I was a top student in America.

Chapter 101: Recommending Someone (Please Subscribe)

In just five minutes, the back-and-forth between offense and defense quickly came to an end.

With the speed boost from [Lightning Speed], Li Ao used both offense and defense to completely overwhelm Jay Chou.

As soon as practice ended, the previously noisy stadium fell silent.

The players who had just been watching the excitement stood on the sidelines, looking at each other with somewhat frozen expressions.

But after a brief silence, someone couldn't help but speak up first, and the sidelines instantly erupted in chaos.

"The captain's defense is too tight! Jaylen couldn't even find a way to shoot."

"Is it just defense? Didn't you guys see those two changes of direction? I feel like his acceleration is much faster than last season!"

"This is unbelievable! I'm a guard who practices dribbling every day, and my first step isn't even as fast as his, a shooter's?"

"That explosive power he used to dribble past someone just now was even more ferocious than Daryl's last year."

"His three-point shooting is accurate enough, but now his driving skills are maxed out? Is our captain going to carry us to new heights this season?"

"It's really frustrating to compare yourself to others. We practiced like crazy all summer, but we still didn't improve as much as others who practiced for three days after coming back."

Li Ao naturally heard all the noisy discussions on the sidelines.

He felt a little guilty thinking that he had inadvertently hurt Jay Chou during training.

However, he didn't show it on his face at all; he just looked calmly at Coach Durant next to him.

"Leo, you gave me a really big surprise today."

Coach Durant looked at him, his tone revealing undisguised satisfaction, "I didn't expect that even after spending the entire summer at the math summer camp, you wouldn't have neglected your physical and technical training. That's an excellent habit; keep it up."

"Thank you, Coach." Li Ao nodded in response.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, he turned around and walked back to the three-point line, bent down to pick up the basketball from the ground, and quietly waited for his teammate to take the court next.

The training proceeded smoothly for the next hour.

The crowd dispersed only after the final whistle blew throughout the stadium.

Li Ao had just changed his clothes and was standing by the bench, stuffing a towel into his backpack in preparation for leaving, when he saw Coach Durant carrying a tactical board and walking towards him.

"Coach." Li Ao stopped zipping up his backpack and greeted him.

Coach Durant nodded and got straight to the point: "Just before the season starts, there's something I'd like to hear your thoughts on. Your first step and penetration ability are far better than I expected. With veterans like Tayshaun and Daryl leaving this season, the team desperately needs an absolute core initiator on the perimeter, and considering everything, I think you're the most suitable."

He paused briefly before offering his plan: "What do you think about changing positions for the new season, switching to point guard?"

Li Ao had long anticipated that the team would change its playing style.

With two key inside players graduating, the existing offensive system definitely needs to be overhauled, and someone is indeed needed to share the responsibility of organizing ball possession.

However, the coach's plan to have him switch positions on the field directly surprised him a little.

After all, he had mainly played shooting guard before, and he had never actually tried playing the traditional point guard position in a regular game.

Li Ao quickly considered the situation in his mind for a few seconds before answering, "I'm fine with being moved to any position as long as the tactics require it."

Anyway, there's still a buffer period before the new season officially starts.

Based on the current intensity of daily training, before that happens, the four basic attributes on the panel might be able to easily break through the 120 mark, and the strength and stamina attributes might also be unlocked at the same time.

By then, even without relying on his academic credentials, his physical attributes alone would make him a top-tier player in his high school league.

Since the physical condition is up to par, changing positions is naturally not a problem.

Seeing that he agreed readily, Coach Durant nodded in satisfaction: "Very good, then the ball possession on the perimeter will be yours next season."

After saying that, he reached out and patted Li Ao on the shoulder, without saying anything more, and turned to walk towards the locker room.

Li Ao zipped up his backpack, casually tucked the copy of "Complex Analysis" lying on the bench next to him into his arm, and turned to walk out of the stadium.

at the same time.

Inside the Mathematics Department office in Eckhart Hall, University of Chicago.

Professor Jensen pulled out his private stash of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans from deep inside the cabinet and poured them into the manual grinder.

As he slowly cranked the handle, he struck up a conversation with an old acquaintance sitting on the sofa.

"I don't have many beans left. I usually don't even drink them myself, but I'm only being generous today because you're here."

"If it were someone else, they would only be able to drink canned instant coffee from a vending machine in the corridor."

In fact, Jason owes his success to Li Ao.

At the IMO competition in Hanoi, Annam, not long ago, if Li Ao hadn't won the gold medal with a perfect score, helping him win the bet with Professor Müller of the German team, the Blue Mountain beer he used as the wager would have changed hands long ago.

As a result, he not only saved the beans, but also managed to trick Muller into having a seafood feast.

"That old man Müller is known in European academic circles as a miser, so it's quite rare that he would treat you to seafood in Hanoi."

Professor Rudy, a physics professor sitting on the sofa, picked up the conversation after hearing this.

He took the freshly brewed hot coffee from Jason, blew on it, took a small sip, and then put down the cup to get straight to the point.

"Alright, I've had my coffee. I don't like beating around the bush, so let's get straight to the point."

Professor Rudy leaned back on the sofa. "I came here today mainly to borrow some people from you. Recommend two of your PhD students who work on convex analysis and numerical computation. Our project is stuck and we urgently need some mathematical help."

He looked at his old friend: "This little favor shouldn't be too much trouble for you, right?"

Just as Jason brought the cup to his lips, he paused slightly upon hearing this.

He casually put the cup back on the coffee table and cleared his throat: "The doctoral students in our group are also extremely busy right now. Besides, they also have to teach undergraduate courses as teaching assistants this semester. If they also have to help out in your physics department, I'm afraid the progress of both will be affected."

"But I have competitors for this project, and time is tight," Professor Rudy persisted in reminding me.

Seeing his old friend's anxious and agitated appearance, Jason pondered for a few seconds and came up with an idea.

"How about this," he stood up and slowly walked towards his desk, "I'll recommend someone else to you."

Professor Rudy stared suspiciously at his retreating figure, then quickly added, "You're not talking about David Walsh, are you? That kid's not good enough; he'd just be a waste of time—"