Champions Creed

Chapter 11: Truth

The greasy repair shop was empty, with wrenches of various sizes lying in a mess on the ground, as if the shop had gone bankrupt.

In the lounge of the repair shop, Lu An and his co-workers stared at the TV with a clarity comparable to that of a mosaic, their faces flushed and their palms full of sweat.

"Get out of the way, you're blocking me."

"Is it really okay for us to watch something so exciting during work hours?"

"Don't be afraid. Don't feel guilty. I bet all the men in Jonesville are watching this!"

At this time, a shabby Chevrolet sedan drove in.

Looking at the group of maintenance workers in the lounge who were watching TV and completely ignoring him, the car owner honked the horn in dissatisfaction.

However, after honking the whistle, he was still ignored.

The man got out of the car angrily and pushed open the glass door of the lounge. "What are you doing? Are you still doing business? I'm going to file a complaint against you!"

After hearing the angry shouting, everyone realized that a guest had arrived.

But the driver, who was furious just now, relaxed his expression instantly after seeing what was on TV: "The match between Brock High School and Isidore Newman High School?"

"Uh, that's right." One of the auto repair shop employees replied.

"Damn! I just wanted to rush home to watch the game, but my car broke down on the road. It's too late to rush back now, do you mind if I join you?" After saying that, the driver, who had been furious just now, started smoking.

The employees looked at each other in surprise as they saw the angry customer suddenly become friendly.

Sure enough, all the men in Jonesville are watching this today!

Several people sat down and watched TV, and when Bullock entered the high school field, the whole audience booed.

The game was still held in the basketball stadium of Louisiana State University. Although it was a neutral venue, because there were more Newman High School alumni on the scene, it almost became the home court of Newman High School.

There is no way. Brock High School is just a small school after all, and most of the graduates from it are poor working people.

As a working person, it is good enough to find time to watch live TV. Few people can put down their work and go to the scene to cheer for the team.

Newman High School is different. It is called "the most elite private school in Louisiana."

The school was originally established in 1903 for Jewish orphans, and today 50% of the students are Jewish.

Therefore, many graduates from here have decent jobs. They have money and time, so they naturally occupy the entire gymnasium.

Hearing the boos from the audience, the customer who just came to repair his car was very unhappy: "Damn it, Roger will make these white-collar workers who look down on others shut up!"

"He will!" Lu An gritted his teeth, waking up at five o'clock every day to make breakfast, his receding hairline, and the hard training.
Didn’t we do all this just for today?!
It was the first time that Roger heard so many people booing in unison.

In previous high school competitions, the stadium capacity was only about one or two thousand people.

Today at LSU Stadium, that number increased tenfold, and the decibel level of the boos also increased tenfold.

Although coach Del Brown gave Roger a thumbs up next to the bench, the Sharks who were not playing also came to the scene to cheer for Roger.

Roger admitted that he was still a little nervous.

If you are nervous, let alone your teammates.

As the team leader, Roger must let them face all this with a calm mind.

So, he modified the famous saying of Georgetown University's tough coach John Thompson and added his own twist: "See? You won't be respected if you don't fight. So, let's fight this fucking world full of contempt! Let's work together to make this damn booing disappear completely!"

Looking at Roger yelling at his teammates, O'Neal couldn't help but smile.

Shark likes Roger, he thinks he is a real man, he is born for big scenes.

It must be great to be teammates with this guy. Shaq has had enough of the Magic's second-leading scorer Nick Anderson, who always fails to perform in crucial moments.

Anderson looks great at first glance, averaging 45 points per game on 19% shooting this season.

But when the game got tense and the Sharks needed support, Anderson disappeared and retreated.

Look at Roger. Instead of getting nervous in such a crucial game, he motivated his teammates. Anderson is not as brave as a high school student!

With Roger's encouragement, Brock High School's starting player took the field.

Before going on the court, Abunassar grabbed Roger and pointed to the stands: "I have found at least five scouts I know, scouts from the NBA! Roger, no matter what, you have to do your best today!"

Roger nodded, took off his training suit, revealing his number 14.

Jeff Covington, Roger, Terry Kate, Tom Green, and Andre Patterson, among the starting lineup of Block High School, only Roger and Andre are ranked in the United States.

Newman High School's starting lineup was a completely different scene: Randy Livingston, Carl Bowie, Jeremy Simmons, Andy Turner, and Ed Miller, four in the top 100 in the United States and two in the top 50.

In addition to Livingston, Roger was quite impressed by Jeremy Simmons, the power forward, because he had a scar on his face and looked like a tough guy.

Roger has a good vision. Simmons is the highest-ranked high school student in Newman High School except for Livingston, and is currently ranked 48th in the United States.

ESPN commentator Jon Barry and Coach K's former assistant Jay Bilas, who were commentators for the game, quickly grasped the point: "For Brock High School, they can only pray that Roger scores more points."

