Capítulo 26: 25. Don't worry, our basketball team doesn't do that.
It was just past 6 a.m. when Zhang Yang woke up from his sleep.
As usual, he planned to stay in bed for another six minutes, waiting for the alarm to ring before getting up to train and prepare for the new semester by buying some essential study materials and stationery.
Although he was prepared to follow the path of a student athlete, he still needed to ensure basic academic performance; being too poor was unacceptable, as the NCAA had certain academic requirements.
Moreover, what if he regained his interest in studying while in high school? After all, his study mindset was different; in his previous high school life, everyone kept telling him, "Struggle hard for three years, and life will be easier afterward," but now there was no academic pressure.
Just as he had slumped back for two minutes, he suddenly sat up and looked at the digital clock on the bedside table that displayed the date, August 11, 2003.
"A week's worth of trials, and it's only been one night?"
He actively tried to recall the journey of trials. Although he couldn't remember the details because they had occurred 'in the past few days,' he could recall roughly what he had done and even some interesting little things.
But when he didn't actively try to think about it, those memories wouldn't spontaneously surface; the 'last night' he thought of was the night he had fallen asleep curious about what the trial would be like.
This sensation, like forgetting a beautiful dream, made Zhang Yang feel a hint of loss but also relieved him somewhat.
He had initially been worried that 'two lifetimes' might affect his normal routine, but it appeared he had been overly concerned.
However, he did remember some things—Steve Nash's ball-handling training content, the tactical details about him in the Gentry version of the run-and-gun strategy, he remembered these very clearly.
He also remembered some experiences from playing games, such as how to move when a star attracted a double team or how to take advantage of the pulling power of another star during counter-attacks.
"This must be the 'reward' from the trial, being able to bring back the basketball knowledge learned, and oh, there's also that..."
Zhang Yang internally summoned the 'Gate of Trials.'
In his ability assessment, a new category appeared, 'Trial Rewards' — Steve Nash Ball Handling Tempo (Beginner).
The task list also updated!
"Current Task: Accumulate 20,000 shooting value.（1/20000）
Task Reward: Random increase by +1 in a physical talent limit."
Zhang Yang's eyes lit up, a boost to the talent limit!
He recalled his physical attributes at age 21 in 'trial mode': speed 91, which might have peaked, and a bounce of 87 which also seemed about maxed out; 83 strength and 85 stamina, at the age of 21, definitely had room to grow.
If he could choose, he would obviously opt for speed or stamina, but if it randomly went to bounce or strength, he wouldn't mind, any increase was welcome.
He went over the details of this trial journey again and felt that it might have been a 'trial version.'
The difficulty for initiating the trial was low and so was the journey itself; he could do nothing and still get rewarded.
But if given another chance, he would still opt for a harder route, to learn more.
His training motivation was now even higher; "Spending a year in the development league without giving up and finally seizing the opportunity" sounded simple, but on deeper thought, he knew how tough it was.
He was now more diligent in his efforts, which would make the start of his NBA career much smoother!
...
At half-past six, Zhang Yang was in the yard practicing ball-handling and shooting.
He was somewhat worried that 'trial mode' would affect his feel for the game, but once he started training, he found this concern was also unnecessary—his technique was still as natural as ever.
He didn't feel any effect from the 'Son of the Wind's ball-handling tempo' he had acquired; his ball-handling skills were not yet at a level where timing mattered…
Around noon, Thomas came back and took him to a large supermarket to shop.
First, they bought a mobile phone and got a SIM card.
After school started, he needed to call home regularly to report his recent living situation to his parents.
After buying the necessary school supplies and stationery, Thomas took Zhang Yang to the restaurant he had booked and treated him to lunch.
Thomas had been wanting to treat Zhang Yang to a meal for a while; he felt somewhat guilty because Zhang Yang had been preparing both breakfast and dinner every day, saying he'd just cook Thomas's portion too, and even though Thomas was paying for half of the groceries.
Zhang Yang had intended to go home to cook, since he had nothing else to do at noon and could prepare the ingredients for the evening meal, but when he heard it was Kobe beef steak, he immediately agreed. He'd been curious about the taste of the steak that some parents named their child after.
