First in scoring

Chapter 14. The Child Grows Up

Half an hour later, it was 6 o'clock and Thomas arrived at the stadium on time.

DeRozan stopped training, called out to Zhang Yang, and went over to greet him.

Zhang Yang followed suit and quickly took a look at the head coach.

He is about 40 years old. Judging from his face, he is a handsome and mature middle-aged man, but his hair is too mature, and he has already surrounded the city with the countryside.

After DeRozan introduced the two to each other, Thomas went straight to the point: "Jack, I want to invite you to Compton High School and join my team.

I watched your game yesterday. I was impressed by your tactical awareness and timing of your movement. I learned from DeMar that you had only been practicing basketball for less than 10 days. He kept praising your talent. From what I know about him, he would not praise anyone casually.

If you want to play basketball and become a better player, I hope you can come to my team. Mid-level High School is a very good school, but all the high schools in Hidden Hills don’t pay much attention to sports…”

Zhang Yang listened to the other person patiently. When he was emotional before, he was immersed in training and interrupted his train of thought. Now he could listen to the other person calmly without responding impulsively.

From the way Thomas spoke, Zhang Yang felt that he was not a boastful person, and the initial impression was good.

After Thomas finished speaking, Zhang Yang responded, "I personally want to go to Compton High School. I really want to be teammates with DeMar and receive more professional basketball guidance, but I need to discuss it with my parents first and get their consent."

Thomas's favorable impression of Zhang Yang also increased greatly after hearing this.

He needs to communicate with dozens or even hundreds of junior high school geniuses every year. The other kids, who are fourteen or fifteen years old, are all very self-centered. Not only do they respond impulsively, they also never consider what their families will think... Of course he can understand it, they are just kids, and most of the sports geniuses are black.

But understanding does not mean liking. When most of the teenagers he met were very self-centered, Zhang Yang was like a breath of fresh air, which made him like him very much.

Thomas smiled and said, "Of course, this is not just your business. You need to discuss it with your parents. This is a big deal for you and your family. You don't have to rush to make a decision. Think about it carefully. This is my business card. Call me when you have made up your mind."

Zhang Yang put away the business card, and his impression of Thomas continued to improve.

He has some knowledge about these school coaches.

In the original body's memory, three years ago when Jarrett Young just graduated from junior high school, many high school teams came to recruit him.

Jarrett Young privately complained that some school coaches treated him like a fool, as if he could become a professional player and make a lot of money in the future as long as he chose their school.

Finally, after discussing with his mother, Jarrett Young chose the Southern California high school that just called their home. The reason for this choice was simple: the coach of the Southern California high school spoke like a normal person.

Thomas didn't stay long. He left after he finished talking.

Zhang Yang continued training. DeRozan originally wanted to chat with Zhang Yang about the city of Compton, but seeing this, he gave up and immersed himself in training. He glanced at Zhang Yang from time to time, and corrected him if he saw anything awkward.

More than an hour later, at 7:50, the two finished their training and went home.

After Zhang Yang went home to take a shower and eat, he went upstairs to the study and used his computer to look up relevant information about Compton City, Compton High School, Tony Thomas, etc.

Zhang Yang already felt that it was difficult to transfer schools suddenly because of his mother's strong attitude. After checking the information, it became even more difficult.

The city of Compton is... hard to describe.

However, the basketball teams of first-tier schools cannot compare with those of non-first-tier schools in terms of team facilities, funding, coaching ability, teammate strength, and opponents they may encounter.

What is certain is that playing for one year at Mid-Levels High School will not yield as much growth as at Compton High School, otherwise those geniuses would not be trying their best to go to first-tier schools.

If he had a choice, he would certainly like to go to Inglewood High School, Lanewood High School, Southern California High School, or other good schools in Los Angeles, but at the moment he doesn't have many other options.

And putting aside the issues of urban security and academic education, Compton High School's comprehensive athletic strength ranks fifth among all high schools in Southern California, making it a good choice.

