One Year Left to Play-Chapter 57 - 18: Maybe They’re Not That Strong After All?
Starting today, other players will begin adjusting their shooting technique under the guidance of their trainers. Yesterday afternoon’s training session set a goal for each player to make 500 shots. The accuracy wasn’t important since everyone selected for this intensive shooting training was at least an 8 out of 10 in shooting skills. The purpose of the session was for trainers and shooting coaches to observe the shooting techniques and fundamentals of these nine players in the shooting group.
Today, the other eight players, including Hamilton and Corey Benjamin, adjusted their shooting fundamentals under the trainers’ guidance. However, Zhang Hao was specially called aside by the trainer to be taught quick shooting techniques using video analysis.
Zhang Hao felt a bit flattered, but worked hard to learn and memorize the techniques taught by the trainer, and trained diligently under his guidance.
Feeling the difference in treatment compared to others, Zhang Hao calmed down. After a moment of reflection, he guessed that this preferential treatment was due to his performance in the Mid-range Shot test. While he didn’t receive any preferential treatment in terms of training intensity, his proficiency in Mid-range Shots allowed him to progress to more advanced training earlier than others!
During breaks in training, Zhang Hao also wandered around like the others to observe.
For instance, he watched Kobe, who went mad after only scoring 9 points in a particular test, observed Odom getting scolded for zoning out during training, and saw Bibi and Marbury competing to see whose pick-and-roll breakout was stronger...
However, once the classifications transitioned into formal training, Zhang Hao, who frequently wandered out to watch others, noticed a problem. Initially, he wondered if he was getting a bit arrogant, but then he started genuinely thinking—"Are they really not that strong?"
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With the official start of the training camp, Adidas also began promoting the upcoming elite game scheduled for May 19.
Garnett became a sensation once again!
The only high schooler to achieve perfect scores in all tests! The last one was Grant Hill, the superstar who just finished his rookie season as the All-Star vote leader.
The opening test results of the Adidas Training Camp are highly regarded by basketball fans. The NBA draft comparison Adidas provided for Garnett made fans go wild—Kevin McHale with Moses Malone’s athleticism!
Kobe Bryant was already quite popular because his father, Joe Bryant, often flaunted him on TV, attracting mixed reactions. Of course, Adidas Training Camp also gave him high praise—an omnipotent player with an extraordinary learning ability on the court.
This evaluation only seems high at first glance, but which ball-handling tall guard isn’t considered omnipotent at the high school level?
The intriguing part is Kobe’s college comparison—Anfernee Hardaway.
As a result, Kobe’s dad came forward again to boost his son’s hype... making Kobe so angry that he took out the battery from his massive cellphone, refusing to answer calls from home.
Why did Kobe, even after arriving at the training camp, only talk to a few people? It’s because he even brought a large cellphone to the camp, as if fearing people wouldn’t know his family is wealthy.
Marbury, Odom, Bibi, Raheem, Jamison, among others, were also highly promoted by Adidas.
But among the high schoolers heavily promoted this time, one person surprised many—Zhang Hao!
With a perfect 10 in athletic ability, some basketball fans took notice of this incredibly athletic Chinese high schooler after the McDonald’s Dunk Contest but didn’t expect his shooting to also score a 10.
But this isn’t particularly outstanding, as seven players this year reached a 10 in shooting. Viewed alone, it’s not impressive.
The key was Adidas’s evaluation of Zhang Hao—can you imagine a dunker with Julius Erving’s dunking ability but also possessing Andrew Tony’s precise Mid-range Shot? 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
Through the McDonald’s Dunk Contest, Zhang Hao had already gained some fame, but few paid much attention. Ultimately, it’s just dunking. There are plenty of amateur dunk contests every year, especially street events, some even televised, only to be forgotten later.
Yet, half a month after making a mark in the McDonald’s Dunk Contest, Zhang Hao found himself standing out once more at the Adidas Training Camp, a place focused solely on court performance!
In every era, there are always people who dig into details, and quite a few went on to look up Zhang Hao’s info, discovering his selection to the All-American High School Third Team but was still unsought by colleges.
People love a comeback story. Having cultivated this business for years, Adidas uses this as a selling point, and it really took off!
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This training camp’s Mid-range King, Zhang Hao, was in high spirits practicing quick shooting when he was suddenly given such a title by Adidas.
Zhang Hao became even more certain about why he received "preferential treatment."
Over a few days, Zhang Hao noticed the number of players participating in the training camp decreasing as players were continually eliminated. Yet, no one ever mentioned assessments or any other requirements to him. Meanwhile, in conversations with Hamilton, Hamilton mentioned that after each stage of guidance, there would be an assessment.
Take their shooting group as an example. Not every aspect of the guidance requires the player to master it. Once Zhang Hao grasped the quick shooting training method, the shooting coach started teaching him intricate details like turning and shooting while on the move. After learning how to practice these, it was on to the next element. The training camp lasted just a week. They only taught you how to train; if you couldn’t even learn or remember how to practice, you’d be eliminated. If you couldn’t complete the training due to poor stamina, you’d be eliminated. Those naturally lazy were all gone within the first two days.
