Volume 1 Western Cowboy Chapter 013: Rumors
After an unusual trip to Portland, Wayne and Cody finally arrived back in Stillwater at noon the next day.
Cody fell asleep as soon as he returned to the dormitory last night due to excessive indulgence.
If Wayne had gone to help him share the pressure last night, Cody wouldn't have ended up like this.
But after seeing Cody's condition today, Wayne was just glad that he didn't go yesterday.
He knew that the group of girls that Cody dated were not easy to deal with.
It looks like Cody won't be able to go to class all day today.
After taking a nap, Wayne still arrived at the classroom on time in the afternoon.
Wayne knew that it was not easy for his family to support him studying abroad, so he still had to attend the classes.
In the afternoon, when Wayne went to class, as soon as he entered the classroom, he vaguely felt something was wrong.
After sitting down, I still felt uncomfortable.
Finally, Wayne discovered that everyone in the classroom seemed to look at him from time to time, and then whispered something.
Wayne couldn't help but touch his face, but there was nothing on it.
When Wayne first entered school, he was indeed quite eye-catching for a while because of his height and skin color.
But over time, the classmates in the class gradually became accustomed to Wayne.
But today, Wayne felt like he was back in his freshman year, as if the whole class was secretly discussing him.
Have you all lost your memory? Why do you treat me like a stranger?
Depressed Wayne went straight to the training hall after class, but as he walked on the road, Wayne felt that everyone around him seemed to be staring at him.
Is it a psychological effect?
That shouldn’t be the case. Wayne doesn’t think he is a narcissistic person.
Of course, Wayne always thinks that he looks good now, but... this is not narcissism, it is the fact!
"Damn, I'm not dressed weird today. Haven't you seen any handsome Asians? I've been in this school for a year, and this is the first time you see me?" Wayne complained in his heart as he walked.
It's still quite uncomfortable to walk on the street under other people's gazes.
When passing by an open-air basketball court, Wayne found that everyone who was playing inside stopped what they were doing and looked at him.
One of the black guys even strode to the sidelines and waved at Wayne through the barbed wire.
"Hey, Wei! You are so awesome. You will definitely lead us to win the league championship next season, right?!"
Wayne: ???
What's going on? Why is everyone so confused!?
Shouldn't it be Tony's job to lead the team to win the championship?
Also, when did I become so great in the eyes of my classmates? Didn't I still have a game to play this season?
"Hey, is that Wei? I remember he was just a substitute last season?"
"You are stupid, people grow up, maybe that guy's potential has not been fully developed yet!"
"That's right, look at Yao, didn't he play badly in the first few games after he entered the league? Now, even Shaq has to fight him with all his strength."
Listening to the discussions of passers-by, Wayne became more and more confused.
Could it be that the fact that I have become stronger has been exposed?
But the training these days is all closed, and the alumni have no way of knowing my level.
In this inexplicable atmosphere, Wayne walked to the entrance of the Gallagher-Eibar Arena and saw Tony Allen coming from the other end.
"Tony!" Wayne greeted him. Finally, he didn't have to face everyone's strange looks alone.
Little did he know that when Teacher Tony saw Wayne, his look in his eyes was different than usual.
"Wayne, you're awesome, man! Really? Really? What happened last night?" Tony Allen ran to Wayne like a little fan, his eyes full of admiration.
"Uh...what happened...last night?" Wayne was confused.
"It happened in Portland last night. Didn't you know? The news that you defeated Rasheed Wallace has spread all over the school! You are really low-key, Wayne."
"Ah? Has it spread?"
I see!
Wayne said he felt weird today, as if everyone was staring at him. After a while, he realized it was this incident that caused the trouble.
However, in 2003, the Internet media was not very developed. Wayne was very curious about what happened last night...
As we all know, in this era when the Internet is not well developed, rumors can spread. It is very likely that a Portland fan called his cousin in Stillwater and told him about it, and then it spread from one person to ten people, and from ten to a hundred.
As a story is often passed on, it becomes very different from the facts.
There is a rumor that Grant Hill once defeated the Dream Team with a sparring team of college students, but only God knows if this is true.
There is a rumor that Garnett can touch the top of the backboard, and many people still believe it today.
Rumor has it that Carter's death dunk in Sydney directly retired the player, but in fact, the guy has been playing well all along.
There are still people who believe the rumor that Mutombo is less than 40 years old. This is even more unreasonable. He looks like he is 50!
