Champion, please stay!

Chapter 3.3. He's definitely just putting on an act.

Suppressing the urge to celebrate after a training session, Yi Shui slung her backpack over her shoulder and left the gymnasium.

The opportunity to make up for the deficit has finally come, so don't ruin it yourself.

Back in his dorm, he saw that his roommate's door was open and another friend, Yad, was there too. He greeted him and then went back to his room for a quick shower.

Jeff Yad, a white high school player, ranked 72nd in the nation in the class of 2005. He is 2 meters tall, about 6 centimeters shorter than Robinson, but weighs 113 kilograms, more than ten kilograms heavier than Robinson. He plays power forward and even occasionally plays center.

Yi Shui also remembered Yad, who played in the CBA and NBL years later. He saw the name 'Jeff Yad' in sports news in 2021. Due to force majeure, Yad terminated his contract with the team.

In his memory, he met Yad, who was invited to the interview, in the first half of 2005 when he was still in preparatory school. When they joined the team in the fall semester, they learned that they were studying at the same campus, so they often hung out together. Later, in May of last year, during the freshman trial, they met Robinson, a genius high school student.

Five minutes later, the three of them left the dormitory together and headed to the family restaurant. The three of them going out together were quite eye-catching, with three different skin tones: yellow, white, and black. They were all tall, with the shortest one standing at 5 meters barefoot, attracting a lot of attention.

On the way, Yad asked the same question Robinson had asked that afternoon: "Brook, I didn't expect you to actually start working hard again. You should have done this a long time ago. Look at you, you trained all day today, so tired, but you look more energetic than before... But I'm curious, what triggered you?"

Robinson quickly replied, "He said he's worried about being fired by the team next season."

Yad didn't believe it: "He would worry about that? He was put on the reserve list for those two games, but he still went out with his senior at night."

"Oh right, but what else could it be?"

Yad speculated, "Is he exhausted? Is he too weak to perform and the girl he was dating rejected him?"

Robinson thought for a moment and then denied it: "That probably isn't right either. Those two girls wanted to ask him out on his birthday... Brooke, I'm also very curious, what exactly triggered you?"

Yi Shui rolled her eyes. Just like she remembered, no matter what the topic was, it would become inappropriate in Ya De's mouth.

No, as the eldest of the three, he has to deliver a dose of positive energy!

"It's nothing really, it's just that I'm already 20 years old, and I feel that I have to start thinking about the future and can't waste any more time."

"Thinking about the future?" Yad joked, "Working so hard, spending every day on the playground, not even going out to pick up girls, do you really want to play in the NBA?"

Yi Shui answered without hesitation, "Why not?"

When Yad, who was joking around, saw Yi Shui's serious face, he was stunned for a moment.

He was once among the top 100 high school students in the United States and was confident that he would definitely make it to the NBA, but he realized his 'mediocre' nature after entering college.

There are 100 top high school players every year, but the NBA draft only has 60 picks, and talented players from other countries are also competing for those spots.

He's the kind of person who lives for the moment, with a very divergent mindset and prone to anxiety. After a period of internal conflict, he made peace with himself and stopped making playing in the NBA his sole pursuit in his basketball career. Right now, he plays for the pure love of the game, and it would be best if he could make it to the NBA in the future. It doesn't matter where he plays basketball.

This relieved him of extra pressure, made him enjoy playing basketball even more, and improved his performance on the court. In his sophomore season, he showed signs of taking off, averaging 11 points and 7 rebounds per game.

After regaining his composure, Yad made a 'stop the car' gesture and said, "Brook, what you said has gotten me a little excited."

"How will you know it won't work if you don't try? What if your dream comes true?"

"speak English!"

Yi Shui said helplessly, "Fine, I don't like Dyson and want to take back the starting position."

Yad felt the vague sense of distance that had just formed vanish instantly. Leaning back in his chair, he said, "That Dyson guy is really annoying. Starting position, if you want, we'll help you take it back, right, Stanley?"

Robinson nodded in agreement with Yad, but he felt that Yi Shui's "why not?" seemed to be serious.

...

Yi Shui ate significantly more than usual tonight. He didn't know if it was just psychological, but after activating his 'secondary development,' he felt hungrier and had a larger appetite.

After dinner, he and the two returned to the school together and went to Yad's room.

His room was practically bare, like a bare shell. Robinson's room had a refrigerator, a washing machine, and a vase on the windowsill, so it was fully furnished. Yad, on the other hand, was a different story. He had paid for the renovation himself and bought a refrigerator, a color TV, an air conditioner, and everything else, making it a truly luxurious single room.

