Andy Li could be sure there was nothing wrong with his ears.
Because when he sneaked a look at his father's private stash of adult videos at home, even when he reduced the volume of the TV to just two bars, he could still hear those wonderful moans, and at the same time, keep an eye out for footsteps outside the door.
So the problem had to be with Roger.
Seeing his good friend's distrustful face, Roger said with a grin, "I know, last time we came here to try out, we lost miserably. But don't forget, that was two years ago. Two years is enough to change a lot of things."
"Yeah, two years is enough to change a lot of things. For example, our opponents have gotten even stronger. Andrae has gone from a second-string center to the strongest player at Block High School. Some things are just like that, you keep on trying only to find the gap between you and others is widening."
"Give up the struggle, Roger, answer the call of the San Fernando Valley! The AVN Best Male Performer little gold man trophy is waving at you!"
"Hey, enough already, just pass the ball to me later!" Roger said while hitting every shot steadily during warm-up.
Literally every shot.
Coach Hawk, who had been paying close attention to Roger, had already noticed his incredibly soft touch!
Hawk couldn't help but smile, maybe there would be a surprise!
In high school, it's common for a player to make rapid progress in a year.
Especially for perimeter players who do not have a significant height advantage.
Jordan was still on the JV team in his sophomore year, but by his senior year, he made the All-American team.
George Gervin didn't begin to stand out until his senior year.
If you look ahead to the year 2024, there are even more such players.
During his junior year, Jimmy Butler averaged just 10 points a game, and at that time, no one believed he would appear on the NBA Finals stage.
SGA could barely make it onto the JV team at the start of high school and was even kicked out of his AAU team by his friends.
Morant was just an obscure high school player throughout his school years.
One example after another proves that in high school, a kid can indeed become someone to be looked at anew after just three days.
So at this moment, Hawk was wondering if Roger might be one of those players. Just from the warm-ups, he could tell that Roger had improved tremendously.
He wondered what Roger's performance would be like in a real game.
He suddenly looked forward to the upcoming match with eagerness.
The hot-tempered Andrae paid no attention to Roger's accuracy and kept shouting about how he was going to defeat Roger soundly.
Roger muttered to himself: "Lose? I've lost enough in my last life! From now on, I'm going to win!"
...
Max Hardy, as a sports journalist for the Jonesville Observer, would visit various high schools every year around this time to conduct interviews and write a preseason preview article for various colleges.
Today, he arrived at Block High School, his main interest in recording was Andrae Patterson, everyone in Jonesville Town wanted to know if Andrae had the prospect of breaking into the NCAA Division I after a summer of evolution.
He just wanted to watch Andrae and the other first-team players train, but that would have to wait until the new player selection games were over.
Yet to Hardy's surprise, Andrae, as the team's star player, was actually taking the court at the new player selection game.
Hardy didn't understand what the point was for Andrae to take part in this kind of selection game.
If he played, the match would turn into a one-sided slaughter.
But seeing Andrae's performance ahead of time wasn't bad either.
When the two teams gathered at the mid-court line, Andrae deliberately cracked his knuckles loudly.
Roger didn't want to bother with him, but Andrae approached Roger proactively:
"Crushing opponents, survival of the fittest, kill or be killed... this is the essence of basketball. Don't think that just because you've been injured before, I'll go easy on you. I wouldn't mind making you bleed again!"
Roger waved his hand impatiently, "Shut it, Andrae. I'm already sick of your hoarse and unpleasant voice. Why don't you just go do voice acting for Donald Duck? Rest assured, no one will mind if a black guy is voicing a white duck."
Andrae flew into a rage, "This is the second time today you've disrespected me! You're f***ing done, Roger. I'm going to make you tuck tail and slink back to the tennis courts!"
"You've never respected me, so why should I respect you?"
Seeing Roger and Andrae arguing increasingly fiercely, the referee quickly blew his whistle, "Enough! Either play the game properly or both of you get out!"
Only then did Roger and Andrae finally calm down—at least outwardly, as both were desperate to show the other up.
The ref tossed the ball into the air, officially starting the selection game.
Andrae easily won the ball and then ran inside to fiercely jockey for position.
With one strong bump, he knocked his defender out of bounds; Andrae's physical conditioning was unrivaled at Block High School.
Catching the ball lobbed in by the point guard, Andrae was getting ready to slam dunk it directly, intending to give Roger a little shock.
But just as Andrae's feet left the ground, Roger, who had snuck in for the defense, had already risen to the peak.
For the first time, Andrae had to look up at his opponent in the air.
Then everyone heard a "smack" sound as Roger's hand, like a heavy hammer, sent Andrae's attempted dunk flying.
Pressed down in the air, Andrae fell backward, crashing to the ground in an awkward heap.
