Chapter 16 Sonny

In March 2001, Chris Dennis arrived in Portland with a box of VHS tapes, guarding them as if they were priceless treasures. Dennis, a Seattle native, had attended his brother's Nike regional invitational the previous year. However, he was drawn to another kid who was taller and more remarkable than his own brother.

Dennis inquired and learned the kid's name was Frye. At that time, he contacted the staff of the ABCD Camp, saying, "I've seen a kid who is going to be better than Lamar Odom."

The staff was not impressed with Dennis's exaggeration and didn't think someone capable of being compared to the NBA's most promising power forward would suddenly emerge from Seattle.

Nevertheless, Dennis was not discouraged and went to as many of Fei's games as he could. He also struck up a friendship with Fei's coach, Hank Sylvan, and closely followed Fei's performances on the Royal Team. During the final of the Washington State 4A high school championship, Dennis recorded the game with a portable video camera.

Now he had brought this tape to Portland with a single goal in mind—to show it to his boss, the most influential figure in the basketball footwear industry.

John Paul Vincent Vaccaro, who preferred to be called Sonny, was almost seen as the godfather of the basketball shoe industry by everyone involved in basketball. In the 1960s, Vaccaro founded a national high school basketball all-star game, and over the next twenty years, he built close relationships with top college coaches and elite high school players across the country. Eventually, he joined Nike and signed 21-year-old Michael Jordan to the most valuable endorsement contract in sports history in 1984.

At that time, Converse and Adidas dominated the basketball shoe industry. Nike's decision to pay Jordan a $250,000 endorsement fee during his rookie season was considered rash and reckless by the industry. However, the skepticism quickly vanished as Jordan's first NBA season brought in sales of $126 million for Nike. Suddenly, Nike sped past Converse and Adidas to become the most influential entity in basketball, and Vaccaro solidified his position in the industry.

Alongside signing Jordan, Vaccaro convinced Nike to start sponsoring an annual top high school basketball camp. He created the concept and name—ABCD Camp—with the letters standing for academic improvement and career development. Vaccaro cleverly kept the rights to the name, while Nike provided financial support for the camp. Although there were many top basketball camps in the United States at the time, all of them charged high registration fees, which naturally barred some financially struggling high school stars. Vaccaro abolished the fees, invited top college coaches to the camp, and provided Nike athletic gear for the players. Additionally, each elite high school player at the camp could take home $1,000 worth of Nike shoes and apparel. Soon, Vaccaro's camp became the preferred venue for America's top high school basketball players to showcase their talents, and Nike became the most popular name in high school basketball by signing shoe contracts with coaches and attracting colleges and academies with apparel contracts. Vaccaro became the authority figure for college player sponsorship deals.

With his impressive track record and control over the basketball camps, Vaccaro became one of Nike's decision-makers. However, due to disputes over interests, he left Nike, but Nike still maintained its influence over the ABCD Camp. The increasingly independent Jordan brand always sponsored the camp, but that didn't stop Vaccaro from bringing his ABCD Camp under Adidas and pushing a series of high school athletes to sign, including Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady.

At Adidas, Vaccaro relied on a network of AAU coaches and scouts to help discover and recruit top high school players for the Adidas roster. He had two long-term partners—Calvin Andrews and Mark Oliver.

Suddenly, field worker Chris Dennis joined Andrews and Oliver in the Adidas suite. Then, Dennis put Fei's game tape into the VCR and pressed play. Andrews and Oliver were impressed with what they saw on screen, with one of them exclaiming, "Damn!"

When Vaccaro walked into the suite, he saw everyone gathered around the TV and asked what they were watching.

"He's Frye," Oliver said.

Vaccaro looked clueless.

"He's a senior from Kent City, in Washington State," Oliver explained. "Chris thinks he might be better than Lamar Odom."

Vaccaro rolled his eyes, moved closer to the TV, and the others made some room for him. Vaccaro squinted his eyes and spent a minute watching the game footage Dennis had shot from a distance.

Despite the remote angle, Vaccaro recognized that the game was a 4A-level high school basketball game in Washington State.

"4A? And in Washington?" Vaccaro asked. "Where did this kid come from? You said he's a senior? Why haven't I heard his name before?"

After the previous year's Nike regional invitational, Fei had gained some fame in high school basketball circles, but the reputation he had built in the regional AAU competition wasn't enough to impress a big shot like Vaccaro.

Dennis explained, "Before his junior year, Fulai was playing volleyball. He really made a name for himself starting last year... I think he's a sleeping giant awakening, with immense potential."

Vaccaro didn't respond to Dennis.

He continued to watch the game footage.

The traits Fei displayed were all-around.

You'd say he's a center, but apart from during defense, he rarely stayed inside. But if you call him a guard, it'd be hard for someone of his size to play as a guard in high-level games.

Chris Dennis was right, this indeed is a Lamar Odom style of play.

But Wakaro had seen Odom at the same age, and back then, Odom was the undisputed number one high school player in the United States, stronger than Yu Fei is now.

However, even though the quality of the competition he's been in isn't high, Yu Fei's performance can be called outstanding.

He is undoubtedly one of the top ten high school players in the nation.

Considering that he has been systematically playing basketball for just over a year, this is amazing.

Odom's career in the NBA had stagnated, and the title "left-handed magician" seems forever to be just that, a title. Will Yu Fei be different? Will he maintain his current rate of progress?

As Yu Fei completed a defensive block on an opposing three-point attempt and caught up with the loose ball to score a dunk in the frontcourt, Wakaro had no more doubts about Yu Fei's ability. He looked at Dennis, "I think, if Fulai joins this year's ABCD Camp, things will become more interesting."

Dennis was elated inside, his fists clenched; he knew his suggestion was accepted, and even someone like Sonny Wakaro thought Yu Fei was a future star worthy of significant attention.

If Yu Fei establishes a deeper connection with Sonny in the future, and even signs with Adidas, then his act today of recommending Yu Fei to Sonny might become, like when Sonny signed Jordan to Nike, the launching point of his career.

Dennis went to do the follow-up work, and Wakaro turned and walked out of the suite.

Everything here remained as usual.

※※※

After helping the school win the state championship, Yu Fei officially came to a crossroads in his career.

Theoretically, his senior year as part of the basketball team had ended.

The state championship was the finish line.

Next, he could either skip college like those top high school players confident in themselves and declare for the NBA draft or actively deal with recruitment from colleges and carefully select one.

Within a week of winning the state championship, Yu Fei received offers from 12 different colleges, and prestigious schools like Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas invited him for visits.

This showed more sincerity than just giving him an offer.

Just as Yu Fei was considering his next steps, a staff member from the ABCD Camp named Chris Dennis called home. He claimed they wanted to invite Yu Fei to New Jersey in April for this year's ABCD Camp and that Dennis said he was friends with Selvan and would ensure that Yu Fei's food, accommodation, and travel were taken care of in New Jersey.

Yu Fei couldn't dismiss the possibility that this was a scam, so he went to confirm with Selvan.

"Was it Chris who called? It looks like he has already convinced Sonny." Selvan patted Yu Fei's shoulder happily. "Fulai, congratulations, those who get directly invited to the ABCD Camp are usually the nation's top high school players. It's their recognition of your performance in the recent period."

After confirming it was true, Yu Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

He wanted to declare for the draft this year, but the Washington state championship alone clearly wasn't enough for a strong footing. If he could prove his worth at the ABCD Camp, he would truly be in the sights of the NBA.

Just as Yu Fei was about to leave, he saw a resignation letter on Selvan's desk.

"Coach, what's this?"