Chapter 6 Paul, a man must do what he says
"Special signing player Zhang Hao ability rating: 62
Physical fitness: speed 90, strength 72, jumping 93, flexibility 96, stamina 90...
Shooting: 3-pointers 45, mid-range shots 79, layups 83…
Skills: ball handling 54, passing 43, catch-and-shoot 85…”
Zhang Hao looked at his latest ability evaluation. His ball control improved by two points, strength improved by two points, mid-range shooting improved by four points, layup improved by three points, and his overall ability evaluation improved by two points.
He didn't practice ball handling and layups much, but the increase in strength has brought some improvements to these two areas.
And this is just the result of 6 days of training!
It was different from what Zhang Hao thought at the beginning that only his shooting would get better. From the moment he started doing strength training for his latissimus dorsi and waist and abdomen, he knew that the final improvement would definitely not be just his mid-range shooting. Maybe because he did not focus on other aspects, the improvement in other aspects would not be that great, but the training would definitely lead to improvements in other aspects of his abilities.
Zhang Hao really hopes to find another cheat code bug and get more special rewards. Obviously, the rewards for ordinary tasks are related to lifespan. It is not known yet whether there are other task rewards.
There is also the usable lifespan… What exactly does “usable” mean? We still don’t know for now.
Now Zhang Hao is not in a hurry. After he knew that the participation of specially signed players in the competition can bring him benefits, he started to pay attention to those random competitions. He also paid attention to some of them that he originally looked down upon. However, he was just paying attention to them for now. He had to practice his mid-range shooting first, and he had to find a way to seize the upcoming dunk contest and training camp. It didn't matter if he got nothing in the end, it would be great to get to know more high school geniuses.
Since he has decided to participate and has already signed up, Zhang Hao naturally has to figure out what rewards he can get. Even if the little thing is small, it is still meat. It is never a bad thing to build good relationships with some people who will definitely be successful in the future, even if it is just to make themselves familiar to them.
Suddenly, Zhang Hao remembered something, that is, the player detection function, can it detect Pierce's strength?
Zhang Hao is really curious!
The subtitles responded immediately.
"Paul Pierce, height 195 cm, weight 108 kg, ability rating 67, offense 72, defense 61.
Physical quality: speed 85, strength 85, jumping 72...
Shooting: 3-pointer 68, mid-range 69, layup 87…
Skills: ball handling 82, passing 63, low post singles 63, high post singles 65..."
It can really detect!
Zhang Hao was not surprised to see that Pierce's rating was 5 points higher than his. Pierce had many more skills, which were much richer than his monotonous running and catching the ball.
It is true that Zhang Hao's individual strengths - running, catching the ball and shooting - are better than Pierce, and he has stronger athletic ability, but Pierce's skills are too comprehensive. He has been hanging out with two athlete brothers since he was a child. After his two brothers showed the potential to become professional players, as the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. The people around his two brothers gradually turned into young people with at least the strength of a Division I university, who often took Pierce with them. Among them were many basketball experts among students. Over time, Pierce's skills became more and more comprehensive.
If they train in college for two or three years at the same time, a player like Pierce who has good basic skills of all types will obviously have a better chance of entering the NBA than Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao has also been trying to understand and adapt to this era these days. At first, it was really hard for him to accept not having a smartphone in his hands, and it was hard for him to accept that information exchange was so sluggish. In fact, he went through the same thing when he was a child, but "it's hard to go from luxury to frugality." After so many years of living in an era where it was too easy to obtain information, it was really hard to adapt to suddenly returning to such an era.
But there is no way, I can only adapt slowly.
One way to adapt is to learn about things through newspapers and TV news, mainly about the NBA draft and the competition among strong NCAA teams for talented high school students.
So, after eating pizza, Pierce continued to play games and happened to turn on the TV to watch the midday news on the American cable sports channel.
