After Leslie left the court, he was still a little aggrieved, but he calmed down quickly, and silently broke away from Butler's hand.
He knew that what his friend did was right, if he did something just now, the consequences would be serious.
Although they lived in Tombal, they kept to themselves and couldn't afford to mess with the gangster boys.
"Jimmy, just now..."
When Leslie turned his head, he found that Butler was walking with his head down, staring straight at the ground, with a frustrated expression.
"I'll go back and find him for an argument!" A surge of anger rose in his heart.
"Leslie, Banks is right, no school is willing to give me a scholarship." Jimmy Butler said with a long sigh.
"No, there's always a way..." Leslie reassured.
He tossed and said a few dry words, his voice gradually lowered until he became quiet.
After Butler was kicked out of the house by his mother, he wandered for a long time and stayed at Leslie's house a year ago.
Leslie saw all of his love and devotion to basketball.
But Butler's talent is not outstanding after all. He only got 2 stars in the scouting report. He is ranked outside the 1200th high school student in the United States, and he can't even rank in the top 50 in Texas.
Although Butler's high school coach Brad Bauer called more than 60 schools and even used his personal connections to contact college coaches, no school was willing to give him a scholarship.
The two walked silently for a while, but Butler suddenly said:
"I think about it, I can go to a junior college first, as long as I play well enough, maybe I can attract the attention of a first-tier school, and then I can transfer to a first-tier league to play."
"This path is indeed feasible, but it is too difficult. Your grades are not bad. Why don't you go to a university? Basketball is not the only way out." Leslie persuaded.
Butler said calmly:
"You know, I've been through a lot since I was a child. In those dark days, I had no friends, no relatives. Only basketball was with me. It has become a part of my life. If there is no basketball, I really I don't know what is the meaning of life."
Leslie was silent. Unlike him, Butler loved basketball from the bottom of his heart.
Aside from eating, sleeping and studying, his best friend spends all his time training with little entertainment.
In his opinion, there may be no player in the world who works harder than Butler, including those NBA stars.
Butler paused for a moment, with a bright smile on his face:
"Leslie, I don't think I'm worse than anyone else, you should believe me, my goal is the NBA, and the NCAA will definitely not stop me!"
"Okay, no matter what you choose, I support you!" Leslie hammered Butler's chest hard.
Butler covered his chest and hit back with his backhand. The two laughed loudly, as if all the difficulties had disappeared.
The blood of a teenager is always hot.
At this moment, Butler saw two strangers walking towards him.
"Hello, are you Jimmy Butler from Tomball Middle School?" one of the young yellow people asked politely.
"Yes, what do you two want me to do?"
Butler was very puzzled, he had no Asian friends, and why did this young man look so familiar?
Leslie carefully looked at the yellow man in front of him several times, and said in surprise:
"Are you... Coach Z?"
"That's right, Jimmy, I want to invite you to join the Bulldogs. I can provide you with a full scholarship and a starting position." The young yellow man smiled, but it was Zhang Yu.
His voice was not high, but it sounded no less than a thunder to Butler.
"Full scholarship? Is it for me?" He murmured as if falling into a dream.
...
Leslie's home.
After repeatedly confirming the intentions of Zhang Yu and Matthew Graves, Butler and Leslie quickly invited them to their home.
Leslie's family is not rich, and the house he lives in is just the most common street-facing house in the United States.
Leslie's mother, Michelle Lambert, brought two cups of coffee to Zhang Yu and sat beside them feeling a little helpless.
"You mean, can you give Jimmy a full scholarship?" she asked in surprise.
Although Butler is not her child, she has always treated him as her own during the year she took in him, and she has been very worried about his going to college recently.
"Yes, I am very optimistic about Jimmy. He is an excellent player with great potential." Zhang Yu said.
He glanced at Matthew Graves, who immediately took out the documents from the briefcase and handed them to Michelle Lambert:
"This is our certificate, please have a look."
Michelle Lambert took it, just glanced at it roughly, then handed it back to Matthew Graves, and said with a smile:
"Although I don't really watch the NCAA, Jimmy and Jordan are both fanatical fans. They often talk about you... Thank you very much for your recognition of Jimmy, but it depends on Jimmy's wishes. I can't make decisions for him."
Zhang Yu nodded to express his understanding, then turned to look at Butler, and said slowly:
"Jimmy, I can offer you a full scholarship. You should know Stephen Curry? Before he joined the Bulldogs, he was rejected by many schools, but after joining the Bulldogs, he became the NCAA scoring champion."
Butler nodded again and again. Although David won the NCAA championship, Curry is the most popular player this year. His inspirational experience is well known, and Butler uses him as an example to motivate himself.
Zhang Yu continued:
"But you also know that the Bulldogs lost to the University of Florida in the elite eight competition. We are going to compete for the championship next season. I need you to help the team with defense. If you can't meet my requirements, just Can be a substitute until you are strong enough."
"And you're competing with seniors who are skilled and experienced, and you might not be able to play for a long time."
"But I can guarantee that as long as you meet my requirements, you are an important member of the team, you can show yourself on the stage of March Madness, and you can get the attention of NBA scouts. I hope you can think carefully... Would you like to play for me?"
Butler took a deep breath and said firmly without thinking for a long time;
"I am willing! I have never been afraid of competition. I am only worried about not having a chance. I am stupid. I am only good at one thing, and that is practice. As long as you give me a chance, I will definitely not disappoint your trust!"
Zhang Yu looked straight into his eyes, a smile gradually appeared on his face:
"Welcome to Team Bulldogs!"
"Doesn't Jimmy need to participate in the trial training?" Leslie whispered doubtfully beside him.
His voice was not high, but it sounded very obvious in a quiet room. Everyone looked at him, and he waved his hands quickly:
"When I said nothing..."
Everyone laughed, but Butler and Michelle Lambert looked at Zhang Yu with an inquiring look.
Zhang Yu said slowly:
"I am very optimistic about Jimmy, this is enough, in Butler, I have the final say."
Please recommend! !