Having a summary insight after each training and being able to summarize something are two different things.
Zhang Hao's talent in mid-range shooting stunned Jerry West! The mid-range shot is one of the most difficult skills in shooting; even Mike Bibby only specializes in long two-pointers from the free-throw line to beyond the three-point line. Although Carter's shooting made Jerry West realize his overall shooting talent, when it comes to mid-range, his talent is not as astonishing as Zhang Hao's.
Zhang Hao reminded Jerry West of a player – former 76ers' Andrew Tony, the Mid-range King of that championship team that defeated them in the finals over a decade ago.
Jerry West specifically sent scouts to collect information on Zhang Hao. Since Zhang Hao is a high school student in Los Angeles, the information wasn't that hard to gather.
And the results collected left Jerry West puzzled; why is such a high school student not of interest to any university?
Jerry West even believed that Zhang Hao might have come to the United States for study and then developed an interest in basketball, only recently starting to train because, in just these past two days, unusual things could be seen…
However, upon careful thought, even he, the general manager of the local NBA team in Los Angeles, is unaware of Zhang Hao, not to mention universities? Even he, throughout the past season, focused only on Pierce regarding local high school students in Los Angeles.
After all, every year so many high school students enter universities, and so many college students enter the draft every year. With the draft reform, only 54 players can enter the NBA via draft each year, so for students, obtaining entry into the NBA through the draft is the only possible path. Indeed, only the best players in each state deserve NBA attention when it comes to high school students.
Keeping an eye on Zhang Hao, Jerry West noted down the potentially overlooked high school prospect.
Next, even if Zhang Hao doesn't make it to the NCAA Division I to play, in the lower division... Jerry West doesn't think it's a bad thing. He might receive the most resources and opportunities to showcase since no other geniuses are there; the downside is that NBA's attention to lower divisions is not very high. Some players from NCAA lower divisions are selected by NBA teams every year, but that's what Jerry West wants. If Zhang Hao ranks too high, with lottery talent, then he wouldn't be able to pick up a gem.
Of course, it also depends on whether Zhang Hao can continue to improve during his college years, a high school student with top-notch off-ball talent...
Unexpectedly discovering a hidden genius, Jerry West was very happy, whereas Mitch Kupchek couldn't understand why his mentor and superior was so pleased. Carter's talent is not enough to make him this happy, right? No matter how excellent Carter is, he could never surpass future top draft pick contender Mike Bibby, could he?
…
On the night of April 27th, the McDonald's All-Star High School Game concluded, and the final MVP was taken by a strong senior forward named Devin George.
As expected, not much buzz appeared, and the next morning, when Zhang Hao searched the sports newspapers for this news, he found an extremely small section on the secondary page, merely mentioning Devin George's stats and his MVP title at the McDonald's All-Star High School Game.
Underneath the headline of the Los Angeles Times, right after the news of the Lakers upsetting the SuperSonics, was the preview for tonight's McDonald's High School Slam Dunk Contest!
It also posted the news about the American Cable TV Station broadcasting the event live, along with participating players and more.
Zhang Hao, who had been training for the past two days, realized belatedly that he was being used by McDonald's to attract the Chinese community to watch the show, which made him quite pleased—what basketball player doesn't want attention?
In his view, that unnamed flying devil at Wake Forest University crafted a persona of "I don't care about popularity," yet does everything to crazily gain fans.
This year, for him, teams like the Clippers, 76ers, Pistons... several teams tanked, but he didn't come. Zhang Hao estimates next year another batch of teams will be left in a frustrating state.