All I Really Want Is To Play Basketball - Chapter 31
Chapter 31: A Talented Young Man
Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Clang!
Clang!
Su Feng had put in his very best after receiving Kobe’s encouragement. By the end of the second period, he had successfully missed two more shots!
“Su, it’s just that you’ve had terrible ball sense today. You are still an amazing basketball player. Don’t feel discouraged…”
Worried that Su Feng might have lost his cool, Kobe comforted him during halftime.
Overjoyed on the inside, Su Feng gathered all his acting skills and put on a sad face. Then he thanked Kobe.
However, Kobe thought that Su Feng was blaming himself for his under-performance, which made Kobe feel sorry too.
Kobe knew that initially, the defensive expert Kenny had probably been trained to counter Kobe himself.
However, due to Su Feng’s outstanding performance in the friendly match, Ridley had changed their strategy and Kenny was now targeting Su Feng.
When Kobe was busy thinking about how to help Su Feng rebuild his confidence…
A line of words suddenly emerged in Su Feng’s mind!
“[Hidden Task: Pity]: Since you have missed too many shots today, you will gain 10,000 Brick Shot Points for each missed shot till the end of this match.”
Su Feng was astonished.
What great news!
Su Feng would have never expected his performance today to trigger a hidden task.
10,000 Brick Shot Points?!
Although it seemed that the system had done this out of its pity for Su Feng, Su Feng didn’t think that it was a mockery.
Rather, he had hoped for the system to increase the number of points earned per missed shot!
“Oh? So the system is not happy that I’ve missed 10 shots in a row?
“But I didn’t do it on purpose! Can missed shots due to bad ball sense really be counted as brick shots?”
Su Feng felt wronged.
Kobe saw the change in his facial expression. In order to cheer him up, Kobe patted Su Feng’s shoulder and said encouragingly, “Su, in the third period, I’ll ask all of our teammates to pass the ball to you. I know you are the best shooter in all of Pennsylvania. I have faith in you!”
When Su Feng was still pondering how to continue throwing bricks in the third period without making a nuisance of himself, he hadn’t expected that… Kobe was willing to make that happen for him!
“I am indeed the chosen one,” Su Feng thought as he looked at Kobe gratefully.
“Don’t feel pressured. We are far stronger than Ridley. Just keep up what you’ve done in the first two periods.”
Kobe had made up his mind that he would help Su Feng regain his confidence even if he himself would not score any more points.
After all, to Kobe, Su Feng was now more than just a good friend.
Su Feng was now Kobe’s close friend who understood him well.
It’s easy to make friends but hard to find a close friend who truly knows you.
Hence, Kobe felt obliged to help Su Feng in the name of their friendship, and it was totally not just for the sandwiches…
When the team went to the changing room for halftime, Kobe proposed to Gregg that the team should help Su Feng regain his ball sense.
Gregg thought for a while and agreed to Kobe’s suggestion.
“This is just a high school league. They will experience many more competitions in the future. Besides, this is a good opportunity for them to strengthen their friendship. As the head coach, I have the responsibility to guide them towards the right direction,” Gregg thought.
….
As a result, Su Feng had been granted special permission to throw bricks to his heart’s content in the third period. When he stepped into the basketball court, he felt as if his standing in the team had been lifted.
Kobe looked Su Feng in the eye and said, “Good luck! You’ll be our main offensive player from this moment onwards! Trust your judgment and never hesitate. Shoot when you believe that it’s the right moment!”
Su Feng nodded, looking grateful and touched.
However, Kobe didn’t notice that Su Feng had been pinching his own thighs to hold back his laughter.
Tears started to well up in Su Feng’s eyes. Kobe thought that Su Feng had cried because he had felt touched by Kobe’s words, while in fact…
It was because pinching his thighs was so painful!
The game resumed. Despite Su Feng’s consecutive brick shots, he and Kobe had formed an unbreakable defense line, posing great difficulty to Ridley’s offensive players.
It was Ridley’s turn to attack. However, under Su Feng’s interference, Goodman had misjudged the position of the basket.
Kobe turned to retrieve the ball. As of this moment, the score was 36 – 24, with Lower Merion taking the lead.
