One Year Left to Play-Chapter 55 - 17: Geniuses

But how is this possible? Corey Benjamin is very clear that even in terms of performance during a game, Zhang Hao is only slightly better than him, and that’s with Zhang Hao having Pierce as a teammate who can focus on an off-ball style. They only played the California league quarterfinals in January!

It’s only been 4 months!

...

Zhang Hao, unaware of the shock he brings to peers each time, started wandering around after finishing the mid-range shot test, which he excelled at. He’s in no rush for the technical assessment, passing and dribbling tests that follow because his skills are fairly average.

At this time, all positions had people testing. The crowd around the popular talents had already dispersed, and after circling the grounds, Zhang Hao arrived at the court where technical showcases were happening. He noticed everyone’s mid-range shot was "average," for instance in mid-range, the best level is only equivalent to what he had before using the Growth Card, and there were few better than him before using it.

However, the skills of outside players were almost all more comprehensive than his. Apart from the mid-range shot, he hardly had an advantage in the perimeter, while most of the inside players lacked skills as well. Zhang Hao decided not to keep wandering and came to the technical test court. There wasn’t a queue. Just one person was ahead; many others had already completed the test.

The technical test requirements were simple: showcase as much of your skills as possible because with centers and point guards, it’s impossible to specify what has to be completed.

Currently being tested is Antoine Jamison, a soon-to-be 19-year-old senior graduate from Charlotte Providence High School.

Jamison showcased all his skills, leaving the trainers in awe—there was almost no skill this high schooler couldn’t do!

Three-point shots, mid-range, low-post footwork, high-low post back-turn, ball-handling break... After Jamison’s technical test ended, the trainer scored him a full 10 points, then wrote an additional comment on the statistics sheet: "College Template—Larry Bird with enhanced athleticism."

Zhang Hao was envious looking at Jamison’s skills!

Outstanding physical qualities, everything in offensive skills; though currently not mastering anything, Zhang Hao knew this guy will eventually master all offensive skills, capable of achieving over 20 points per game in the NBA for over a decade!

It’s already at the point when the broad ’96 generation gradually enters the NBA. Jamison, as a representative forward of that era, gave the spectators like Zhang Hao a real eyeful.

"It’s not just Kobe and Garnett, Bibi, Odom. Jamison is also strong in high school. Raheem and Marbury must be impressive over there too, right?"

Being at the same camp with them and wanting to stand out, Zhang Hao felt immense pressure!

Yet, he was very excited about it... He’s already accustomed to this complex emotion and doesn’t resist it.

All morning, San Francisco City Hall Ballroom was bustling, as high school genius basketball players showcased their abilities to their fullest.

No fool would think about "holding back." The competition began from the physical testing.

After the test, during the players’ lunch break, the trainers and coaches at the Adidas Training Camp kept busy, needing to regroup players based on their characteristics for targeted training.

This camp lasts only a week. It won’t teach players anything new but will find ways to enhance what they already know, or help them find methods to strengthen their strengths. If not, they can compare with players similarly adept in certain aspects and learn from their strengths.

This is why the camp is valued. Although Adidas’s fundamental reason for hosting it is promotion, trainers and coaches treat it as an extension of their basketball dreams... Of course, their salary isn’t low.

The trainers each have a comparison table with scores for each test that players only have the statistics record sheet.

Three players posed difficulties for trainers and coaches regarding which group they should be placed in.

One is Garnett, another is Jamison, these two are fine since they can at least be grouped with the big men, but Odom, this player, has better skills than most outside players in this camp, even for point guards besides Marbury and Bibi, few can dribble better than Odom!

Yet Odom’s height is undeniably an inside player, 206 cm.

However, the most astonishing to them is Kevin Garnett,

Garnett, standing 211 cm tall, arms stretching to 220 cm, weighing 104 kg, with a vertical leap of 90 cm, 40-yard dash in 3.7 seconds, 100 meters in 12.2 seconds... passing, shooting, technical skills, athletic ability, static physical conditions, all scored 10 points!

Every trainer scored Garnett a full score! Every aspect of him reached the highest level of the camp’s scoring criteria!