Up until the end of the show, the scene Han Sen had been hoping for never appeared.
Barkley never dissed him like he had once dissed Yao Ming.
Seeing this, he smiled helplessly.
It wasn't that Barkley had changed; it was that he didn't understand him well enough.
Because of the famous ass-kissing incident, Han Sen had developed a stereotyped impression of him, thinking the guy just loved roasting people.
That's why he found Barkley's polite tone in private ssages so strange.
But looking back with that bias gone, it was just a normal exchange.
And since Barkley chose to feature his content on the show, how could he intentionally mock him?
After all, Han Sen was a nobody. If Barkley didn't think he was worth it, he wouldn't have aired it at all.
Although the result wasn't what he had hoped for, it wasn't a total loss. At least his hater points had been steadily increasing during this ti.
And after all, there are many roads to success. If one doesn't work, just switch to another.
It's worth noting that the success of BOAT was never achieved overnight. It was through one classic quote or action after another that he finally gained recognition from fans.
If dia personalities didn't work, then what about NBA players?
He was already brewing a new plan.
As expected, the unexpected happened.
The next morning, when Han Sen woke up, still groggy, he habitually checked his system for hater points.
And with just one glance, he was instantly wide awake.
They were rising at a rate he had never seen before!
Did the system glitch or what?
He sat up in bed, propped a pillow behind him, and logged into his social dia account.
At first glance, he thought he had logged into the wrong account because his follower count had multiplied several tis.
But then he rembered that none of his small accounts had any followers.
Looking closely, he saw that his post "The Skill of the NCAA's Top Shooter" had accumulated a ton of new comnts, with so of them already trending.
"How many years did it take to shoot this?"
"Look at how drenched he is- he's really just pretending to be sothing he's not."
"If becoming the best is just about saying 'I'm the best,' then I declare myself the GOAT."
"How much did this guy pay TNT? A Division II player made it onto their show?"
"Doesn't Barkley like kissing butts? This guy's an Asian with a nice, soft one!"
...
Han Sen frowned as he read through them, but by the ti he finished, he couldn't help bursting into laughter.
On yesterday's TNT show, his userna and ID had indeed been hidden, but the link to his account was not.
Anyone determined enough could easily trace it back to him!
And the comnts were different from those from the haters he had fard before. Their motives were different.
The previous haters ca from Curry's fanbase, so their hate was rooted in a loyalty to Curry.
But these new ones? They hated him purely because TNT aired his clip and found him annoying.
It was entirely normal. Even though Barkley had defended him, the tone of his post was like self-proclaiming himself as the greatest of all ti- it was bound to attract hate.
Many were convinced by Barkley, but just as many were not.
And not to ntion, since Barkley often went against the mainstream for the sake of ratings, he had his own fair share of haters.
This was exactly what people call: "You try to plant flowers but they don't bloom; yet, a new opportunity blossoms unexpectedly!"
"Han, what happened?" Rondo was woken up by his laughter.
Seeing Rondo rubbing his eyes, he smiled and said, "I've made it."
"Really? Did anyone praise my filming skills?" Rondo quickly slid over from his own bed to Han Sen's.
"See for yourself." He handed him the phone.
Rondo took the phone, full of anticipation, but soon his face turned into a frown.
"What do you an 'made it'? These are all hate comnts!"
"Hate still ans attention," Han Sen didn't care.
"I don't know whether to say you have a good attitude or you just don't care at all."
Rondo was speechless. The comnts were so harsh, even involving personal attacks. He would've lost it already.
"Chris, you have to understand that I'm just a nobody right now."
"I still don't get it." He handed the phone back, feeling more irritated the longer he read the comnts.
"Let put it this way." Han Sen crossed his legs and sat up straight.
"Suppose soone isn't talented enough to make it into the NBA, but they have a superstar father who brings them attention from the league, even though it also brings them lots of doubt. Do you think having a superstar dad is a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Of course, it's a good thing!"
Rondo paused after answering, then quickly nodded as he realized what Han Sen ant.
Even if it's negative attention, as long as it brings NBA scouts' attention and gets him into the league, it's a good thing.
"But won't these comnts co back to haunt you once you're in the NBA? Even if you delete them, people will have screenshots. The internet rembers everything."
"Why would I delete them?" He asked with a grin.
"Why wouldn't you?" Rondo was genuinely puzzled now.
"Why should I?" He stared back.
"When I finally make it into the NBA, people will look at these comnts and say, 'Look, Han dared to call himself the best shooter even when he was in NCAA Division II back then. He's so confident and unique- that's why he was destined for success!'"
"...."
Rondo widened his eyes, wanting to argue but finding no good counterpoint.
"Chris, you need to understand that people are hypocritical. They only make judgnts based on the current situation."
He shook his head. The Han Sen of the past rarely spoke, but now he was saying things that he didn't quite understand.
Seeing this, Han Sen waved it off. He realized it was foolish to discuss double standards with an Arican.
After class, he headed to the training gym early.
In good spirits, his training enthusiasm was through the roof.
Not long after he started, Theus arrived at the gym as well.
Han Sen paused his training and went to greet him.
A player's success is closely tied to their coach, as the coach decides playing ti and the player's role in the team.
This is especially true in the NCAA, where there is no front office- coaches essentially act as managent and directly shape the players' futures.
After Theus had encouraged him last ti, he had made Han Sen the focal point of the team's tactics, and for that, he was very grateful.
"Coach, you're here early," Han Sen greeted him with a handshake.
Theus smiled and got straight to the point. "I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
Such a classic question. Han Sen didn't hesitate: "Good news."
"On December 7th, we're playing against a Division I team."
"Really?"
Han Sen was instantly thrilled. His hater points were rising fast, but not fast enough.
A ga against a Division I NCAA team was the perfect opportunity.
"The school they were originally supposed to play against had a flu outbreak, so we're their replacent."
"Coach, you're amazing!" He gave Theus a thumbs up.
Like ntioned before, Division II teams rarely get the chance to play against Division I teams after the season opener.
So even though Theus made it sound casual, it was clearly the result of his hard work.
After all, there are so many Division II schools- why did they pick theirs?
"Aren't you going to ask what the bad news is?" Theus asked with a smile.
"Is our opponent North Carolina?"
"No." Theus chuckled, impressed by Han Sen's composure. He then delivered the bad news,
"It's Michigan State University."
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