2002, June.
Summer vacation has just arrived.
In the empty St. Mary's High School basketball gym, a simple tryout had just ended.
“Name: Woody;
Age: 17 years old;
Nationality: Chinese;
Barefoot height: 2.01 meters;
Weight: 91kg;
Wingspan: 2.15 meters;
Standing height: 2.69 meters;
Bounce in place: 72cm;
Run-up bounce: 86cm;
Maximum run-up height: 3.3 meters;
…”
…
Drew, the head coach of the St. Mary's High School basketball team, looked at the data he copied by hand, with an unbearable smile on his dark and greasy face. again and again.
He was indeed the guy who had made him wait for three years. His physical fitness really lived up to his expectations.
"Congratulations, man, starting today you are a member of our St. Mary's High School basketball team!"
He was finally willing to look away from the data report and looked at the trial trainee in front of him: he had short black hair, a green face, and he looked very sunny and handsome.
Hearing his words, the young man named Woody was a little surprised.
Is this enough?
"Don't you need to test my basketball skills?"
The test just now only included basic physical fitness measurements and running and jumping data tests. There were no tests related to basketball.
Drew smiled and shook his head: "Man, I know your basketball level very well. Your talent is good enough. Even if your basic skills are poor, you can quickly make up for it. There is still one summer. I believe in your physical condition. But , I have another question I want to know...Wu, why do you suddenly want to join the basketball team again? I have invited you to join the school team since you were a freshman in high school. It is now your senior year that you want to play basketball?"
Woody said without any hesitation: "Because I want to become rich. And by playing in the NBA, I can become rich. Is this okay?"
He said simply, and Drew's smile became even brighter.
Okay, why not? That’s great!
"I like your honesty, man. I can also see that you don't like basketball very much, but to be honest, not everyone in the NBA wants to be the best basketball player, at least once. Most of them are reasons like yours, and 80% of them are just like you, full of talents, so...this reason is enough!"
"Work hard, man..."
He led Woody towards his office. After arriving, a newspaper was thrown out. It was a local newspaper in Akron. In the sports section, the eye-catching headline read "Travis announced his transfer. St. Mary's High School lost an important main force and returned to the new season." The path to championship casts a shadow".
Woody read the report carefully and looked up at Drew with some confusion in his eyes. He didn't know what Drew's purpose was in showing him this newspaper.
Drew laughed helplessly: "Man, although I know you don't like basketball, you don't even know what happened to your school's basketball team, right? The St. Mary's High School basketball team is the school's signature!"
As he muttered, he spread out the newspaper and said, "Let me introduce you to Travis, our school's core player second only to LeBron James. LeBron, you should..."
"I know that!" Woody nodded.
Even though he has little interest in basketball, he still knows that his school has such a future "proud son of heaven", LeBron James, who is called the "little emperor" by ESPN.
"Well...Travis is the second core of the team, and he is also the pillar inside. Once he leaves, our basket will no longer be protected..." Seemingly thinking that Woody didn't know much about basketball, Drew The topic changed, "The meaning of the basket is..."
"I still understand this..." Woody interrupted him speechlessly. Combining what he just read in the newspaper and what Drew said, he probably understood Drew's intention and said straight to the point, "Coach , just tell me what you need me to do!"
His emotional intelligence puts Drew's big smile on his face again. He stopped beating around the bush and said: "Man, I hope you can focus on training the protection of the basket this summer. As long as you can improve this aspect to my satisfaction this summer, then I can give it to you now." Promise, the starting center position at St. Mary’s High School is yours!”
Starting center!
Woody is very clear about his basic skills, which are much worse than Drew expected. It cannot be said that he has no experience at all, he can only say that he has no experience at all.
Anyway, he is training from scratch. According to Drew's requirements, he can still get the main position.
You know, he has already finished his senior year in high school and has only just started playing basketball now, so he has no reputation at all. If he wants to continue playing, building his reputation and making higher-level college leagues notice him is the most important thing for Woody next besides leveling up.
The prerequisite for becoming famous is to perform on the court. The prerequisite for performance on the court is to have a lot of playing time.
So, when he heard Drew's request and promise, Woody nodded and agreed without any hesitation.
Woody was willing to improve himself according to the needs of the team. Now Drew was even more satisfied with the person he had been waiting for for three years. He walked all the way to the entrance of the arena before reluctantly waving goodbye to Woody.
Watching Woody's back leaving school, he was already looking forward to seeing Woody again on the first day of school.
***
"This should be considered mission accomplished, right?"
Woody left school and while waiting for the bus at the bus stop, he asked himself an inaudible question.
The thing is, about a week ago, a basketball system waiting to be activated suddenly appeared in Woody's mind. It took him several days to decide that this was real and not a problem with his brain.
When he silently recited "system", a translucent screen appeared in front of him.
And only he can see this virtual screen.
There is only one big line of words on the screen, which is the task of activating the system:
Join the school team!
Before having this system, Woody never thought that his life would be linked to basketball. Even though Coach Drew had been there for three years, he would be invited to join the school team from time to time. To be able to make a team's head coach miss him like this is considered quite talented.
There is just one important reason: he feels that playing basketball is not exciting enough. Usually he pays more attention to football and boxing.
However, as he grew up, his height and other basketball-related talents gradually became more obvious, and Woody began to think about what kind of person he wanted to be in the future.
Just at this time, another basketball system appeared out of nowhere.
Even if you are a talented person, now you have the system to help you. How should other people deal with it?
It was also reported a few days ago that a new-generation Chinese men's basketball player named Yao Ming in China will become the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA draft. Woody's desire to pursue a career in basketball has become even more intense.
Ever since, he planned to activate this system first to see what kind of help it could give him, and then decide whether to go all the way to the bottom in basketball.
Of course, he and Drew didn't lie. He chose basketball just to make a lot of money.
Having a system and talent, this is the easiest way for him to succeed...
Call out the system with familiarity.
The interface that used to have only one line of task prompts has changed. There is an additional line of red font reminder: The task has been completed!
I just heard a "ding" in my mind, and the system prompt sounded:
"Congratulations to the host for completing the task and the system was successfully activated!"
