008: The Challenges of High School Student Drafts? History is Being Rewritten!

Oak Hill Academy was knocked out in the first round, and the unknown Block High School made the first big news of this year's Sunshine Classic competition.

Roger scored 34 points in 32 minutes of play, with an impressive shooting percentage of 63%.

The entire Oak Hill Academy team scored only 41 points.

Block High School scored just 53 points.

Dell Brown's assistant coach, looking at the results of the game, incredulously flipped through the information in his hand, "From now on, do we have to look for basketball talent on tennis courts?"

It was not surprising, in another six months, Wake Forest University would even find a talent in a swimming pool.

Geniuses always have a habit of appearing in the most peculiar places.

Dell Brown ignored his naïve assistant, shocked by that? Scoring 34 points wasn't even the full extent of Roger's capabilities!

The reason he scored 34 points was because the game was too short.

Otherwise, the journey of McKinney and Austin, both among the top 100 in the country, would have been even more thunderous and intense.

This kind of upset drama made McKinney and Austin quite embarrassed.

In an interview, McKinney stated that for some inexplicable reason, his shooting was off today.

Austin claimed he had a groin injury.

That Austin, don't be fooled by his unimpressive play, he really has the makings of a GOAT!

Roger, who had crafted the upset with his own hands, was not excited during the interview:

"It's just one victory, Block High School will get used to winning this season.

My idol, Coach Vincent, started his career on a bottom-ranked team, then went on to win six division championships in 10 years, five championships, and two Super Bowls.

I might not be as dramatic as him, but I believe I can transform Block High School."

Shaq smiled, this kid sure knew how to pretend.

But the games over the next two days made Shaq realize that Roger was merely stating facts!

In three knock-out matches, Block High School didn't just win, they didn't let any opponent come within single digits of their score.

Such results, let alone fans, even Andrae himself hadn't come to terms with them!

The games Roger led his team to win over these three days could already match his entire season's victories!

Speaking of which, Block High School had a special way of winning.

They lacked smooth cooperation and tough defense.

The only reason they could win was that no one could contain their number 14!

34 points, 41 points, 32 points, Roger scored consistently high over three games.

There was another interesting statistic: Roger had only one assist over three games, and Andrae was the only man to receive an assist from Roger.

After the final game, Shaq walked into the crowd, ready to present Roger with the MVP trophy for this invitational tournament.

The towering Shaq pat the shoulders of this high school prodigy, "Tomorrow, your name will be on newspapers across America! I hope to see you in the NBA in a few years, buddy!"

Roger, taking the trophy, did not forget to wish Shaq well: "You will get such a trophy in the NBA too, no, at least three."

Shaq smiled even more broadly than Roger.

At that moment, Shaq didn't realize how much sooner he would see Roger in the NBA than he anticipated.

But Shaq was right about one thing, the next day, Roger's name appeared in the sports pages of major newspapers.

And even on television.

In an ESPN interview focusing on Shaq, Shaq emphasized Roger:

"Who was the most impressive player in this invitational? Unquestionably Roger.

Many say that Block High School's upset was because Stackhouse wasn't present. Believe me, even if Stackhouse were there, at best, it would only make Oak Hill Academy's loss less embarrassing.

I believe Roger will be unstoppable in the coming season, and winning the state championship will be a cakewalk for him."

The reporter clearly disagreed, "Roger is very good, but he's only played three games. And Shaq, there's Randy Livingston from Louisiana, the top-ranked high school prospect nationwide. It just so happens that he is in the same division as Roger. Even so, do you still think Roger can win the state championship?"

"Randy is excellent, but Roger... if you'd seen the state he's in when he scores at will, you'd know how special he is. I think Randy won't be able to stop him either."

Roger, watching Shaq talk about him on TV, still felt that the past few days were a bit dreamlike.

From being a nobody to appearing on TV, it took just one week.

If this trend continued, forget playing with cars, he could even make car models a reality!

Apart from fame, Roger had already received a solid offer from the NCAA Division I league.

Yesterday, Coach Dell Brown of Louisiana State University officially extended an invitation to Roger.

He told Roger that if he encountered any difficulties in life or competition, he could write to him anytime.

To tell the truth, Coach Dell Brown was quite a nice guy. However, unfortunately for him, Roger planned on going straight to the NBA.

But to achieve that goal, Roger needed to continue working hard.

Defeating a high schooler ranked 25th wasn't enough to get noticed by NBA teams.

After all, in the year 1992, high school prospects weren't that highly sought after in the NBA yet.

Why were Kwame Brown, James, and Howard able to become No. 1 picks straight out of high school?

There were two reasons.

The first was Jordan's shrewd eye for talent.

The second was that before them, there were quite successful high school players like Garnett, Kobe, and T-Mac.

Thanks to these predecessors planting trees, the NBA was convinced that high school players could indeed be successful, allowing the following teams to be willing to gamble their No. 1 picks on high school players.

But for Roger, he found himself in an awkward era, for there were no predecessors who had planted trees for him to enjoy their shade. If he wanted shade, he had to plant his own trees.

