The longest river

Chapter 30 A Special Skill
Kobe got angry, and then he got angry for a moment.

The gap in their strength made it difficult for him to gain any advantage over Yang Shuai on both offense and defense.

This is a one-sided matchup.

Kobe was very stubborn, and he refused to switch with his teammates when they saw that he was at a great disadvantage.

Of course, the most despicable one was Yang Shuai, who kept provoking Kobe with his words. The young Kobe got carried away time and time again, and then suffered defeat after defeat.

In the end, even Yang Shuai's teammates couldn't stand it anymore.

During the break, someone reminded him again that the person opposite him was Joe's son, and he shouldn't go too far.

Yang Shuai shrugged; anyway, he wouldn't be playing in Philadelphia anymore.

Moreover, he didn't think this would have any impact on Kobe. If he couldn't stand a little trash talk, how could Kobe have become the superstar he knew?

As it turned out, Yang Shuai's judgment was correct; Kobe was constantly being beaten, but he never gave up.

Although his actions clearly hurt the team, his spirit is still commendable.

Ultimately, under Yang Shuai's leadership, they successfully defeated Kobe's team.

Yang Shuai delivered 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists in his league debut for Sonny Hill.

After the game, Yang Shuai's teammates surrounded him and celebrated excitedly.

Although amateur league matches don't attract the attention of scouts, he won over his teammates with one game and gained unlimited shooting rights in the following matches.

"They say that guy's father is a league legend. Will he kick us out?" Rondo couldn't help but worry as he returned to the dorm after the game.

"Don't worry, he won't." Yang Shuai thought it was possible for anyone else, but it was absolutely impossible for Kobe.

The next day, when Eskridge came to pick them up, he told them something about Kobe.

However, it's not the kind of thing Rondo is worried about.

"Kobe asked me for the videotapes, specifically the videotapes of Hansen at the Nike training camp."

What would they need the videotape for? Naturally, to study Yang Shuai.

“How could I have that kind of stuff? He should ask Nike for it.” Eskridge said, glancing up at the rearview mirror. “Hansen, that guy’s got his eye on you.”

"As long as he doesn't ask me for money, everything is negotiable." Yang Shuai didn't care.

Eskrich laughed heartily upon hearing this, but then shook his head.

Yang Shuai didn't know Kobe, and didn't know how clingy Joe's son was.

"Negative energy from Kobe Bryant +58".

During the match that night, when Yang Shuai took the stage, the system notification sounded in his mind again.

Is Kobe going to switch teams and play against him again?
He looked towards the opposite half of the court but did not see Kobe.

However, after looking around, he quickly spotted a pair of eyes staring intently at him from the sidelines.

Kobe actually came to watch him play.

Considering what Eskledge said earlier, this makes a lot of sense.

If you can't get a videotape of Yang Shuai's match, then watch Yang Shuai's match live.

The perspective and level of attention when facing someone head-on are completely different from watching someone play.

They've really got their eyes on him.

Yang Shuai still didn't pay much attention.

Kobe's technique wasn't the problem; his problem was his weight and physicality. Once those were addressed, he would have been a top-five high school player in the class of 1996.

However, since Kobe was there, Yang Shuai naturally had to interact with him.

During the defensive transition, he seemed to only just notice Kobe, exclaiming in surprise, "Number 33, it's you!"

Then, during another defensive retreat, he would scratch his head and ask, "Number 33, what's your real name again?"

After a while, as he passed by, he said with a smile, "They told me you're Joe's son, I think your name is something like Kobe①?"

Kobe's face turned pale and then red; he wasn't wearing his jersey today!

However, Kobe didn't get carried away like he did during the game. Instead, he focused even more intently on every detail of Yang Shuai's performance on the court.

Then every day thereafter, whenever Kobe wasn't playing, he would stand on the sidelines and watch Yang Shuai.

Yang Shuai now truly understood what Eskrich meant by "keeping an eye on him".

Kobe is really a bit abnormal.

However, Kobe's presence on the sidelines also provided him with some points, and Yang Shuai felt a bit of a pity if he didn't see him one day.

Finally, after half a month, Yang Shuai and Kobe's team faced off again.

Kobe played much smarter this time than last time, and he was able to cause some trouble for Yang Shuai on both offense and defense.

This surprised Yang Shuai, but considering what Kobe had done in the past two weeks, it was also expected.

A player like him, barring injuries, is destined for success. A month and a half later, Yang Shuai ended his league campaign with Sonny Hill.

His team ultimately achieved a record-breaking third place, and he received a $1000 reward.

Just as Garnett said, although this league is an amateur league, the prize money is not small.

