The longest river

Chapter 34 Decision 1
After the first practice match, Yang Shuai and Garnett sat on the sidelines, drenched in sweat.

The game was over after Yang Shuai uttered that outdated trash talk to Jordan.

Garnett looked at Yang Shuai, wanting to say something, but then hesitated and didn't speak. After all, it was impossible for the two high school students to beat the Bulls' twin stars.

Moreover, it was Pippen who started trash-talking first, and Yang Shuai was just responding.

Yang Shuai looked toward the side where Jordan and the others were sitting, his face full of worry.

However, what he was worried about was completely different from what Garnett was worried about.

What worries him is that he only scored 1008 points in this practice match!
Yes, those were the points Jordan contributed the moment he was provoked.

Before that, there was none more.

It's not that his trash-talking skills are bad, but rather that everyone actually has a negative energy threshold.

That threshold is relatively low for ordinary people, but it's very high for Jordan.

This is because Jordan had won a three-peat before retiring, and still felt that basketball no longer posed a challenge to him.

Even the Chicago Bulls erected a statue in his honor at the entrance of the United Center, titled "Unprecedented."

For someone like that, it's difficult for them to have emotional fluctuations if you can't put pressure on them on the court.

"Isn't that Joe Dumars?"

Just then, Garnett followed Yang Shuai's gaze and spotted a familiar figure. It was someone who hadn't played before and must have arrived at the arena midway through a practice game.

"Dumars?" Yang Shuai looked at the man chatting happily with Jordan with a puzzled expression. "Isn't that Jordan's enemy?"

If Yang Shuai remembers correctly, Dumars wanted to join the Dream Team because of Jordan, but he couldn't.

“…That’s Isaiah Thomas, Dumars’ backcourt partner,” Garnett remarked.

Yang Shuai was a little confused. How could these two be on the same team and have such similar names?

"Although Joe was also on that Pistons team back then, and was the main defender against Michael, they were very good friends in private." Garnett's knowledge of the NBA was obviously much greater than Yang Shuai's.

In other words, Jordan and Dumars became friends after a falling out.

Yang Shuai nodded; he had certainly learned something new.

As they were talking, they noticed that Dumars had finished his conversation with Jordan and was walking straight towards them.

“Children.” Amidst their questioning gazes, Dumas walked over and sat down beside them.

"You just faced off against Sticco Pippen and Michael Jordan, the best duo in the league. You should be ready to play in the league."

These unexpected words stunned both Yang Shuai and Garnett.

"What did you say?" Yang Shuai was the first to react.

“Kids,” Dumars repeated, his eyes widening this time, “you’re ready to play in the league.”

"My God! Seriously, Joe, are you serious?" Garnett stammered after realizing what was happening.

“Yes, I really mean it.” Dumas’s words were calm, yet they seemed to convey a surging, powerful force.
"So, are you ready? Ready to join the alliance?"

Yang Shuai and Garnett were both incredibly excited, because this was the most direct affirmation from an NBA star.

But neither of them answered, because this was not something that could be decided in an instant.

Just then, Pippen arrived beside them.

"Are you still fighting?"

Although Yang Shuai and his team lost the practice match just now, it was clear that Pippen's opinion of them had changed.

Yang Shuai didn't say anything, and simply stood up.

"Come on!" Garnett also clenched his fist and stood up, Dumars' words made his blood boil.

after an hour.

Yang Shuai and Garnett left the training facility.

They still couldn't beat the Bulls' duo, but Yang Shuai did receive a "not bad" evaluation from Jordan after the game.

Yes, and Yang Shuai also got more than 3,000 points from Pippen after switching targets.

It's much easier to make Pippen generate negative energy than Jordan.

After all, last season, Pippen refused to play because Phil Jackson didn't give him the chance to make the game-winning shot, which ended up being incredibly embarrassing.

Of course, these were not their biggest takeaways from the trip.

"Hansen, I'm not going to college." After boarding the bus, Garnett suddenly turned to Yang Shuai excitedly and said.

"Didn't you say you were going to the University of Michigan?"

When Garnett first said that his idol was Webber, he mentioned that he wanted to go to the University of Michigan, where Webber played.

“Dreams can change.” Garnett seemed to have made up his mind. “The new dream is one that I can grasp right now.”

"Oh~" he said, looking completely relaxed, and couldn't help but let out a comfortable moan.

"I no longer have to worry about exams. To hell with the SAT, to hell with the ACT, to hell with the AP!"

Garnett was letting loose with his emotions, completely ignoring the strange looks he was getting from the other passengers on the bus.

