Chapter 3 Selected for the school team

After finishing his morning training plan, Zheng Yang returned home sweating profusely.

His home is located at the end of an unknown alley in the slums. When you walk there, you will see garbage, sewage, and homeless people sleeping there.

I don't know what the stench in the air is made of, but it's not only foul, but also a bit pungent.

Only after covering his nose and entering the room did Zheng Yang dare to breathe heavily. This shabby little house was the home of Zheng Yang and his aunt Zhang Lin.

The house is not big and there are a lot of things, so the place seems a bit crowded. However, Zhang Lin, who is hardworking and clean, always tidies up the house after finishing a day's work, which makes people feel much more relaxed when they see it.

Zhang Lin works as a waiter in a restaurant, so she doesn't come back for lunch. Zheng Yang quickly finishes his lunch and then goes back to take a nap.

As a seventeen-year-old young man, although he has passed the period of rapid growth in height, there is still hope that he can move up a bit.

Therefore, he must ensure adequate sleep to promote growth and development, and of course, to replenish the physical energy consumed by training in the morning.

After waking up, Zheng Yang returned to the basketball court and started his afternoon training plan.

As a basketball enthusiast in his previous life, Zheng Yang learned about the training methods of some well-known stars. He developed his own special training plan based on his own situation.

Including shooting, dribbling, jumping and other aspects.

Originally, he was thinking about going to the gym to train his strength. After all, in addition to skills, the saying "one man can defeat ten men with one skill" also applies to basketball.

However, going to the gym would be an expense. Zheng Yang, who lives in financial difficulty, cannot afford the money himself, and does not want to ask his aunt Zhang Lin for it, so the plan had to be shelved for the time being.

It’s better to wait until school to practice. There is a free gym in school. Of course, the prerequisite is that he has to be a member of the school team!

After finishing the afternoon training, Zheng Yang hurried back home before dark. Living in the slums, it was not a good idea to walk outside in the evening.

But his aunt had already returned before him.

This is an oriental woman with beautiful features, tall stature, long black hair, softly spoken, and good cooking skills.

"Xiaoyang, are you playing basketball again? Go wash your hands and then come to eat."

Seeing Zheng Yang coming back, Zhang Lin greeted him. She has always been supportive of Zheng Yang playing basketball.

After all, if a yellow person goes to school here without any outstanding sports skills, he or she will easily be bullied by others.

Everyone has an instinctive fear of people who are good at sports.

"Okay, auntie."

Zheng Yang washed his hands and then had dinner with his aunt.

After dinner, Zheng Yang helped wash the dishes, then took a shower and returned to his room. Looking at the basketball posters on the wall, featuring Jordan, Kobe, and Iverson, he thought of his aunt's tired body and the chaotic and violent slums.

He has made a vow in his heart that he will use basketball to break the poverty of his family!

……

In the following time, Zheng Yang continued to carry out his basketball training, twice a day, and never stopped unless it rained.

His basketball skills are gradually improving, but since there are no strong enough opponents, Zheng Yang doesn't know how much his strength has improved.

After playing on the court in Jon Park for a long time, Zheng Yang's reputation gradually grew. Everyone knew that there was a young yellow man in Jon Park who was omnipotent and could use all kinds of means to defeat his opponents.

No one has ever seen him lose, not even once!

The long summer vacation is finally over, and Zheng Yang's senior year of high school officially begins. Although he has never lived in a foreign country, with the memories of his original body and his tall physique, his life in the new school is pretty good.

The selection for the school team will soon begin.

Normally, the school team only recruits freshmen in the first year of high school, and occasionally sophomores, but basically no higher grades are recruited.

Because they are about to graduate, if their combat effectiveness is not good, no matter how talented they are, there will be no time to train them.

But considering that Zheng Yang was a transfer student and his tall physique was very convincing, Joe Weems, the basketball coach of Jacks High School, decided to give him a chance to try.

In his opinion, given Zheng Yang's height and the fact that he only has a little basketball basics, recruiting him to play as a backup center would be a good choice.

