The longest river

Chapter 14 Double Happiness
"Can AAU teams participate across state lines?" Yang Shuai's understanding of AAU came from Johnson, who described that AAU teams could only participate in competitions within their own state.

"Teams may not be able to participate, but individuals can. As long as you receive an invitation from a team, you can compete across state lines."

Yang Shuai nodded thoughtfully. That made sense, since the level of basketball varied from state to state, but the emergence of geniuses was random.

Without such rules, some geniuses would easily be buried.

"So how do I get an invitation?" Yang Shuai then asked a more practical question.

If the media doesn't pay attention to him, coaches from other states are even less likely to do so, since forming an AAU team would definitely prioritize players from their own state.

“I can help you.” Paul leaned forward.

"How to help?"

“I can film your training and matches, then edit them into videotapes and send them to those coaches.”

Yang Shuai stroked his chin. In the days before the internet was widespread, videotapes were indeed the most effective tool, but...

"Why are you helping me?"

Yang Shuai doesn't think that investing so much is just because he's optimistic about the team. After all, Paul is a scout and has his own job, and following him requires a lot of time, not to mention the cost of filming equipment.

“I want ownership of those videos. If you ever make it to the NBA, it could make me a lot of money.”

Yang Shuai was stunned when he heard this.

It wasn't because of Paul's shrewdness, because he had sensed Paul's abilities from the moment he met him, but because of Paul's honesty.

Paul did not choose to deceive him because he was a high school student, but instead offered a straightforward exchange of benefits.

"I need to think about it." Yang Shuai did not agree immediately.

"Of course, this is no small matter. You can contact me anytime once you've made your decision."

Not long after lunch, Johnson returned, and they then visited St. John's Arena, Ohio University's existing basketball court.

This is an old stadium built in 1956. Although it is old, it can accommodate 13,000 people.

When they arrived, the Ohio University players were training there, and they sat on the sidelines and watched for a while.

When Yang Shuai came out of the stadium, his face was full of confidence.

He felt that he could play for the Ohio University basketball team right now.

On the way back, Johnson and Yang Shuai talked about AAU.

It turns out that the friend he had lunch with was a high school coach in Athens and a former player for Ohio University, who was preparing to form a team to participate in the Ohio AAU tournament this summer.

If Yang Shuai hadn't spoken to Paul, she would have been very excited to hear this news, because Johnson had fulfilled all the promises he had made to him before.

"I want to play AAU in California or Texas." After hesitating for a long time, Yang Shuai finally expressed his thoughts. It was about the ranking, and this was not the time to be shy.

Johnson was surprised by Yang Shuai's response and pulled over to the side of the road.

He looked at Yang Shuai and then reminded him, "Now that you're gradually gaining fame, it's hard to guarantee that there won't be people with ill intentions approaching you, trying to use you to make money. You need to be careful to distinguish them."

Yang Shuai nodded; Johnson's reminder was correct.

He didn't hide anything and then recounted his conversation with Paul in detail.

Johnson fell into a long silence after listening.

Yang Shuai didn't say anything more at this point. If Johnson insisted that he play in the state AAU competition, then he could only consider going out to play next year. After all, Johnson was his coach, and the help he had given him along the way was real.

“I’ll try to contact the coaches over there for you,” Johnson finally said a few minutes later.

Yang Shuai thought he had misheard. Johnson had not only agreed, but was also prepared to help?
"I can help with the food and accommodation expenses, but if you're playing at a school in another state, you'll need to take time off and train with them to get more playing time."

Yang Shuai fell into deep thought upon hearing this. Paul's suggestion was in the right direction, but the training and learning issues that Johnson mentioned were also very real.

“But you don’t need to worry too much. If it doesn’t work this year, there’s always next year. I’ll always keep the option of playing for the state AAU for you.” Johnson noticed the change in Yang Shuai’s mood.

"Thank you, sir." Yang Shuai nodded vigorously.

Just as he sensed from the beginning, Johnson was the kind of good coach who would genuinely consider the development of his players.

After returning to Cleveland, Yang Shuai used Johnson's phone to call Paul and tell him that he had agreed to the decision.

"I'll be in Cleveland tomorrow." Paul is all about efficiency.

Paul's arrival brought about significant changes in Yang Shuai's life.

At first, he was very uncomfortable with a camera next to him, always feeling like he was being spied on, and he couldn't fully concentrate on training.

From this perspective, those top reality TV stars are quite something; they can make you feel like the camera isn't even there.

Later, Paul gave Yang Shuai a suggestion: instead of pretending the camera didn't exist, Yang Shuai should treat the camera as a person and greet it proactively.

This trick worked! Yang Shuai not only lost his discomfort, but was also able to show his outgoing personality in front of the camera.

As filming progressed, Paul's opinion of Yang Shuai grew stronger. Time flew by, and it was now March.