The last time a high school student had entered the NBA directly was back in 1975.

Apart from Moses Malone, there hadn't been a second successful high school rookie to date.

Reign Man Kemp?

It's true that Kemp didn't play in the NCAA after graduating high school, but that was because his grades were insufficient, and later, it was revealed he had stolen two gold necklaces from a teammate, which forced him to drop out of university.

Afterward, Kemp went to a community college and only entered the draft after completing a year there.

So strictly speaking, he wasn't really a high school draftee at all.

In the past decade, no team had considered drafting a high school player, and Roger's static talent wasn't as explosive as Garnett's.

To change the entrenched perceptions of NBA teams and make it into the lottery, Roger still had a lot of work to do.

He needed more and more terrifying performances; he needed to become stronger!

Upon the whole team's return to Jonesville, the basketball squad became the most dazzling presence in the entire school.

It was hard to imagine that a team with only three wins the previous season now had fans clamoring to take down Randy Livingston, the nation's top player, and claim the state championship.

This made Andrae quite ashamed; to think that any random tennis player could lead the team better than he had...

Damn it!

Once he arrived, Roger didn't go home, but headed straight for the basketball gym instead.

His strength training couldn't stop; over the past week or so, he had been strictly following the plan Coach Hawk had given him.

Tired? That was laughable; this was far easier than working overtime through the night.

As Roger walked towards the basketball gym, Andrae ran off the bus and quickly caught up to him:

"Roger, I apologize for everything I said before. I can't deny that I only earned my spot because you were playing tennis, even God can't deny that."

"Recover a bit, our inside line doesn't need a spineless yes-man."

Andrae's warm approach met with a cold response, leading him to grumble discontentedly, "Damn, I mean it sincerely, and you're such an asshole."

Roger wasn't upset: "There you go, that's more like you. Don't be such a pushover anymore."

"You... Never mind, what I wanted to say is that I want you to include me in your training sessions from now on. You know, going to college is my only chance, I don't want to live in that sewage-filled neighborhood anymore."

"It seems we do have some common ground after all. You can trust my scoring, and I hope I can trust your defense in the future. Work hard, but be warned that training with me is tough, I hope you're not just all talk."

Under the glaring summer sun, Andrae clenched his fist tightly, as if he wanted to smash the sewage and moldy walls at home.

He wanted to get out.

"You can definitely trust my defense! I promise!"

Roger nodded, smiling; he could feel that urgency emanating from Andrae.

Because he wanted to find his way out too.

The two were chatting as they walked into the gym, only to see Coach Hawk conversing with a stranger.

Seeing the arrival of his team's two aces, Coach Hawk immediately introduced the newcomer with enthusiasm, "Meet my good friend and our team's new coach, Joe Abunassar. He's going to primarily handle your strength training. Roger, from now on all of your additional strength training will be under his full responsibility!"

Roger shook hands with this coach named Joe Abunassar, a not-so-tall white man who appeared to be in good shape with a very strong grip.

Roger was also aware of something hidden — Joe Abunassar was going to be one of the most famous personal trainers in the NBA circle!

He gained recognition as Garnett's trainer in 1995, and in 2001 he opened his own basketball training camp. Every summer he would receive many orders from superstars, eventually becoming a front-runner in the industry.

Ah, those bits of useless basketball knowledge from his previous life were finally coming in handy.

Guessing the reason why Coach Hawk had brought in Abunassar wasn't hard; the words "all of your additional strength training will be under his full responsibility" told Roger everything he needed to know.

On the surface, this was a new coach for the team.

But in reality, it seemed more like Coach Hawk had used the school's money to find a personal trainer for Roger.

Block High School was a small place, and if Hawk wanted to reach bigger stages, he needed some achievements.

A state champion or a player that made it to the NBA.

Therefore, he needed to hire the best coach to help Roger improve.

And Abunassar, who wasn't well-known yet, needed opportunities as well.

Being a trainer in this era was challenging because the profession hadn't fully caught on yet.

In the eyes of current players, training during the season was tiring enough, and taking extra training during the offseason for a fee? They must be out of their minds.

Even if players were to spend money on specialized physical training, they'd go to the Gold Club.

Can you imagine someone like Sir Charles Barkley paying out of pocket for training during the offseason? Forget it, he'd rather play golf with that ugly swing than set foot on a basketball court again.

The only person willing to pay for offseason masochism was Jordan.

And Tim Grover, who helped create the masterpiece that was Jordan, became the highest-earning trainer as a result.

Similarly, Abunassar needed a masterpiece to make a name for himself among the circle of trainers.

In the original history, his masterpiece was KG in 1995.

Now, his masterpiece might emerge earlier.

Regardless, Hawk bringing in Abunassar was definitely a good thing for Roger.

He now had a systematic training plan and a top-tier trainer.

The goal of becoming a lottery pick as a high school student seemed to be getting closer!

In this sweltering summer, in this insignificant gym,

The history of high school drafts was about to be rewritten.