Don't think that all high schools abroad are full of talented freaks who can fly and jump and are two meters tall. That is just a stereotype left by famous basketball schools that have several five-star high school students at one time.

In fact, a school like Jacks High School, which is not known for its basketball, can't attract many good talents. Historically, only a few of their students have been able to enter the NCAA.

Of course, this year's senior high school class does have a good seedling, Jaylen Will, who is a shooting guard and can average 13 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He certainly can't compare with those five-star high school students, but in Jacks High School, he is already their star player.

Currently, he has great hope of obtaining a full scholarship from some prestigious college basketball schools. As to whether he can get it in the future, it depends on his performance in his senior year of high school.

After dividing the students who registered today into different positions, Joe Weems began to prepare to assess their basic skills.

However, to his surprise, Zheng Yang, who was about two meters tall, actually appeared at the small forward position. Wasn't this guy supposed to play center?
Thinking about the large number of tedious assessments that were coming up, Zheng Yang felt a little bored, so he raised his right hand.

"Hey Coach Joe Weems, this stuff is really too complicated. Can you call out the best player on your team to play one-on-one with me?"

"Young man, you must follow my rules here."

Joe Weems is a very controlling person. He doesn't like anyone telling his team what to do, nor does he like his players to disobey his orders.

When this daring young man stood up and said this, Joe Weems had already marked him with an "x" in his heart.

"Do any of you want to fight him?"

But since the young man jumped out, he didn't mind teaching him a lesson, so he shouted to the crowd, hoping that someone could beat this ignorant little brat so badly that he would go home crying to his mother.

A sturdy black man stood up. He was not tall, but he was very strong, like a rugby player.

"Coach, let me do it."

Joe Wims nodded, and everyone stepped back, making room for the court, and then looked at the two people on the field with an eye for watching a good show.

"Will used to play rugby. Believe me, if he bumps into him, that arrogant yellow guy will fall apart like a toy."

A little black boy was discussing this with his friend next to him, and added something for fear that the other party might not believe him.

"I'll bet a hundred dollars that this yellow guy can't beat Will.

Anyone want to bet with me?"

No one responded to him. Even if someone wanted to bet, they couldn't come up with a hundred dollars. Most of the kids at Jax High School were from the slums.

As usual, it was the short guy's free throw. Will didn't shoot with the standard posture, but threw the ball out like throwing a bomb.

But it was obvious that the ball hit the backboard and bounced back, and the ball possession for the first attack was given to Zheng Yang.

He had the ball, but this time he didn't choose to post up. The opponent was too weak, and he didn't even have the mind to post up.

He didn't dribble the ball too much, but just accelerated and easily passed his opponent. Then he took a step and his whole body flew into the air. The basketball that was originally in Zheng Yang's right hand was transferred to his left hand under his crotch, and then he glided and dunked directly.

This is a crotch-changing dunk move!

"Wow~"

The people on the sidelines were stunned, and some even cried out in surprise.

They have seen many people who can dunk, and they have also seen a few people who can dunk by switching hands between the legs in real life, but there are really not many who can perform it in actual combat, at least they have never seen it in Jacks High School.

But now I actually saw it on a yellow man I had never seen before. Who is he?
When he saw Zheng Yang gliding in the air, Joe Wims's hand holding the notebook tightened immediately. He knew that he had found a treasure this time, but he still pretended to be calm.

Will was also shocked. When someone is stronger than others, everyone's first thought is to surpass him.

But when someone is much stronger than another person, people will only feel awe.

It was Will's turn to attack. He was a little flustered and missed all three shots.

Zheng Yang got the ball and scored easily again, this time it was a two-handed slam dunk.

Will walked back to the crowd obediently. The gap in strength between the two sides was too big, and there was no need to fight any further.

The black man who had said he wanted to bet $100 had now hidden at the back of the crowd, not even daring to raise his head. Fortunately, no one had bet with him, otherwise he would not have had $100 in his pocket, which was cleaner than his face, to pay back.

Zheng Yang stood there looking at Joe Wims, waiting for his next words.

