DeRozan replied, "My friend, he was also my middle school classmate, plays basketball pretty well, and is about to go to Lynwood High School."
Lynwood, also a small city in Los Angeles County, borders Los Angeles and can be somewhat considered a part of it, which is why the schools here have a wide student base.
Zhang Yang wasn't thinking about the possibility of transferring or anything, but he had looked up the CIF Division 1 schools in Los Angeles County, and Lynwood High School was one of them.
Being friends with DeRozan, who is still considered a 'kid', and being praised by DeRozan for playing decent basketball, and about to go to Los Angeles for high school... Zhang Yang summarized the information, and a face with distinctive features came to mind.
Could it be that one?
DeRozan didn't say the name, and Zhang Yang didn't ask further, leaving some suspense...
Then, Zhang Yang asked DeRozan what had happened that morning.
DeRozan thought about it and decided to tell him.
If DeRozan was helping his uncle with the newspapers in the morning, he would come to the park to practice for an hour before noon.
Today was the same; he arrived at the park around 10 a.m., and although there were already some people at the basketball courts, there were still two half-courts empty, so he practiced alone as usual.
After practicing for a while, a group of people came and noisily told him to leave, not to hog the space.
Although they were rude and cursing, he moved aside, since it didn't seem fair for one person to occupy a half-court.
Moreover, he knew some of the people in that group and didn't want to provoke them and invite trouble.
But as he was about to leave, the group started harassing him mercilessly, and eventually they challenged him to a fight... of course, a basketball game.
The names of the three who wanted to 'fight' DeRozan were known to Zhang Yang's original self as well.
Russell Jones, Andrew Mels, and Isaiah Mels; the last two are twins.
America is not short of basketball prodigies, nor of former basketball prodigies.
All three were the latter, considered basketball geniuses in their communities during their elementary and middle school days. However, like many geniuses, they failed to transition during their student years. By high school, they were no longer outstanding and dropped out early.
But after dropping out, these three still clung to the label of 'basketball prodigies', unwilling to settle down; instead, they returned home, roamed the streets, and caused trouble, particularly enjoying using their basketball skills to bully the weaker ones on the courts.
Zhang Yang's original self knew about these three, not because they played exceptionally well, but because his family and friends all warned him to steer clear of these hoodlums.
After hearing the story, Zhang Yang commented, "I remember those guys are almost 20, right? Picking on you, a 13-year-old kid, is pretty shameless."
"You're the kid!" DeRozan, who was not going to turn 14 until the 7th of next month, immediately retorted.
Zhang Yang: "Yes, yes, you're the big kid... Did they hassle you because they recognized you as the top middle school player in Southern California? Trying to make a name for themselves off you while you're young? Or did they want to bully you because they're older, trying to crush your confidence, thinking that way you'll end up like them?"
Big kid... DeRozan gave Zhang Yang a dismissive glance and then confidently stated, "Those guys can't shake my confidence."
Zhang Yang thought for a moment, then suggested, "How about we just forget about it? Let's not deal with them; we can find another place to train."
"I don't want to run away!"
DeRozan usually had a delayed response, but this time he didn't hesitate for a second.
Zhang Yang smelled a rat.
No longer contemplating 'the best way to handle this', he smiled and said, "Since that's the case, let's just play against them, just don't blame me if I hold you back."
...
Snakes are composed, and the next morning, Zhang Yang saw DeRozan, as if nothing had happened, engaging in his regular training.
It was the same last night; it wasn't until the end of training that he noticed something was off with DeRozan.
It's only fair to say that the ability to make it into the NBA and become an All-Star is justified.
No matter what happens, as long as it doesn't affect the training schedule, it doesn't affect the training... lesson learned.
They trained until 7:30 a.m., had breakfast together, and now if DeRozan came out for morning practice, he wouldn't eat breakfast at home.
After breakfast, having rested for a while, Zhang Yang asked DeRozan to practice together. DeRozan would break through and pass the ball to him for the attack on the basket.
Having practiced dribbling and layups for seven or eight days, he originally planned to start practicing mid-range jump shots. Cooperation in receiving passes wasn't on his current agenda, but now, things had changed.
There were indeed some students in the class who were quite good at basketball, but he estimated that they wouldn't be willing to come once they heard the names of those few hooligans.
Besides, even if they were willing, Zhang Yang didn't want to cause trouble for his classmates.
That meant he had to find a way to help DeRozan instead of holding him back.
Seeing how seriously Zhang Yang was preparing for battle touched DeRozan deeply.
There was no need for Zhang Yang to wade into this mess with him, but the other party chose to stand behind him without any hesitation... He didn't make a fuss and threw himself into the preparation.
However, after practicing the break and pass a few times, DeRozan was surprised.
He had only intended to 'sharpen his weapons at the last minute' to help Zhang Yang practice, but he didn't expect Zhang Yang to make any significant progress so quickly.
After all, Zhang Yang had been learning to play basketball for less than ten days, and DeRozan had seen firsthand how bad his first day of practice was.
Moreover, Zhang Yang had spent these days patiently practicing the most basic dribble layups, never having played an actual game of basketball.
But the situation was different from what he had expected!
After just a few practices, Zhang Yang's rhythm had already become very proficient, and it seemed he was even actively coordinating with DeRozan's pace of breakthroughs?
Damn it! His buddy was really a genius!
Somehow, DeRozan felt the pressure again.
Because he was not very good at teamwork, he wasn't adept at responding to others.
And he estimated that if he tried to learn it, he wouldn't be as quick as Zhang Yang.
That meant his buddy might actually have more talent than him, simply having started playing basketball later!
In fact, it wasn't so much that Zhang Yang was a fast learner; rather he already knew how. He had mastered the attacking moves in the past few days, and after coordinating a few times, he quickly got the hang of it.
Responding to passes and cooperation differ from technique, focusing not on fundamental skills but on experience.
DeRozan had better basketball strength, and even at the 'peak' of his former life, Zhang Yang was no match for DeRozan, given the vast difference in physical conditions.
But when it came to playing experience, Zhang Yang was far more seasoned than DeRozan, who had still been playing for his department in intra-school competitions during his junior year in college and only gradually stopped playing basketball after starting his internship in his senior year.
DeRozan put aside his distractions and focused on training properly.
Zhang Yang's talent was something he had no control over; he was happy to see his buddy getting stronger quickly so they could have fun playing together.
If Zhang Yang had a natural gift in this area, DeRozan could also take the opportunity to practice passing the ball.
For Zhang Yang, as he thought, training in cooperation and making the shots also increased his Shooting Value. It allowed him to practice teamwork without delaying the accumulation of his Shooting Value.
Moreover, since he didn't need to dribble and break through, focusing on catching and making layups, his shooting percentage improved some more...
The two immersed themselves in training, and by 9 o'clock, the park started to fill up with people. They ended their practice and headed to the bus station together.
DeRozan, who frequently rode this bus, was very familiar with the station and led Zhang Yang onto the platform.
DeRozan had timed it well, and not long after the two arrived at the station, the bus from Compton to Hidden Mountain pulled in.
Zhang Yang watched the bus door intently as one by one, passengers got off. Soon, he spotted the person he was expecting.
Although the physique was beyond his expectation, so round... the distinctiveness of that face could not be ignored. Even without the beard, the singer's charisma was evident.
It was him, it was him, it definitely was him...
The future King!
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