Chapter 12 Frye is Next_2
However, Yu Fei had never expected, and neither had Carter, that this minor incident was but an ignored pre-warning before Knight fell into the abyss.
Yu Fei continued his journey through the preliminary rounds.
The next day, Kent Meridian High School had a back-to-back game against Kent Lake Borton High School.
After the rise of K-M, this school, which fought a tough game to secure the third place in Kent School District's preliminaries last year, became easy prey.
The outcome of the match was never in doubt.
The only change was at the sidelines.
Yu Fenglin came to watch Yu Fei's game in person for the first time.
And Quint DiMio from the Royal Team, at his own expense, bought a portable camcorder to capture Yu Fei's highlights.
Since the opponent was too weak, Yu Fei only played for 20 minutes but still managed to effortlessly score 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 blocks.
The Royal Team achieved two consecutive victories, securing first place in the Kent School District in advance, and qualified for the city championship.
DiMio's camcorder caught the attention of many.
90% of the footage he captured featured Yu Fei; he turned the remaining 10% belonging to other players into a video, which he played in Selvan's office to the delight of the Royal Team. As for Yu Fei's highlights, he decided to save them up gradually and, when he could edit a 5-minute highlight reel, send it off to those influential organizations.
The entire process, from the cost of the camcorder to all the follow-up work, were financed and completed by DiMio alone.
Yu Fei took note of his dedication.
Yu Fei knew that if he wanted to skip college and enter the NBA draft directly, having a supportive entourage was essential, and since DiMio was so dedicated and a pleasant person to be around, why not make him part of his team?
Yu Fei didn't initiate a heart-to-heart with DiMio.
DiMio continued to work for him, and Yu Fei still asked for his help in training, but he started to spend more time with DiMio normally.
They would chat, discuss current affairs, and treat each other to meals.
When Yu Fei took the initiative to invite DiMio to his home for dinner, DiMio knew he was in.
Two days later, on the last day of Kent School District's preliminaries, DiMio told Yu Fei before the game that many First Division League coaches had come specifically for him.
"Put on a good show, it's showtime!"
Before the game, DiMio said, carrying the camcorder.
Thus, Yu Fei asked Selvan for 28 minutes of playing time, and also, he wanted to handle more than half of the team's shooting rights.
An official high school match has only 8 minutes per quarter, playing for 28 minutes meant Yu Fei could rest for at most 1 minute each quarter.
Selvan, seeing the setup at the venue, understood the reason behind Yu Fei's excitement.
He simply shrugged, "Be careful not to get injured."
Yu Fei started by making an opening jumper, then stole the opponent's pass for a fast-break dunk, and followed it with a block and another fast-break slam.
He began to dominate the court, from the frontcourt to the backcourt, his presence was everywhere.
What was most terrifying was that he was particularly on form today, sinking all of his first 10 shots. This surge in confidence made each of his three-pointers come from further out than the last.
He sunk 6 three-pointers in a row, then returned to the standard three-point line to shoot another, only to miss.
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So what? Yu Fei felt the shot wouldn't go in as he released it, so he immediately rushed in after shooting. The long rebound from his three-point attempt almost instantly landed in his hands. It was just like that jaw-dropping footage of Viktor Wembanyama before the draft—taking a shot from downtown, missing, grabbing his own rebound, and then finishing with a dunk.
For the scouts and coaches in attendance, today's opponent offered no reference value.
But most of them had seen Yu Fei's performance a few months ago at the Nike regional invitational.
What they could be sure of was that Yu Fei didn't have such a rich arsenal of skills back then.
Especially this shooting skill; it was much better than before.
The low intensity of the game and the inferior level of the opponents might explain some things, but not this shot.
It showed that Yu Fei had been improving.
At halftime, many college coaches wanted to chat with Yu Fei.
But Yu Fei merely nodded at them and then walked away.
Then, someone noticed something terrifying, "Frye scored 34 points in the first half?"
"Could he hit 100 points?"
Yu Fei didn't score 100 points, as the game quickly descended into garbage time with the opponent's line crumpling.
Yu Fei, initially slated for 28 minutes of play, could no longer bear to pad his stats with a 50-point lead staring him down.
Just like that, he sat out the rest of the game.
In just 24 minutes, he slashed 48 points, 18 rebounds, and 5 blocks; everyone saw his improvement, especially Gary Smith from "Sports Illustrated."
Yu Fei's performance quickened his pulse.
After Yu Fei left the court, his dominant aura still lingered, reminiscent of Tiger Woods in 1996 or Mike Tyson in 1988.
Smith had not witnessed Michael Jordan in 1984 or other legends who dominated their fields in person, but he believed they all shared a common trait—a presence that enshrouded the room.
"Is Frye the next one?"
Smith rapidly wrote down the sentence in his notebook.
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"In any other NBA city, hiring the 62-year-old Lenny Wilkens as a coach might be seen as a step backward. But not in Toronto, where Wilkens is hailed as a savior. This most successful coach in league history has brought immediate stability to a fledgling team that underwent three coaching changes in five years." — "Toronto Star"
"David Falk's threat to the Clippers did not work, and after months of tug-of-war, Donald Sterling got Darius Miles into his estate as desired." — "Los Angeles Times"
"With Jerry West stepping down, the Los Angeles Lakers have entered a new era." — "Los Angeles Daily News"
"The controversial 29-year reign of Bob Knight at Indiana University dramatically ended after he gave an impolite student a lesson in manners1." — "Sports Illustrated"
"Good morning, Kent City, yesterday afternoon, Frye, a senior at Kent Meridian High School, scored 48 points in the Kent School District basketball game." — Kent City Broadcast
1 The incident went like this: an impolite student called Bob Knight by his name directly, and then Knight pulled him into a corner and went ballistic in the "blow-dryer mode," claiming it was a "lesson in manners," after which he was fired.
PS: TVB seems to have recently produced a "Tokyo Love Story." With TVB capable of shooting anything, they surely won't venture into making Avy a porn actress, right? If the male lead actually turns out to be a porn actor, then I must watch it. If anyone has seen it, let me know.
PPS: Please follow, recommend, and vote for the monthly ticket.
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