The next day, every newspaper in America featured a photo of O'Neal tightly embracing Roger.
In the picture, Shaq looked ecstatic, as if he was the one who had won the state championship.
And Roger, to tell the truth, looked like he was about to be suffocated by Shaq.
For Shaq at that moment, happiness was a simple matter. He thought Roger was a good guy, and then Roger won the championship, so he was happy.
And what Roger said in the post-game interview only confirmed to Shaq that he hadn't misjudged him, that Roger was indeed worth being friends with.
When a journalist asked Roger about his future plans, he answered, "I hope to become an upright and honorable All-Star player like Shaq."
The emphasis on "upright and honorable" was because just two days earlier, Riley had said to the media: "I still think it's irrational that rookie Shaq ousted Ewing to become the Eastern Conference All-Stars starter. We're currently first in the East, so where is that All-Star starter now?"
In Shaq's eyes, this was Roger using the national live broadcast to support him!
Only, the ability of Shaq's big brain to imagine things was too strong.
Roger had simply seen O'Neal nearby at the time, so he subconsciously said that.
If Ewing had been at the venue today, he also would have said, "I hope to become an upright and honorable All-Star player like Patrick."
Regardless, the photo of Shaq and Roger indeed became very popular in the basketball community.
After all, both Shaq's and Roger's popularity were now quite high.
Roger swatted down the number one high school player in America like crushing a bug, scoring 58 points in the ESPN broadcast to win the championship.
This made him an overnight sensation.
Thus, Michael Jordan in Chicago heard that name for the second time.
"Who did you say?"
Jordan didn't know why, but he always seemed to hear the name "Roger" when he was in a bad mood.
It was just after a game that had just ended, where the Chicago Bulls lost to the Phoenix Suns 109 to 113, breaking their six-game winning streak.
In that game, Jordan did everything he was supposed to do, scoring 44 points with a 61.3% field goal percentage, omnipotent on the court.
But the Bulls still lost, with Barkley's 26 points, Ceballos' 27 points, and Kevin Johnson's 23 points with 16 assists destroying their night.
The Suns, an offensive team, were not at all afraid to exchange blows with the Bulls, having more scorers than the Bulls.
For the highly competitive Jordan, losing the game was annoying enough.
But what really pissed him off was what Barkley said after the game: "Mike's three-peat? Wake up, even if someone in this league could create a three-peat miracle, it would be me, I'm the best player on this planet! The MVP this year will be mine, and so will the championship!"
Jordan was furious, that dead fat pig Barkley dared to say such words at the United Center.
Just when Jordan was irritated, at the press conference, a reporter asked him, "Mike, what do you think about Block High School's star player Roger achieving a state championship with 58 points in a single game and becoming the number one high school player in America?"
Jordan still remembered the last time he was disturbed by an impertinent reporter in Las Vegas, and he asked about Roger.
Back then, Jordan thought he would never hear that name again in his life.
And here it was again, especially when he was in such a bad mood?
"Who did you say?" Jordan wanted to make sure he hadn't misheard.
"Roger, Mr. Basketball of Louisiana, he is now the hottest high school player in America."
"Damn it, we're discussing a three-peat, why do you keep bothering me with some nobody who can't even play in the NBA yet?"
Truth be told, Jordan was lucky to have become famous in an era when the internet wasn't well-developed.
Otherwise, many of his words would have severely damaged his public image.
If it were James assessing a high school player, James would absolutely praise him: "Man, you know, Roger has always been my brother, and also an extremely outstanding player..."
In short, he would never directly use "nobody" to evaluate someone else.
But not Jordan, especially when he was angry, he tended to be unfiltered. Such a person was only fit to be the second GOAT.
Jordan once again refused to comment on Roger, and because both times he heard the name when he was in a bad mood, he even started to instinctively reject the name.
With his mood soured, Jordan ended the press conference and then saw someone in the parking lot who made his mood even worse.
Truth be told, Jordan would rather be locked in a small room with his head forced to watch gay videos than to see Krause's oily, nauseatingly fat face.
And right after that, his most hated Krause approached him, and said something that almost made Jordan explode, "Hey Mike, everyone's discussing 'The Truth' Roger now, what do you think of him? Everyone says he's the one closest to your scoring ability."
"Have you all fucking lost your minds?!" Jordan roared.
Krause stood there confused, what the hell did I do to you?
"Listen, Jerry, tonight... no, I never want to hear that damn name again!" And with that, Jordan got into his car.
He decided to gamble all night to vent his negative emotions.
Krause was speechless, as the team's general manager, he was inexplicably yelled at like a dog.
If that bastard wasn't Michael Jordan, he would have packed up and left long ago!
After returning to the office, Krause calmed down and looked over the scouting report from Ivica Dukan again.
"If I were the decision maker, even if he wanted to come right now to the Bulls for a tryout as a high schooler, I'd give him the opportunity."
Well, it's a good thing you're not the decision maker.
"By the way, he has another advantage. Because he is Chinese, so, he probably doesn't use drugs, doesn't like gambling, and has no gang background, maybe he doesn't even have a quick temper."
Yeah, you're fucking right!
While Krause and Jordan were having their tempers flaring, Joe Abunassar in the hotel in Baton Rouge told Roger two pieces of good news.
The first good news, the McDonald's All-American Game had officially invited Roger to participate!
The McDonald's All-American Game is currently the top high school all-star event in the United States, with a very glorious history.
In its first year, 1977, they had invited Magic.
In 1979, the Baby-Faced Assassin and the "Human Highlight Film" competed in Charlotte.
In 1981, Michael Jordan scored 30 points in the McDonald's All-American Game.
Roger's good friend Shaq also shone in the 1989 McDonald's All-American Game, skyrocketing to fame.
These great names represent the glorious history of the event.
This is a hall of fame for top high school players, being invited means your abilities have been recognized, proving you are one of the best high school players.
And winning this event and taking the MVP means you can drop the suffix "one of."
As far as Abunassar knew, Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Rashad Griffith, and other top five high school players in the country had also received invitations.
And the McDonald's All-American Game would be broadcast live nationwide through CBS.
This meant that Roger had the opportunity to harvest the top five high school players in the nation right before the eyes of the whole country!
Roger of course knew that to attract the attention of NBA teams, the McDonald's All-American Game would be key.
Because those participating were all top high school players, there were no nobodies. Thus, the level of the event was recognized by the NBA.
Many high school prospects got into the NBA's sights after performing in similar all-star games or training camps.
Like T-Mac, who made a sensation at the ABCD camp a few years later.
Roger was already quite famous, and if he continued to heat up in the McDonald's All-American Game, he would surely win over the NBA teams!
"So, what's the second piece of good news?" Roger asked Abunassar.
"William Friedkin, an Oscar-winning director, has invited you to shoot a sports movie called 'Blue Chips', and your good friend Shaq is one of the leads as well. This won't help your draft much, but, it should get you a good amount of cash."
As he said this, Abunassar shrugged, "You're a star player now, 'The Truth'."
Move over Pierce, sorry, Penny.