Why were there so many classic trash talks in the NBA in the 80s, 90s and early 21st century, making it seem as if every NBA player could make witty remarks?
But after that, classic trash talk became less and less?
Because most of these exquisite trash talk are processed twice or simply carefully fabricated during the process of dissemination.
But because the Internet was not well developed and there was no evidence to verify it, most fans believed it to be true.
All in all, in this day and age, most rumors are exaggerated.
"What do the rumors say about me?" Thinking of this, Wayne asked Tony cautiously.
"Rumor has it that you suppressed Rasheed Wallace so much that he couldn't raise his head. And in one defense, you even blocked Rasheed! Is this true, Wayne? What does it feel like to play with NBA players?"
"Damn, as expected..." Wayne was speechless. When did he suppress Wallace to the point where he couldn't even raise his head...
After walking into the training hall with Tony Allen, several Cowboys players also gathered around Wayne.
From them, Wayne learned several versions of the story.
"What? I heard Wayne dunked on Rasheed Wallace."
"That news of yours must be false. I heard that two were detained!"
"Nonsense! Wayne first made a three-pointer, then gave the ball to Rashid, but then he blocked Rashid's shot."
Listening to the various bizarre stories told by his teammates, Wayne couldn't help but sigh at the imagination of fans of this era.
These rumors are so fucking outrageous!
It would be a waste of talent not to go to China to write online articles.
Finally, everyone looked at Wayne with expectation, hoping to hear the truth from him.
Wayne felt a little embarrassed to break everyone's fantasy in front of them.
"Well, the actual situation is not as exaggerated as you said. Although I did defeat Rashid, but..."
Wayne hadn't finished speaking yet, but when they heard "I did defeat Rashid", everyone cheered collectively.
"Look, I told you it was true! He really won. Wayne really overwhelmed Rashid so much that he couldn't even raise his head!"
"Wow, that's awesome, so he really dunked on Rashid!"
"Unbelievable, that's Rasheed Wallace, how could he block him?"
I am so...
Wayne is confused. Hey, can you guys just listen to what I have to say?
It is easy to spread rumors, but very difficult to take them back.
Well, there is another century-old unsolved case in basketball history.
From today on, a new rumor began to spread gradually in the basketball circle.
An unknown NCAA player defeated All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace in a one-on-one match.
For a time, even the general managers of various teams had heard about it.
There will definitely be many NBA scouts in the stands of the Gallagher-Eibar Arena in the new season.
At this time, the Sutton father and son were looking through the office window at Wayne who was surrounded by his teammates.
"Do you really believe that he defeated Rasheed Wallace ?" Sean stared at the Chinese student in disbelief. When he heard the rumor this morning, he almost thought there was something wrong with his ears.
"Of course that's impossible, Sean, he's one of the best power forwards in the league." Old Sutton smiled. He knew Wayne's current level better than anyone.
The rumors were certainly exaggerated.
Even if Wayne really defeated Wallace, the process was definitely not as magical as people said.
But whether Wayne beat Wallace or not is not the point at all in Sutton's opinion.
The point is, Wayne's progress over this period of time is indeed visible to the naked eye.
His level has improved by leaps and bounds compared to last season.
If Wayne can successfully gain muscle in the next month, then, in Sutton's mind, Wayne is fully capable of playing as the starting power forward next season and competing in the Division I league!
Although Wayne's low-post offense is still a little lacking, old Sutton doesn't mind letting Wayne shoot outside the three-point line during offense.
This is indeed a very bold idea, but Sutton has thought about it carefully. If Wayne can attack beyond the three-point line, it will create enough space for Tony Allen to break through.
One inside and one outside, it’s simply a golden combination!
"Sean, go contact a few teams in the next few days. We will play a few warm-up matches starting next month."
"Okay, what are the requirements for the invited teams?"
"The requirement is to test the strength of our new starters. It would be best if they are strong in the paint and at the two position. I want to see what Wayne and Tony can do."
"Tony and Wayne? Have you really decided to put him in the starting lineup?"
Old Sutton rubbed his hands in anticipation, "What else? Now, we are not the only ones who have high expectations for him. After that rumor spreads, the new season will become very lively."
It's time for Sutton's cowboys to go out and fight for real.
As for the biggest stumbling block, P.J. Tucker from the University of Texas... well, Sutton felt that he seemed to be less scary.