Roger replicated a Big Ben-like block, outjumping Shaq as the underdog!
Actually, like Iceman, Roger's defense wasn't strong. Lacking real combat experience, both Roger's defensive skills and awareness were quite average.
But, he had decent athletic ability; the 2K game even gave Gervin, in the last year of his professional career, a 90 for jumping and 76 for speed.
Inheriting Iceman's hops, Roger easily snuffed Andrae's slam.
According to the "Marcus Camby" law, once you make a block, people will mistakenly think you've got strong defense!
The whole court fell silent. Block High's strongest player had been flipped over by the lanky Roger?
This belated revenge, two years in the making, was incredibly satisfying for Roger, but it was just the beginning.
After completing the defense, Roger immediately ran past half court, asking for the ball.
Andy Li didn't think twice and passed the ball to his friend. That block had convinced him, a lot of things had really changed over the past two years.
Since Andrae hadn't gotten up yet, it was a 5-on-4 situation in the frontcourt.
But after catching the ball, Roger didn't take the opportunity to attack. Instead, he turned to look at Andrae, who was running back, and then pointed to the paint.
It meant that he wanted to wait until Andrae was back in position before attacking!
"Come on, Andrae, I'll give you a chance for revenge."
The reporter from the Jonesville Observer, Max Hardy, fixed his gaze on the court. Not taking the opportunity of having more players, deliberately waiting for the opponent's defense to set up before attacking.
Either Roger was confident and strong, or he was a complete idiot!
Which one was Roger? The answer would come soon.
As soon as Andrae entered the paint, the tall and slim Roger sped up. He easily broke through the guard assigned to him with a smooth change of direction, heading straight for the inside, decisively.
Andrae immediately moved to cover, planning to choke this naive trash just like he did two years ago during sophomore year.
As soon as Roger stepped into the paint, he jumped, making an upward layup motion as if setting fire to the heavens.
Seeing Roger taking off so far from the basket, Coach Hawk frowned.
That takeoff spot was too far from the basket, it was impossible to finish near the rim.
A smirk curled on Andrae's lips.
This idiot must be scared; he didn't dare to push to the basket to challenge him, so he chose to jump early to escape the confrontation!
But, thinking that jumping from a long distance could avoid a disaster was a mistake!
Andrae took a step forward, tensed the muscles in his legs, and jumped powerfully.
His 2.08-meter height stood out among high school players, a towering black monolith covering the basket as he jumped, reducing anyone in front of him to insignificance.
It seemed that Roger would pay a painful price for his previous brash actions.
But right as the two were about to collide in mid-air, Roger in the sky slightly turned his body aside, avoiding Andrae.
Then he cradled the basketball, and from a long distance from the basket, flicked it with the tip of his finger.
The ball smoothly left Roger's fingertips, arching over Andrae's head. With a smile curling at the edges of Roger's mouth, the ball traced a perfect arc, swished through the net without a hint of resistance.
A normal layup is usually taken near the basket. But Roger had just made an elegant, supple long-distance finger roll from far away, securely sinking the ball!
Hawk stood up involuntarily— that leap, that touch, that difficult long-distance finger roll... had Roger evolved to this extent?
The previous Roger couldn't have made that shot, but for the current Roger, a long-distance finger roll seemed to be written into his DNA.
Because the long-distance finger roll was George Gervin's deadliest weapon, the most prominent part of his talent!
Just like Simmons's threes, Nash's defense, and GOAT's aerial agility, the Finger Roll was George Gervin's most well-known tag, his most natural attacking move.
As a scoring guard, not good at confrontation and incapable of threes, Iceman relied on this unique long-distance finger roll skill to gracefully score high points, despite having a frame even skinnier than rookie Ingram, among hefty giants.
The excellent coordination and touch made Iceman's long-distance finger rolls look as easy as winning a fluffy toy at a carnival.
This allowed his layups not to rely on being close to the basket; even from a distance, he could still finish with a high rate of success.
Because of the gentle artistry of Iceman's long-distance finger roll, it was known by a beautiful name— Finger Roll.
And just like there was no Skyhook after Jabbar, no one since Gervin had been able to master this skill to such a divine level. It's a talent-reliant move, hardly achievable by practice alone.
And now, this elegantly lethal technique had been completely inherited by Roger!
It was also the first round taking the ball and charging the inside, also facing Andrae.
But this time, Roger created a completely different outcome from his sophomore year, completely breaking down the varsity team's top center's defense!
After the basket, Roger felt only one thing in his heart, "Block High's strongest player, is this all?"
At this moment, Roger wasn't just defeating Andrae, but also that once-failed life.
Having dealt with Andrae so easily, he could now be confident that he would leave a lasting, vibrant mark in this historical basketball world.
Today, was just the start.
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