Chapter 5: Jeffrey Dai's Long Day

"...because in a few years, you'll see me on TV, and then you'll remember how I sent you packing today!"

Hank Sylvan spoke with overwhelming confidence, which made Yu Fei wonder if there was such a goofball in the NBA with that name.

He thought hard about it.

He was certain that there was no such person in the NBA after 2016.

What about before that?

He wasn't familiar with the NBA before 2016; one might say it was his blind spot in knowledge.

But he had never heard of a basketball star named Jeffrey Dai in the NBA.

So it was certain that even if this guy made it to the NBA, he hadn't made much of a name for himself.

Moreover, standing in the same position, Jeffrey Dai was reportedly the same height as Yu Fei, at 6 feet 9 inches, but a close comparison revealed the other was clearly a bit shorter.

So, it was very likely that Dai's reported height was in shoes.

While Yu Fei reported his barefoot height, according to American basketball player standards, it wouldn't be a problem for him to report a height of 6 feet 10 inches.

Yu Fei didn't say much to Dai and went back to warm up after listening to the trash talk.

Rather, it was Hank Sylvan who alerted Yu Fei to pay extra attention to Jeffrey Dai.

"Fulai, Starfish Team's lineup is pretty similar to ours," Sylvan said, "The only one worth serious attention is Jeffrey Dai."

Typically, stars who choose to join mediocre teams want to hog the ball and put out impressive stats to make a name for themselves.

"Is that guy really that good?" Yu Fei asked.

Sylvan smiled, "Seattle Prep High School is this year's 3A state champion in the State of Washington, and Jeffrey Dai is their key player on the inside."

Hearing this, Yu Fei laughed.

He came from Kent Meridian High School in Kent School District, which couldn't even make it past the preliminaries, while the other was the core inside player of the Washington state championship team; it was normal for them not to take him seriously.

Yu Fei watched Dai's pre-game warm-up.

He found that Dai was a rather traditional inside player, with virtually no ability to handle the ball at the high post, just receiving the ball down low and using decent physical ability at the high school level to dominate the paint.

"I think I can handle him," said Yu Fei.

"You have to handle him," Sylvan pointed to the sidelines, "See those people there?"

Yu Fei saw a group of professionals who had come for the Rising Stars in the direction Sylvan was pointing.

"Among those people are college scouts and coaches, and star scouts from major sports brands, as well as sports writers from the Washington area. The only reason they're watching this game is they want to see if Jeffrey Dai has grown compared to his performance in the state championship two months ago, as he is a talent who might play in the NBA in the future." Saying this, Sylvan smiled, "If you beat him, no one will pay attention to Dai anymore. You will take his place and become the hope of the State of Washington!"

Yu Fei listened with excitement.

"Is Jeffrey Dai the top high schooler in Washington?"

"Not exactly, Washington doesn't have a true number one high schooler. Players like Jeffrey Dai, Aaron Fitzgerald from Kennedy High School, Errol Knight from Chief Sealth High School, Mike Bethea from Rainier Beach High School, and Brandon Roy from Garfield High School. If I had to pick a number one high schooler in Washington from this group, I think I would choose Brandon Roy," Sylvan said with a smile, "He's the only one among them unanimously selected to Washington's first team."

The names and schools Yu Fei heard sounded like an incantation.

He had no anchor for their names or schools.

But when he heard the name Brandon Roy, Yu Fei couldn't help but open his mouth wanting to say something.

Brandon Roy, a meteoric star of the new century, his rise and fall happened equally fast, and judging from the years he was active, it would have been hard for Yu Fei to know him if not for a stroke of fate.

Among Roy's successors on the Trail Blazers was a player named Damian Lillard, the one-man-one-city league champion as of the summer of 2023.

In Game 5 of the first round in 2019, Lillard hit an unbelievable long three-pointer at the buzzer against the Thunder, which also ended the brotherhood basketball of Paul George and Russell Westbrook. Previously George, who had spent a month toyed with the Lakers and even planned to make a documentary explaining why he chose to stay in Oklahoma City, finally understood the profound truth Tong Dawei conveyed in "American Dreams in China": Don't start a business with good brothers.

But Lillard wasn't Curry; the three-pointer was just as incredible as Curry's, with even higher difficulty occurring in a do-or-die playoff game, but unlike Curry, he couldn't capture an opposing star with it.