"Jack, go call Jaron Will over here."

Joe Wims did not let Zheng Yang return to the team, but instead asked someone to call over Jaylen Will, the ace player of the school team.

As the best scorer in the team, he wanted to see who was better between Jaylen Will and Zheng Yang. Others also became interested and started discussing the outcome of the upcoming game.

Jaylen Will is not comparable to Will. He is a celebrity in the school and the dream lover of many girls.

He joined the school team in his first year of high school, became the starter of the school team in his second year of high school, and became the absolute pillar of the school team in his third year of high school. He could always be seen dominating the school basketball court.

Although this unfamiliar yellow man has strong physical fitness, we can't tell much about his technical level from the previous confrontation.

Therefore, it is hard to predict the outcome of the game against Jaylen Will.

"coach."

Jaylen Will, who was running from the other side of the court, shouted to Joe Weems. As mentioned before, Joe Weems was a person with a strong desire for control, so he was very majestic in front of the students.

Even Jaylen Will, who is naturally rebellious, doesn't dare to act rashly in front of him.

"Jaylen Will, have a one-on-one match with Zheng, eleven points."

Joe Wims said to the other party, and the latter looked in the direction Joe Wims pointed and saw Zheng Yang holding a basketball and wearing the No. 19 jersey.

Who is this yellow man?
Why did the coach ask me to play one-on-one with him?
Jaylen Will assured that he had never seen the other man in school, but there was no way Joe Weems would let him come specifically to fight an unknown person.

Therefore, he guessed that this yellow man should be quite capable.

Of course, it is impossible for him to have two hundred brushes, because such a person would never come to their Jacks High School, which has a simple school spirit and abundant talents.

Jaylen Will has a very clear understanding of this.

When Jaylen Will was looking at Zheng Yang, the latter was also looking at him.

Jaylen Will, who plays shooting guard, is not very tall, estimated to be around 1.85 meters tall, thin, with dreadlocks and earrings, and looks very street-like.

There was not much nonsense between the two. Jaylen Will made the free throw steadily and initiated the first attack.

Unlike regular players, Jaylen Will is a left-handed player, so his breakthroughs are mainly on the left side. This time he also chose the left side, which he is best at.

Zheng Yang didn't know this information, but his footsteps changed quickly and he easily caught up with the opponent. Jaylen Will had already rushed into the penalty area, and he didn't want to give up this attack.

So he jumped high, glided away, and at the same time pulled the lever to make a layup with his right hand, but the tall and strong Zheng Yang easily caught the ball.

There was an uproar on the sidelines. So brutal? Just burst out?
Joe Wims was also extremely excited, and he couldn't suppress the smile on his face. No matter how much he wanted to restore his cold and ruthless expression, he couldn't do it.

Zheng Yang's technical level was not apparent in the one-on-one match between him and Will just now. Joe Wims was originally worried that he might just be a jumping guy and had no other basketball skills.

Now he was sure that this guy could definitely play basketball, and he was very good at it.

No matter what reason he came to Jax High School, he must keep the other party here, no matter what the cost.

While Joe Wims was imagining a bright future, Zheng Yang had already scored a goal easily.

He also just accelerated to break through. Jaylen Will, who was shorter than him, could barely keep up with him, but Zheng Yang just gave a little physical confrontation, and the opponent was directly knocked away, and his goal was not interfered with at all.

From this offense and defense, it is enough to see the huge gap between Zheng Yang and Jaylen Will.

In the end, Zheng Yang won the game easily with a score of 11:0.

Except for one shot that was not blocked by Zheng Yang, all of Jaylen Will's shots were blocked.

How can you possibly win if a man who is taller, stronger, faster and more powerful than you fights with you?
When Zheng Yang easily scored the last goal, Jaylen Will was already standing there in despair, shaking his head, saying "impossible" and "impossible" all the time.

Being defeated by a peer is nothing, after all, Jaylen Will has been beaten by his peers in regular games. But what he couldn't understand was why such a person would come to Jax High School?
Do you really want to come to Akron and go to St. Mary's High School?
There is also James there, so you will see a lot of traffic if you go there.