"According to frontline reporter Aleka Spencer, the most popular first pick in this year's NBA draft, the 19-year-old talented center Tim Duncan of the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons, refused to participate in the draft early..."
The host read the news release, and the screen switched to Tim Duncan's sophomore season game highlights. He was simply too good to be true! He could fly and do anything. Zhang Hao looked at the man in the screen. He didn't look like the expressionless man with solid basic skills. Instead, he looked like Howard or David Robinson. He could run, jump, and be fierce!
In order to stop Duncan, either they didn't let him receive the ball, or they had two or three people hang on him. His physique was simply invincible in college, and the impact of the scene was comparable to that of O'Neal.
At this time, the screen posted the draft report made by the American cable TV station for Duncan.
Tim Duncan, center, 19 years old, 207 cm, 220 pounds.
Template: Lower limit is David Robinson or Moses Malone, upper limit is Hakeem Olajuwon.
"Shit!"
When Zhang Hao saw this draft template, he burst out in anger.
If Zhang Hao didn't know that Duncan was really that awesome, he would have thought that the media that made this draft prediction was crazy.
Just then, when Pierce heard Zhang Hao swearing in Chinese, he came over to take a look and also blurted out a word starting with F.
"Is the guy who made this draft prediction crazy? Is he drunk? Is he the lowest David Robinson? I've seen this guy play, and I admit he's great, but compared to Olajuwon? If he can surpass Olajuwon, I, Pierce, will run naked on the streets of Los Angeles..."
Pierce is a chatterbox and a big mouth, so he started to complain like crazy.
Even though Zhang Hao knew that Duncan was very cool, he was still shocked. Who on earth would dare to give such an evaluation of Duncan?
At this time, the TV screen switched to an interview with Lakers General Manager Jerry West. The background was the recent March Madness 64-to-32 game between the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons and the University of Alaska. Although the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons lost, Duncan made 15 of 23 shots and 7 of 14 free throws, scoring 37 points, 26 rebounds and 6 blocks...
The strength of the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons this season is actually very average. They only barely made it to March Madness thanks to sophomore Tim Duncan who could attract triple-teams every night.
Jerry West was interviewed after watching the game and said: "Tim is so good, he will definitely be the first pick in this year's draft. If he participates in the draft, I am willing to trade the first pick at any price."
Later, experts analyzed that the Lakers did try to trade lottery draft picks before the All-Star Weekend this season, but it ended up in nothing, and it was obvious that the operation did not work.
Jerry West's draft vision has always been highly praised. He has been the general manager of the Lakers since 1982. In 1982, he used the first pick to select James Worthy, who was more suitable for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, instead of Dominique Wilkins, who was more famous in college. In 1983, he traded for the fourth pick and selected Byron Scott. In 1985, he selected AC Green with the 23rd pick in the first round, creating the third consecutive championship combination in the history of the Lakers. In 1989, he selected Divac with the 26th pick in the first round to extend the life of the Lakers after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired. If Magic Johnson hadn't killed his career on a woman's belly, the Lakers could have relied on the changes in playing style brought by Divac to be strong in the West for a few more years. In the season before Magic Johnson retired, he was less than 32 years old and averaged 19.4 points, 7 rebounds and 12.5 assists per game.
After Magic Johnson retired, the Lakers collapsed directly, from a finals team to a team on the edge of the playoffs. In the past three years and more since Magic Johnson retired, in three drafts, Logo selected Anthony Pillar, Van Exel, and Eddie Jones respectively. All three of them had starting-level strength when they entered the NBA, and their draft picks were not particularly high. Van Exel was even selected in the second round.
Even George Lynch, the 12th pick in 1993 who didn't play well in his sophomore year, averaged about 10+6 per game in his rookie season, but Eddie Jones was too good, so the Lakers chose to give up George Lynch.
In the past three drafts, Logo had a total of 5 draft picks, 3 in the first round and 2 in the second round, and selected 4 rookies with NBA starting potential or immediate combat effectiveness. His draft ability is so strong that it is hard to doubt.
