On the last day of basketball training camp, a test match will be held on this day.
"Li, thank you! If it weren't for you, I would have returned to Virginia." Allen looked sincere.
Dai Li patted Allen on the shoulder: "Okay, don't think too much, just play your part later. There can be many famous basketball players watching the game today. You may only have five minutes, so don't do anything unnecessary." You have to show your strengths as much as possible and tell them how fast you are, how strong you are, and how terrifying your scoring ability is! Tell them that no one can stop you on this court. !”
"I will!" Allen said, with fighting intent in his eyes.
On the seats in the front row of the arena, some familiar faces to Americans were already sitting, and the participating athletes looked there with burning eyes.
"Look, Coach Alford from UCLA and Coach Babe from USC, they are both here!"
"Of course, they are local coaches from California. They will definitely come. Do you see that black man with a gray beard over there? He is Coach Thompson of Georgetown University."
"Also, Coach Wright from the University of North Carolina is here. He is the best coach in the NCAA who is good at playing small ball tactics. He suits my style very well."
"The head coach from Duke University didn't come. They sent Frye, the associate head coach."
"Nonsense, don't forget how difficult it is to get into Duke University. Even the top players in high school may not be able to get a basketball scholarship from Duke University."
"Look, that person seems to be a scout from the Los Angeles Lakers, Reid!"
"It's really Reid! Oh my god, the Lakers scouts are here too. Are they also paying attention to the basketball training camp for high school students? That's a wealthy team in the NBA!"
"It is indeed an Adidas basketball training camp. It can attract scouts from NBA giants! I must perform well today. I hope Reid can write a beautiful scouting report for me."
"The guy over there with brown hair, wearing a suit and tie, is the well-known basketball reporter Zach! I heard that many basketball professionals read his column. I have seen him in interviews with many legendary stars before. .”
"It turns out he was Zach, the basketball reporter, our high school coach, who had been reading his column for ten years."
"Yes, Zach's basketball column can be seen across the United States. If you can be included in his column, the entire United States will know your name!"
Celebrities appeared one after another, making the high school athletes present extremely excited. This is something that only top basketball training camps can do. If it is an ordinary basketball training camp, even if they pay for it, these basketball celebrities may not be willing to come.
…
Several college coaches are acquaintances. They are all coaches from famous schools and have met them more than once in NCAA games.
NBA scouts are no strangers to these college coaches. After all, colleges are the main places to send talents to the NBA. College coaches also hope that their students can enter and play in the NBA. Many times, college coaches will even take the initiative to recruit talents to the NBA. Scouts recommend their own disciples.
As for Zach, the basketball columnist, he is no stranger. Zach has conducted exclusive interviews with these coaches from famous schools at the scene, and some of them have even known each other for more than ten years.
Meeting acquaintances will naturally spark a lot of sparks, not to mention there are several "rival" teams, such as UCLA and the University of Southern California, such as Duke University and the University of North Carolina. The latter is in the same state, and the former is not only in In the same state and in the same city, the levels are still about the same, and they are inherently tit-for-tat.
Coach Alford of UCLA and Coach Bebe of USC didn't talk about each other within a few words. Coach Wright of North Carolina simply ignored Frye, the associate head coach of Duke University, and instead went to Georgetown University. Thompson struck up a conversation.
"Thompson, I know that your Georgetown University has always had a tradition of cultivating big men. Have you been focusing on that big man for a few years? Although he is a little thinner, his wingspan is very good and he is very suitable for you." Wright said. .
"I heard that the University of Massachusetts has recruited him and provided him with a generous scholarship. We are not as good as the University of Massachusetts in this regard." Thompson shook his head and continued: "On your side, the members of your team are now We need an offensive defender, and Steve is pretty good."
"Steve, 'Son of New York'! We are indeed here for him. Our team now has an offensive guard. I am very optimistic about this kid. With him, he will definitely enter the NBA lottery in the future. Without him, we will definitely be able to overpower Duke University!" Wright said without any secret.
"Yes, he does have great potential. If the NBA still allows high school players to participate in the draft, I think he will definitely participate in the draft this year, and based on his talent, the pick will definitely not be low. Maybe the Knicks would be happy to draft him with a high pick," Thompson said. He knew that many of the coaches who came to the scene were here for the "Son of New York."
…
Meanwhile, "Son of New York" Steve is sitting on the sidelines, enjoying the most attention.
In the distance, Coach Hyde brought a player.
"You sit here for now. I will let you know if I come on the court later." Coach Hyde pointed to a chair and said.
Steve turned his head and looked around, only to realize that he actually knew this man.
"Hampton!" Steve shouted in surprise.
"Steve!" Allen also spotted Steve.
The two men knew each other. Both of them are guards, about the same age. One of them is in New York and the other is in Virginia. Both are on the Atlantic coast and are not far apart. And many times, the two will be mentioned at the same time, and they will even be used to argue about who is the number one high school student in the East.
But Steve knew in his heart that he was really not as good as Allen. Steve only focused on basketball to achieve what he is today, while Allen was engaged in two sports: basketball and rugby at the same time. It is said that Allen only spent half the effort, but he was as good as Steve.
"Why is Hampton here? I've never seen him appear in previous trainings." Steve frowned. He already felt that today's game might not go as smoothly as he imagined.
…
"Is he Virginia's Allen Hampton? He doesn't look very tall, probably less than six feet!"
"Be careful, he is a dangerous person. Have you heard of that gang fight? More than 20 people were seriously injured and sent to the hospital. We must not provoke him!"
"I know that the lawsuit went to the Supreme Court."
"Tell me, Hampton or Steve, who is better?"
"I don't know, but the answer may be revealed today. The two of them compete on the same field. If I were Coach Hyde, I would definitely put them in two different teams."
There were different opinions around him, but Allen lowered his head, silently recalling the training these days and what Dai Li said.
…
When the buzzer sounded at the beginning of the game, Allen did not enter the starting lineup. He could only sit on the bench with peace of mind.
This kind of test match is different from a formal match. When the athlete comes on the court for the first time, the athlete may be in team A. When the athlete comes on the court for the second time, the athlete runs to team B. There are no pauses in the middle of the game, and there will be a short rest period after playing for twenty minutes at a stretch.
So the result of the game is not important, the key is the performance and performance of the players.
In the first twenty minutes, Coach Hyde seemed to have forgotten about Allen. He kept replacing players, but never called Allen's name. After all, Allen has not been in training camp, so Coach Hyde will naturally give priority to others to play.
Allen looked at others fighting on the field, while he could only sit on the bench, looking a little anxious.
In the second twenty minutes, half of the time had elapsed and everyone else had already taken the field. Coach Hyde finally thought of Allen.
"Hampton, warm up and get ready to go on stage!"