Chapter 146: Once Upon a Time in America (1)
After coming to the United States, the three of them first joined up with Jack, assistant coach of the Oak Hill basketball team. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info
After that, the four soldiers divided into two groups, Long Zheng and Steve Smith together, William and Jack teamed up, and the two teams took the list of players provided by Long Zheng (Long Zheng pretended to be left by Oda Hatsufan when he visited American basketball), and recruited excellent basketball players across the United States with full high school scholarships and huge chips to pay for all tuition and fees during college.
On September 1, 1990, at the beginning of the new school year at Oak Hill Middle School, the four of them achieved gratifying results and successfully recruited a number of outstanding players for the basketball team.
William and Jack successfully recruited Rashid Wallace (4th pick in '95), Kerry Kittels (8th pick in '96), Steve Nash (15th pick in '96), and Jason Williams (7th pick in '98). Ryu Zheng and Steve Smith successfully recruited Allen Iverson (1st pick in '96), Ray Allen (5th pick in '96), Tim Duncan (1st pick in '97), Kevin Garnett (5th pick in '95), Chauncey Billups (3rd pick in '97), Stephen Marbury (4th pick in '96), Vince Carter (5th pick in '98), and Paul Pierce (10th pick in '98).
Of course, the two groups want to recruit far more players than that. Unfortunately, the Oak Hill basketball team doesn't have a name for itself in the U.S. right now, and most of the players who played the game turned it down, even though Oak Hill was willing to provide full secondary school scholarships and cover all tuition and fees during college. Because they would rather go to those high school basketball schools than Oak Hill Middle School.
Although he was rejected by many players, Long Zheng was pleasantly surprised when he saw the final list of twelve.
With the exception of Kerry Kittels, the other eleven eventually became top stars in the NBA. Steve Smith, William, and Jack would never have imagined that the teenagers they recruited would become the best basketball players on the planet in the NBA ten years later.
I also attended Oak Hill Middle School, but we were in different grades.
Rashid Wallace, Kerry Kittels, and Steve Nash, who are in their third year of high school;
Alan Iverson, Ray Allen, Tim Duncan, and Jason Williams, four sophomores in high school;
Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups and Ryuzheng, who is two years younger than them, are in their first year of high school;
Stephen Marbury, Vince Carter, and Paul Pearce, who are in their third year of junior high school;
Kobe Bryant is in his second year of junior high school.
A standard basketball team of fifteen people, and with so many new players coming in this school year, the original Oak Hill basketball team was bound to have someone quit to make room, and in response to this situation, Steve Smith formed an Oak Hill II team.
Competition is what makes people better, and in order to promote the growth of the players, Steve Smith has made a rule within the team.
The members of the first team and the second team are not fixed, and on a two-month cycle, the members of the second team can challenge the members of the first team, and if the challenge is successful, they can be promoted to the first team.
When he first entered the school, only Rashid Wallace, Kerry Kittels, Steve Nash, Jason Williams and Long Zheng successfully challenged and made the first team.
Two months later, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Chauncey Billups were promoted to the first team.
Four months later, Stephen Marbury, Vince Carter, Paul Pearce, and Kobe Bryant, four junior high school students succeeded.
It turned out that because the four were only junior high school students, Steve Smith did not want the four to be promoted to the first team.
Because even if they were so good at the game, as junior high school students they weren't eligible to compete in the state high school basketball league and national basketball tournaments, Steve Smith didn't want to waste a valuable team spot on the four.
At this time, Long Zheng stood up and successfully persuaded him.
Long Zheng's reason is also very simple, the current Oak Hill High School is not what it used to be. Even if half of them play, they can win. The four junior high school students occupy the spot, which has no impact on the Oak Hill High School basketball team, but not letting them join now will discourage the enthusiasm of the four.
Ten months later, the Oak Hill basketball team welcomed another member, Jermaine O'Neal (O'Neal Jr.).
Jermaine O'Neal, whose family is in dire straits, somehow learned that Oak Hill High School was recruiting outstanding basketball players across the United States with full middle school scholarships and huge chips to cover all the tuition and fees during college.
When the Oak Hill basketball team was on their way to Columbia, South Carolina, to play an exchange game, Jermaine O'Neal approached him.
12-year-old Jermaine O'Neal does not have the skills of Long Zheng, and the rough O'Neal is also a galaxy worse than Kobe.
Hearing that Jermaine O'Neal wanted to get a full scholarship to Oak Hill, Rashid Wallace and others couldn't help but be dumbfounded, do you think Oak Hill Middle School is a charity, and with your basketball skills, you still want to join our Oak Hill basketball team.
Everyone looked down on O'Neal, but in the eyes of Long Zheng, who recognized him, 12-year-old Jermaine O'Neill was a piece of jade, and with a little carving, it would burst into a dazzling light.
Under Long Zheng's repeated insistence, Steve Smith had no choice but to agree. Anyway, it's your family's money that is spent, and if you have to let him join, then accept him.
Jermaine O'Neal lived up to Ryu's expectations, beating the first-team backup power forward to make the first team in his sixth month at Oak Hill in disbelief.
You must know that in order to enter the first team, Long Zheng and others picked out fourteen people in a row. The only surviving substitute power forward at the time was not simple, with good ball skills and great health, that is, in Oak Hill, he was the main power forward on any other team. Unexpectedly, he was picked off by O'Neill and transferred to the second team.
O'Neill's performance blinded everyone's eyes, how could O'Neill, who was so rough in technology at that time, progress so quickly, it was really unbelievable and incomprehensible.
With the addition of Jermaine O'Neal, the Oak Hill basketball team was officially formed. Since then, no second team player has been able to pull in the next team.