Moreover, more than the money he received, his biggest gain from this trip to Philadelphia was the points; he earned a whopping 6 points!
Kobe alone contributed over 2 of these.

If you were to ask Yang Shuai now who he would like to face off against in a game, it would undoubtedly be Kobe Bryant.

After returning to Cleveland, Yang Shuai spent 5 points for the first time to redeem a B-level shooting talent enhancement package.

Yang Shuai's experience at the Nike training camp allowed him to witness the talent of top high school students and made him realize that to stand out among a group of geniuses, one must have a special skill.

Marbury's ball-handling skills were the best in the 1995 class, Billups excelled in playmaking, Garnett was an all-rounder, Carter was a dunker, and Fields was a leaping ball.

After much thought, the only skill Yang Shuai could improve to an exceptional level in such a short time was his three-point shooting.

Even if he enters the NBA in the future, he will still have a place in the team's rotation due to his scarcity.

With two weeks to go before the start of the new NSAA season, his next task is to practice three-point shooting.

During this process, Rondo also assisted Yang Shuai in training more. Yang Shuai promised to take him under his wing in the future, so he naturally had to do his best to assist Yang Shuai.

He also made a hand-shaped plastic board to compensate for the problem that his height was not enough to interfere with Yang Shuai's shots.

He's really the quick-witted type.

September arrived in the blink of an eye, the new NSAA season began, and Yang Shuai officially entered his twelfth year, which was also his last season in high school.

With the departure of a number of veteran players, including Luther, the team has also added some junior players.

Yang Shuai previously played for the junior team, so he naturally understands the abilities of these new players. The team's overall strength has declined compared to last season.

However, in addition to this, thanks to their outstanding performance in the state championship last season, the team also attracted a promising junior high star player from Cincinnati: Brandon Hunter.

Hunter is 1.98 meters tall barefoot, but weighs 110 kilograms and plays the power forward position.

On the first day of training, Yang Shuai tested Hunter and found that although he was a short center, he was quite skilled.

Cleveland High School has always had a relatively weak interior game, so his addition is a very important boost to the team.

Moreover, Cleveland High School's opponents are getting weaker in the new season.

Among the star players Yang Shuai faced last season, Antonio Daniels went to Bowling Green State University, Calvin Booth went to Pennsylvania State University, and Ruben Paterson went to the University of Cincinnati.

His main rivals became Michael Reed, a tenth-grader, and James Posey, who was in the same year as him.

In contrast, Cleveland High School's chances of winning the championship this season have greatly increased.

Of course, all of this depends on Yang Shuai.

Cleveland High School's opening game of the new season will be against Chamberlain High School.

This was a match between old rivals, but unlike last season, there were many scouts and media reporters present.

They came here specifically to see Yang Shuai.

After Yang Shuai's ranking improved to 28th in the class of 1995 and he entered his twelfth grade, he automatically earned another title: the number one high school student in Ohio.

Moreover, as the top high school student, he hasn't yet made a school choice, which naturally attracts even more attention.

Of course, this attention comes not only from scouts, but also from opponents.

Posey's defensive focus on Yang Shuai during the game was noticeably more intense than last season.

Having achieved fame earlier than Yang Shuai, he also wanted to make a good impression among the many scouts.

However, he soon discovered that Yang Shuai in the new season was a completely different person from last season, and even if he tried his best, it was difficult to limit Yang Shuai's performance.

Not to mention that Yang Shuai, on the contrary, severely restricted him.

最终，杨帅在新赛季的首场比赛里就贡献了36分8板5助攻3抢断3盖帽的豪华数据，带领克利夫兰高中成功击败钱柏林高中取得开门红。

After the match ended, the fans at the stadium were incredibly excited.

After all these years, Cleveland has finally found its genius high school student!
Of course, college scouts were also excited. After the game, they tried every means to contact Yang Shuai so that he could join them when he finally chose a school.

Yang Shuai wasn't in a hurry to make a decision, so Johnson basically blocked her every time.

He currently has at least thirty job offers in hand, so he can basically go wherever he wants.

However, right after Yang Shuai returned to the locker room, Paul, who had also come to the scene today, brought someone with him to see him.

The man was wearing a black felt hat and sunglasses.

“This is Gary Charles, he works for Mr. Vaccaro,” Paul introduced.

-Dividing line-

①: In 1978, Joe Bryant and his pregnant wife Pamela enjoyed a delicious meal at a Japanese steakhouse near King Prussia Village, Pennsylvania: Kobe beef. They liked the sound of the steak, so they named their son Kobe Bean Bryant, Bean being Joe's nickname, Bean.

(End of this chapter)