You didn't come here because you were attracted by the abundance of talented people and the simple school spirit, did you?
Jaylen Will thinks that just because someone can play basketball, it doesn’t mean he is stupid!

On the other hand, coach Joe Wims came to Zheng Yang quietly when the game ended and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Dear Zheng, your presence has solved the team's urgent needs. As we all know, the Jacks High School basketball team is a team with a very high ceiling. We are a giant ship about to set sail, but we just lack a helmsman. From now on, you are our helmsman.

Trust me, next year, we're going to win, our picture will be in the Akron Sports Journal, and we're going to kick everybody's ass."

"Dear Coach Joe Weems, in my opinion, you are the helmsman of this huge ship, and I will become the best sailor to make Jacks High School go further."

Zheng Yang said with a smile. Joe Wims was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a smile. He really loved this charming little baby now.

Jaylen Will, who witnessed the conversation between the two, had his glasses broken into pieces. Coach Joe Wims, you are not like this usually. You usually say, "Fuck you, Jaylen Will, put that damn basketball into the basket." When did you become so polite?

And "Dear Zheng", you are only 17 years old, why are you so smooth and don't have any youthful spirit at all.

I feel sad for you!
But a few seconds later, a hand was placed on Zheng Yang's other shoulder, and shooting guard Jaylen Will spoke to Zheng Yang affectionately.

"Dear Zheng, you know I'm a point guard with great potential. Believe me, the ball will appear in your hands at the most appropriate time this season."

If someone captured this scene with a mobile phone, I believe it would appear somewhere in Sports Illustrated many years later, with the following words accompanying it.

"With just one one-on-one match, Zheng became the star player of this high school team. Believe me, Jaylen Will and Joe Weems at that time would never have thought that they would write such a great and shocking basketball story in this season.

As for Zheng, you know, he has always been an extremely confident man, so I think everything that happened next was probably within his expectations. "

……

After joining the school team, Zheng Yang added a training plan, which was to go to the gym to increase his strength.

Joe Wims had seen his training plan, which was full and did not leave him any free time. He even talked to Zheng Yang about it specifically.

"Dear Zheng, we all know that you are a very hard-working person, but in fact you are just a 17-year-old kid, and sometimes you can also participate in some parties among classmates.

If you are not familiar with it, you can let Jaylen Will take you. No one in the school is more familiar with it than him.

There are many hot chili peppers and sweethearts in our school, I think they will not refuse to have an encounter with a handsome guy like you."

But Zheng Yang just shook his head.

"Coach Joe Weems, I only have one goal now, and that is to make it to the NBA. I don't want to waste my time on other things."

"Well, believe me, you will become an NBA star. I have never said this to our players. You are the first."

"Thanks, coach."

At this moment, Joe Wims still thought that Zheng Yang was planning to complete his freshman or sophomore year before participating in the NBA draft. If that were the case, he would definitely be selected.

But Zheng Yang had already made up his mind that he would skip college and go directly into the NBA.

For him personally, skipping college and entering the NBA would not be a good choice, because even with a precedent like Kobe, the team general manager would instinctively like college players. In addition, Zheng Yang is a yellow man, so it is basically impossible for anyone to be willing to choose him.

It's even more impossible to select him with a lottery pick.

If he had finished his freshman year, Zheng Yang would have been absolutely confident that he could be ranked in the top five or even top three.

But considering his family situation, Zheng Yang can't wait to make money and escape the slums.

Every day spent in the slums means one more day of risk.

You can't live a good life just because you want to. In the slums, violence, crime, and guns can come at any time, and Zheng Yang, who has no background, is powerless to do anything about it.

So he decided to skip college and go straight into the NBA. It didn't matter if his draft pick fell out of the lottery, as long as he could be selected in the first round.

This is Zheng Yang’s entire plan, and in order to achieve this, Zheng Yang must make a name for himself in the next competition.

……

(End of this chapter)