Zhang Yang fell into deep thought, wondering how to discuss this with his parents. This matter was indeed not easy to handle… Soon, it was 10: and he heard his parents talking.

After an hour, he still couldn't think of a way that would definitely work, so he decided not to think about it anymore and went straight to the living room and said to the two of them, "Dad, Mom, I have something very important to discuss with you."

Yang Jing and Zhang Chen looked at each other - our son actually came to discuss something with us? How strange!
Yang Jing asked, "What is it? As long as it's not excessive, I can consider it."

Zhang Chen: "Sit down and talk."

The three of them sat down on the sofa, and Zhang Yangzhi said, "I want to transfer to Compton High School."

Yang Jing thought that Zhang Yang might want to buy a car? Or a mobile phone? Or he wanted money after dating a girlfriend... and other things that a boy would do to save face, but she never thought that he wanted to transfer schools.

And it’s that damn place Compton…

Zhang Chen secretly patted Yang Jing's arm. Yang Jing nodded and asked Zhang Yang, "Why do you want to go there?"

Zhang Yang organized his words and said, "DeMar is the strongest junior high school basketball player in Southern California. When we played together yesterday, the coach of his school was from here and came to the park to watch the game. He thought I had a talent for playing basketball and invited me. I want to go."

Yang Jing clenched her fists: "Have you already promised that coach?"

Zhang Yang shook his head: "No, I told him that I need to discuss it with you first, and he also suggested that I think about it carefully. He said that this is a big deal for me and our family, and I can't make a decision on my own... This is his business card."

Yang Jing took the business card, looked at her husband again, and then said to her son, "I see. You should go to bed first. It's almost 11 o'clock."

Zhang Yang was delighted and went to wash up and go to bed.

Based on the original body's understanding of his parents, as long as his mother didn't reject him immediately, it meant that this matter had a chance!

…Young men have good sleep quality. Although he was worried, Zhang Yang was still very sleepy at 11 o'clock and fell into a deep sleep. He woke up on time just after 6 o'clock the next day.

After getting up, he went to the park to practice as usual. Today he was alone. DeRozan said last night that he would help his uncle sort out newspapers today.

At 9:10 he returned home and took a shower. At : he went to the kitchen to help out as usual. When guests came, he greeted them and collected money at the front desk as usual...

The guests who had made reservations today all arrived very early. At 1 p.m., there were no new guests, and there were only two tables of guests who had not finished their meal.

Yang Jing, who had been observing her son, came to the kitchen and said to her husband, "Shen, Yang Yang has grown up!"

Zhang Chen responded, "Yes, Jing, before we knew it, Yang Yang is already 15 years old, and we are both 40 years old."

Yang Jing glared: "Do you think I'm old?"

Zhang Chen: "..."

It was so fun to tease her husband. Yang Jing smiled secretly and said, "Let's start preparing lunch. Coach Thomas will be here soon."

Zhang Chen: "Are you really planning to let Yang Yang go to Compton? That's not a good place."

Yang Jing: "This is the first time Yang Yang has discussed something with us so seriously. We need to consider his ideas. Although that place is not a good place, Yang Yang is not the kind of kid who likes to hang out. He is so focused on practicing basketball and studying that he doesn't have extra time to hang out. After you talked to Coach Thomas on the phone this morning, didn't you think this coach is pretty good? Of course, we still have to talk to Coach Thomas in person before making a decision."

Zhang Chen nodded, agreed with his wife, and started preparing the dishes.

As a couple, Yang Jing seems to be the one who leads the family, but when it comes to really big things, it is still Zhang Chen who makes the decision. Where their son goes to study is undoubtedly a big deal for their family.

...

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the agreed time arrived, and Thomas brought DeRozan and Andy Tang to Zhang Yang's house.

Zhang Chen and Yang Jing entertained them warmly, and Zhang Yang also helped.

