recommendations, but his alma mater, Illinois State University, is unwilling to give him a full basketball scholarship.
At present, the average annual income per capita in China is only three to four thousand yuan. Compared with the tuition fees of international students in private universities in the United States, the scholarships are simply a drop in the bucket and are not enough for living expenses. And just like high schools, American universities charge more for foreign students than for local students.
As for the loan... As a Chinese, it is wishful thinking for him to get a loan from an American bank. He wants to earn the money to pay it back after graduating from college, but the tuition fees for international students are so huge that most American students take out loans... Although his father will definitely give him the money, Zhang Hao wants to reduce some of the burden on his family.
Zhang Hao is in a bad mood now. Money is the root of all evil! He is really not good at making quick money. What can he do in the United States?
I recall that I was the best performing Chinese player in the China-US Youth Basketball Tournament and was spotted by an American high school coach. When I came to the United States, everything I experienced was far from my expectations and dreams.
It was nothing but cruelty... Wait, Zhang Hao's mind moved, and the subtitles that only he could see appeared again.
"Remaining life: 365 days, available life: 364 days."
“…Shit!
I only have one year left to live... I don't know if this really shows how long I can live, but the overlapping of two memories has already happened... If it's just one year, why bother thinking so much?
So what if I get into the NCAA? Do I have to spend a year pursuing my basketball dream? Screw your basketball dream! "
Just when Zhang Hao suddenly became furious, the subtitles changed!
"Want to dominate basketball?"
The sudden change scared Zhang Hao!
He looked around and saw no one. No one had seen him acting like a fool just now. Zhang Hao quickly ran back to his room and closed the door.
Looking at the subtitles that read "Dominate Basketball", although he still loves basketball, his dream of becoming a superstar like Jordan has gradually faded after he encountered setbacks over the past month.
Although he was ranked 22nd among all high school students in the United States by Sports Illustrated after the end of the California High School League, the high school rankings at that time were disorganized, and the rankings of high school students by major media were completely inconsistent. Sports Illustrated favored Los Angeles, and some media in other states could not even find his name.
But this is normal. These days, it is difficult for a high school student to become famous in other states. There are only three or five students who are famous throughout the United States.
Those college teams didn't trust him or didn't want to give him a chance.
Seeing basketball, Zhang Hao still loves basketball, but at this moment he feels inexplicably irritated, and all the grievances of hitting a wall in the past two months come to his mind.
Plus, he only has one year left to live... If the life countdown on the mark is real, then in that one year, he can't dominate basketball!
With all the negative emotions piled up together, Zhang Hao couldn't help but yell: "Screw your basketball dream, I don't want it!"
After yelling, as if he had vented his resentment, Zhang Hao felt that he was really stupid. He was actually yelling at a broken subtitle. Fortunately, Pierce went to school. It was now afternoon. Except for students like him who had passed the cultural subjects examination to enter the university, everyone else was in school. It seemed that no one was alarmed by his yelling... Even if someone did, they wouldn't be able to understand him!
But when Zhang Hao came to his senses and looked at the subtitles, he seemed to have a vague feeling that the words were "closer" to him.
Moreover, it seemed to be getting closer and closer. Zhang Hao had an illusion that the words were almost touching his eyes... they were really touching his eyes!
Zhang Hao was so scared that he stepped back and leaned against the wall, but the subtitles were getting closer and closer... For some reason, he felt as if the words in front of him were a final inquiry, and if he refused again, he would lose this opportunity.
He didn't know why he regarded this strange scene as an 'opportunity', but that's what he thought in his heart.
At this moment, the dream of coming to the United States with great ambition and wanting to become the person who changes Chinese basketball in the future seems to have come back again.
And he suddenly remembered that this subtitle was counting down the remaining time of his life. If he wanted to break through, he probably had to rely on this subtitle! This might be his golden finger!
The key point is that in the memory of this era, he has been working hard to become a real basketball player for more than ten years. Even if the memory of the future is integrated, it is impossible to erase the love for basketball.
He had an impulse in his heart, he wanted to accept it!
Moreover, he wanted to live! Not just for one year! Although for him in the future, being able to move freely for one year was a blessing from heaven, for the memory of this era, it was really a nightmare.
At this moment, Zhang Hao became firm: "I think so ! I think it's OK!"
After Zhang Hao said this, the subtitles in front of him changed again. A prompt sounded, and a robot-like cold electronic voice came from his mind...
"Ding...Basketball Domination System is starting..."
"The basketball domination system has been activated. The host's goal is to become the basketball dominator and lead his players to conquer the world of basketball."
"What does this mean?" Zhang Hao didn't react at once.
The main reason was that he never expected that this golden finger was about this aspect. To become the master of the basketball world, in his opinion, it would be like Jordan, Magic Bird, and Russell, but he didn't expect that he would be the head coach!
"Lead your players to conquer the basketball world? Lead your players? Isn't this what a coach should do? You want me to be a coach? How can I be a coach at 19? You want me to go to a sports university and become the best coach in the world? This is a way out... but I only have one year to live! How can I finish four years of college and become a head coach?"
Zhang Hao thought about those universities that were unwilling to give him a chance, and after hitting a wall everywhere, he had already thought about giving up basketball, returning to China to go to university, being a good office worker, or selling fish.
But now he is different. He has memories of the future and is guided by the future. The most important thing is that he only has one year to live...so he must do something to make himself live longer.
The golden finger must be able to provide some help. If it is of no help at all, then forget it. Live happily for another year with the mentality of future memories. I have experienced the two years of lying in the hospital bed waiting to die. It won’t be a big deal .
At this time, the subtitles changed quietly.
"The host's basketball career is about to begin. Start the mission: become the head coach of a team or form a team yourself and sign a player."
"You really want me to be a coach? But how can I be a coach now? No one would hire me as a primary school coach! At my age and ability, where can I be a coach? Build a team? Where can I get the money?"
Zhang Hao couldn't help but complain like crazy, he almost turned into Pierce, because there was really no cheat for him! He just did the task, and he thought there would be a reward after completing the task, but he didn't have the conditions to complete it!
If he wanted to become a basketball coach by attending college, the Sports Academy in the United States, the world's strongest basketball country, would definitely be the best choice, but he didn't live to graduate from college!
The dead end has occurred again!
Suddenly, Zhang Hao had a flash of inspiration and a magical idea came to his mind. After this idea came to his mind, his heart started pounding!
Not knowing how to communicate, Zhang Hao asked tentatively in his heart: "I want to sign myself, is that okay? I will build my own team and call it... well, let's call it Ritian Gang! Sign myself!"
After asking this question, the subtitles, which were originally just faint, suddenly began to distort, then trembled continuously, and finally... the screen was distorted! Zhang Hao was shocked!
Could it be that the golden finger was broken?
Wait, does that mean I don’t only have one year to live?
As soon as this thought came to his mind, Zhang Hao saw the "Remaining Life" in the upper right corner of the subtitles, which did not change even though the screen was distorted. It looked like the system was going to drag him down to hell even if it crashed!
After a while, the subtitles finally returned to normal and new words appeared.
"The host has established a team: the Ritian Gang, and is about to sign Zhang Hao as the first player and become his personal coach. Are you sure?"
It really works!
Zhang Hao didn't know what the purpose of signing the contract was, but he signed it first and said immediately, "Sure."
"Ding... The host has successfully signed the player: Zhang Hao. Because the host helped the system find a loophole, he received a special reward: Growth Card: Mid-range Jump Shot Training Improvement Card (Top)."