So, after Logo Man commented on Duncan like that, Duncan, who was already a super popular college star, became even more popular, giving people the feeling that he would be the top pick at any time he participated in the draft.
However, the draft report that the American cable TV station made for Duncan... is indeed a bit too exaggerated.
It is foreseeable that whether Duncan stays in the NCAA or finishes college early to participate in the draft, he will be targeted wildly.
However, Zhang Hao thinks that for Duncan... maybe Duncan will beat any opponent without saying a word and then defeat Malone in the first and second defense of the rookie year...
The difference between the future No. 1 power forward in history and the No. 2 power forward in history... is probably like the difference between getting only 100 points on the test and getting almost 100 points with one’s best effort.
As for his college days, Duncan is only a sophomore this year, but he can score 37+26+6 in a single game with someone hanging on him.
However, after hearing Pierce's declaration of streaking, Zhang Hao said quietly: "Paul, a man, no matter what he says, he must do it."
Pierce, who was criticizing American cable TV, stopped complaining. He thought carefully about what he had just said. This scheming friend had a good memory! If he said anything, this guy would definitely remember it. Wait, did the fat guy from the West Coast say that if Duncan surpassed Olajuwon, he would run naked?
Tsk! How is this possible? Can any center surpass Olajuwon? Unless Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Russell return to their 30s!
If Duncan can surpass Olajuwon, Pierce will eat it upside down... After thinking about it, Pierce decided not to say it, otherwise he would definitely be remembered by this sinister friend.
In this world, nothing is absolute. Who would have thought that the best outside shooter in history, Magic Johnson, would be overtaken? Michael Jordan's three consecutive championships before his first retirement directly caught up with Magic Johnson's historical status.
Although Pierce was somewhat annoyed by his good friend's personality, he still felt that Zhang Hao's overall character was quite good. He was just aloof, but not annoying. It was actually quite easy to get along with him once you got to know him. He just liked to stab people in the back, and was a sultry, black-bellied man.
As for Zhang Hao, seeing that the news at noon was over, he turned off the TV, stretched his body, and prepared to practice one-arm paddling to exercise his muscles.
In the future, he is quite good at socializing, while the Zhang Hao in this world doesn't talk much, but is very good at stabbing others in the back. It's a natural talent, but it can only be shown in friends like Pierce who play basketball and go out to eat together every day.
The combination of the two makes things quite special. When Zhang Hao meets someone new, he might become very tactful; when he meets someone he is more familiar with, he will show concern; but when it comes to someone like Pierce who is so familiar with him and has always been taking care of him... his dark and stabbing nature will be exposed.
There are still seven or eight days left before the McDonald's All-Star Weekend, and Zhang Hao has not been idle. On the next day, April 17, when the gym was free again, Zhang Hao continued to practice mid-range shots and the muscle groups that help improve mid-range shots.
Visible progress gives you motivation!
The training was so boring that if it were his future self, he really would not be able to stick to it. But now, he has long been accustomed to such a life, and he is improving at a speed never before achieved. Instead, he enjoys training and gradually calms down from his overly excited mood.
A few more days passed, and Zhang Hao had slowly gotten used to his current life... At least, he gradually got used to it when there was no "point" that made him feel troublesome or inconvenient.
He got used to reading the newspaper and eating a milk sandwich in the morning, eating fast food at noon, and eating salad at night... This was also due to the fact that he was used to this kind of life due to his memories of this era, so he was able to get used to it so quickly.
Zhang Hao calmed down and trained well, no longer worrying about the fact that those universities looked down on him through early admissions. Seeing this, Pierce breathed a sigh of relief and stopped thinking about it too much. He really couldn't help with this matter.
A few days ago, he had discussed with Zhang Hao that he should either tell the University of Kansas to recruit Zhang Hao or not go to the University of Kansas. Zhang Hao replied, "You're just entering college and you're already a ball hog? You're not going to the NBA..."
