005: Invitational Tournament_2

It was no wonder that Roger was so popular.

At noon, when Andy Li and Roger went to the cafeteria for lunch, they saw many girls actively giving Roger their phone numbers, inviting him to their parties.

As Asians, Andy Li and Roger were practically invisible at school, hardly ever approached by girls.

Today was the first time Andy Li had experienced what it felt like to be the center of attention.

But what saddened him was that his good brother had turned down all the girls' invitations!

After they sat down with their meals, Andy Li looked at the rejected girls and sighed, "Brother, being picky isn't good for your growth!"

Roger looked confused, "I'm not picky, am I?"

"Not picky? Those girls, though they weren't as pretty as the ones in magazines, you can't judge a person by their size! You need to communicate deeply to get to know each other! Whether you get along or not, you have to give it a try!"

Roger gave Andy Li a look, "Your brain is mushier than an autumn crab's!"

It wasn't that Roger was too heavenly minded; he mainly scorned the so-called "party culture" in the United States.

Why do parties exist in America? Because people are scared to go out at night, going out for drinks and kebabs at midnight in the US is considered an extreme sport risking your life.

If you're scared to venture out at night, how do you while away the boring and long night? The answer is to throw a party!

A bunch of young people with nowhere to put their hormones gather to drink, smoke weed, and after getting high if they find someone of the opposite sex appealing, they drag them into a room to hook up, while the less attractive ones play games outside.

This is the epitome of an authentic American party, decadent, degenerate, chaotic.

Roger is now aiming for the professional basketball arena, therefore he does not want to get lost in alcohol or weed. Without indulging in these, sitting at a party could become quite boring.

As for hooking up, Roger prefers someone more mature.

The spotty-faced, scrawny teens really didn't appeal to him.

Besides, having just acquired a top-level basketball talent, Roger now had many things to focus on and no time to waste.

Roger had indeed become famous, but only temporarily in the small town of Jonesville.

In today's high school basketball scene, people were focusing on Jerry Stackhouse from Oak Hill Academy and Rasheed Wallace from Simon Gratz High School.

When talking about Louisiana, people were interested in Randy Livingston, the top-ranked high school player in the United States.

Roger had yet to make a name at the national level, even being somewhat unknown in Louisiana itself.

Therefore, Roger had two most important goals at the moment.

First, to make a name as quickly as possible in his senior season, to draw more attention. If possible, Roger didn't even want to play NCAA; he wanted to go straight into the league!

It's hard to convince a man, who was scared of poverty in his past life and whose mental age was nearly 30, to enthusiastically chant slogans like "Dominate Nationwide" to play college basketball.

As for college basketball, Roger didn't have much desire for it.

He was a worldly man; if he could enter the draft as a high schooler and get a lottery-worthy spot, Roger would not hesitate to skip college for an NBA million dollar contract.

Unless the lottery prospects were utterly hopeless, that was the only reason he would consider using the NCAA as a stepping stone.

In this era, rookie salaries and the length of contracts were not fixed, so a higher draft rank didn't always equal a higher salary. For example, in the '93 draft Roger was planning to enter, Webber signed with the Warriors for $74 million over 15 years, while Hardaway, after playing a year, signed with Magic for $72 million over nine years.

Thus, Hardaway, the third pick, ended up with a salary higher than Webber, the first pick.

Therefore, Roger saw no reason to play college basketball just to improve his draft rank. As long as he had lottery prospects, the salary was negotiable.

Secondly, Roger was very aware that he needed to continue to get stronger. That way, when the opportunity came, he could firmly seize it.

Although he had the talent of George Gervin, it didn't mean Roger could just rest on his laurels.

There have been many cases in NBA history where immense talent was wasted, and talent only provides a high possibility, whether it becomes reality still depends on the individual.

Ben Simmons, the famous eSports player, had immense talent but he struggled even to get on the court, let alone reach his potential.

The first time Roger misjudged someone was Vince, the second was Simmons.

He truly hadn't expected Simmons's professional career to turn out the way it did.

Roger definitely did not want to become another cautionary tale like Simmons.

Right now, Roger most needed to train his body to become stronger.

His current physique was just like the real-life George Gervin's, far too thin, a disadvantage in physical confrontations.

To be successful in higher level competitions, his current physique definitely wouldn't suffice.

Fame and strength, these were the two most important goals for Roger at the moment. Parties? Where was the time for that?

At that moment, Roger saw an advertisement on the cafeteria TV.

In the ad, a strong, tall man was holding a basketball, showing off his various skills. Finally, he looked into the camera, flashed a bright white smile, and beckoned to the viewers, "Don't miss this year's Sunshine Classic held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana."