First in scoring

Chapter 81 80. A Smooth Road and the Hardest Road

Zhang Yang looked at Tellem, took the business card, glanced at it, and said, "Hello, what can I do for you? Don't joke with me that you think I can play in the NBA."

The tone was unfriendly and the attitude was extremely unfriendly.

He is still two months away from turning 17, so just treat him as 17. What does an agent want to do by looking for a 17-year-old high school student?
Most 17-year-old students are mentally immature and lack even basic discernment skills.

Coming to him alone without the presence of parents, teachers or friends, it can be seen from this behavior that he is not a serious agent.

He could even call the police directly.

Tellem smiled and said, "Jack, you don't have to be so resistant. I just want to talk to you... Well, I do want you to participate in this year's draft. This is the last draft that high school students can participate in."

Zhang Yang knew that in January this year, the NBA and the players' union renewed their labor agreement and reached a consensus with the players' union and the NCAA that from 1 onwards, they would no longer accept high school students to register for the draft.

Zhang Yang said jokingly: "Do you think any team will choose me if I participate in the draft?"

Tellem: “Yes, there will be.”

Zhang Yang looked at him as if he was a fool - had this guy gone crazy after being fired by Kobe?

Although he didn't know that Tellem was Kobe's agent in 96, he knew that Kobe's current agent is not called Tellem. Pelinka just helped Kobe get a 7-year, $1.36 million contract, the largest contract in history, last summer. He also helped Boozer get a fat contract from the Jazz to screw the Cavaliers.

Zhang Yang's reaction was not entirely the opposite of what Telram had imagined, but it was also quite different.

The established strategy had to be changed. Tellem said: "Jack, I started watching your games in February. In my opinion, anyone who has watched your games will know how good your talent is. There will definitely be a team that doesn't want to miss you."

Zhang Yang was unmoved: "I am still two months away from turning 17, 10 months younger than Kobe Bryant when he participated in the draft. If I hadn't wanted to skip a grade and go to college, I would still be in my senior year of high school next year. Even if they think I have talent now, it doesn't guarantee that I will still be that talented after I graduate from high school and go to college. These things need time to test."

Tellem: "Yes, that's right, about how they view your talent, it's like what you said, but the point is do you think you have the potential to play in the NBA?"

Zhang Yang: “?”

He had a question mark look on his face, not because he had a problem, but because he felt that Tellem had a problem and really went crazy after being fired by Kobe.

Tellem: "Don't you think those universities are too enthusiastic about you? They didn't pay that much attention to you, Josh McRoberts, Monta Ellis, and Martell Webster. Now universities all over the United States are competing for you. Have you ever wondered why?"

Zhang Yang has never thought about this problem... Who would think about this? He wants to go to university, and there are so many universities recruiting him, so he just needs to choose one. Why does he care about so many reasons?
But when the problem arises and it is related to oneself, it will trigger thinking.

Indeed, from the news he saw, even for the top high school student McRoberts, the second high school student Ellis, and the third high school student Webster, those universities were not so enthusiastic, it was just crazy.

He quickly came up with an answer and replied, "Commercial value."

There was a flash of surprise in Tellem's eyes. Is this really a senior high school student?
Although Zhang Yang's attitude towards him was extremely bad, even worse than that guy's first contact with him, he was still smarter than that guy.

Tellem: "That's right. The commercial value that Yao brought to the Rockets and the NBA is extremely rare in the entire NBA history. Only Michael Jordan can compare with him. Yao's rookie contract expires next year, and the entire league wants to fight for him. China is such a vast and vibrant market that all teams want to get a piece of the pie. So as long as you want, there will be teams willing to bet on your talent."

Zhang Yang remained firm: "Okay, even if I can be selected by an NBA team, what can I do there? Guard the water dispenser? Hand out towels?"

Tellem asked, "Do you want to play in the NCAA for four years before entering the NBA? If that's the case, my presence here today is indeed presumptuous.

But if you only play for one or two years, then I think there is no difference between going to the NBA and NCAA. Both the NBA and NCAA are different from high school. They are both adult leagues. After one or two years, you go to college and just pass the adaptation period. I don’t think that will help your draft pick. Over the years, I have seen too many talented high school students go to college for one or two years, and their expected draft picks are lower.

