Su Feng's one-minute fast-shooting drill stunned the audience.
However, shooting alone does not tell the whole story.
"Su, let's move on to lateral movement training next!"
After witnessing Su Feng's fast-shooting drill, assistant coach Anthony looked at him with newfound admiration.
"Sounds good!"
Lateral movement? You might not believe it, but this is Su Feng's strength.
Su—Repeated horizontal jump—Feng.
"Amazing! I was worried he was just a shooter, but now I feel reassured." Watching Su Feng's impressive performance on the court, coach Tony Jones felt as if he had discovered a hidden gem.
"A player this good… shouldn't…" Assistant coach Anthony was puzzled. Although Nefalia is not known for basketball talent, he couldn't understand how such an outstanding player had gone unnoticed.
And then, Anthony became even more perplexed.
In every aspect of training—except for dribbling, rebounding, and physical confrontations—Su Feng's performance was nothing short of perfect!
Anthony was convinced that even in the American high school basketball scene, Su Feng was a rare, high-quality shooter.
This is different from the NBA. As a testing ground for NBA rules, American college and high school basketball tend to be more tactically flexible…
In the 1990s, many American colleges and high schools began to emphasize three-point shooting, with some teams attempting an average of three three-pointers per game.
During this era, elite shooters were highly valued in high school and college basketball.
Of course, the tactical openness of American college and high school basketball serves two purposes: testing strategies for the NBA and accommodating the strengths of young players.
Think about it—someone like Kobe, who skipped college and went straight to the NBA, was a monstrous talent in high school basketball.
Teams without such extraordinary players naturally had to focus on tactics and system play.
This is where the phrase poor teams rely on strategy, rich teams rely on talent comes into play…
"It's impossible! There's no way I could have overlooked such a talented shooter! Even in the NCAA, top-tier schools would be competing to recruit him." Anthony was starting to question everything.
Meanwhile, Tony Jones wasn't dwelling on such complexities.
From his perspective, the real concern was where to place Su Feng on the court and how to utilize him effectively.
Simply put, Tony Jones had no interest in speculation—his job was to make the best use of his players. His priorities were different from Anthony's.
After the first training session, Su Feng was quickly surrounded by the first-team players.
At first, they had been skeptical—was Su Feng really some kind of hero sent to save their earth?
But after watching him dominate three consecutive drills, they were convinced: Su Feng was nothing short of a superhero!
"You… can you turn around and show us?" Team captain Towns stepped forward, his curiosity mirrored in the eyes of his teammates.
Su Feng: "..."
What do you want me to do, strike a superhero pose?!
Do you want me to shout Baara Energy as well?
"You don't have to worry, Su. We won't tell anyone. You're playing basketball to hide your true identity, aren't you?" Towns asked eagerly.
Seriously?!
How do you even reason with a group of guys caught up in their own delusions?
Just as Su Feng found himself at a loss, assistant coach Anthony stepped in.
"Su, come here," Anthony said with a kind smile.
Relieved, Su Feng followed him.
Otherwise, he truly had no idea how to deal with his overimaginative teammates.
"Su, can you tell me what you did this summer?" Anthony asked, curiosity in his voice.
From Anthony's perspective, Su Feng must have gone through something significant over the summer—otherwise, his basketball skills wouldn't have improved so dramatically.
"I spent the summer working hard on my game," Su Feng responded calmly.
"So, can you tell me how you trained?" Anthony pressed further.
Su Feng didn't hold back—he quickly explained his usual training routine.
After all… everything he described was publicly available online.
As for his experiences with Kobe, Su Feng chose not to mention them.
This wasn't some kind of confession—he had no obligation to explain himself in such detail.
"No wonder… No wonder…" After listening to Su Feng's training method, Anthony fell silent for a moment.
In basketball, it isn't unheard of for a player's skills to suddenly skyrocket.
Take Olajuwon, for example—the league's current top center only started formal basketball training in college.
Now, everything made sense.
The reason "Su Feng" was originally placed on the reserve team was likely due to his average height and underdeveloped skills at the time.
But after physical growth and relentless training over the summer, his talent—particularly his shooting ability—had finally started to shine through.
Su Feng never imagined that the biggest obstacle preventing him from competing in high school basketball would resolve itself so naturally.
Following the day's training session, coach Tony Jones wasted no time in announcing that Su Feng would officially join the first team and participate in an upcoming friendly match against Lower Merion High School.
Furthermore, the team would complete Su Feng's official registration at the start of the new season.