Zhang Yang did not expect DeRozan, the shy foodie, to come along, but he was surprised that Andy also came.

After the greetings, Zhang Yang asked, "Teacher Tang, do you know Coach Thomas?"

Andy Tang, whose parents fled to the United States during World War II, is a second-generation Chinese. His birthplace and nationality are both American. Theoretically, he can run for the chief, but his parents still insist on traditional Chinese ideological education, and he still regards China as his motherland. Zhang Yang's parents got to know him not long after they arrived in Compton. Both sides regarded themselves as being in a foreign land and regarded each other as compatriots, and they quickly became familiar with each other. When Zhang Yang came to the United States to enroll in school 5 years ago, Andy Tang, who was a physical education teacher at Hidden Mountain Middle School, helped a lot. With the personal connections, their relationship became better.

Andy responded, "Tony is my college classmate. He knows that I have a good relationship with your family and thinks that calling me might increase the chances of being recruited... We were both on the basketball team in college, but we didn't get a chance to play in four years. To be more precise, we never made the roster."

Thomas' mouth twitched: "Andy, there's no need to talk about this kind of thing."

Andy: "Haha, are you embarrassed because there are two basketball geniuses here? You still care about this at your age... But do you really think so highly of Jack? Not to mention that he is already 15 years old. Isn't it too late to start playing basketball now? Is his tactical talent so amazing?"

Zhang Chen and Yang Jing focused their attention on Thomas's answer. Zhang Yang was also curious about the other party's evaluation of him.

Thomas pondered for a moment and chose his words carefully: "15 years old is not too late. Olajuwon started playing basketball in college. You may find it difficult to understand how rare it is to have his physical fitness and tactical awareness..."

Thomas said it cryptically, but everyone understood.

The people with the best physical fitness in the United States must be black people. What is going on in the minds of most of them... It is really difficult for everyone here to understand.

Zhang Chen and Yang Jing originally planned to eat first, and when they had almost finished eating, they started to talk about business.

But the topic ended there, and they started talking to Thomas directly about Zhang Yang going to Compton High School.

It mainly concerns Zhang Yang’s accommodation arrangements, training and competition, allocation of study time, school security, etc.

Thomas answered the questions seriously, talking about both the good and the bad, without any boasting or perfunctory talk, just saying what was on the point.

Andy helped Zhang Chen and Yang Jing fill in the gaps, Zhang Yang was mainly responsible for listening, and DeRozan was mainly responsible for eating.

After the conversation, Zhang Chen and Yang Jing were generally satisfied.

However, Yang Jing was still prepared to investigate further and asked, "If Jack goes to your team, can he become a starter? Can you guarantee that he can have stable playing time?"

Thomas hesitated for a moment, wanting to agree first.

But he finally shook his head firmly: "I can't guarantee how well Jack will play. He needs to hone his skills first, train with the reserve team or even the freshman team, and be prepared to fail."

After being rejected, Yang Jing smiled and said, "I feel relieved when you say that. If you agree to give Jack the starting position without hesitation, I will definitely reject you. A head coach like that either has no principles or will do whatever it takes to trick his students back."

Yang Jing turned to look at Zhang Yang and asked, "Yang Yang, if I don't agree with you going to Compton, what will you do?"

Being asked suddenly, Zhang Yang did not answer immediately. Instead, he thought for a moment and said, "If I can't go to Compton High School, I will carry out my original plan. I will first improve my strength through training, strive to enter the Banshanyao High School team in the new school year, train in low-level competitions for a year, and strive to transfer to a CIF Division I school next summer."

The couple looked at each other again - the child has really grown up!
I feel happy but also a little sad.

Yang Jing hesitated for a while before making a decision. She said to her son, "Since you want to take this path, don't waste your time staying in the high school halfway up the mountain. Go if you want to, but you can't fall behind in your studies. At least you have to get into college..."

……

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(End of this chapter)