"That's right Jay, Roger is an incredible scorer, and I think his offensive ability is a cut above the rest in the high school. But because of that, Newman High School is not going to let him do whatever he wants. Today, Roger will run into a real, hard-hitting defense. If Roger can't adapt, the game will end early.

As for Randy, he can lead the team to victory in many ways besides scoring."

During the jump ball phase, Newman's white center Ed Miller easily took the ball.

Although he is only in the fourth year of high school, he is already 2 meters tall.

He and Andre standing together made people deeply realize how correct Auerbach's wise saying is: "Everything can be taught except height."

After Randy Livingston got the ball, he was ready to use his terrifying explosive power to rush into the penalty area. Roger pressed closely, and Andre helped to block him.

After several months of training, Roger's defense has improved a bit.

Although it is not yet a defensive barrier, it is at least not a loophole.

The tactic of Brock High School today was to use Roger's active pressure and Andre's assist defense to limit Livingston's breakthrough.

Hawke firmly believed that as long as he could force Livingston to pass the ball, the defense would be successful.

Because even if other players from Newman High School shot in open positions, their firepower could not match that of Roger alone!
Sure enough, facing the double-team, Livings found his teammate Ed Miller who was left open.

The latter is a seven-foot tall man but has a soft half-court shot.

2-0, Newman High School took the lead as expected.

The scene was filled with jubilation, and Bullock High School's defense looked vulnerable. Randy Livingston played the game like a true basketball master, using a reasonable method in the eyes of the media.

In the transition from offense to defense, Roger was immediately double-teamed after he took the ball.

ESPN commentator Jon Barry is right. Roger will face a really strong defense today. There is no way Newman High School will allow Roger, a super scorer, to go crazy.

Facing the double team attack, Roger had no choice but to pass the ball. Seeing this, the scarred Jeremy Simmons, who was responsible for defending Roger, was very proud.

"How are you going to win? Get 100 points?"

Roger ignored it, he ran without the ball again, got rid of the defense, and then caught the ball again.

But Newman High School's defense reacted quickly. The moment Roger received the ball, Simmons and another teammate Bowie immediately double-teamed Roger again.

Faced with this tight double team, Roger did not hesitate and took a jump shot one step outside the three-point line!
Simmons and Bowen didn't expect Roger's shot to be so decisive, so they just stretched out their hands when they interfered without jumping.

But for an ultra-long-distance three-pointer, such interference is considered tight.

In the stands, many NBA scouts shook their heads.

Just as what was reported, this guy named Roger was really messing around.

When facing a double-team, shouldn't we be patient and look for opportunities?
He just swung the ball when he was one step away from the three-point line. It's hard to say whether he can adapt to the NCAA game if he swings the ball like this.

Compared with Livingston who just played reasonably, the gap is even more obvious.

But the next second, with a "swish" sound, all the scouts stopped writing.

"Facing two people's long-range three-pointers, Roger opened fire right away!" Jon Barry shouted.

Roger confidently raised three fingers. To him, that was not a forced move at all.

That's his regular offensive choice!

In the original history, Gervin couldn't shoot three-pointers. After all, when he started playing in the NBA, there was no such thing as a three-point line.

Although the league later introduced the three-point line, it is difficult to change the playing habits of the Icemen.

In an interview with a reporter from Spox.com in 14, the Iceman still said: "The three-pointer is the worst shot in basketball."

It's normal, just like you can't get someone born in the 50s to accept rap.

But just because Gervin can’t make three-pointers doesn’t mean Roger can’t!

With Gervin's 360-degree shooting touch, it would be easy for him to practice three-point shooting if he put aside his prejudice and laziness.

Roger did just that. In the past few months of training, he has made the three-pointer his regular weapon. Moreover, he has been training with the NBA's three-point line as his goal.

So the super long three-pointers in high school games were out of reach for others, but just right for Roger.

After the basketball went into the net, Roger shrugged at Scarface Simmons: "Less talk, more action."

One round later, Roger took another three-pointer.

Simmons and his teammates still did not jump to stop it, but just raised their hands high, thinking that this would create interference.

People of this era don't believe in three-pointers. They feel that such interference is enough to make Roger lose his aim.

But Roger used another empty ball to tell Newman High School: "Your so-called tight defense is worthless in front of me!"

Logically speaking, with Roger's current three-point shooting ability, if he were placed in the NBA in the 90s where defenses could do whatever they wanted, his three-point shooting percentage would not be too high.

But Roger was very adept at shooting three-pointers in the intensity of high school games.

In the third round, Newman High School began to respect Roger's three-pointer. Seeing Roger receiving the ball outside the three-point line, Simmons and Bowie rushed forward like dogs seeing a meat bone.

But taking advantage of the gap when the opponent pounced on him, Roger dribbled directly through the two of them and made a steady shot from mid-range, scoring 8 points in a row!
Newman High School's double team was totally ineffective!

On the other hand, at Newman High School, because Livingston was always passing the ball and the role players' offensive control was not that high, even though he played more reasonably, the team fell behind!

