Champions Creed

Chapter 20: The top scorer in the NCAA meets the top scorer in high school

Jerry Krause feels that he has lost weight recently, and his chin has been reduced from four layers to three layers.

Because the Bulls have been in constant trouble recently, he is under tremendous pressure.

The team was trailing the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals with a total score of 0-2.

The feat of winning three consecutive championships seems to have become an unrealistic dream.

霍勒斯.格兰特与球队渐行渐远，系列赛G2他6投仅仅1中，只以16%的命中率拿了6分2个篮板。赛后，他声称自己的脚踝有伤。

The great Jordan was so concerned about his teammates: "Ankle injury? Are you trying to say that you are a fucking coward who is afraid of injuries? It seems that Krause is not stupid. At least he made the right decision not to give a coward a big contract!"

As for Jordan himself, he didn't give Krause any peace of mind.

In fact, 90% of what annoys Krause is Jordan.

Just after the Bulls suffered a crushing defeat to the Knicks in Game 2, New York Times reporter Dave Anderson revealed that Jordan was still fighting hard in a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the early hours of the morning before the game.

At this time, Richard Esquinas, former general manager of the San Diego Arena, published a book titled "Jordan and Me: Our Gambling Addiction."

The book reveals that he and Jordan participated in various gambling activities. The most important thing is that the book reveals: "The great Michael still owes me a gambling debt of 125 million!"

The Atlantic City gambling scandal and the publication of this book pushed things to the darkest place. The media began to ask: "Will Jordan, who is addicted to gambling, participate in gambling?"

The NBA immediately set up an investigation team to investigate Jordan. This series of disturbances made Jordan very similar to James Worthy, who was framed by a female police officer in November 1990 and was involved in a prostitution scandal. His public image plummeted to freezing point.

Krause couldn't sleep every day. He hated Jordan who never respected him, but he needed Jordan more than anyone else. So he didn't want anything to happen to Jordan, nor did he want this incident to affect Jordan's competitive state.

He was really afraid that when he opened his eyes the next day, he would receive the news that Jordan had been taken away for investigation.

He was really afraid that the Bulls would be completely dismembered by the Knicks in the crucial G3.

While he was troubled by so many things, Klaus also received another bad news.

"You mean, Roger rejected our invitation to try out!?"

Klaus looked at Dukan in front of him and found it unbelievable.

The Bulls had the 25th pick in the first round of the draft this summer. If Roger performed well in the tryout, Krause originally wanted to take this high school rookie in the first round.

This is the first round. As a high school student, what more can he ask for?
In the end, he actually refused?
"Why?" Klaus asked Dukan.

Dukan answered honestly: "Roger's agent Eric said that his client would not fall to the end of the first round because he has received invitations from several lottery teams. If we are really interested in Roger, we can prepare a lottery pick in advance. In this way, he will consider arranging for Roger to come to Chicago."

"Sly bastard!" Klaus cursed.

He knew very well that Eric didn't want Roger to be a stepping stone for others.

Going to the lottery team for a tryout and competing against those NCAA players with lottery prospects, even if Roger doesn't perform well, he can still say, "Roger only lost to the top few college players, but he can undoubtedly play in the NBA."

But if Roger loses to those NCAA players who didn't advance in the lottery in the tryout of the low-ranking team, people will know that Roger is not ready to enter the NBA at all.

It's like if you lose to Jordan, people will say you lost with honor. But if you lose to Drexler, the whole world will know you are a loser. That's the difference.

Therefore, Eric only arranged for Roger to try out for the lottery team. In this way, even if Roger lost, he would lose to "Jordan".

Klaus scoffed at this little trick.

He admitted that Roger had great potential. In fact, Krause was one of the general managers who paid the most attention to Roger.

But if you want to exchange your lottery pick for this scratch-off ticket, the price is a bit too high.

but
Krause felt that Roger would eventually come to Chicago for a tryout, and when he found himself helpless in the tryout for the lottery team, he would find a way out.

Meanwhile, Roger and Eric arrived in Detroit, the first stop on their tryout tour.

In the NBA in the 1980s and 1990s, Detroit was definitely a place that everyone hated.

The Bad Boys achieved unprecedented success in the late 80s and early 90s, painting the basketball world with the colors of blue-collar and indomitable.

But they also became a thorn in the side of the entire league because of their almost murderous style of play.

