One Year Left to Play-Chapter 62 - 20: Who Is the Best High School Player?
As for beating Garnett in a shooting contest... At first, he was excited when he defeated Marbury, a famous player in his memory, but after being challenged and easily winning every time, it didn’t excite him anymore. Winning against Garnett in mid-range shooting didn’t excite Zhang Hao either.
He knew that apart from mid-range shooting and running and jumping abilities, there were significant differences between him and Garnett in other aspects, even in dribbling.
Returning to the hotel room, Bibi was reading a book again. Although he’s also considered black, and has some Chinese ancestry, he looks white. Unlike most black players, his biggest hobby besides playing basketball is reading. He’s preparing to complete enough credits before participating in the draft during his college years. Diplomas and knowledge are important. He has a complete future plan that doesn’t just involve playing basketball. Playing basketball might last a dozen years, while most players have only two or three years of professional careers. The future isn’t just about basketball.
Zhang Hao didn’t disturb Bibi, took a shower, and lay down to sleep early. He had to wake up early for training tomorrow morning.
He didn’t practice extra at night because there were people from the next room who would come to call them for training every morning.
"Special contract player Zhang Hao’s ability evaluation: 65
Physical attributes: Speed 90, Strength 76, Jumping 93, Flexibility 95, Stamina 90...
Shooting: Three-point 51, Mid-range 90, Layup 86...
Technique: Dribbling 54, Passing 44, Catch and Shoot 86..."
Looking at his ability evaluation, Zhang Hao felt somewhat disappointed. After nearly a month of rapid improvement, his growth rate suddenly slowed down. He knew this was normal. When training was already diligent and effective, it’s impossible to see significant progress in a week under normal training conditions. There was a slight improvement in three-pointers and passing, but other abilities hardly changed.
However, aside from this disappointment, Zhang Hao didn’t feel that his efforts during this period were wasted!
Before participating in the McDonald’s dunk contest and Adidas Training Camp, Zhang Hao had encountered few strong opponents in the past two years. Only a few could compare in strength to the high school students in this training camp. Now, he sees a bunch every day, even just watching their training or occasionally sparring with other high schoolers, provides great learning opportunities.
The most important thing is what he learned from the shooting coaches and trainers, how to improve his shooting after the training camp ends.
...
In the training camp, many people are anxious every day, worried about being eliminated since only 18 will advance.
But since the initial test ended, some people haven’t had to worry about it at all. The training camp didn’t give them any pressure.
The training camp indeed selects some players, but ultimately, it’s about the ability of the players. Talented players make the elite games more exciting. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
This world has always been unfair.
With NBA top-level mid-range shooting skill with a 90 ability value and excellent running and jumping abilities, Zhang Hao never felt any external pressure from the start. Initially, he had many worries because he hadn’t realized how outstanding he already was among high schoolers.
The second-to-last-day training involved team coordination under the guidance of a hired tactical coach.
Out of the 36 selected most talented and capable high schoolers, some were chosen for their teamwork skills.
Zhang Hao, as a player who cuts to catch and shoot and a finisher, has always played this role since he came to the United States. Due to his great talent in this aspect, the head coach at Inglewood High School has been cultivating him in this direction. Although his cutting ability isn’t very good, his stamina is excellent. Among the remaining 36 high schoolers, only Hamilton can match Zhang Hao in this aspect; others fall far behind.
However, for some people, the last two days are very harsh. After the first day of combined training, 8 were eliminated, leaving 28 left. After the afternoon training on May 15, they were split into 4 groups again, and on the last day, 10 will be eliminated!
Zhang Hao is confident that he won’t be eliminated. There’s one person who’s still here until now and Zhang Hao noticed his team coordination during training was excellent. Unlike in his high school team where he did everything himself, this guy played more freely.
This gentleman... No, junior, is 17-year-old Corey Benjamin, who previously tried every different way to taunt Zhang Hao when they met. Ever since the second day of the camp, Corey Benjamin hasn’t bothered Zhang Hao.
People can be peculiar: when Corey Benjamin was bothering Zhang Hao, Zhang Hao found it annoying. Now that he hasn’t bothered him, Zhang Hao feels somewhat unaccustomed.
hours after Zhang Hao’s group was formed, it disbanded immediately, and four of his teammates were directly eliminated, leaving only him and Marbury... Seeing over 70 people eliminated in the past few days, Zhang Hao is already used to it.
Adidas Training Camp really does some things very well, perhaps even better than NCAA. NCAA players leave because they graduate or participate in the draft to play professionally and can’t play college games anymore. And truly entering the professional scene, you’ll witness teammates leaving every year due to insufficient skills or various reasons... Or you leaving yourself.
