One Year Left to Play

Chapter 58: Chapter 18: They Don’t Seem That Strong Either?

However, these things have nothing to do with Zhang Hao, just as it’s impossible for Adidas to eliminate Garnett, Kobe, and Bibi based on training performance. Zhang Hao’s mid-range shot ability from the start far exceeded the highest standard set by the camp, so there are no so-called rules.

This made Zhang Hao’s perception of basketball, his own strength, and his opponents all begin to change... This situation is a good thing for him. He doesn’t have to worry as much and can fully commit to studying.

This is truly more professional than the guidance of a high school coach. It’s not that Inglewood High School’s Scott Collins isn’t professional. Zhang Hao heard that NBA and NCAA teams have invited Scott Collins to be an assistant coach, but Scott Collins is more interested in being the head coach with the most say in the coaching staff, so he didn’t accept.

But Scott Collins is just one person, with areas of expertise and areas he’s not good at.

Here, Zhang Hao has gained attention with his mid-range shot ability, making the trainers and shooting coaches, as if they’ve found a treasure, all focus on how to help him improve. This treatment is simply amazing!

The chief shooting coach of the Adidas Training Camp, Chris Owen, was truly dazzled by Zhang Hao’s mid-range shots. He is a famous shooting coach in the basketball world, working with several NBA players almost every summer. Even in pure training, there aren’t many NBA players with a better mid-range shot than Zhang Hao!

In the student basketball world, it’s a world of dreams. Every time Chris Owen serves as the shooting coach at the Adidas Training Camp, he enjoys it, and when he discovers a talent, he spares no effort to help them get better.

Zhang Hao’s mid-range shot won the attention of the shooting group coaches and trainers, and through Adidas’ publicity, his fame increased, but it also brought him some trouble.

People began to watch his training, and some even directly challenged him to compete in mid-range shots, which did not include Kobe, Hamilton, Bibi, and Corey Benjamin, who always wanted to compare with Zhang Hao.

For these challenges, trainers and coaches did not stop them; instead, they let photographers film them. No matter who challenges whom, there’s always a chance that one of these players might rise to prominence in professional competitions in the future, and then they could promote them again.

Adidas spends money hosting the training camp, providing meals, accommodation, venues, and guidance, and in return, they gain usage and image rights of these players during the camp.

Then, all challengers ended up defeated.

Previously, when Zhang Hao took the initiative to strike up conversations, he didn’t get to know many people... There were hardly any purely through chatting. Instead, after accepting multiple challenges in just three short days, more people began to actively talk to him.

He discovered a misconception—the basketball world, the high school basketball world, is very different from the workplace. In this basketball world, some things are simpler.

Besides becoming friends by sharing similarities, it’s more likely to become friends by working together for a long time or being attracted to each other by strength.

Zhang Hao felt that it was almost impossible to become "like-minded" friends with these black high school students whose skin color, personalities, and habits differ vastly from his.

Long-term cooperation... seems to only include Pierce?

So, it comes down to relying on strength on the court!

Of course, socializing isn’t useless; it’s just that you need strength as a foundation.