Up until the end of the show, the scene Han Sen had been hoping for never appeared.
Barkley never dissed him like he had once dissed Yao Ming.
Seeing this, he smiled helplessly.
It wasn't that Barkley had changed; it was that he didn't understand him well enough.
Because of the famous ass-kissing incident, Han Sen had developed a stereotyped impression of him, thinking the guy just loved roasting people.
That's why he found Barkley's polite tone in private messages so strange.
But looking back with that bias gone, it was just a normal exchange.
And since Barkley chose to feature his content on the show, how could he intentionally mock him?
After all, Han Sen was a nobody. If Barkley didn't think he was worth it, he wouldn't have aired it at all.
Although the result wasn't what he had hoped for, it wasn't a total loss. At least his hater points had been steadily increasing during this time.
And after all, there are many roads to success. If one doesn't work, just switch to another.
It's worth noting that the success of BOAT was never achieved overnight. It was through one classic quote or action after another that he finally gained recognition from fans.
If media personalities didn't work, then what about NBA players?
He was already brewing a new plan.
As expected, the unexpected happened.
The next morning, when Han Sen woke up, still groggy, he habitually checked his system for hater points.
And with just one glance, he was instantly wide awake.
They were rising at a rate he had never seen before!
Did the system glitch or what?
He sat up in bed, propped a pillow behind him, and logged into his social media account.
At first glance, he thought he had logged into the wrong account because his follower count had multiplied several times.
But then he remembered that none of his small accounts had any followers.
Looking closely, he saw that his post "The Skill of the NCAA's Top Shooter" had accumulated a ton of new comments, with some of them already trending.
"How many years did it take to shoot this?"
"Look at how drenched he is- he's really just pretending to be something he's not."
"If becoming the best is just about saying 'I'm the best,' then I declare myself the GOAT."
"How much did this guy pay TNT? A Division II player made it onto their show?"
"Doesn't Barkley like kissing butts? This guy's an Asian with a nice, soft one!"
...
Han Sen frowned as he read through them, but by the time he finished, he couldn't help bursting into laughter.
On yesterday's TNT show, his username and ID had indeed been hidden, but the link to his account was not.
Anyone determined enough could easily trace it back to him!
And the comments were different from those from the haters he had farmed before. Their motives were different.
The previous haters came from Curry's fanbase, so their hate was rooted in a loyalty to Curry.
But these new ones? They hated him purely because TNT aired his clip and found him annoying.
It was entirely normal. Even though Barkley had defended him, the tone of his post was like self-proclaiming himself as the greatest of all time- it was bound to attract hate.
Many were convinced by Barkley, but just as many were not.
And not to mention, since Barkley often went against the mainstream for the sake of ratings, he had his own fair share of haters.
This was exactly what people call: "You try to plant flowers but they don't bloom; yet, a new opportunity blossoms unexpectedly!"
"Han, what happened?" Rondo was woken up by his laughter.
Seeing Rondo rubbing his eyes, he smiled and said, "I've made it."
"Really? Did anyone praise my filming skills?" Rondo quickly slid over from his own bed to Han Sen's.
"See for yourself." He handed him the phone.
Rondo took the phone, full of anticipation, but soon his face turned into a frown.
"What do you mean 'made it'? These are all hate comments!"
"Hate still means attention," Han Sen didn't care.
"I don't know whether to say you have a good attitude or you just don't care at all."
Rondo was speechless. The comments were so harsh, even involving personal attacks. He would've lost it already.
"Chris, you have to understand that I'm just a nobody right now."
"I still don't get it." He handed the phone back, feeling more irritated the longer he read the comments.
"Let me put it this way." Han Sen crossed his legs and sat up straight.
"Suppose someone isn't talented enough to make it into the NBA, but they have a superstar father who brings them attention from the league, even though it also brings them lots of doubt. Do you think having a superstar dad is a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Of course, it's a good thing!"
Rondo paused after answering, then quickly nodded as he realized what Han Sen meant.
Even if it's negative attention, as long as it brings NBA scouts' attention and gets him into the league, it's a good thing.
"But won't these comments come back to haunt you once you're in the NBA? Even if you delete them, people will have screenshots. The internet remembers everything."
"Why would I delete them?" He asked with a grin.
"Why wouldn't you?" Rondo was genuinely puzzled now.
"Why should I?" He stared back.
"When I finally make it into the NBA, people will look at these comments and say, 'Look, Han dared to call himself the best shooter even when he was in NCAA Division II back then. He's so confident and unique- that's why he was destined for success!'"
"...."
Rondo widened his eyes, wanting to argue but finding no good counterpoint.
"Chris, you need to understand that people are hypocritical. They only make judgments based on the current situation."
He shook his head. The Han Sen of the past rarely spoke, but now he was saying things that he didn't quite understand.
Seeing this, Han Sen waved it off. He realized it was foolish to discuss double standards with an American.
After class, he headed to the training gym early.
In good spirits, his training enthusiasm was through the roof.
Not long after he started, Theus arrived at the gym as well.
Han Sen paused his training and went to greet him.
A player's success is closely tied to their coach, as the coach decides playing time and the player's role in the team.
This is especially true in the NCAA, where there is no front office- coaches essentially act as management and directly shape the players' futures.
After Theus had encouraged him last time, he had made Han Sen the focal point of the team's tactics, and for that, he was very grateful.
"Coach, you're here early," Han Sen greeted him with a handshake.
Theus smiled and got straight to the point. "I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
Such a classic question. Han Sen didn't hesitate: "Good news."
"On December 7th, we're playing against a Division I team."
"Really?"
Han Sen was instantly thrilled. His hater points were rising fast, but not fast enough.
A game against a Division I NCAA team was the perfect opportunity.
"The school they were originally supposed to play against had a flu outbreak, so we're their replacement."
"Coach, you're amazing!" He gave Theus a thumbs up.
Like mentioned before, Division II teams rarely get the chance to play against Division I teams after the season opener.
So even though Theus made it sound casual, it was clearly the result of his hard work.
After all, there are so many Division II schools- why did they pick theirs?
"Aren't you going to ask what the bad news is?" Theus asked with a smile.
"Is our opponent North Carolina?"
"No." Theus chuckled, impressed by Han Sen's composure. He then delivered the bad news,
"It's Michigan State University."