2. GAP(4)
January 28, 2012. Ogden, Utah. Kingston Drive.
The first thing I noticed from Ogden was how pleasant it was.
In the open field, I could see the Wasatch Mountains and the blue skies had beautiful clouds scattered throughout it. As I took a big breath of air in, I felt the crisp, cool air clean my whole inner body.
David and I went jogging early in the morning and then came back home. A face I didn't recognize approached the doors.
"Huh? Who's this?"
A man with a muscular body reached under the front entrance mat and found a key.
As he entered the house, he looked back at us who were in the yard finishing up the run.
"(Hey.)"
"(Do you live here?)"
"(Yep. I guess you guys are the new family members Stanley was talking about?)"
Did he just mention Stanley's name?
As the man walked into the house, David and I followed close behind. Since we were running in below-zero temperatures, showering up was the top priority. If I were to catch a cold, there will be too many disruptions to our schedule.
As the man grabbed a milk from the fridge and poured it into his bowl of cereal, he put his hand out for a handshake. It seemed like he was a sociable person.
"(It's nice to meet you, I'm Barron. Just call me "Double B".)"
"(It seems like you're the owner of the room on the second floor?)"
"(Well, yeah. In order to help students who are going through financial struggles, Stanley lets me stay here for free.)"
That's also what I heard at dinner last night.
I asked Stanley questions that made me curious about him and one of them was about the empty rooms on the second floor. He told us a few students who were attending WSU were living in the upper rooms.
It seemed quite normal for people to not use the city municipal, but it was another positive point that I learned.
Instead of taking money, Stanley used a different type of currency.
Of course, it's slightly different for us athletes.
When we follow the policy of the NCAA, some people may not qualify for a dormitory. If that's the case, we can stay here. I asked him what his fair price was and Stanley said he talked about that in a meeting in the past.
Since the issue of rent was not directly included in the recruiting process, the NCAA thanked Stanley for his decision to do this for the students.
"(Are you guys going out with us this Sunday?)"
"(Probably. Oh, also. I'm David. And this is Kim Minhyuk.)"
"(Hmm. I'll just call him Kim.)"
As he put a spoonful of cereal into his mouth, Barron sat down on the sofa in front of the TV.
As he flipped through the channels, he stopped on an American Football channel. David comfortably sat next to him as they watched it together.
I'm probably the only one who felt a bit awkward?
"What are you doing? Go wash up. What if you catch a cold."
"Huh? Oh yeah."
Yeah. It's probably just me.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Ogden, Utah. Harrison Boulevard. Weber State University.
["(Hey, Double B!)"]
["(Ayyy Big L! Cool?)"]
Leon and Barron's way of greeting each other was quite unique. They were both going to give me a tour of the university.
Instead of simply shaking hands and hugging, they busily moved their hands and did a complicated handshake. It was similar to the one that Miami Heats' Lebron James would do with Mario Chalmers or Norris Cole.
I may be easily impressed by little things, but this honestly impressed me a lot.
["(Alright, we're here. Give me a minute.)"]
As he skillfully parked the car in the parking lot, Leon told me to wait and headed off somewhere. And, as if I was a country boy, I looked around the surroundings.
It seemed like the Weber State University team color was purple. Here and there I noticed flags with a big "W" in gray letters with a purple background. The magnificent view of Ogden mountains in the background of WSU quickly captured my attention.
As the spring quarter began, WSU was bustling with students walking in groups.
American universities usually began in August and continued until December and they called it the "winter semester". After a short winter break, they resumed mid or late January until May, which is called the "spring semester".
I will take the SAT1 in March and will officially begin classes in August.
Of course, I will start basketball right after I take the SAT1. Right now, studying and English were the most important thing for me to do. When it comes to training, it only consists of running and light weight training.
In order to keep my basketball skills, Leon will help me out once in a while.
"(Sorry about that. I had to wake up my girlfriend. I'm addicted to Talisha's butt.)"
"Hahahaha."
It seemed that Leon forgot at times that I can't completely understand what he was saying.
"(Good. Shall we head out?)"
*TAP*
It seemed like Leon was quite popular in WSU.
Both guys and girls would greet him, at times wondering who this Asian guy following him around was. Most people didn't even notice me there.
"(Oh. Here he comes.)"
"Huh?"
"(Since David's not here I figured you'd need someone to translate for you.)"
We stopped in front of a red-bricked wall and Leon pointed to a blonde-haired guy and talked.
Did he say translate?
"(Kim? This is Garrick. Garrick? Meet Kim.)"
"Bangap. Seubnida. (It's nice to meet you.)"
"Huh? Korean?"
"I study a little bit of Korean. So, I know a little."
Gerrick had a Korean girlfriend who he planned to marry after graduating. He even traveled to Korea a few times, he said he liked Busan and Jinju the most.
"In Jinju, the food is really good."