During the match, Kobe carefully led his team in pressuring their opponents. The teammates also coordinated well to help Su Feng protect the defense line by running around the court and shielding him.
However, Kenny was hard to get rid of, like an annoying chewing gum. After Su Feng had widened the gap between them, Kenny immediately turned to catch up with him.
Kobe believed that it was time.
He passed the ball to Su Feng without any hesitation.
A nice move. Kobe would have to make similar judgments in the future when he participated in the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge!
Su Feng received the ball awkwardly. He adjusted himself to avoid Kenny’s long arms.
Then, while he was still drifting across the floor, he jumped up and shot.
There was a tiny bit of a fadeaway movement in it.
It wasn’t a smooth shot. Hence, Su Feng thought that he was bound to get 10,000 Brick Shot Points in the next instant.
“Re…” Su Feng shouted, cuing his teammates to get the rebound.
Bang! Swoosh!
A three-point bank shot!
Su Feng had finally scored a goal!
Su Feng was stunned.
“Nice shot!”
Excited, Kobe ran over and slapped Su Feng’s back. Then he turned around and fixed the other Lower Merion players with a death stare. The other players immediately came forward to encourage Su Feng.
But it wasn’t anything like an encouragement in Su Feng’s ears!
“Su, I believe in you! Your next ten shots will surely go through the hoop!” Schwartz said.
“Hey, that’s the most sinister curse I’ve ever heard!
“Next ten shots?
“Shh!
“That’s not gonna happen!
“I’ve had terrible ball sense today. It’s impossible for me to score so many times!”
The game resumed. Ridley made a mistake which allowed Kobe to steal the ball. He then passed it to Su Feng again.
Having gained inspiration from the future Warriors, Su Feng attempted a fast-break three-pointer to lower his chances of scoring.
This time, he didn’t even bother to adjust his center of weight and the shape of his hands. Coupled with his terrible ball sense that day, Su Feng believed that the ball would definitely miss the hoop and drop in Kobe’s hands.
But…
Something was not right!
Why did he feel so right when the ball left his hand?
Swoosh!
Su Feng was stunned.
“That’s freaking strange!’
“How could I have possibly scored??
“What the hell?”
At that moment, the Ridley audience around the court almost wanted to cheer for Lower Merion. However, they were Ridley students, so they had to uphold the dignity of their own school team.
In the 1990s, who could possibly accomplish a fast-break three-pointer? It was terrific!
Even Kobe was in disbelief after witnessing what had just happened.
“Amazing! That shot requires absolute confidence! Su is such a talented player!” Kobe thought, looking at Su Feng, who was still looking down.
“Besides, any normal man will feel proud after achieving a spectacular feat like that. But look at Su, only he can remain cool!”
Kobe suddenly felt that Su Feng was not that annoying after all. There was a lot to learn from him!
As the Chinese saying goes, don’t be proud when you win, and don’t be downhearted when you fail. Su Feng was exactly that kind of person.
At the Ridley substitute bench, Fernandes was furious. He had an urge to smash the coaching board in his hands.
Su Feng’s consecutive three-point shots didn’t make sense at all!
It further strengthened Fernandes’ desire to assassinate Gregg.
With Su Feng the trump hard in their team, Gregg would win no matter what!
Lower Merion was not particularly strong in tactics, but…
They had two talented players!
Fernandes cursed silently and sat back on the bench, sulking.
….
No one knew that that was actually the start of Su Feng’s splendid performance.
Schwartz’s well wishes had come true. After ten missed shots in the first two periods, Su Feng scored the next ten shots!
Moreover, there was a growing element of drama in his shots.
Have you ever seen a gymnastic shot?
Su Feng had almost bent himself to the ground in his fadeaway shot!
What about a drift shot?
Su Feng hurled the ball out of his hand swiftly as he drifted across the floor. Even in the NBA, few professional players would have dared to do that!
And a head-on jump shot?
Against Kenny’s long arms, Su Feng launched himself high into the air and did a jump shot. It was magnificent!
“Well done, Su! You are the No.1 shooter in my mind! I hope you can stay magical in future matches!”