Pierce was not annoyed when he heard this, but calmed down instead. He was not stupid, but he had not experienced enough and was not yet the future Captain Pierce. Now he was the leader of a small gang in the school, but he was smart and knew what Zhang Hao meant. Pierce was very touched by this.
The reason why Pierce has this idea is that early admission is really important. Almost every athlete who can get a full scholarship to an NCAA Division I university is a high school genius who is admitted early. Those who are confirmed to be recruited into the college team in the summer basically cannot get a full scholarship.
Zhang Hao was no longer depressed about this matter, and Pierce did not talk about it again.
In addition to Pierce, Scott Collins, the head coach of the Inglewood High School basketball team, is also paying attention. He has always been very satisfied with this high school genius he brought back from China. He has recently been busy helping Zhang Hao get into the Division I school team and get a full scholarship. He can send someone to play for an NCAA Division I team, but the scholarship... To be honest, for a college student, playing in the NCAA, if it weren't for the high full scholarships for Division I teams, what's the difference between that and a non-Division I team?
They all practice skills, learn tactics and discipline in college, and then play amateur basketball with a group of college students who 99% of them can't enter the NBA. Of course, the attention of the first-tier league is higher than that of the non-first-tier league, and you can occasionally meet top college students. It is relatively difficult to meet them in the non-first-tier league, and the attention is not that high, but there are also students from non-first-tier leagues who can enter the NBA, and not a small number of them. The key is still the scholarship, which is ultimately money.
These days, Scott Collins also learned that Zhang Hao would not only participate in the McDonald's slam dunk contest, but also in the Adidas training camp. He also hoped that Zhang Hao could use this to win the recognition of some NCAA Division I basketball coaches... Even without this, he still has a second plan, but that also depends on Zhang Hao's hard work and ability. At least one of them needs to impress the guy who looks exactly like him.
However, Zhang Hao’s recent progress... is too fast!
Every two or three days, Scott Collins could see Zhang Hao's shooting improvement with his own eyes . The number of hits per 50 shooting training sessions was obviously increasing!
…
Time flies and it is April 24th, the day to report to the hotel designated by McDonald's.
When he woke up in the morning, Zhang Hao saw the subtitle flash by.
396 days left to live...
If he can get a perfect score in the next dunk contest, he can add another 30 days to his life.
With a thought, the subtitles appeared again.
"Special signing player Zhang Hao ability rating: 63
Physical fitness: speed 90, strength 73, jumping 93, flexibility 96, stamina 90...
Shooting: 3-pointer 47, mid-range 84, layup 84…
Skills: ball handling 54, passing 43, catch-and-shoot 85…”
"Mid-range shooting ability value 84..."
I have reached a bottleneck again! However, in just 8 days, his mid-range shooting increased from 79 to 84. This speed is simply incredible! Now he can stably guarantee more than 40 hits for every 50 shots in training. When he feels good, he can even hit all 50 shots. This feeling is so cool!
Moreover, there are slight improvements in strength, layups and even three-pointers. Zhang Hao feels that when the mid-range shooting improves to the limit of this growth card, which is 90 mid-range shooting ability value, the strength and layups will definitely be improved further!
On the Bulls side, Jordan, who just returned for half a season, showed a completely different style of play from the three consecutive championships. His mid-range shot was amazing! Although it can be seen that Jordan has not played in the NBA for more than a year and his condition is very unstable, his unstoppable mid-range shot has been demonstrated.
In today's era, having an excellent mid-range shot will definitely become more and more valued with Jordan's god-like performance in the next three seasons. Zhang Hao's goal is to improve his mid-range shot to the top level of 90 before the Adidas training camp. Although it is only at the very edge of the top, the top is the top!
…
…
"Why are there so many people?" Zhang Hao was surprised when he saw his teammates and classmates from the school filling up a bus.