Cleveland High School achieved a record of 20 wins and 4 losses in the regional competition. Combined with their performance in the regional preliminaries, they ultimately ranked sixth among all teams and successfully advanced to the tournament.

This is absolutely thrilling news for Cleveland High School fans.

The struggles at the beginning of the season made them think they were definitely out of the tournament, but unexpectedly, their final results this year were even better than last year.

All of this is naturally thanks to Yang Shuai's meteoric rise.

他场均能够贡献22.5分6.2板2.5助攻2.8盖帽，三项命中率分别达到48%、41%和81%。

Although his performance declined somewhat in the later stages of the season due to targeted attacks from opponents, it was still quite impressive for a rookie in his first year in the NSAA league.

Even the media finally put him on the list before the regional competition ended, ranking him 120th in the class of 1995.

Although he made the list and was even rated a three-star high school student, this was just one place higher than Booth, which is enough to prove what Paul said before.

To quickly improve his ranking, he needs to play in high-profile states and get into the media spotlight.

It was at this moment that Paul brought him some good news.

Thaddeus of Inglewood is very interested in him and will come to watch Yang Shuai's game next week.

“Los Angeles?” Yang Shuai didn’t know much about American geography, but he had heard of Inglewood in his previous life because the Clippers’ home arena, the Dome Arena, which Ballmer built at great expense, was located there.

"Yes, Thaddeus is going to form a team to compete in the AAU Championship in Las Vegas. It's a sponsored event, and the sponsor will cover all the travel expenses."

Paul's answer surprised Yang Shuai. He thought he would be participating in the AAU in California, but it turned out he was going to go to Las Vegas again.

However, if it's a sponsored event, the exposure will be even greater.

So this should be considered great news that exceeded expectations.

Of course, this is all predicated on Thaddeus being willing to take a liking to him.

A week later, the NSAA 4A Championship officially kicked off.

The tournament consists of two matches per day, lasting six days in total, and takes place at St. John's Stadium, the home stadium of Ohio State University.

Their opponent in the Cleveland High School quarterfinals is John Hay High School, ranked third and also from the Cleveland region, led by Ruben Paterson.

Patterson was ranked 96th in the national high school class of 1994. He was 1.93 meters tall barefoot and weighed 95 kilograms. He not only had excellent physical qualities, but also very mature skills.

This is a challenge for Yang Shuai, but she seemed very excited before the match.

Since Thaddeus had already arrived at the venue, he sat in the front row of the audience with Paul.

He was a middle-aged Black man wearing black-rimmed glasses and with a very kind face.

However, Yang Shuai knew very well that a high school coach who could become the head coach of an AAU tournament team was not someone who could be easily moved.

At the start of the game, Yang Shuai showed a strong offensive desire, driving into the paint of John High School and dunking for a score.

Patterson quickly responded with a mid-range jump shot after a sudden stop.

The match quickly turned into a fierce battle of offense between the two.

At halftime, the two teams were tied at 40-40. Patterson had 21 points, and Yang Shuai had 20 points.

The fans at the stadium were thrilled, and Thaddeus couldn't help but nod in approval.

Although Patterson's national ranking wasn't much higher than Yang Shuai's, he was a year older than Yang Shuai.

The fact that Yang Shuai can hold his own in an offensive battle is enough to demonstrate his potential.

The tournament was a single-elimination format. In the second half, both teams began to increase their defensive efforts. John High School opted to double-team Yang Shuai, while Cleveland High School switched Yang Shuai to guard Patterson.

This adjustment resulted in Cleveland High School gradually taking control of the game.

When facing double teams, Yang Shuai can use his excellent off-ball skills to find scoring opportunities, but Patterson, on the other hand, struggles a bit against Yang Shuai's defense.

When Patterson had the ball high up the field, Yang Shuai used his speed advantage to put enough pressure on the ball, forcing Patterson to break through.
When Patterson tries to attack with his back to the basket or directly in the low post, Yang Shuai will use fronting to limit his ability to receive the ball and remove him from the bench to limit his performance.

It can be said that Yang Shuai has brought his basketball IQ to its fullest potential.

Of course, this was also closely related to Luther's repeated challenges to him, which allowed him to accumulate a wealth of defensive experience.

Thaddeus was already sitting up straight with his eyes shining.

Generally speaking, edited videotapes tend to amplify a player's abilities because they only show the player's best moments, which is why he needs to come to the site to observe.

But Yang Shuai looks even better than he does on the videotape.

最终，杨帅得到36分10板3助攻2抢断5盖帽，帮助克利夫兰高中以68比61完成以下克上，成功晋级锦标赛四强。

After the match, Thaddeus first came down and chatted with Johnson for a while, then turned around and smiled, extending his hand to Yang Shuai:
"Welcome to Team Gestalt."

(End of this chapter)