Stewart said as he passed a bottle of water to Su Feng after the third period.
Having witnessed Su Feng’s performance, Stewart wouldn’t complain anymore during their future 3v3 training sessions, even if Su Feng didn’t pass the ball.
“Thank you,” Su Feng said and forced out a smile. Stewart’s words were like a curse to him!
“Marvelous, Su! That’s the spirit of a shooter!” Kobe commended.
He was proud of Su Feng now that Su Feng had his confidence and ball sense back.
Su Feng took a deep breath and said, “Thanks!”
“You are amazing, Su! I’ve accomplished double-double again before I even realized! If you can be this accurate in every match to come, I think I can qualify for the best team formation of the Pennsylvania High School League this season!” Schwartz said excitedly.
Su Feng was feeling sorry for the lost 100,000 Brick Shot Points, but he smiled at Schwartz politely.
“Kobe is right. Su is different. He’s not overly proud because he’s performed well in the last period. We should all learn from him.”
“I agree. If I can have the same attitude as him, I’ll surely excel in whatever I set my mind to!”
“I am so proud of Su…”
….
Due to Su Feng’s outstanding performance in the third period, Lower Merion substituted him with another less experienced player in the fourth period.
Exhausted, Su Feng sat down on the bench, gazing out blankly.
“How did I score just now?
“It doesn’t make sense!
“How can this possibly happen in real life?”
Su Feng felt frustrated.
100,000 Brick Shot Points!
It had vanished just like that!
While Su Feng was overwhelmed by distress, some distance away, in the audience seat…
“Brother is right!
“This Su is a rare basketball talent!
“His perseverance and his unwavering determination in the face of adversity… He reminds me of Allen Iverson from Georgetown University!”
The scout Jackson scribbled every detail about Su Feng in his notebook.
He had noted down “Ball Hawk” and “Sleeper” among other strange names in the section on Su Feng’s characteristics…
Yep, scouts of the 1990s liked to come up with weird nicknames.
“Ball Hawk” was often used to refer to an excellent defensive player, and “Sleeper” referred to an underrated player.
In addition, Jackson also used words such as “Never give up”, “Perseverance”, and “A versatile and experienced player” to express his admiration and approval of Su Feng.
When NBA professional teams picked their new members, not only would they assess the player’s basketball skills, talent, and physical potential, personality also played a crucial part in the selection process.
For instance, in Su Feng’s former life, NBA scouts had once considered the “Devil King” Zhou Qi a candidate for the NBA Draft Lottery. Moreover, he had been seen as one of the most promising players.
However, after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics Games and the CBA League, NBA scouts opined that Zhou Qi hadn’t been very enthusiastic about his basketball career. As a result, Zhou Qi’s draft order dropped significantly.
There were many more similar cases about players that had failed to join the NBA due to their incompatible personalities. Vice versa, a handful of players had also climbed the draft order due to their “desirable” personality.
In any case, those words Jackson had penned down for Su Feng’s personality almost meant that Su Feng was perfect material for basketball.
After all…
Su Feng was still a teenager.
“Yes, now I’m convinced too that Su will join the NBA one day.
“No doubt, players with his personality can and will achieve excellent results. Some of my colleagues are mistaken about him.”
Jackson was overjoyed. If it hadn’t been for his brother Markson’s recommendation, he would never have flown to Philadelphia from Miami just to observe Su Feng.
Jackson felt that he had discovered a precious gem.
Meanwhile, the NBA superior Mark’s trusted advisor, Speed, was taking notes too.
“Strange. Although there’s no slam dunk or miraculous breakthrough today…
“Why do I feel like it’s an awesome match?
“And… What’s this feeling of wanting to kneel before him?”
Speed was not a professional scout, but he agreed with what his colleagues had said about Su Feng…
He seemed special.
If he disregarded Su Feng’s performance in the first two periods, Speed even felt that Su Feng was actually more gifted than many of the American talents the media had been talking about.
“Hmm, I must give feedback to Mark. Su is a player who’s worth a bet!”
Speed thought as he recorded what he had seen…
….
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