With the rise of Michael Jordan, Detroit seemed to be cursed by fate and completely became a background board of history.

But this team still has some pride left over from the past, so they are extremely eager to rebuild quickly.

This summer, Detroit can experience double the joy with the 10th and 11th lottery picks.

Of course, if you make the wrong choice, it would be a double waste.

Therefore, the new Pistons general manager Billy McKinney attached great importance to this draft. He summoned Alan Houston, Lynch Hunter, Doug Edwards, Vin Baker and other college talents with lottery prospects at one time.

Of course, there is also "Truth" who created a miracle at the McDonald's All-Star Game.

Billy McKinney didn't want to miss any possibilities, and from a personal point of view, he felt that Roger would be a very good choice.

Roger saw many familiar faces at the Pistons' training ground.

Mid-range shooting king Alan Houston used his near-perfect shooting action to put the ball into the basket again and again.

Vin Baker showed off his versatile offensive skills in the low post.

However, the most eye-catching player on the court is Sean Bradley. This 2-meter-tall guy stands out even on a basketball court full of tall people.

How terrifying is his height? This guy has not played a serious game since 1991, but has become a full-time missionary.

Even so, after two years of absence, he still has the prospect of being selected in the lottery.

This shows how attractive his height is to NBA teams.

When talking about Bradley, people often recall those famous scenes where he was dunked on.

From a fan's perspective, Bradley is pretty soft, but as a player standing on the same field with him, Roger deeply realized how much courage it takes to confront him head-on.

I also deeply understand why NBA teams are so fascinated by him.

Seeing Roger and Eric walk into the training hall, the Pistons' new general manager Billy McKinnie came up and welcomed their visit.

Moreover, he very kindly told Roger: "Don't be nervous, just give full play to your talent."

In contrast to McKinnie's enthusiasm was head coach Don Cheney, who had also just joined the team.

He just nodded at Roger and said rather coldly, "Kid, this is different from playing in high school. If I were you, I would play at least two seasons in the NCAA."

Roger could sense the indifference in Don Cheney's tone, as well as the slight arrogance. It was normal for professional team coaches to look down on high school players.

But Roger just wanted to reply to him: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

Don Cheney really felt that it was a waste of time for the team to send a high school student to a tryout.

Originally, he wanted to try out for Seton Hall University's star guard, Terry DeE, who was last season's Big East MVP and averaged 22 points per game. He was versatile in offense and had a bit of an assassin's side.

As a result, the team's general manager McKinney replaced DeE with Roger, which made Don Cheney very unhappy.

Don Cheney desperately wanted McKinney to see how bad his decision was and how stupid it was to give up trying out a college talent for a high school kid.

But then, Billy McKinney laughed happier than anyone else.

Because Roger's physical test data far exceeded people's expectations!
Height: 196cm, 198cm with shoes.

Weight 87 kg, wingspan 2 meters.

A running-start jump height of 102 centimeters and a three-quarter-court sprint speed of 3.12 seconds.

Both static and dynamic talents are top-notch!

Even if Roger is placed at the No. 2 position in the NBA now, he will be a player with not only a good size but also explosive athletic ability!
Roger was not happy with the data, because it was the result of his hard work over this period of time, and he knew he could achieve such results.

But McKinnie is quite happy. Roger is more prepared for the NBA than anyone expected!

He suddenly felt that Roger had nothing to be nervous about.

The ones who should be nervous now are those clear-eyed but stupid college students!
Speaking of which, McKinnie has always been looking forward to seeing Roger and Alan Houston compete on the same field.

What kind of sparks will be created when the top scorer in the NCAA meets the top scorer in high school?

Well, let's put them in different teams and see who's better!

Everyone will soon know whether "Truth" can continue in higher-level competitions!
After the matchup was arranged, McKinnie stood on the sidelines excitedly: "I feel that kid will surprise all of us. His body has reached the requirements of the NBA. That kid didn't announce his participation in the draft on a whim. He came prepared."

Don Cheney was dismissive: "Have you ever seen anyone win an MVP award based on their physical test data, Billy? You should watch the game first."

In the eyes of the new Pistons coach, that kid is really going to surprise everyone.

He would act in a rather embarrassing way and make everyone exclaim: "The No. 1 high school student in the United States, is this it?"

(End of this chapter)