Thanks to this summer's intense "savage evolution," Zack now has nine attributes that meet the requirements for his "The Unextinguished Dream" task.
When the special training wrapped up, the only attribute Zack hadn't quite nailed was his post-up game. This is the kind of skill that really evolves through game action, so in the "Mountain Peak" system's stats, his current post-up technique only scored a 70.
It's the same deal with his "In the Name of Legacy" task. Two of the six attributes required for that—his court vision and anticipation—also need to be refined through actual gameplay.
All in all, compared to last year, Zack really amplified his dynamic athleticism this summer, and at the same time, his various basketball skills quietly underwent a magnificent transformation.
On the final day of training, Grover looked at Zack standing in front of him, admiring him like a piece of art. "If everything goes as planned, you're going to be my next masterpiece after Michael Jordan," he remarked.
In that moment, Grover wasn't exaggerating one bit. After spending the summer together, he was absolutely certain that Zack and Jordan were cut from the same cloth.
Remember why Grover had his team handle all of Zack's meals? It was because he wanted to use his specially tailored "dietary system" to test whether Zack had the mental fortitude to push through the physical and mental limits he'd set for him.
It's just like Jordan's "Breakfast Club" back in the day. In an era where physical play was king, Jordan, to avoid getting bullied by the "Bad Boy" Pistons, turned his pre- and post-breakfast workouts into a "system." Through that system, he challenged his own human limits day in and day out.
In Grover's eyes, even though Zack and Jordan experienced different "systems," the common thread was this: both Zack and Jordan proved they were the kind of people who would do whatever it takes, even torment themselves, for the sake of basketball.
Junior Year Kicks Off with a Bang
In September, Zack officially started his junior year after finishing his special training. On the first day of school, he already had that star aura about him and once again became the campus's main attraction.
Especially when people noticed his perfectly sculpted muscles, a lot of folks around him were practically drooling with envy. This even included a good number of attractive freshmen who had just enrolled at Wake Forest.
Seeing this, Rachel, who had just returned from her training with Nike, joked, "Do you believe me? If you just wave, they'll all come flocking to you."
Hearing that, Zack, who had been enjoying looking at the pretty girls around, suddenly lost interest. "Why do you make them sound like zombies?"
Rachel just shrugged. "No doubt about it. For you right now, they're a bunch of hungry zombies."
Later that afternoon, the Demon Deacons blew the call for assembly. Chris Paul, who had just won a gold medal with the U.S. Youth National Team at the World Youth Championship this summer, had gained a ton of confidence from that win.
However, compared to last year's assembly, Chris Paul was no longer the sole star at Wake Forest. In just one practice, Zack made Paul keenly aware of just how dominant he had become.
"This is unbelievable... We've only been apart for a few months, but you feel like... you're already ready for the NBA." Looking up at Zack, Paul, who had thought he'd made significant progress, suddenly felt that crushing feeling of "comparison is the thief of joy."
"Just back me up well, Chris, and I'll definitely lead us to a championship," Zack said, patting Paul on the shoulder.
Although Paul really wanted to argue a bit about his status as the team's alpha, in the face of Zack's overwhelming power, Zack had already subtly established a new order at Wake Forest on the very first day of joint practice.
A Coach's Dream
Meanwhile, Prosser, who had a tough summer with recruitment, was equally stunned by Zack's progress.
"His improvement gives us the capital to dream about an NCAA Tournament championship." Prosser, who had been racking his brain over who to promote from the B-team and which players to develop, suddenly felt like he was the happiest head coach in American college basketball.
Sure, role players are crucial in college basketball. But the star quality Zack was now showing... In Prosser's eyes, it was truly historic, even looking at the NCAA's long history.
New Leader, New Era
On top of that, Justin Gray, Wake Forest's team leader, had no qualms about reintroducing the Demon Deacons' new top dog to this year's freshmen and promoted B-team members.
"Remember his name. He was last season's ACC Freshman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-ACC, and All-Defensive Team member. He's also your junior, and without a doubt, the undisputed leader of this team. This new season, we're going to follow his lead to reclaim that NCAA Tournament championship trophy stolen by UConn!" (Okafor, Gordon: ?)
Beside him, the competitive Paul sighed deeply, then turned his gaze to Zack: "Wake Forest has entered your era."
Seeing this, Zack put an arm around Paul and chuckled, "No, Chris, it's our era."
Even though he had completely reshaped Wake Forest's hierarchy with his sheer dominance, Zack knew something crucial: just like Michael Jordan needed Scottie Pippen, he was going to need Chris Paul this season. So, when it came to hyping Paul up, he wouldn't hold back with his silver tongue.
A Highly Anticipated Schedule
The Demon Deacons officially assembled. That day, Lynn Merritt was meeting with his old friend, Sonny Vaccaro, and handed him Wake Forest's 2004-05 season schedule.
"Interesting... Wake Forest's opening game this year is an ACC-SEC Challenge?" Vaccaro said with a knowing look.
"Their opponent is the Florida Gators," Merritt reminded him.
"It seems that after Ira Berkow's article... American college basketball is very curious if Zack truly has the potential everyone's talking about," Vaccaro chuckled.
Merritt nodded. "Yeah, in a year full of stars, they specifically arranged for the Gators to be the Demon Deacons' opening opponent. And then, Wake Forest also has another challenge game against the MWC (Mountain West Conference)."
Waving his hand at Merritt, Vaccaro said, "Who the opponent is isn't the point. The key is whether this kid is truly like you said... that he's evolved into a player who can contend for the first overall pick this past summer."
Merritt responded, "Sonny, I can promise you... this kid isn't just incredibly talented; his willpower is astonishing." After a pause, Merritt added, "In my eyes, he's like LeBron back then, the kind of player who just makes you light up."
The next second, Vaccaro waved his hand, cutting Merritt off. As a former Nike and Adidas executive, an American business legend who once convinced Jordan to join Nike and earlier urged Kobe to sign with Adidas, LeBron James was a constant thorn in Sonny Vaccaro's side.
In 2003, Sonny Vaccaro, who had already built a good relationship with James and invited him to the Adidas ABCD Camp in 2001, was betrayed by Adidas executives during the bidding war for James. It was a betrayal he would forever consider a disgrace.
Because Adidas executives withdrew their promised offer to Vaccaro at the last minute—an offer Vaccaro believed was their baseline to win over James—it caused Vaccaro to completely lose faith in Adidas's leadership and feel he had lost his credibility and dignity in front of the then-18-year-old James.
After that bidding war ended, Vaccaro resigned from all his work at Adidas. "Adidas is completely hopeless. Don't they understand that their competition with Nike isn't about who makes more profit, but about who survives and who doesn't?"
In that moment, reflecting on that thorn in his side because of this conversation with Merritt, Vaccaro sighed deeply and said, "Tell me, Lynn, what do you want me to do for the kid?"
The Florida Gators: A True Test
The Florida Gators.
Actually, when Zack got this year's Wake Forest schedule from assistant coach Victor, he was surprised too. "So, all of Wake Forest's challenge game opponents this year are just meant to test my abilities?"
Because NCAA Division I teams belong to different conferences, usually, two teams from different conferences don't play each other in the regular season. But like last year, when Wake Forest beat the Indiana Hoosiers in a challenge game, or that Illinois team with Deron Williams that absolutely dominated Paul in another challenge...
To promote inter-conference play, the NCAA basically arranges challenge games between conferences every season to give teams from different leagues a chance to compete. And among these challenge games, the most popular are undoubtedly those between teams that each have top-tier stars but usually wouldn't face each other.
This year, the NCAA really brought out the big guns right away. Not only will Wake Forest represent the ACC in their opener against the equally strong SEC, but their opponent is also Florida, a team that recruited a ton of talented high school players this summer.
How can you describe this Florida Gators team? Simply put... compared to them, last year's UConn Huskies looked like a weak roster. Yes, this Gators team, which in Zack's memory would go on to win back-to-back NCAA Tournament championships in 2006 and 2007, is the kind of super team that's incredibly rare, even if you look through NCAA history.
Currently, the star of this Gators team is senior David Lee, the 2003-04 SEC Player of the Year and a future NBA All-Star power forward.
And if Zack remembers correctly... this year's Gators team alone will have a whopping eight future NBA players! Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer... all those familiar names are members of this Florida Gators team.
However... since most of these Gators' potential players still need time to develop, Zack actually saw this year's schedule as a huge gift in disguise.
Right now, Zack really needs a high-quality opponent to test his training results. And this challenge game against the Gators not only has the quality Zack wants, but it will also create a false impression for many fans in the future.
That is... future fans won't care if Horford, Noah, and Brewer were still developing! They'll only remember that Zack, in his college career, defeated these opponents with unstoppable dominance!
At this moment, Zack had even thought about what opening lines he would say in this opening game. And just thinking about it made Zack's smile grow even more mischievous...
please visi mypatreon
belamy20