Jay Bilas couldn't help but sigh after witnessing Roger playing with Newman High School's defense: "Roger was just like usual. He didn't pass the ball even when facing a double team. But Brock High School still scored. He seemed to be telling us that there was no need for him to pass the ball at all!"

After this, if Roger's performance were shown to Chinese fans in 2024, they would definitely cry bitterly.

Because this is almost a replica of Clarkson's massacre of the men's basketball team in the World Cup!
Why did Clarkson go crazy? First of all, his strength was a level higher. Secondly, he never encountered any real pressure from beginning to end. The double-teaming by the Chinese team was in name only. The pressure was not enough. No one used fierce fouls to interrupt Clarkson's rhythm. Clarkson's shooting and dribbling were very calm from beginning to end.

This created a situation where Clarkson was able to score goals even though there were always one or two people following him.

I guess Clarkson himself was confused. What did I do to make the Chinese team's defense so disrespect me?

That's what Roger is like now.

There were always two people defending in front of him, but the pressure from these two people had no effect on Roger at all.

They thought that they could force Roger to miss the shot with just some interference, but they didn't realize that this level of defense was useless against Roger!

So, Roger scored all kinds of crazy goals in the first half while being double-teamed.

People suddenly felt that Livingston played a little too reasonably. They really hoped that Livingston would be like Roger, brave enough to shoot under double teams, instead of passing the ball to role players again and again and wasting opportunities.

Before the game, all the media were criticizing Roger's playing style, but now everyone hopes that Livingston will be bolder like Roger.

Roger has completely reversed his reputation!

The 16-minute half-time ended quickly. Randy Livingston had 5 points, 6 assists and 0 turnovers in the first half, which was impeccable.

Roger, who was happy to see that he had 0 assists in the first half, scored 25 points in the first half, which was five times that of Livingston, leading Bullock High School to a 6-point lead!
Randy Livingston's so-called perfect performance that followed the rules was completely insignificant in the face of Roger's crazy bombing!
16 points in 25 minutes. In Bilas' words, "Roger was basically doing shooting practice in the first half! Newman High School's defense was too easy for him!"

O'Neal in the front row also stood up excitedly, raised his two strong arms high, and repeatedly shouted: "Roger is the truth! Roger is the truth!"

Roger is the truth!

Sorry Paul Pierce, such a cool nickname will no longer belong to him.

The fans of Newman High School looked at the almost crazy Sharks and realized that this game was completely different from what they had imagined.

Through ESPN's live broadcast, the whole country saw Roger's unimaginable scoring ability.

He did play unreasonably, but he had the capital to be unreasonably so!

His offense is not at the high school level at all!

In the town of Jonesville, inside a repair shop, several men were hugging each other.

"Hahahaha! I knew Roger would shut up those proud idiots of Newman! They think they're superior? Go to hell!"

"If you ask me, Roger is the damn best in America!"

"Lu, your nephew is really something, hahahaha!"

The customer who came to repair his car was obviously surprised: "Are you Roger's uncle?"

Lu An nodded proudly.

Who would have thought that the guest would suddenly hold Lu An's hand and say, "If you don't mind, I would like to be your foster father!"

At this time, this exciting scene was happening in every household in Jonesville.

Roger made this inconspicuous town famous throughout the United States!

Scarface Simmons walked off the court in frustration. He had tried his best to chase and defend in the first half, but it was completely useless!
He originally thought that Roger's scoring ability was about the same as Randy's, but he scored higher just because he took more shots.

But the facts told him that Roger was a creature from another dimension!

At this rate, Roger won't even need to score 100 points to win the game!
Back in the locker room, Newman High School coach Tony Reilly was furious: "What are you doing? Why are you letting him score as he pleases? I have emphasized countless times that he is the only weakness of Brock High School. Why don't you take it seriously!"

Simmons replied helplessly: "We have already defended well, but there is nothing we can do."

"Fuck, what do you mean there is no way!? There is no such thing as no way on the basketball court. Do you think he is Michael Jordan!?

Did you guys fight him? Did you foul him? What the fuck is that?
Be tougher, be tougher! This is a war, young gentlemen! Don't you understand? Just stretching your hand doesn't mean your defense is in place. That soft defense can't stop that madman! "

Simmons never imagined that they, who were so arrogant in Louisiana, would be beaten so badly in just half a game.

The inner reluctance and the coach's scolding made Simmons, ranked 48th in the United States, cheer up and bite his lips tightly.

If we interrupt him with a few fierce fouls, he won't dare to mess around anymore, right?
Newman High School had no idea that everything they planned would be in vain in front of Roger, whose scoring ability was a level higher.

The harder you squeeze the spring, the more force it will rebound.

A crazier show is about to begin.

※※※

Thanks to Yu Man, Yu Man Man, Pei Xing and other big guys for their rewards, I will present a conscientious 5K chapter in the public period! I beg for monthly tickets, follow-up reading, collection, and crazy spoiling!

(End of this chapter)