No, I was wrong. There is still a difference. You stay in the NCAA for one or two years, and you pay tuition to the NCAA and help them earn advertising fees. They don't even allow you to make money. But if you go to the NBA, they will give you a generous salary, and the sponsors will give you the sponsorship fees to the NCAA directly. They will also give you the most professional training conditions. Even if you just serve as a sparring partner for NBA players, I think it is more useful than being in the NCAA.

What is your purpose in going to the NCAA? Do you really want to play for a certain university? Are you pursuing university honors? If you just regard the NCAA as a bridge to college, then you can consider my advice. "

After a few seconds of silence, Zhang Yang said, "It's useless for you to talk to me so much. I'm still a 16-year-old kid who can't sign a contract on my own."

Tellem: "Of course I know, I just want to contact you first and listen to your thoughts. If you really don't want to go to the NBA right away, I won't bother you anymore. I'm not one of those annoying vampires in the NCAA.

If you are interested in this, please contact me before April 4th. ”

...

Tellem left, leaving only the business card.

The communication process was not very pleasant. Zhang Yang resisted throughout the whole process, but Tellem was still very graceful when he left... Maybe it was because of this that Kobe was fooled into giving up going to Duke and directly participating in the NBA draft? I heard that Kobe attaches great importance to the sense of ceremony.

Zhang Yang remembered that Kobe took the SAT exam and scored just over 1000 points, which was DeRozan's goal and the score required to get basketball scholarships from most universities. That means his initial plan was to accept Duke's invitation rather than skip college, otherwise he would not have taken the exam. In the summer when James was 17 years old, he decided to skip college and participated in his second high school All-Star Game, automatically giving up his eligibility to play in the NCAA.

This matter still disgusted him. It's not like this professional agent couldn't get his home phone number, but he came directly to him. He was not a good person.

But if a broker is a good person, he will be manipulated by those capitalists.

Something the other party said touched him - why should we let those vampires in the NCAA make money for nothing?

Zhang Yang was sure that Farmar could perform well in college. Even if he skipped a grade, Farmar would still be successful in college. He was already better than Farmar when he graduated from his senior year in 12th grade.

This is not the era of decoupling 20 years later. If a Chinese genius emerges in the NCAA now, it will definitely attract many domestic sponsors. Even if the NCAA is not well-known in China now, those capitals will find ways to make the NCAA famous. As long as the capitals invest money in the NCAA, the NCAA will be a stronger and better league than the CBA and the European League the next day.

No matter which school he is in, the capital will hype up the basketball of that school to the strongest level. Even if they are just close to the strength of the Crazy Three, or even can't even make the Crazy Three, they will still be hyped up as the "favorite to win the championship."

As for what kind of difficulties he would encounter in such an environment, what kind of public opinion he would face if he didn't win the championship, no one from the capital, school, and NCAA would care. All they want is money.

Zhang Yang was upset and had no mood to look at the long legs of his senior and junior classmates. He returned to Thomas's yard to train, trying to divert his attention, but he couldn't concentrate at all. He tried not to think about it, which made him even more irritated.

In that case, just think about it and don’t make things difficult for yourself.

He first went out to the station to buy a ticket for tomorrow's train, preparing to go home and talk to his parents.

When Thomas came back from get off work in the evening, Zhang Yang told him that he would go back to Yinshan the next day.

Thomas knew that he was now in the anxious stage of choosing a college, and that it was time to go home and discuss it with his parents. He reminded him to be careful and lamented that time passed so quickly. It had been almost two years, and he was about to go to college.

Zhang Yang mentioned in passing that an agent had come to see him.

Thomas teased that Zhang Yang was really popular and told Zhang Yang to ignore those people, saying that all agents are bad and that he should be careful when choosing an agent in the future.

The coach's attitude was clear. The next morning, Zhang Yang took a bus back to Yinshan.

I haven't been home for more than three months, and I feel that there are big differences in my home. There are more baby things.

As soon as he got home, his mother took him to see his younger brother.

It was the first time that Zhang Yang had a younger brother, and he was very curious, so he ran to take a look...a very small one.

Yang Jing: "How is it, your brother is cute, right?"

Zhang Yang: "She looks average."

Yang Jing: "She's even prettier than when you were a kid! She'll definitely be more handsome than you and your dad when she grows up!"

Zhang Yang: "I don't believe it. There is anyone more handsome than your son? I have all the advantages of you and my father."

Yang Jing: "Tsk, didn't I see you bring a girlfriend back? Aunt Senna next door already has a grandson."

Zhang Yang: "Aunt Senna's son is younger than me, right? It's really evil. I'm just not interested in high school students. If I want a girlfriend, I can get a lot of them if I just wave my hand."

Yang Jing: "That's right. When your dad first came to the United States, many women chased him. I was so scared that I quickly fed him to make him fat. But I was greedy and got fat too. I was careless... Ahem, I was wondering why you wanted to skip a grade and go to college. Do you want to pick up mature college students? Tsk tsk..."

Zhang Yang: "...Mom, I came back to discuss something important with you."

Yang Jing: "Choosing a college? You can go anywhere you want. You don't have to stay in California. Your dad and I have learned about those universities recently. I know that the University of Kentucky, the University of North Carolina, and Duke University are very popular among high school players like you."

Zhang Yang: "It's related to this, but I just found a new option and I need to talk to you about it."

Yang Jing: "A formal talk?"

Zhang Yang nodded.

Yang Jing also became serious and took out her cell phone to call her husband.

An hour later, Zhang Chen came back from the rural area. The family of three sat on both sides of the coffee table. Yang Jing also prepared coffee and juice.

Zhang Yang told his parents that an agent had approached him and wanted him to directly participate in the NBA draft.

Yang Jing: "Yang Yang, since you came back specifically for this matter, does that mean you are interested?"

Zhang Yang told his parents about his conversation with Tellem, his opinion of Tellem, and his personal thoughts.

Yang Jing gave the "stage" to her husband.

Zhang Chen finally spoke up: "Yang Yang, have you ever thought about what you would do if you failed in the talent show?"

Zhang Yang: "I scored over 1500 on the SAT, so there are a lot of universities for me to choose from, but I can't play in the NCAA."

Zhang Chen: "You won't play basketball if you don't get selected?"

Zhang Yang: "No, I will still train hard, try to participate in those non-college competitions, and make another push for the NBA. As the great man said, there are always more solutions than problems."

Zhang Chen thought for a moment and said, “Yang Yang, your mother and I don’t really care whether you can become a basketball star or not. We want to live a good life and we can make money ourselves.

You got good grades in the exam in advance and have the fallback option of going to college, which is a very good thing to do.

If you want to skip 12th grade and college and participate in the NBA draft, we support your decision, but you must also be prepared to be eliminated.

You have to think about it carefully. Your mother and I have been following basketball games for the past two years and have some understanding of this aspect. You have to know that you now have a very smooth path. Go to college, play in college for three or four years, and then you may enter the NBA very smoothly and become a main player in the NBA like Sean Battier, Mike Dunleavy, Kirk Hinrich, and Emeka Okafor.

If you choose to enter the NBA draft now, it will be the most difficult path.

I heard about Jermaine O'Neal, who came into the NBA at 17 and didn't get a chance to play for several years."

Zhang Yang listened carefully, and after thinking about it for a while, he responded, "Since I have chosen to play basketball, it would be too boring to follow the same path as others. I like challenges."

Yang Jing's blood boiled when she heard this, and she spoke before her husband could, "Yangyang, I support you! When your father and I came to the United States, we also made a great decision... You are worthy of being my son!"

Zhang Chen secretly glanced at his wife with a speechless look, and said to Zhang Yang: "Since you want to do this, we support you, but we have to talk to Kobe Bryant's former agent first. If we think he is unreliable, we will not sign the authorization letter."

"Of course, I just don't trust him, so I discussed this with you first. I know this is a major life choice for me."

Zhang Yang took out the business card from his bag and handed it to his parents.

The couple took the business card and prepared to investigate the agent first before contacting the other party. There was still half a month until April 4, so there was no need to rush. They could take their time and make preparations first. Their first stop was to find a lawyer.

After talking about the matter and getting his parents' consent, Zhang Yang's originally troubled and anxious heart calmed down. He finally felt sleepy and returned to his room to catch up on some sleep.

He couldn't sleep last night and didn't fall asleep until around three or four o'clock. He was thinking a lot.

He has college game experience and a training mode to gain more experience.

The training at the university is very professional, but can it be as professional as that of professional teams?

Even if he doesn't have the opportunity to play at the beginning, he can wait slowly. Kobe, O'Neal Jr., McGrady...which one of them didn't persevere?
It was an exciting decision, and as his dad said, it was the hardest road.

A much more difficult road than the decision to join the opponent after a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals was overturned.

But when he came to this world, he just wanted to do something different from others!

……

……

Please give me monthly votes and recommend votes!

(End of this chapter)