"Hahaha. I've never been there, so I don't really know."
As we conversed like that, I looked around.
Because Leon and Gerrick were both very nice guys, I couldn't wait to experience WSU as a student.
"(Cool, should we head to the basketball court?)"
Since it was in the middle of the season, the WSU team was in the middle of practice. For the first time, I would be able to see first-hand what level American college teams are at.
My heart was beating so fast, I couldn't wait much longer.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When I was younger, the NBA was a stage that I could only dream of being on.
Michael Jordan wasn't of my generation, neither was L.A Lakers' Shaq or Kobe, or when the "beat L.A" chants were famous. I was too young at that time.
I am the generation of when Lebron James invaded Detroit, the superstar Big 3's Boston Celtics, or NBA's most historic team, San Antonio Spurs.
As I began playing basketball at an international level, the more I played, the more the NBA seemed to be like a huge wall.
After winning on the Boston Celtics, Kevin Garnett yelled out "everything is possible!" to the crowds. But that almost felt like a lie to me. The NBA's slogan "Where Amazing Happens" seemed to be false.
And today, for the first time ever, watched how someone who was closest to the NBA-level would play like.
"(Very good! Good job, D!)"
Damian Lillard was most likely going to be nominated for the 2012 draft lottery.
The NBA has 30 different teams and the 14 teams that are eliminated during playoffs get their turn for the draft according to their grades in reverse order. This is called a draft lottery.
Therefore, Lillard will most likely be nominated in at least one of the 14.
"Whew, sorry. We're a bit late, huh?"
"…"
"Hey. What are you doing?"
David took a little longer to find WSU because he was busy taking care of things we needed.
I felt a little sorry for him, but I couldn't take my eyes off of Lillard. Rather than it being a team training day, it was more of an individual conditioning day.
After warming up a bit, Lillard lightly shot the ball a few times to control his pace. Afterward, he spent time with the coach to practice dribbling. It couldn't even be compared to the dribbling practice we would do in Korea.
He would dribble 3 balls in total, using both hands, passing one to the coach simultaneously. As if he put glue on his hands, Lillard did not lose the balls even once.
Afterward, he practiced his forward movement with a defense player or practiced his jump shots.
"Amazing."
"Hmm?"
"Seriously, wow. He's really good."
Lillard was the real deal.
What I was saying is, he made the players I met in California seem like little kids. Of course, Mater Dei and West Chester were high school teams, but there was only a slight difference with WSU.
Then what is this outrageously big gap coming from?
"So, you have to be at that skill level to play for the NBA?"
"Well, Lillard is quite special. He's a lottery player? There are up to 60 people for the draft."
"But still. This is just…"
As David saw that I was at a loss of words, he seemed to have figured out that I was a bit intimidated. So, he began to massage my shoulders, saying that I can grow plenty after 4 years at WSU.
He said compared to everything that I've learned in Korea, I will learn a lot more in just 1 year. He was saying that to make me feel better, but I was still a bit anxious.
"Don't worry too much, Minhyuk."
David told me about Lillard's past.
Before he graduated high school, Lillard was ranked top 48 point guards on ESPN. Not out of all positions, but just point guards. That meant he was graded as an average player.
However, under the Stanley's direction, he was able to unleash his full potential. Right as he was admitted to the school, he gained a starter position in WSU and led them to the conference championships.
Since WSU wasn't considered to be a strong team, it didn't leave a big impact. But Lillard was able to leave a good impression on NBA officials.
David was telling me it would be for my best to trust in Stanley.
"…!!!"
"Huh?"
"Huh??"
Too distracted by watching Lillard practice, we didn't notice Stanley motioning us over to him.
As we saw him motioning us over to him, David and I stood up from the bleachers and walked down to him. All the WSU players and staff were gathered around Stanley.
"(I want to introduce to everyone a new friend of ours. Min. Hyuk?)"
After hearing my names a few times, he properly introduces me by Minhyuk instead of Kim. I was a bit shy at first, but thanks to Leon clapping for me, I was able to muster up some courage.
As Stanley told me to introduce myself, I opened my mouth in front of all the guys staring at me.
"(H-hi. I'm Kim Minhyuk, and I'm from Korea. Uh. I'm very honored to be at WSU.)"
"... (That's it?)"
"Huh? Oh, uh... (I'll do my best!)"
"Hahaha."
As Leon let out a loud, welcoming laugh, the rest of the WSU players clapped and welcomed me to their team. It was common for a student to go abroad to play basketball. As they clapped, the players looked over to Stanley with serious expressions.
Stanley began to deliver a heated speech to hype up his players for their game against Idaho State that will be played later this afternoon, saying that they have to win this game no matter what.
There's a game this afternoon?
"Oh. Did I not tell you? We're going to watch this game later."
"…"
7:00 PM
WSU will be playing against Idaho State, the season's 20th game.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone