010: You are the only teammate who can catch my passes

In the past few months, Roger and his team unsurprisingly made it into the state finals.

Although Block High School had only won three games last season, in basketball, it only takes one superstar to change a lot of things.

Especially on the high school basketball court.

If Roger couldn't easily dominate the high school basketball scene and lead his team to an overwhelming victory, then he couldn't talk about skipping college to hit the NBA.

On the morning of March 13, Roger and his teammates arrived at Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, where the state finals were to be held, aboard a coach.

Outside the window, there were promotional posters for the state finals everywhere, and the intense atmosphere of the big game was telling Roger, "This is the most important game of your high school career."

Indeed, the last time Roger came here for the Sunshine Classic and defeated Oak Hill Academy, he made a name for himself nationwide.

But Oak Hill Academy was missing their ace, Stackhouse, last time.

Therefore, this was the first time Roger would face off head-to-head with a top-five high school player in the whole of America!

Such confrontations are rare in high school leagues because there are too many districts, and the chances of two top-five players being in the same district are very slim.

But now, Roger just so happened to have this opportunity he had been dreaming of.

Randy Livingston, as the unassailable number one in America, was a name Roger had heard for quite a while.

If you overlook Livingston because he was just a second-round pick and didn't make much of a name for himself in the NBA, you'd be making a big mistake.

There's a reason he firmly held the number one spot in America; you could think of him as a slightly less physically gifted version of Dwyane Wade.

The difference between him and Wade is that even after suffering an injury in college, Wade miraculously succeeded in the NBA, whereas Livingston faded into obscurity after his college injury.

But before his injury, Livingston's physical condition was truly terrifying.

The current Randy Livingston, when breaking through, was peerless like a sharp knife.

Additionally, he had a very high basketball IQ, his defense was meticulous, his passing was precise as a ruler, and his timing for cuts and passes was impeccably standard.

In short, the newspapers were almost entirely full of praise for him.

As for Roger, as his fame grew, the media began to have some negative comments about him.

Look, the magazine in Roger's hands has ESPN writer Howard Cooper saying this:

"At 193 centimeters tall, with an all-around and graceful technique, able to soar, scoring as if it were as easy as reaching into a bag, the most outstanding one-on-one attacker in high school... Roger has many advantages. But he has two fatal flaws: he doesn't understand teamwork, and you rarely see him pass the ball. And he doesn't understand defensive reads at all. Although he can score, his shot selection is very poor. He plays the game like a casual street one-on-one, which will cost him the championship"

Not passing the ball, poor shot selection timing—this was almost the opposite of what Livingston represented.

Compared to Livingston, who was talented and understood teamwork, the media portrayed Roger as an unorthodox, untamed genius.

And the expectation of the masses was to watch such a proud foreign talent crash and burn in the state finals, to be harshly schooled by America's own genius.

Of course, Roger wouldn't let them have their way.

Given that in a few years, a yellow-skinned, square-faced big guy would beat the American high school geniuses to the point of searching for their teeth on the ground, Roger felt it his duty to acclimatize Americans to what it felt like to see their high school geniuses being outplayed—as a sort of vaccination.

Coach Hawk glanced at the article Roger was reading, then stretched out his hand to cover the magazine, "Don't look at the nonsense spouted by the media and journalists, you have to play to your talent, got it?"

Coach Hawk didn't mind Roger taking many shots, as long as he could score efficiently, why not?

If the guard wearing number 33 from Lower Merion High School, known as steak and beans, could hear Coach Hawk's thoughts, he'd definitely agree wholeheartedly: Why put in all that effort? I'm already putting the ball through the hoop.

Roger nodded too. You call that playing alone? My basketball IQ is high! The more people that double-team me, the more my teammates have the advantage in grabbing offensive rebounds after my shotsIt's easier to get second-chance points when we have numbers on the boards!

It's just too bad that every time I shoot, the ball goes straight in.

Well, to be serious, it's a good thing that Roger chooses to shoot more. If he passed more, his turnover numbers would definitely skyrocket.

His vision and technique in passing still need to be honed.

As for defense, that's something that takes time to polish even more.

For now, Roger could only rely on his strongest weapon to achieve victory for his team.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the coach was surrounded by reporters.

Because this was a rare match-up of America's number one versus number five for the state championship, ESPN made an unprecedented move to broadcast this high school game live. You can imagine how much attention the game was getting.

In the original history, it wasn't until James battled Carmelo that high schoolers received such treatment.

The players from Block High School stared out the bus windows at the bustling scene, each of them stunned.

None of them had ever seen such a grand spectacle.

Even Roger was a bit nervous, but as the team leader, he was the first to get off the coach.

As soon as he disembarked, a throng of reporters surrounded Roger.

"Roger, do you have a college in mind already?"

"What do you think about the fact that you've scored 40 points without an assist five times this season?"

"Will you be the first Chinese player to play in the NBA?"

Roger walked forward nervously, not answering any questions.

All of a sudden, the media turned their attention away and rushed to the other side.

The bus from Isidore Newman School had also arrived.

Randy Livingston, unlike Roger, was already accustomed to such scenes.

After getting off the bus, he leisurely waved at the fans and answered reporters' questions at a measured pace, like a true star, like the Michael Jordan of high school basketball.

Livingston glanced at Roger not far away and nodded politely.

But his teammates were obviously not as friendly; the other Isidore Newman School players disembarked, one after another, giving Roger disdainful looks, pointing at him, and then whispering among themselves.

They couldn't believe, even now, that this was the opponent they faced in the finals.

An obscure rural school, an Asian who should be in the mathletes' class. Seriously? Are these the guys who fantasize about snatching the championship from us?

It wasn't surprising that the Isidore Newman School players felt this way, as this was the first time in the history of high school league that a team had an Asian player as its core.

They looked at Block High School the way the Kentucky Wildcats viewed the Texas Western Miners in 1966. "The Baron of Bluegrass Country", Adolph Rupp, couldn't believe either that the team vying for the championship with his own was a team with an all-black starting lineup.

Roger was used to this kind of gaze; many opponents had looked at him that way before.

But it didn't matter, they all lost.

By the way, Block High School has a record of 35 wins and 0 losses this season.

Your dignity is in your own hands; as long as you don't let them succeed, no one can take anything from you.

Later, at the pre-game press conference held in the hotel, reporters similarly focused all their attention on Isidore Newman School.

Only Hardy from the Jonesville Observer asked Roger a question: "How confident are you about winning the championship?"

"Completely confident."

Roger's response was met with laughter.

It seemed like Block High School was just a foil; nobody really cared about them.

After all, in people's eyes, there was a gap between Roger and Livingston. The gap between the other players of Block High School and those from Isidore Newman School was even bigger.

That night in the hotel room, Roger had planned to rest early, conserve his energy, so he could go full throttle the next day.

But Andrae was rustling in his blankets all night, making it impossible to sleep.

Roger couldn't stand it anymore. What handiwork required doing right now?

"Andrae, what the hell are you doing?"

Andrae poked his head out from the blanket, "Man, I'm just worried, bro."

"You can't keep rewarding yourself because you're stressed, right? Self-soothing only makes the worry worse. Not only does it stress you out, but it also drains your energy!"

"What are you babbling about? I just can't sleep, tossing and turning. Man, my baby's mother argued with me again yesterday because I didn't remember what anniversary it was," Andrae sighed as he spoke.

Don't be surprised; though Andrae was a high school student, he indeed was a father already. This sort of thing was common in the United States, and in black communities, it was more frequent to see 15-year-old girls pregnant than to find cans on the streets. Andrae's girlfriend got pregnant at 17 and had the baby at 18, which was considered late pregnancy by local standards.

"So, what anniversary was yesterday?" Roger asked listlessly.

"Our wedding anniversary."

"Well, that's your fault for not remembering your wedding anniversary."

"But, we haven't actually gotten married."

Roger: ???

"Then what's there to commemorate!"

"That's what I said! But she countered by asking if next year today we would be married, doesn't that make today an anniversary? Man, my CPU almost burned out at that moment!"

"Stop, Andrae; now I'm starting to feel the burn too."

"Man, thinking about getting married next year, the kid getting bigger. If we lose tomorrow, I won't be able to get into a good college, won't be able to find a good job. If I can't find a good job, how am I supposed to live in the future?"

Andrae was clear about his situation; although the team performed well this season, it was mainly due to Roger's efforts.

Many said that even if they paired Roger with four dogs, he would still make it to the state finals as he didn't pass the ball anyway.

So, Andrae was still on the verge of receiving invitations from good colleges.

If he could show an outstanding performance in the state finals and win the game, he would most likely get into a good college and change his fate.

But if he lost under the scrutiny of the state finals, his family would be doomed to continue struggling at the bottom.

Andrae's lack of confidence was probably due to the major event and press conference that day, putting tremendous pressure on him.

After all, it was a height Block High School had never reached before, a height Andrae didn't even dare to dream of in the past.

Even Ervin Johnson Jr., the school team's first NCAA Division I player, didn't achieve this kind of performance.

Roger hit Andrae's head with a well-aimed paper ball, "Stop overthinking. You know, that great plan Coach Hawk has to contain Livingston depends on your help. You're the only teammate who can catch my passes; you are strong! Just stick to the plan, and we can definitely get out of Jonesville!"

From this angle, Andrae suddenly felt... like he might actually be really strong!

Go out there, huh?

Yeah, just one more game!

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