Yad had already prepared snacks and drinks, and the three of them sat on the bed watching the talent show live.

Just as Yi Shui remembered, the Trail Blazers used their first overall pick to select Oden, and the SuperSonics used their second overall pick to select Durant. Everyone had already guessed the result, and even the TV commentators didn't try to create any suspense.

However, Yad and Robinson had a heated argument.

Robinson: "Durant is the best one. If Oden were replaced by him, the Buckeyes would definitely not lose to the Giallorossi!"

Yad: "Durant went home crying when he faced Horford and Noah, while Oden, with an injured hand, still dominated both of them. It was only because Conley held him back that the Buckeyes lost."

Robinson: "Without Conley, Oden would have lost to Hibbert long ago. In that game, Conley scored 7 consecutive points in the final moments, which allowed the Buckeyes to successfully reverse the situation against the Amazings. If Durant had Conley's passing, his team's record would definitely be better than Oden's!"

This little black guy with a great memory started listing the data! Unable to argue further, Yad turned to his foreign aid: "Brook, who do you think is better, Oden or Durant?"

Yi Shui knew about the two men's future, but he knew they wouldn't believe him if he told them. So he replied, "Actually, I prefer Brewer."

Robinson: "Why? Is he comparable to Durant?"

Yi Shui: "He's the MOP, the ultimate winner."

Robinson: "Noah was also the MOP! Last year's."

Yi Shui: "I also like Noah, but I like Brewer's victorious smile even more." Yad retorted: "When the Spurs won the championship, your favorite player was Duncan; when the Heat won the championship, your favorite player was Wade; now that the Spurs have won the championship again, your favorite NBA player has become Parker, right?"

At that moment, boos came from the television. The three knew that Stern was on stage again. They looked at the television, and the first suspenseful order of succession was about to begin.

Just as Yi Shui remembered, Horford beat Conley to become the third overall pick, while Conley and Jeff Green were selected fourth and fifth, respectively.

This time, Yad and Robinson didn't argue; on the contrary, they were both happy. As long as Jeff Green was ranked last, they didn't care how the first two were ranked, because their Huskies and the Amazings were the number one rivals in the Big East Conference.

Upon hearing "from China" at the 6th pick, Yad exclaimed, "Brook, a player from your country got selected! Do you know him? Hey! You both have the last name Yi, and he's a year younger than you? Could he be your younger brother?!"

"I wish I had a younger brother who plays in the NBA. I know him, but he doesn't know me. He's a member of our national team."

Is he good?

"Compared to you? He's much better."

Yad retorted angrily, "Nonsense! He's an NBA lottery pick. I'm asking about his comparison to Horford and Noah!"

“They are not the same type of player. Horford is an all-around center, Noah is a defensive pure center, and Yi is not a mainstream center. He can shoot three-pointers like Nowitzki, mid-range shots like Garnett, and also score in the paint like Bosh by relying on his agility and jumping ability…” Yi Shui tried his best to demonstrate his language skills.

The long list of superstar names left Adler and Robinson bewildered and impressed.

...

While the trio of Yellow, White, and Black were watching the draft live and bragging, the core four-person coaching staff in the Husky team's head coach's office in the gymnasium of the College of Education at Cornell University's main campus were also watching the draft live, as is their custom every year.

It's just not that exciting to watch. Last year, they had four players selected in the first round and two in the second round, enjoying great success. This year, they don't even have a single player registered for the draft.

Correspondingly, at this time last year, they recruited six top 6 high school students in the United States, but this year they didn't recruit a single one. The last time they were this bad was 19 years ago.

Because of their terrible record this season, with 11 former top 100 high school players on their 16-man roster, they failed to even make it into the third season of the Madness tournament or the loser's bracket, causing the talented high school players to lose faith in them.

For the past three months, head coach Jim Calhoun has traveled all over the United States, only to be met with rejection after rejection.

However, unlike his subordinates who were so dejected, he said, "Don't cry over the spilled milk anymore. Even if we didn't sign the players we wanted, we need to focus on the work ahead. Jerry, how did the trials go? Kevin, are your meetings progressing? Lyon, how are the players doing lately…"

Jim Calhoun, head coach of the Huskies, is one of the most successful head coaches in the NCAA over the past decade. He led the Huskies to the NCAA championship twice, in 99 and 04. After the 04 Olympics, he represented American college basketball coaches in a Sino-US basketball exchange in Shanghai. In 05, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as an active coach.

