Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 181 Nike Peak Competition

On the afternoon of April 4, a California sports podcast broke the news that the Late Spring team once again defeated the Southern California Trojans by a large margin. Because it was an internal game, no video of the game was leaked, only a photo taken secretly on campus.

The impact of this revelation is that it has become irrefutable evidence that a team composed of five-star high school students can sweep the strong teams in the D1 league.

More sports figures joined the discussion of this hot topic, and Woj, the great writer of Yahoo Sports, even wrote an article about April with great interest.

In the article, Woj put forward a very interesting point of view. He said that two things are bound to happen in early April. One is the end of the NBA regular season, and the other is the birth of the final NCAA champion.

Then throughout April, there was almost no activity except for the Nike Summit tournament.

As for the EYBL league, first of all, it will start in May. In addition, given its size, it is difficult to attract the attention of the entire United States.

It won't be until June that the draft kicks off a new wave of basketball attention.

So Woj proposed an idea, whether it is possible to make the late spring team's sweep of the West Coast a routine, and start a team composed of high-ranking high school students every year to compete and exchange with NCAA teams, providing a more intuitive testing platform for coaches from universities across the United States.

As we all know, there are 19000 high schools in the United States, and countless leagues and alliances. Even with a sample of games, it is impossible to judge the quality of the players. That is why the National Invitational Tournament was created to provide the NCAA with more reliable high school players.

But the samples and intuitive results obtained by the Late Spring Team during this trip to the West Coast exceeded the understanding of the basketball circle, and they suddenly realized a point that had been overlooked.

Letting top American high school players play against D1 teams is the most effective test.

At the same time, college D1 coaches are also willing to see this kind of game. What could be more appealing to their players than letting them come to college campuses to play?
Three hours after the article was published, at 20 p.m. on the 7th, an early summer team consisting of Fultz, Adebayo, Monk, Dennis Smith Jr., and Leaf announced that they would start their East Coast trip in May.

An hour later, the Midsummer Team, consisting of Bridges, De'Aaron Fox, Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley and Harry Giles III, also announced that they would embark on a basketball journey in the Wild West in late May.

This includes almost the best high school students in the United States. Their purpose is very clear, to increase their authenticity by competing with D1.

Similarly, the D1 league's divisional teams embraced these high school students with extremely high efficiency. Unlike the West Coast's hesitation, the Early Summer Team and the Midsummer Team had already booked more than a dozen basketball games on the 21st, including top teams such as Connecticut, Duke, Georgetown, and Syracuse.

Savvy college head coaches, seeing the benefits to their side, became extremely proactive and enthusiastic.

And all this was just a sudden thought that Chen Fang had.

Faced with this situation, the Late Spring team still in California is somewhat proud. They have created a history that is neither small nor large. It can be predicted that starting from 2016, every April and May, the best players in the United States will continue their previous journeys, and the names of these five people will be mentioned again and again.

Moreover, they were in the happiest trouble. In order not to be laughed at by their peers, the West Coast responded quickly. In one night, eight D1 teams enthusiastically sent invitations to the Late Spring Team.

But Chen Fang and others felt frustrated.

Because of an unexpected incident, it happened.

Chen Fang was surprised and asked, "Can this be temporarily filled?"

Tatum shrugged and replied: "Who knows, maybe your performance during this period is too dazzling."

Chen Fang continued to read the email - the invitation letter to the 2016 Nike Premier League World Team.

Dear Mr. Chen Fang: We are honored to invite you to participate in the 2016 Nike Summit and join the World Team. Please report to the World Team training camp in Portland, Oregon no later than the 23rd.

At the end there is the signature of the head coach - Roy Rana.

It was a very concise email, but you could clearly see two stamps on the invitation, one from Nike and the other from the American Amateur Athletic Union (AUU).

Chen Fang also carefully logged into the official website of the summit competition, and his name appeared on the world team list, becoming the 12th person.

At the same time he saw a compatriot, Fan Ziming.

Well, Chen Fang accepted this surprise with mixed emotions.

"Are we going to disband now?" Several people felt disappointed.

"Guys, God doesn't want me to continue to shine!" Chen Fang sighed, and complained to Jia Lun: "We were bullying the weak ones together yesterday, but I didn't expect that it would be Jason's turn to bully me soon."

"Haha!" Tatum laughed. Thinking that a week later, he would play against Chen Fang with Fultz and Harry Giles, he couldn't help but feel the magic of God.