Looking at Garnett's somewhat erratic behavior, and recalling how he had first met Garnett, Yang Shuai felt that Garnett's choice might be a good thing for him. So, should he take it too?
He originally came to Chicago to see what Garnett would choose.

He has seen it now, but his question remains unanswered.

After all, Garnett was a big man, and good big men are highly sought after in this era.

Yang Shuai is a guard. Looking at the entire history of the NBA, very few high school guards are drafted, and none of them have made a name for themselves in the league.

As for Kobe and McGrady, that came later.

That evening, Garnett took Yang Shuai to a pizzeria called Lou Malnati's and treated him to a "deep-dish pizza," a quintessential Chicago specialty.

Its crust is as thick as a finger, and the filling is layered with a large amount of mozzarella cheese, meat sauce and other ingredients.

One bite and I already felt full.

"I often eat here; it's delicious and inexpensive." Garnett couldn't wait to dig in.

At 18, he not only had to earn money to support himself but also take care of his younger sister, making life quite difficult for him in Chicago.

"Kevin, are you really sure?" After the two had finished eating and drinking, Yang Shuai asked Garnett to confirm.

They had just come out of the training facility, and at that moment, Dumas's words had made them unusually excited, just like when he had just finished chatting with Vaccaro.

However, the real answer to these questions can only be known after calming down.

Garnett nodded with absolute certainty.

Nothing in this world is difficult if you are willing to give up. After discovering that he no longer needed to worry about exams, he regained his ease and confidence.

"Would you feel regret if you hadn't gone to university?" Yang Shuai then asked.

“Going to university is for learning, but university is not the only place to receive learning. I have always been learning. For open-minded people, you can learn anywhere.”

Garnett's answer surprised Yang Shuai.

After thinking for a while, Yang Shuai nodded. From a purely academic point of view, at worst they could go to university after retiring; it was just a matter of shifting their studies to a different stage of life.

“I don’t need to follow the template of what a 20-year-old should do, I don’t need to follow those old-fashioned ideas,” Garnett said, beginning to take a more serious stance.

Yang Shuai knew that those were all reasons Garnett used to convince himself.

“I felt I was right,” Garnett finally convinced himself. “My gut told me so.”

Yang Shuai left Chicago the following morning.

He still had some hesitation, but he was certain that if he chose not to go to university and went straight to running for office, he would not be alone.

Vaccaro didn't rush Yang Shuai, since there's still some time before the draft and there's still plenty of time.

Time flies, and it's already early February.

Thanks to two steak meals and Yang Shuai's attention to getting along with his teammates, Cleveland High School continued their winning streak in the regional competition.

This strength has given them a "champion's look," and Cleveland High School is widely considered to be a strong contender for this year's Ohio 4A championship.

However, it was at this time that Yang Shuai's life, or more accurately, Rondo's family, encountered a major change: Robert Rondo lost his job.

This is hardly an accident; as a city experiencing industrial decline, worker unemployment is all too common in Cleveland.

Robert was able to work in the machine tool factory because he worked harder than other Black people.

However, factories will not receive more orders because of the efforts of individual workers, and even the situation of individual factories can hardly stop the general trend.

In short, Robert lost his job and is finding it difficult to find stable employment like before.

Although the hardworking Robert went out to find odd jobs, the Long family's income plummeted.

Lin Xiulan also had to take on an additional part-time job to support her family.

The most direct point is that when Yang Shuai went out, he could no longer see Lin Xiulan; he could only see the breakfast and note she left on the table.

In fact, during this period of time, in order to recruit Yang Shuai to their university, the university coaches and admissions officers of Longjia University have been visiting one after another.

Although the NCAA has explicit rules that student-athletes cannot receive any fees other than scholarships, the saying "where there's a will, there's a way" applies everywhere.

If you can't give money to the players, then give it to their parents?

If you can't give money, how about giving something else, like a car, gift cards, or other gifts?

But Lin Xiulan rejected all of these offers.

Despite their flowery words and nonchalant attitude, she knew that if she accepted the gifts and Yang Shuai ultimately didn't go to their school, it would cause him a lot of trouble.

It is not uncommon for NCAA players to be suspended after being exposed for accepting bribes.

So when worry began to creep onto the faces of the Long family members, Yang Shuai finally made a decision.

In his New York apartment, Yang Shuai met Vaccaro again.

This time, Vaccaro changed his outfit and wore a well-fitting suit.

That made him look less fat, but also more like a mafia member.

Without much small talk, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Yang Shuai announced his decision.

He was prepared to accept Vaccaro's advice to skip college and enter the 1995 NBA draft directly from high school.

(End of this chapter)