Chapter 5 Before the game
The fact that Jax High School defeated West High School did not receive much attention from the outside world except from the students of the school.

After all, it is a bottom-ranked school, a mid-level school, and it doesn't have any outstanding stars, so it naturally doesn't attract people's attention.

What everyone is more concerned about is how St. Mary's High School, led by James, will perform in the new season.

As mentioned earlier, St. Mary's High School lost in last year's final, and in the new season's ranking, they are only ranked 27th.

Their first opponent is Rubber Tree High School, a strong team ranked first in the rankings.

But compared to last season, St. Mary's High School has changed a lot this season. As mentioned earlier, James had a small group of four people in high school. They excluded the team's center Romeo Travis and even bullied the team.

But after the defeat in the finals, their small group accepted the new member, so in the new season, they became more united and cooperated better.

Coupled with James' physical talent that crushes his peers, they defeated their opponents in the first game of the new season.

This was the headline of the Akron Sports Journal the next day, and the cover showed a scene of James' fast break dunk.

The report of Jacks' first high school game appeared in the corner of the newspaper, but the headline was that a yellow man who made his debut in the game scored 40 points.

Domestic media like to use clickbait titles, and so do American media.

Not many people wanted to know about the match between the two unknown teams, but as soon as the three keywords "first appearance", "yellow people" and "40 points" appeared, they immediately attracted people's attention.

Everyone wants to know what kind of tough guy can score 40 points in a game!
Of course, it is different from the domestic headlines. If it is a domestic media, you will find that the 40 points he mentioned is the sum of several games, while Zheng Yang’s 40 points are actually 40 points in a single game.

Thanks to this report, Zheng Yang's fame began to spread little by little.

But the speed is still too slow. If they want to become famous in one battle, they have to play against famous opponents. The next game they will face is St. Mary's High School, which is that famous opponent!

……

A few days before the game against Jacks High School, James specifically sought out the team's head coach Drew Joyce II to discuss with him how to play the next game.

Drew Joyce II became their coach in their senior year of high school. He also has another identity, that is, Joyce's father.

When he coached the team last season, he found that the team was too arrogant and complacent, so he specifically emphasized this to James, but the latter did not take it to heart, and the team eventually lost in the finals.

In the new season, seeing James being so cautious even against a bottom-ranked team like Jacks High School, Drew Joyce II was very happy, but he still patted James on the shoulder.

"LeBron, I'm glad you take every game so seriously.

But don't be too nervous. Jacks High School is just a bottom-ranked team. There's no need to take it too seriously.

As long as you play normally, you can take away this victory."

Drew Joyce II spoke very confidently, and the strength of the team is enough to make him so confident.

With the right attitude, St. Mary’s High School will be the only candidate for the state championship this year!
But James, who has seen Zheng Yang's strength, doesn't think so. The yellow man will definitely cause him a lot of trouble in the next game.

But he didn't want to tell Zheng Yang directly that he lost to him in a one-on-one duel, so he just nodded and left.

Maybe... he was just lucky that day...

James comforted himself in this way.

The time for the second game is coming soon.

……

Jacks High School will be playing away in today's game, so they need to take a bus to St. Mary's High School.

While sitting on the bus, Zheng Yang turned his head and found that the people who were usually lively and cheerful now had their mouths shut and their heads down, and he didn't know what they were thinking.

The team's head coach Joe Wims was also a little out of shape, and he didn't even realize that the strategy he wrote all night was wrong.

In fact, there is no need to make too many strategies when playing against St. Mary's High School. Everyone knows that as long as James is held down, St. Mary's High School will not be a threat.

But the point is, this is simply impossible to achieve.

LeBron James has historical physical talents. No one is taller than him, and no one is faster than him. It is impossible to find a player in high school who can match up with him.

Looking at everyone's depressed state, Zheng Yang knew that everyone was afraid of their opponents.

Yes, as a team that has always been at the bottom, how could they not be afraid when playing against a strong team like St. Mary's High School.

Even the team's second giant, the cheerful and lively Jaylen Will, remained silent. In last year's game, they lost to the opponent by a full 30 points.

Jaylen Will, the main player of the team, was like a novice who had just learned to play basketball in front of James and was trampled upon in the palm of his hand.

Only God knows how devastated he was at that time!

Now that he was about to step onto that court again, he instinctively felt fear in his heart.

"Hey! Guys!"

Zheng Yang clapped his hands to pull everyone out of their depressed mood, and he shouted to everyone firmly and forcefully.

“In half an hour, we will face St. Mary’s High School.

Believe me, no matter what the other person did to you in the past, from today on, this will never happen again.

I know y'all are scared of that LeBron James, screw the Chosen One, just leave him to me.

As long as you play good defense and grab every rebound, today's victory will belong to us.

Coach Joe Weems, I will play the entire game today. If I run out of energy, please call a timeout for me to recover."

The bus was already very quiet, and Zheng Yang's words made it even quieter.

It’s not that they don’t give Zheng Yang face, it’s just that some of what Zheng Yang said was beyond their understanding.

Take down St. Mary's High School?
Get rid of LeBron James?

Oh God, they only considered whether they could keep the score difference within ten points in this game. As for beating the opponent, even the top-ranked Rubber Tree High School couldn’t do it, so how could we possibly do it?

Joe Weems, the most ambitious man in the team, also hadn't thought about this. LeBron James has been in high school for three years, and he has suppressed the Ohio high school team for three years.

He only dared to indulge in such wishful thinking when he was dreaming. Once he woke up, he would give himself two big bi pockets to free himself from such fantasy.

It's impossible to beat LeBron James unless you get him off the court with a flagrant foul.

So when he heard his beloved disciple say such words, Joe Wims didn't know what to say... But the silence was soon broken by someone, it was Jaron Will, who shouted.