"Ah!" Chen Fang sighed as he browsed the US team's roster, then suddenly smiled: "Not that great, I thought Jalen, Trey, and Porter Jr. were all there."

"We'll go next year!" Porter Jr. said, but Trae Young yawned: "I don't want to go, it's too boring."

(Porter Jr. and Jalen participated in the 17 Summit Game, but Trae Young did not go.)
"In that case, then I can only express my regrets here." Chen Fang did feel a little regretful, so he stood up and went to the kitchen.

"Let's have a good meal today!"

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.

"What do you need to buy?" Tatum asked immediately.

Soon, Chen Fang wrote the menu on a piece of paper and handed it to Tatum. Jalen and Porter followed him, leaving Trae Young alone. Chen Fang asked curiously, "Why don't you go?"

"I want to learn cooking from you." Trae Young was quite open and aboveboard.

"Why, you have a girlfriend?"

"Not yet, but I really like this scene. I think it should be a happy thing for me to come home from playing basketball and cook for my wife and children."

Thinking of Trae Young's story of being single-minded, Chen Fang nodded: "Come on, you are my first apprentice, don't lose my identity!"

"Of course not!" Trae Young rubbed his hands together.

At eight o'clock in the evening, all the members of the Late Spring Team sat in the backyard, looking at the stars in the sky, enjoying the sea breeze, and listening to the faint sound of the tide hitting the shore. No one spoke. In the quiet night, a group of ambitious young people were looking forward to a bright future in the near future.

It was Chen Fang who broke the tranquility.

"I know that when we play in the league and fight for our respective teams and honors, there will be conflicts to some extent."

"But I want to say that no matter what the situation is on the field, when the game is over, life should come first."

"In life, we should be brothers who are inseparable, friends who can confide in each other and trust each other."

"I'm willing to comply." Tatum promised seriously.

Afterwards, several people agreed solemnly.

"Don't forget our tea talks these days. After all, the Alliance is a place for business, with intertwined interests. We need to make trade-offs and decisions constantly."

"So, we should not only listen to the opinions of our family, agents, and coaches, but also communicate more with each other. At the same time, we should abide by the rules of the tea talk, and all content should not appear in the public eye."

"Little Potter, I'm just afraid that you will blurt out something without thinking." Chen Fang nodded.

Little Potter's face flushed: "I have started to pay attention. Just like you said, before saying anything, I pause for a few seconds, even if I have no idea in my head."

"Keep it up, and you'll find it's doing you good and no harm."

At night, Chen Fang climbed up to the attic with bedding in his arms, which was rare. The five of them slept side by side, but no one could fall asleep. They chatted and laughed until midnight before falling asleep in a daze.

They talked about a lot, about love, about career, about salary, but what they talked about the most was that they should take care of each other in the future in the alliance.

Early in the morning, Chen Fang experienced separation. Trae Young and Porter Jr. returned to Missouri. Seeing that the EYBL league was about to begin, they went back to reunite with the team and stay in shape.

Jalen wants to go home and continue to travel around the United States with his father to make friends.

Tatum didn't leave. He was going to Portland with Chen Fang.

Sitting in the empty house, the two felt quite lost. Wu Zi and the others naturally had to go to class, so they were the only two left in the room.

"Let's go to training," Tatum said.

"Okay!" Chen Fang stood up.

Perhaps only basketball can resist emptiness and loneliness.

At night, Chen Fang stayed in Wu Zi's bed again. They had to part again. Wu Zi was reluctant to let him go. Although Chen Fang came, he still didn't come home every day. The chances of seeing him in a day were less than those of seeing his teammates.

"Have you thought it through?" Wu Zi asked.

"Well, it's almost done. Go submit your application. If you're approved, I'll make it official."

"The admission requirements in Southern California are quite difficult." Wu Zi was also a little worried.

"It's okay, we agreed on it." Chen Fang hugged Wu Zi. From the moment Wu Zi agreed to go to the United States with him, Chen Fang made up his mind that they must not separate.

Therefore, Chen Fang had one more requirement than others, that is, one must have a martial arts ability to enter the school.

But Chen Fang didn't tell anyone a word. This was considered black material and was a great pressure on Wu Zi. If it were to be exposed in the future, it would cause great harm to Wu Zi.

So, he had to make some sacrifices.

"I'll definitely be able to do it if I work harder during this period." Seeing that Chen Fang was worried, Wu Zi comforted him instead.