It's an underrated "I am not him" potential case in the NBA of the 2010s.

It was with Lillard's career-ending showdown with Westbrook's Thunder era that Yu Fei started to follow Roy.

It was passive.

Just like in 2014, Lillard's blood-sealing three-pointer against the Rockets in the first round; every time he did something like that, people would remember Roy and "The Shot" against the Rockets at 0.8 seconds.

Yu Fei had seen the highlight of Roy's three-pointer, but he thought it should have been over time.

But the NBA is a star-driven league, where stars have privileges; you can't just rewind time and sort things out when a star creates a great moment.

Now hearing Roy's name again, Yu Fei couldn't help but ask, "Is Brandon Roy here too?"

"The Nike Regional Invitational is one of the most influential AAU events in Washington State, I think he'll come, but if you can't get past Jeffrey Dai, what use is it even if he's here?"

So, at the end of the day, you've first got to win the game.

Yu Fei was full of fighting spirit, he dribbled first, then tried a few wildly off-target shots, and ended the warm-up with a dunk.

The Royal Team's starters were Bobby Jonas, Quinn Thomas, Andre Moore, Anthony Lawson, and Yu Fei.

When Jeffrey Dai saw that the Royal Team actually had a female player, he laughed and asked, "Do you think this is an exhibition game?"

"If your ability isn't even half as good as your confidence, this could indeed turn into an exhibition game," Yu Fei responded indifferently.

"Then let's give it a try!"

Dai was determined to prove himself.

During the jump ball, lacking the practical experience as an inside player, Yu Fei didn't catch the right timing to jump, and Dai won the ball for the Starfish Team.

"Give me the ball!" Dai shouted sticking close to Yu Fei, "I'm going to knock down this chopstick figure!"

Clearly, no one on the Starfish Team intended to defy Dai's will.

Even though Dai wasn't fully positioned, they still passed him the ball.

This was a big taboo for inside players.

It looked like Yu Fei, forced to defend against Dai, suddenly exerted strength and used his wingspan to slap the ball away from behind.

Jonas picked up the ball, and the Royal Team launched a fast break from the three-point line, then Yu Fei understood why Jonas was so good at scoring but couldn't lead Kent Meridian out of the Kent School District preliminaries.

He was the type of player who only saw the basket once he got the ball.

On a three-on-two fast break, he insisted on taking on two players, resulting in a block.

"It was just your luck just now!" Dai called out arrogantly, "I'm the main character of the match, and you're just a pitiful supporting role, prepare to witness my strength!"

Dai finally learned his lesson, used his strong body to get into position with the physical advantage, caught a pass from a teammate and forcefully pushed inside, then turned with the ball.

In Seattle, few inside players could withstand this move from him.

Just when he was convinced that Yu Fei would be crushed just like those others before him, the ball, raised for a shot, was fiercely blocked by a wide palm.

What???

Dai's mind went blank, while Yu Fei, the moment after blocking Dai, sprinted forward at full speed.

The lone female player on the court, Quinn Thomas, delivered a beautiful pass to Yu Fei.

Yu Fei dribbled, encountered the interception of an opposing guard, and then within half a second, he stopped abruptly, turned around, and shook off his opponent like a guard.

The scouts who had come specifically for Jeffrey Dai all shifted their attention to him.

Yu Fei charged into the unguarded paint area, leapt up after gathering the ball, and followed with a windmill dunk that ignited the crowd.

"Good defensive habits, excellent athleticism, the height combined with guard-like dribbling, extremely fast release and jumping ability..." a college scout from Southern California wrote these words in his notebook, "Compared to him, Jeffrey Dai pales significantly."

"What's his name?"

"Who is he?"

"Royal Team? From Kent Meridian High School?"

"Who's heard of that school?"

In a single round, Jeffrey Dai went from being the protagonist to a supporting character.

Talent can't be hidden.

Especially on the basketball court, where mediocrity is immediately apparent, but even if the seeds of greatness haven't sprouted yet, they shine brilliantly, immeasurable in potential.

Yu Fei returned to the backcourt and said to Dai, who hadn't come back to his senses yet, "Hey, that protagonist's aura of yours was truly dazzling, let me admire it a bit longer."

For Jeffrey Dai, this would be the longest day of his life.

PS: From tomorrow on, there will be two updates a day.