"Can St. Mary's High School send out eight players at once? Does LeBron James have three heads and six arms?
Fuck the Chosen One, I just want to beat him in front of the national audience... Ahem, I just want to watch my brother Zheng beat LeBron James in front of the national audience!"

St. Mary's High School may not be able to send eight players, but a certain Los Angeles team can. Yes, you all know I'm talking about the Los Angeles Clippers, right?

The previous game experience did leave Jaylen Will with some not-so-good memories, but Jaylen Will, who is rebellious by nature, would never admit that he is afraid of an opponent, at least not verbally.

If he is really afraid of the other party, how can he have the face to show up at various parties and party in the future?
So he stood up at this moment. The worst that could happen was that he would be beaten up again, but it was impossible to make him surrender, absolutely impossible!

"Zheng and Jaylen Will are right, no matter how we played in the past, now that we meet each other again, we have to win this game.

Go to fucking St. Mary’s High School, go to fucking Chosen One…”

Joe Wims also spoke. Even though he still didn't think his team could win the game, as the team coach, how could he admit defeat when even the players didn't admit defeat?
Led by Joe Weems, the team bus heading to St. Mary's High School shouted "Win" and "Win" in unison.

Not long after, the bus drove into St. Mary's High School and then stopped in front of the opponent's stadium. At this time, there was still nearly an hour before the game started, but the stadium was already surrounded by students.

The basketball atmosphere in the United States is already strong, and with the school team led by James winning one game after another, the students of St. Mary's High School love basketball much more than students of ordinary schools.

If the opponent St. Mary's High School faced today was more famous, there would be more students coming here to watch and support.

Faced with the gazes of so many players, the others behaved more naturally than Zheng Yang. After all, it was Zheng Yang's first time to encounter such a situation. But the others who had come here to play games had already become accustomed to the crowds here.

However, Zheng Yang, who was very strong inside, did not show too much abnormality. Under the leadership of coach Joe Wims, he walked into the stadium.

The feeling of oppression inside the stadium was just as great as that outside, especially when watching LeBron James dunking during his pre-game warm-up. The morale of Jacks High School, which had finally been boosted on the school bus, fell again.

You actually think we can defeat this inhuman existence?

I was afraid that my small body would be smashed to pieces by him.

James, who was warming up, also spotted the Jax High School team entering the stadium. He looked around and finally his eyes stopped on Zheng Yang who was at the front of the team.

The man who once abused him in a duel is here!
James had to admit that the last one-on-one match did leave a shadow on him. During many sleepless nights, he would always think of Zheng Yang.

But, as long as no one takes a picture of it, that scene never happens.

And in today's game, he will definitely tear his opponent to pieces and tell him that the best high school student in the United States can only be him, LeBron James.

At this moment in the stadium, in addition to the players of the two teams and the audience in the stands, there was also a large group of middle-aged men in suits.

Most of them are scouts from various universities and even NBA teams.

Although James is currently a senior in high school, in this era when high school students can directly participate in the draft, no one knows what this young man will choose next year.

Therefore, it will never be wrong to come to the scene in advance to watch his game.

There are two other commentators today, one is Worthy and the other is Maker.

As mentioned before, James was already nationally famous during his high school years, and in his senior year, the school sold their home broadcasting rights, which meant that everyone could watch James' games on TV.

Even though the price is close to eight dollars, many people are still willing to spend the money just to see the demeanor of this chosen one.

"Fuck! Special sponsorship, a special commentator, and even the chance to appear on TV.

Are we playing a high school team?"

Jaylen Will complained. To be honest, they were jealous of everything about each other.

The kids from Jacks High School are mostly from slums, so their equipment is extremely simple. Take sneakers for example, there are several people in the team whose soles are almost worn out but they are still reluctant to buy new shoes.

Zheng Yang's sneakers were almost worn out, but coach Joe Wims paid for him to buy him a new pair of sneakers out of his own pocket.

However, due to his heavy training, his sneakers are easily worn out, so unless he is playing in a game, Zheng Yang usually wears his worn-out sneakers.

With such a huge gap, the players of Jacks High School felt inexplicably angry.

"Take them down and let everyone know that it's not who has the newest basketball shoes that wins the game."

Zheng Yang shouted loudly to his teammates.

"Take it."

Everyone shouted in unison, and this time their voices were even firmer than on the school bus.

Sure enough, all ideals and dreams are false. Only by seeing the gap can we develop the belief of never giving up.

Before the game started, today's commentator Worthy talked to Maker about today's game. To be more precise, they started talking about James.

After all, there was no suspense at all about the outcome today.

"Maker, you must have seen the dunk that LeBron made last game with his head over the basket, right?
It was crazy, like he was on a spring and just flew up."

Worthy exclaimed in amazement, making exaggerated expressions to express his inner shock.

Meike nodded and continued.

"I can't wait to see what he does in the NBA. You know, he could be in the draft next year."

"Yes, if he runs for the draft next year, he will definitely be in the lottery. No, he will definitely be in the top three."

"Maybe he can become the top scholar!"

Maker said with a smile, then looked at the court. At this moment, players from both teams had already started to shake hands and prepare to start the game.

"Dear viewers, today's game is about to begin. Jacks High School, who has come from afar, will be visiting St. Mary's High School to challenge our chosen one, LeBron James.

Jacks High School is also a team with a long history, but unfortunately, they have not found their way forward for a long time.

It is worth mentioning that this season they introduced their No. 19, a yellow man from the East who plays as a small forward.

In the last game, they beat West High School by a large margin, with No. 19 Zheng scoring 40 points.

What kind of performance will he have today? Let's wait and see! "

(End of this chapter)