Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 439 Elite Tournament Top Four

Farragut Academy is far ahead of its opponents, and the outcome is no longer in doubt.

With the outcome already decided, the remaining time became completely wasted.

Jermaine O'Neal sat on the bench, showing no intention of continuing to play.

He's not the kind of player who chases personal statistics.

If he truly cares about personal statistics, he won't give up on breaking the team's single-game scoring record held by legendary shooter Miller.

If he wanted to, he could not only break Miller's team scoring record, but also have the opportunity to become a member of the 60-point club.

However, Jermaine O'Neal did not do that.

His selfless spirit has won him widespread praise from fans and the media.

Speaking of this, Kogure thought of a negative example: the gorilla who liked to travel during off-peak hours.

The practice of generating data during downtime made a significant contribution to Project 411.

No wonder he's nicknamed 'Ganges LeBron' by fans!

The longest river = the most watery person

In fact, he is not only Ganges Can, but also the most relaxed big-eyed!
Compared to gOat, Duncan was the complete opposite, shockingly low-key.

For 20 years, Duncan has never missed the playoffs, always maintained his competitiveness for the championship, and never relied on a superstar, because he was the superstar himself.

On the bench, Jermaine O'Neal covered his head with a towel and clenched his fists, looking very unwilling.

A fire burned deep within him, as if silently protesting the injustice of fate.

Jermaine O'Neal believes he is no worse than Kevin Garnett, and that the reason he didn't perform as well as Garnett in this game was mainly due to his teammates' lack of support.

Garnett is surrounded by a group of talented players, including two higher-ranked five-star high school players.

As for Jermaine O'Neal's team, their overall strength is clearly inferior to that of Farragut Academy.

Sometimes, basketball games are just that cruel.

One person's strength is ultimately limited; the overall strength of the team is the main factor that determines victory or defeat.

Even someone as great as Jordan couldn't win a championship before Pippen matured.

However, Jordan was able to lead the weak Bulls to the playoffs in his first year.

In contrast, LeBron James has many excellent teammates such as Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Carlos Boozer, Ricky Davis, and Mo Williams. In the first two years after joining the league, he failed to even make the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference.

In the 2002-03 season, Zydrunas Ilgauskas was at his peak, playing 81 regular season games for the Cavaliers, averaging 30.0 minutes, 17.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, and was selected to the NBA All-Star team that season.

At the time, Zydrunas Ilgauskas was arguably second only to Jermaine O'Neal among centers in the Eastern Conference, and he and Ben Wallace each had their own strengths.

Ricky Davis, in the 2002-03 season, averaged 20.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. Such stats would be enough to make him the leader of many teams.

As for the 'traitor' Boozer, the 2003-04 season was his second season. He averaged 15.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, ranking 5th in the NBA in rebounds and 6th in the league in field goal percentage.

The Nuggets, who had the same bottom-of-the-table record as the Cavaliers, were able to make the playoffs in their first year under Carmelo Anthony's leadership.

It's important to know that Anthony's teammates at the time were clearly inferior to the Cavaliers, with Camby being the most famous of them all being a stat padder.

Call ~
Jermaine O'Neal took a deep breath and stopped wallowing in self-pity.

At that moment, his heart was filled with a desire for victory and boundless anticipation for the future.

One day, he will definitely defeat Garnett head-on and prove to the world that he is the strongest center in this generation.

Not long after, the long whistle signaling the end of the race sounded.

As expected, Farragut Academy defeated Oakley High School by a large margin.

After the game, Jermaine O'Neal stood up, preparing to head to the locker room. Just then, he noticed Kogure standing in front of him.

O'Neal was a little surprised, but still politely stopped.

"Jermaine, you're very strong. Can we exchange jerseys?" Kogure's voice was sincere.

Jermaine O'Neal was visibly taken aback; Kogure's suggestion was unexpected.

You should know, he's the loser!
Thinking of this, O'Neal felt a warm current well up inside him, which he considered as recognition and respect.

Without hesitation, Jermaine O'Neal took off his jersey and exchanged it with Kogure.

The two exchanged a smile and then went their separate ways.

Kogure befriended Jermaine O'Neal because, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the two are likely to become teammates in the future.

This is his future 'Pippen'!
Jermaine O'Neal's personality is more suited to being the second option.

Furthermore, the Auburn Hills incident shows that he is a true man, willing to stand up for his teammates in critical moments.

It's worth noting that Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest had a poor relationship. When Artest was insulted by fans, O'Neal punched one of them, resulting in a 25-game suspension from the league.

The most speechless thing is that when Jermaine O'Neal stood up for Ron Artest, Artest not only didn't thank him, but also walked away after his suspension ended.

As soon as the match ended, Kogure and the others returned to their lodgings to rest and prepare for the next match.

The elite tournament is held in Houston, and all accommodations and meals are covered by the organizers.

This means that Farragut Academy has home-field advantage.

To save costs, the Elite Tournament adopts a two-day format, which is better than the daily format of the National Tournament and the Winter Tournament, but the intensity of the competition is also increased.

On this day, in addition to Farragut Academy, Lower Merion High School, Continental High School, Lincoln High School, and Oak Hill High School also successfully advanced to the second round.

Despite being eliminated in the first round, Jermaine O'Neal's ranking did not drop.

This is mainly due to the fact that Farragut Academy is too strong.

Two days later, the second round of the competition officially began.

In this game, Farragut Academy's opponent was none other than Oak Hill High School, which would later be known as the 'temple of high school basketball'.

Stephen Jackson started the game.

Because he is only 16 years old, Wu Sheng is currently less than 190 cm tall and plays the shooting guard position.

In the future, his height will reach 203 cm, the standard height for a small forward.

Jackson's matchup was Sawakita, and this game became Sawakita's breakthrough game.

Although Jackson is still a bit immature, his ranking on the list is comparable to that of a near-peak, fully-fledged, four-star high school student.

Jackson was rated a five-star high school student in some media outlets' high school student rankings.

Unfortunately, the most authoritative list remains ESPN's.

Jackson is still in his prime growing up, and he is slender, so he is not much stronger than Sawakita in terms of physical strength.

Kogure would occasionally fill in the gaps for Sawakita, leaving Jackson with a lot of unspoken difficulties and making his game very challenging.

This resulted in Jackson being severely restricted by Zebei, with his shooting percentage barely reaching 30% throughout the game, and he also committed a total of 6 turnovers.

Under Kogure's organization and command, Farragut Academy demonstrated amazing teamwork and tactical execution in the match, ultimately winning the game with an overwhelming advantage.

Farragut Academy successfully advanced to the top four of the Elite Tournament, along with Lower Merion High School, Continental High School, and Lincoln High School.

According to the match schedule, Farragut Academy's next opponent is Laumerion High School.

(End of this chapter)