"Of course. Our school has players participating in the dunk contest, so there will definitely be a lot of people visiting. That's the Great Western Forum! This year's McDonald's All-Star Game is held at the Lakers' home court, which is great. One day I will lead the Lakers to regain their glory! It would be even better if we could beat the Celtics in the finals..."
When Zhang Hao
"Paul, have you ever thought about the impermanence of life?"
"What do you mean? I don't understand."
"..." Zhang Hao felt that he had not used English translation idioms enough, so he said directly: "Have you ever thought that one day you will play for the Celtics? Maybe you will beat the Lakers in the finals..."
"Impossible! Even if I was stabbed to death, I would not become a Celtics player. I would help the Celtics play against the Lakers in the finals? Unless both World Trade Center buildings fall down at the same time!"
“…”
This time Zhang Hao was speechless, and he didn't know where to start his venomous words...
The group took the bus to the Great Western Forum, which is very close to Inglewood High School. The Lakers' current home court is in Inglewood, Los Angeles County... This city, in the United States, is actually a larger town. In China, it is roughly equivalent to a district, and it is not a particularly large district. However, due to the developed economy of Los Angeles, it has long been closely connected with the surrounding counties and cities. The urban area of Inglewood is completely connected with the edge of the urban area of Los Angeles. The economy here is developing very well, and Inglewood High School has also developed into one of the top high schools in California. In the final analysis, whether a school is good or not is directly related to whether you have money.
The richer you are, the better; the better, the richer you are…
Pierce, who loved hanging out outside the Great Western Forum since he was a child, naturally became a Lakers fan.
It’s my hometown team, so of course I’ll beat it to death when I grow up.
The students and teammates came here mainly for a visit. Today is the open day of the Great Western Forum. Of course, only those who have been invited can come to visit. The Inglewood High School basketball team is naturally there. After all, it is the state high school league champion this year, and the team is led by the head coach of the basketball team, Scott Collins.
The Lakers' Great Western Forum is not just the Lakers' game venue, it also has many other functions, such as concerts, auctions... and so on.
This time McDonald's is leasing the Great Western Forum Arena which belongs to Disney. This will not hinder the Lakers who are preparing for the playoffs starting on the 27th. Although the owner of the Lakers is not rich in the NBA, he has always been willing to spend money because the Lakers are very profitable. They have their own training hall, the Verizon Center, and it is said that Japan's Toyota is negotiating with the Lakers to invest in building a training hall for the Lakers to use. It is a real training hall with 5,000 seats, comparable to the stadium of NCAA Division I universities.
After entering the Great Western Forum, Scott Collins, his school team teammates and classmates went to visit the stadium, locker room, training ground and other places. Pierce and Zhang Hao were taken by the staff to register, fill out information and receive hotel room cards.
There were also reporters present. As the most famous high school basketball talent in California this year, Pierce was invited by reporters to be interviewed after he got the room card. As for Zhang Hao, he was simply ignored.
Zhang Hao felt that this was normal. After winning the championship, the local TV station also interviewed him, but he, Zhang Hao, just showed up with the whole team and had no part in any interviews.
As for the Chinese market... except for those visionary leaders in various industries, most people in the United States really don't care. For example, the Los Angeles TV station is just a local TV station. Whether it is the Chinese market or not has nothing to do with them at all.
However, after the end of this year's China League One, NBA Commissioner David Stern extended an invitation to the Chinese Basketball Association, inviting the Chinese men's basketball team to participate in the summer league in Las Vegas, but was rejected. This caused the NBA commissioner to be ridiculed by the American media, but it also made some people see a trend - with Michael Jordan's return and the situation looking very good, David Stern is stepping up efforts to develop overseas markets.
However, Zhang Hao was obviously not worthy enough to be taken seriously by the bigwigs. In fact, this was also due to the power forward who joined the University of Utah last year. He really let down the University of Utah and the younger generation who wanted to gain a foothold in the American basketball world after him, including Wang Zhizhi who was originally going to participate in the draft in the next two or three years...