After turning off the lights and lying down, Chen Fang used his strong arm as a pillow under Wu Zi's neck, and the two of them maintained this position, hugging each other quietly.

"Chen Fang."

"Ok?"

"I think I'm weird."

"What's weird?"

“The life that many people yearn for seems to be happening in the future, but I still miss the riverside in Nanyang.”

"That pier, sometimes I still wonder if the fish in the fish basket will die without me."

Chen Fang didn't know what to say. He could only pat her gently with his hands, as softly as if he was coaxing a baby to sleep.

"I miss home." Wu Zi hugged him.

"Home is where you are, and we will have it soon!" Chen Fang knew that this was just sentimentality before parting.

Suddenly, Chen Fang was startled. He covered Wu Zi's hand and said in horror: "What are you doing?"

"I want to give it to you!" Wu Zi was very shy, but her tone was firm.

"what!"

"No!" Following Wu Zi's actions, Chen Fang's will began to weaken. He then realized that this was because as he continued to shine and was selected for the world team, Wu Zi's sense of security dropped to the dangerous level.

She needed to do something to feel safer.

Once he figured it out, Chen Fang came to his senses.

He grabbed Wu Zi's hand, kissed her first, and then counseled Wu Zi in a coaxing tone: "We will definitely be together for the rest of our lives. Your husband doesn't like anyone else, and he only has eyes for Shi Shi!"

"Didn't mom tell you before you left the country?"

"Mom said, if you can't help it, I'll give it to you! If you dare not take responsibility afterwards, she will guarantee to break all three of your legs!"

"Ah!" Chen Fang felt dizzy. What a real mother! She was both cruel and loving.

But this wouldn't work. Chen Fang didn't want to have Wu Zi in this mood. This would go against his original intention.

So Chen Fang used his eloquence to coax Wu Zi, and repeatedly emphasized that after June, they would end their separation and be back together.

After working for half the night, the two fell asleep exhausted. They had not had a good rest for two consecutive nights. Even the strongest biological clock could not wake Chen Fang up. It was not until after nine in the morning that Chen Fang woke up, and the beauty was gone.

After washing up with dark circles under his eyes, he saw Tatum already dressed and ready to go. Seeing Chen Fang's miserable look, he smiled knowingly.

Faced with the lewd smile, Chen Fang had no energy to defend himself. He fried eggs and hot dogs, toasted bread, and made vegetable salad. After quickly filling their stomachs, the two of them picked up their luggage and went out.

Their destination was Portland, Oregon, next to California, and they had already booked their tickets. They disguised themselves on the way, but they were still recognized on the plane, especially Tatum. Several girls ran over from the economy class to ask for his autograph.

Chen Fang was more like a passerby, no one paid any attention to him, and he was happy and relaxed, watching Tatum enjoying himself among the beauties.

It is really a gun among the flowers, so white and tender.

Three hours later, the plane landed at Portland International Airport. The two were not stars yet, and no one came to pick them up. After getting off the car, they got into a taxi led by Tatum.

Unfortunately, the training camps of the US team and the world team are not in the same place. Tatum was very conscientious and sent Chen Fang there first and then waved goodbye.

“In another week, we’ll be rivals,” he said with a smile.

"Rub gently!" That's all Chen Fang could say.

In the 16 peak match, the American team beat the world team 101-67. It is wise for Chen Fang to keep a low profile at this moment.

"I'm afraid you'll rub against me! I have to warn everyone to be careful of you!" Tatum shamelessly planned to be a traitor.

Chen Fang had anticipated this, so he waved his hand and walked inside.

Who isn't a traitor? I will also tell the coach your information.

With an invitation letter and after his identity was verified, Chen Fang came to a stadium under the guidance of the staff.

It was bustling inside, with more than a dozen players training on two courts and some sparring partners serving. This scene lifted Chen Fang's flagging spirit.

“A new story is about to begin!”

Just as Chen Fang was standing at the door in a daze, someone was walking towards him quickly.

"Chen Fang?" he shouted.

"It's me!" Chen Fang turned around and saw a middle-aged man who looked a bit like Joe Mazzulla looking at him with a smile.

Roy Rana, of Indian descent and Canadian nationality, has more than 25 years of coaching experience, covering international, university and high school levels, and is considered one of the most outstanding coaches in Canadian history. He has served as an assistant coach and chief of staff for the Sacramento Kings and has also served as head coach of the Canadian International Team.

He is also the head coach of Team World in the Nike Hoops Summit, in his tenth consecutive year, and holds the record for the most wins as a coach in Summit history.

Facing a coach of this level, Chen Fang quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Sir, Chen Fang reports to you!"

Roy was very satisfied with Chen Fang's performance. He looked at him and saw that he looked quite tired, probably due to the fatigue from the journey, so he asked, "Can we train now?"

"Yes!" Chen Fang answered clearly. When facing an unfamiliar coach, especially in a single game, you have to give your all and try to gain his favor in the shortest possible time. But don't think that because it's just one game, I don't care about you and I'm not afraid of you.

Such stupid thinking.

You have to understand that coaches of this level, one word from them represents the prejudice of the entire circle towards you.

"Very good, put down your luggage, go warm up, and put on your red vest."

Red vest means the main force?
With doubts, Chen Fang quickly found a place, put his luggage down, and took out a pair of KB5 in EYBL color that he had been wearing very comfortably recently from his shoe bag.

Compared with Code 4 and Code 6, Code 5 has attracted less attention. However, for those who have worn it, especially those who are good at attacking with the ball, Code 5 is more suitable.

(For example, DeRozan is a die-hard fan of KB5, and the marble upper in the upper right corner is a real shot of DeRozan wearing it.)
While I was changing my shoes, a Chinese voice suddenly sounded. I looked up and saw it was Fan Ziming.

As the only Chinese person this year, he was nervous and anxious when he arrived here.

(In 14 it was Gao Shang, in 15 it was Zhou Qi, this year it was Fan Ziming, and since then, Chinese people have rarely appeared in this team. From a certain perspective, it can be seen that talent is declining.)
He only found out the day before yesterday that a Chinese person would be coming, and that he was a very powerful person, being the fifth-ranked high school student in the United States. He was very popular now, and both his parents and friends and brothers told him to pay a good visit to the host. Even when he was coming, the accompanying reporters asked him if he had thought about how to greet them.
Don’t even think about it. How would I know?

So when he saw a Chinese man coming in, Fan Ziming realized that Chen Fang was here.

Then he saw head coach Roy was the first to come forward to greet him. He had been there for three days and had not spoken a word to the coach.

But I didn't dare to say it, after all, his few words of English were really not enough to communicate.

"It's Fan Ziming, right?" Chen Fang asked.

"Yes, it's me!"

"Congratulations. How is it? Are you adapting?" Chen Fang asked with a smile, as if he were the landlord.

"It's okay, but the language barrier is poor and there's not much communication." Fan Ziming honestly described the situation.

Chen Fang had almost no impression of this person who was the same age as him but four months older than him in his previous life. He could only say that he had great talent but was indeed delayed.

With his physical condition, if he was placed in the United States at the age of 14, his upper limit would be Adebayo and his lower limit would be Tony Bradley. With proper training, he would have no problem playing in the NBA and getting a minimum salary.

It’s a pity that people are now shaped. After playing the peak games, they will go back to play in the CBA. It can be said that the longer they play in the CBA, the higher their level will be, and finally they will become NBL!

But what could Chen Fang say but smile.

"It's okay, I'm here!" Chen Fang is not pretending to be a big brother, he is the real big brother.

Looking at the World Team roster, besides Ayton from the Bahamas, who else is on it?
What's more, the current Ayton is not in the same league as him. It can be said responsibly that Chen Fang is now the biggest star of the world team.

After getting dressed, Chen Fang started looking for someone.

He went to Ayton first.

"Big Falcon!" Eaton shouted.

"Hey, I'm counting on you. If you weren't on the team, I wouldn't even want to come!"

Chen Fang's words greatly satisfied Ayton's self-esteem. He smiled from ear to ear: "Knowing you were coming, I didn't sleep well yesterday."

"Good brother, let's fight these Americans!" Chen Fang successfully connected and walked towards another acquaintance.

Frank Ntilikina is from France. Last year, in the European warm-up match of the National Youth Team, Chen Fang had a good fight with this buddy. But now Chen Fang's level and height are no longer impressive.

But dig the eyes.

Frank Ntilikina was a little embarrassed, but he still extended his hand. He knew that this Chinese man was now well-known in the United States.

"long time no see!"

"Yeah, it's been almost a year. How have you been?" Chen Fang started chatting.

"Not bad, I won the youth championship, and I'm preparing for the NBA draft."

"This year?"

"No, it's from 17," Frank Ntilikina quickly explained.

"Wow, good job, we are fighting side by side this time, play well, your strength is better than many ESPN rankings!"

Chen Fang is naturally qualified to say this, as he has beaten almost all the American high school students in this class.

"Thank you!" Frank Ntilikina also smiled.

"We'll train together later!"

"Ok!"

Chen Fang began to greet everyone one by one. Even though he didn't know any of them, it didn't stop him from chatting. In fact, almost no one in the world team knew each other, so there was no friendship to speak of. But Chen Fang knew very well that as a defender, he had to get to know them.

Roy looked at Chen Fang's behavior and said to his assistant, "It seems that my temporary decision was correct."

"Yeah, we lack a strong defender, and Frank is not strong enough to fight against the American team."

"Not only do we need a strong defender, we also lack a leader!" Roy's words shocked the assistant.

Roy looked serious: "At least from all the current signs, the Chinese are the ones closest to this position."

That's right, as soon as he came in, he took the initiative to communicate, recognized the starters and rotation, and then trained with his competitor Frank. This kind of experienced team handling ability really impressed the entire coaching team.

"Now that Chen is here, at least the outcome is in suspense," said Roy.

Yes, Roy took the initiative to ask Chen Fang to join the team because the current world team could not compete with the American team in terms of fame and strength. In order to prevent his winning streak from being interrupted, Roy thought of Chen Fang.

Although the world team is announced every year in December of the previous year, it does not prevent the head coach from having this privilege. In addition, the current team is not full, which is also an excuse.

Now, Roy still has one week to build and integrate this unfamiliar team. Roy is familiar with this, as this is his job.

Of course, he also has expectations for Chen Fang, but this year the US team is full of talent, especially Chen Fang's teammate Tatum.

As for Fultz, I wonder if this super guard will take the opportunity to avenge his defeat in the Hoofar Elite Tournament.

At the moment when Chen Fang entered the world team training camp, a Nike Summit Reporting Team formed by CCTV-5 also flew to the United States with Air China.

This year, there are two Chinese in the world team participating in the annual peak competition. This is undoubtedly full of gimmicks. After several rounds of meetings, the station finally decided on the opinion of broadcasting and reporting. A team of twelve people was subsequently formed and boarded a flight to Portland, USA.

Not only the Chinese fans, but even the interview team are looking forward to it.

They all want to see the true face of Chen Fang, who has been known as the best defender and the most mysterious Chinese player in the past two years.

What kind of boy is this? Why did he go from an ordinary high school student to the Chinese with the greatest potential to impact the NBA in just less than two years?

As people in the media, we all know that many times, the hype about the NBA draft is for traffic and gimmicks.

But this time, entering the NBA was not something they hyped up, but something that everyone could see.

In the United States, I have never heard of any five-star high school student in the top five of ESPN failing to enter the NBA. As for whether they can survive, that is another matter.

Duan Ran and Wang Meng sat comfortably in the business class. One of them was chatting with the stewardess, and the other was looking through some documents. (Guess who was chatting with the stewardess?)
As the plane reached the stratosphere, the entire cabin was at its quietest and most stable, and the two began chatting. (Domestic flights usually fly in the troposphere, and only international flights choose the stratosphere because they can cruise and save fuel.)
"How many points do you think we can get?" This is always the opening line among basketball players.

"Maybe I can break Wang Zhelin's record." Duan Ran said.

"That's big news." Wang Meng laughed.

Seeing that Wang Meng didn't care, Duan Ran didn't argue. They had seen many people who were hyped up, and they were also the people in the country who knew the NBA and the United States best.

They know the levels of basketball, which are not only strict but also cruel.

Moreover, defenders are the most numerous and the most demanding in this tier.

So I was surprised that a Chinese could make a name for himself in the United States, but at the same time, I was skeptical.

The more I read materials and watch videos, the stronger this mentality becomes.

It also turned into a kind of expectation.

"Do you think we can produce someone like Kobe?" Duan Ran suddenly asked, more like he was talking to himself.

"Impossible, you're overthinking it." Wang Meng immediately refuted, then he laughed and said, "Only fans would talk about it like this every day."

Duan Ran didn't say anything, but he was saying in his heart: Aren't we also fans?

"Go to sleep, dreams can hold anything!"

Duan Ran closed his eyes and listened to these words, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Yes, go to sleep, you will see this boy tomorrow.

　Due to plot considerations, the Nike Summit was postponed by 20 days and was originally scheduled for April 4.10th.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)