Aside from his white hair, he doesn't look like someone in his sixties at all. This might be related to his being Black; he looked very old when he was young, but he doesn't look old as he gets older.

His youthful appearance is also related to his mindset. He is straightforward, magnanimous, and bold. More than 20 years ago, when the Big East Conference was dominated by the Georgetown Amazings, he took over the Husky team, which had not made a third-year Madness for 20 consecutive years and had only made less than 5 third-year Madness experiences in its history. His first goal was to end the Amazings. Everyone laughed at him at the time, but he did it.

His spirit once again inspired his subordinates.

Lead assistant coach Jerry Cook, scouting director Kevin Ollie, and player development coach Leon Clark reported to the head coach on their respective tasks.

Neither of the first two brought any good news, which was expected by Calhoun. Their poor performance last season had a huge impact on their recruitment of new students and their contact with young talents.

Clark, who isn't in charge of external affairs, brought good news: "Hashim (Thabite) and Jeff (Yard) have made great progress in the last few months, and they will definitely surprise us in the new season! I think they will surpass the Marvel Cinematic Universe's twin towers (Roy Hibbert and Patrick Ewing Jr.) in the future. After the holiday next month, I plan to take them to train with Emeka (Okafor).

AJ (Price) has improved a lot in both passing and shooting. He spends his weekends playing in various games in the park, and he plans to travel with an amateur team in New York during the summer break. I suggest giving him more opportunities in the preseason next season; he has the ability to be the starting point guard.

Speaking of these people, especially the Twin Towers, the atmosphere was noticeably better.

Jerry Cook was happy but also regretful: "If Brook hadn't had problems, we definitely wouldn't have collapsed last season, and we wouldn't be under so much pressure to recruit new players now. Our perimeter is too weak. At point guard and small forward, we still have AJ and Stanley (Robinson) to look forward to. At shooting guard, we only have Jerome (Dyson) with the ability to be a starter, but his playing style is too selfish and he is not suitable to be a starter."

Calhoun felt immense sorrow when the Yi River was mentioned.

In the first half of the 05-06 season, he worried that Yi Shui would just use college as a stepping stone like Gay did, and then quit after a year or two.

As the 5th overall pick in the 2004 national high school draft and the Big East Conference Freshman of the Year in his freshman year, Guy wanted to enter the draft early in 2005. However, because there were more than 20 top 100 high school players in the draft that year, he was worried about falling out of the lottery and played for an extra year.

Yi Shui's performance in the first half of his freshman season was no worse than Gay's. Based on Calhoun's understanding of Yi Shui's family's financial situation and his knowledge of student athletes in the United States, he believed that Yi Shui was very likely to leave campus early to earn money in the professional arena.

Now we don't have to worry about Yi Shui leaving university early; he's almost wasting away on those fleshy, bony bellies.

Before Calhoun could vent his anger as usual, Leon Clarke chimed in, "Speaking of Brooke, I heard something interesting from Jeff."

Calhoun said irritably, "What's so interesting? Which famous female college student has he hooked up with this time? Or is he taking on several women at once again?"

Clark denied it, saying, "No, when I went to see Jeff at noon, I happened to see Brooke working out at the gym in Stanford. Jeff told me that Brooke has been working out every day recently and hasn't been to any parties for a while. He works out from morning till night every day."

Calhoun raised an eyebrow and continued in a disdainful tone, "He's definitely just putting on an act. Jeff's in cahoots with him, so of course he'll speak up for him. He's been put on the waiting list because he's afraid of being kicked out of the team and losing his scholarship..."

At this point, Calhoun paused. In order to bring Yi Shui to the United States, he promised Yi Shui's parents that as long as Yi Shui's basketball skills improved to their satisfaction while he was in preparatory school, he would directly sign a four-year full basketball scholarship contract, and he actually did sign it. This became one of the reasons why Yi Shui indulged himself without any scruples.

Clark laughed and said, "Whether he's just putting on an act or not, I'll know after observing him more. Even if he's just afraid of being kicked out of the team, as long as he starts working hard again, that's a good thing, isn't it? I don't expect him to improve, as long as he can get back to the level he was at when he first entered college, the shooting guard position won't be a burden."

Don't try to guess what a person is thinking, but observe what they do. Calhoun, who lived for over 60 years, strongly agreed with this statement.

"Alright, let's observe him for a while..."

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(End of this chapter)