To temporarily address Su Feng's jersey number issue, backup shooting guard Myers had to swap jerseys with him.
As he looked at the dejected Myers, Su Feng couldn't help but be reminded of the poor Xiangbei team member in Slam Dunk whose jersey was stolen by Sakuragi…
Truly, art imitates life.
...
After resolving the school team's issues, Su Feng hurried home to drop off his schoolbag before dashing to the place where he often practiced with Kobe.
"Ah… The intensity of high school basketball training doesn't challenge me at all!"
As he pushed himself harder, Su Feng realized that the training he endured today with his team was not only far below the level of difficulty he imposed on himself, but it also lacked the intensity he craved.
However, if he wanted to enter the NBA, he knew that making a name for himself in the high school league was the first step—ensuring that college and NBA scouts took notice.
The 1990s weren't as tough as the future would be, but even back then, breaking into the NBA was a grueling challenge.
Take Jeremy Lin, for example. Despite being one of the top guards in physical assessments and training, many experts in American basketball dismissed Asian guards outright.
Frankly, this wasn't just racial bias—it was a kind of athletic gatekeeping.
It was similar to hearing about an African table tennis player competing in China's elite table tennis league.
So, Su Feng not only had to establish himself in the high school league, but he had to do so in a way that made waves.
Of course, with his knowledge of NBA history, Su Feng also understood that being a Chinese player—a "yellow-seed" guard—was both a disadvantage and an advantage.
"Stern must already be preparing a videotape to send to a Chinese TV station," Su Feng chuckled.
"What tape? You're late!" Just as Su Feng was deep in thought about his future, Kobe suddenly appeared in front of him, looking irritated.
His expression, his gaze—it reminded Su Feng of a past life moment, like showing up two hours late to a date with his ex-girlfriend…
"The school team had a training session today," Su Feng explained as he handed Kobe a bottle of sports drink.
"Training? Then you should already know who your opponent is in the upcoming friendly match," Kobe said, taking a sip of the drink Su Feng had prepared for him.
Hmm… Strange. How did Su know I liked this flavor?
"Of course—the famous Lower Merion High School!" Su Feng shook his head knowingly. After spending enough time with Kobe, he understood that Kobe was fishing for praise…
"Huh?" Look at him, just waiting for it.
"And, of course, Kobe Bryant—the nation's number one high school player." Su Feng added.
"Come on, I discovered something during my training today. You can actually execute a fadeaway like this…"
Kobe, now fully pleased, led him to the basket to demonstrate.
And to be fair—Kobe truly was a basketball genius.
Because, believe it or not, just listening to his explanation allowed Su Feng to make a massive breakthrough in his own technique…
"Congratulations to the host for unlocking a hidden stunt: Kobe's Turnaround Fadeaway."
Su Feng: "!!!"
No way!
Was this what they called an epiphany?!
So real-life events could not only influence his potential but could also unlock hidden benefits?
Su Feng had assumed he already understood the system's mechanics, but now he realized he knew nothing at all!
In reality…
He had no clue that this hidden stunt required not only the other person's favorability but also their level of discipline, teaching ability, and Su Feng's own ability to absorb all the elements…
To put it bluntly…
The system had tried to break Su Feng.
But instead, Su Feng was thrilled.
At that moment, he wanted to kiss Bryant.
To Su Feng, Kobe had just transformed into an endless gold mine!
"Kobe, I just realized… you are the god of basketball in my mind," Su Feng suddenly declared, making a snap decision—he had to strengthen his bond with Kobe.
His sudden outburst nearly made Kobe trip.
Of course, Kobe wasn't easily fooled by such blatant flattery. "Su, are you afraid I'll crush you in the friendly match?"
Su Feng: "..."
As expected, even the most devoted Kobe fans couldn't predict his train of thought.
Luckily, Su Feng was quick-witted. "I meant that your understanding of basketball is incredible. Someone like me can only learn, but you can create such brilliant techniques."
Kobe nodded, satisfied with Su Feng's explanation. "Su, don't worry—I won't intentionally go after you in the friendly match."
"Because I want to prove something to my coach."
"I want to show him that I wasn't lying when I said that Chinese players, if they work hard enough, can play even better than American players."
"Su, don't let me down!" Kobe – Senior - Bryant looked at Su Feng with unwavering determination.
Seeing Kobe's serious expression, Su Feng had a feeling…
This friendly match was about to get a lot more complicated than he had anticipated.
From Kobe's tone, Su Feng suspected that he had already been introduced to the Lower Merion coach.
Looks like he'll have to wait until the game to uncover the full story.