You have to say, people from that island nation do know how to raise not just excellent daughters but also superb cattle; both the appearance and taste of the steak were pretty impressive.
After lunch, Zhang Yang rode with Thomas to Compton High School.
With the school term starting soon, Thomas took Zhang Yang around to get familiar with the campus.
As they walked, Thomas explained, "Compton High School got a new name 11 years ago—Compton Centennial High School, as the school was founded in 1892. But we still like to call it Compton High School; the new name is too long... Over there is the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial... over there is the Slave Trade Bombing Memorial... and there the Abolition of Slavery Monument..."
Wow, Zhang Yang exclaimed internally, truly it was a public school in a predominantly Black city, practically every facility had some connection to African Americans.
However, he didn't see many Black students around on the campus.
Zhang Yang had researched this, and although Compton High School was the largest in the city and more lenient in its admissions than private high schools, it still wasn't a place just anyone could attend; about 20% of the students were Black.
Statistics from the Compton city hall showed that 49% of Black adolescents in the city dropped out before finishing eighth grade, and only 27% completed high school.
This meant that nearly half of the Black children didn't even qualify to attend high school. Moreover, the city also had institutions like Freedom Park College, a strictly Black high school that students could attend if they wished after grade eight.
Of course, a 20% Black student ratio was still high compared to most other city high schools, where the proportion of Black residents was just slightly over 10%.
In terms of academic performance, the school wasn't as poor as Zhang Yang initially thought. It couldn't compare with the leading private high schools, but it was still decent, and it had good teaching resources. They even offered elective college courses beginning in the 11th grade.
After touring the school, Thomas took Zhang Yang to Allen Gymnasium.
Compton High School had always been strong in sports, ranking top in the state in football, baseball, volleyball, and others. However, basketball had been a weaker spot, even local talents like Tayshaun Prince and Tyson Chandler couldn't be retained and were poached by a top-tier CIF school, Domingos High School in the neighboring Hanford city.
But in the late '90s, when Tony Thomas, who was in his 30s at the time, became the head coach of the Compton High School basketball team, the school quickly rose to prominence. Although there was still some talent outflow, many local talents chose to stay, and in recent years, several have ranked among the top 100 high school players nationwide.
In 2000, they received a donation from the deep-pocketed Microsoft tycoon Paul Allen, which they used to renovate and expand the old shabby basketball gym into a small sports complex. They renamed it Allen Gymnasium, which now supports various indoor sports—of course, prioritizing basketball—with a stadium that seats thousands.
With school soon starting, there were already quite a few people in Allen Gymnasium.
The football team's training area was outdoors but they also had their own indoor gym. As Zhang Yang and Thomas walked past the football gym, they saw a group of players lifting weights and shouting "USC."
Seeing Zhang Yang's baffled expression, Thomas chuckled and said, "USC's Trojan Football Team, very famous nationwide. The Magnet Team athletes take pride in joining the Trojan team, and our basketball team feels the same. Most players aspire to join the Trojans and they really dislike the Brown Bears Team... Uh, Jack, don't worry, we don't do this during our training."
Already acting like university students of USC without having been admitted?
Muttering to himself, Zhang Yang asked, "I remember our team's also called the Magnet Team, right?"
Thomas confirmed, "Yes, but not exactly, we're called the Magnet Men's Basketball Team. Generally, when people hear Magnet Team, they refer to the Magnet Men's Football Team."
"Are they strong?"
"They defeated the Libertarians from Washington Union High School in Fresno this May to win the California Championship. This summer, three of their players joined USC, one went to Stanford, one to Michigan, and several others got attention from different colleges..."
Zhang Yang fell silent for a few seconds, then said, "Tony, when you mentioned earlier that the football team represents the Magnet Team, my first instinct was to take back that mantle of representing the Magnet Team."
Thomas replied, "That's my dream too."
Zhang Yang said, "Well, Tony, I'll leave this great dream to you; I'll focus on practicing."
Thomas: "..."
...
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