One Year Left to Play-Chapter 47 - 15: A Philadelphia High Schooler Reluctant to Reveal His Name
This reporter from the bleachers initially intended to take a mainstream attitude similar to how the American media currently treats anything related to China. Just belittle it in any way possible, and if Zhang Hao reacted violently, there would be more content to write about.
But Zhang Hao’s reaction was very calm. This experienced reporter knew he couldn’t provoke Zhang Hao, and since he didn’t know much more about Zhang Hao, the interview suddenly became quite harmonious.
"Which player are you most looking forward to facing in this training camp?"
"Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Mike Bibby, and Richard Hamilton."
"Hamilton?"
"Yes, his style is similar to mine; we’re both catch-and-shoot players."
"You call yourself a shooter? I thought you should be an athletic forward. After all, you are the high school dunk king."
"Actually, I don’t really like dunking in games; shooting is my strength. I only participated in the dunk contest because I was in a bad mood and ended up winning a championship."
At this point, the reporter finally remembered another topic about this Chinese high school student in front of him—good grades, high player ranking, but no full scholarship offers from colleges. So he asked, "Is your bad mood because you’re having trouble applying to universities?"
"That’s not important. I scored nearly 1400 on the SAT last year, so getting into college is going to be easy."
"..."
A top student as well? This is where the reporter ended the interview. He couldn’t provoke Zhang Hao, and there weren’t many talking points in a training camp. However, the reporter still found a point he could use.
Reporters are always afraid of peace in the world; if they couldn’t attack Zhang Hao and China, attacking American universities would still catch attention!
...
After the interview, Zhang Hao went to the registration desk. He arrived quite late, just on time. The Adidas employees hadn’t finished their work; otherwise, he would have had to wait until the afternoon.
He completed the registration smoothly, collected his room card, and headed to the nearby Four Seasons Hotel.
When he arrived in the hotel lobby, Zhang Hao saw the directional signs. The restaurant was booked by Adidas, and high school students participating in the training camp could eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner for free with their room card. Lunch was from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM.
On the 5th floor, his room number was 8.
Coincidentally, Zhang Hao saw two very familiar... high school students he knew well coming out of room 7 on the 5th floor.
Kobe and Hamilton!
Those two were sharing a room.
Time to introduce himself! Zhang Hao greeted the two, "Hello, I’m Zhang Hao, English name Aix, from China, senior at Inglewood High School."
Kobe responded, "Hello, I’m Kobe Bryant, a junior at Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia, and this is Richard Hamilton from Coswell High School in Pennsylvania, my toughest opponent. I know you; you beat Vince Carter to become the high school dunk king. I definitely want to compete with you if I get the chance. Just thinking about training with you excites me."
A bit surprising! Zhang Hao initially thought it would be Kobe who was hard to approach and hoped Hamilton would respond, but it was the opposite. Hamilton wasn’t exactly aloof; he seemed "shy." Kobe, on the other hand, wasn’t that cold and was very polite in his speech.
However, Zhang Hao thought about it; Kobe’s family was well-off from a young age, and his character seemed competitive, but his upbringing should have been better than most black athletes’.
Zhang Hao smiled, "Dunk contests... actually, I’d rather compete with you in shooting. That’s my real strength."
"Oh... I’m looking forward to it."
After a brief conversation, Zhang Hao put his belongings down. The other bed in the shared room already had luggage on it. The three of them went to the restaurant for lunch together.
Zhang Hao originally thought he would be excited to see those future superstars at the training camp, but after the encounter, he found himself not that excited. Instead, he became curious about these future superstars, who were still high school students.
Among over 100 high school students, Zhang Hao actually only knew a few.
Although Kobe wasn’t that cold in private, he clearly wasn’t a warm person either. He didn’t chat much with Zhang Hao, clearly being courteous because of Zhang Hao’s McDonald’s Dunk Contest victory.
After lunch, in the afternoon, Zhang Hao went to the San Francisco City Hall Ballroom to familiarize himself with the training venue he would be using for at least a week.
A gym, training ground... most of the seating was removed and converted into basketball courts with eight half-courts.
Medical room, physiotherapy room, trainer’s office... everything was complete.
There were also some coaching offices. Adidas had invited some renowned personal trainers, like Chris Owen, famous for shooting guidance among players, and Gian Kawei, who made millions a year guiding endurance training...
From these aspects, Zhang Hao could tell the difference between this training camp and the McDonald’s All-Star. This was a genuine training camp, one that could truly bring progress to the participants.
After the tour, Zhang Hao went to the training ground to practice shooting.
Although the effect of that Growth Card had ended, training couldn’t be stopped just because there was no bonus. Skills, like practice makes perfect, regress if they don’t progress.
Compared to dunking, this mid-range shot is the foundation for him to stand out in college or street court games. His dribbling isn’t outstanding; it’s decent compared to ordinary people, and in high school, he occasionally organized with the ball. His passing awareness is okay, and his passing accuracy isn’t bad. But in a professional arena, he would definitely not be the one controlling the ball.
