18: 014: You are now a star player too.
18: 014: You are now a star player too.
The next day, every newspaper in Arica featured a photo of O’Neal tightly embracing Roger.
In the picture, Shaq looked ecstatic, as if he was the one who had won the state championship.
And Roger, to tell the truth, looked like he was about to be suffocated by Shaq.
For Shaq at that mont, happiness was a simple matter.
He thought Roger was a good guy, and then Roger won the championship, so he was happy.
And what Roger said in the post-ga interview only confird to Shaq that he hadn’t misjudged him, that Roger was indeed worth being friends with.
When a journalist asked Roger about his future plans, he answered, “I hope to beco an upright and honorable All-Star player like Shaq.”
The emphasis on “upright and honorable” was because just two days earlier, Riley had said to the dia: “I still think it’s irrational that rookie Shaq ousted Ewing to beco the Eastern Conference All-Stars starter.
We’re currently first in the East, so where is that All-Star starter now?”
In Shaq’s eyes, this was Roger using the national live broadcast to support him!
Only, the ability of Shaq’s big brain to imagine things was too strong.
Roger had simply seen O’Neal nearby at the ti, so he subconsciously said that.
If Ewing had been at the venue today, he also would have said, “I hope to beco an upright and honorable All-Star player like Patrick.”
Regardless, the photo of Shaq and Roger indeed beca very popular in the basketball community.
After all, both Shaq’s and Roger’s popularity were now quite high.
Roger swatted down the number one high school player in Arica like crushing a bug, scoring 58 points in the ESPN broadcast to win the championship.
This made him an overnight sensation.
Thus, Michael Jordan in Chicago heard that na for the second ti.
“Who did you say?”
Jordan didn’t know why, but he always seed to hear the na “Roger” when he was in a bad mood.
It was just after a ga that had just ended, where the Chicago Bulls lost to the Phoenix Suns 109 to 113, breaking their six-ga winning streak.
In that ga, Jordan did everything he was supposed to do, scoring 44 points with a 61.3% field goal percentage, omnipotent on the court.
But the Bulls still lost, with Barkley’s 26 points, Ceballos’ 27 points, and Kevin Johnson’s 23 points with 16 assists destroying their night.
The Suns, an offensive team, were not at all afraid to exchange blows with the Bulls, having more scorers than the Bulls.
For the highly competitive Jordan, losing the ga was annoying enough.
But what really pissed him off was what Barkley said after the ga: “Mike’s three-peat?
Wake up, even if soone in this league could create a three-peat miracle, it would be , I’m the best player on this planet!
The MVP this year will be mine, and so will the championship!”
Jordan was furious, that dead fat pig Barkley dared to say such words at the United Center.
Just when Jordan was irritated, at the press conference, a reporter asked him, “Mike, what do you think about Block High School’s star player Roger achieving a state championship with 58 points in a single ga and becoming the number one high school player in Arica?”
Jordan still rembered the last ti he was disturbed by an impertinent reporter in Las Vegas, and he asked about Roger.
Back then, Jordan thought he would never hear that na again in his life.
And here it was again, especially when he was in such a bad mood?
“Who did you say?” Jordan wanted to make sure he hadn’t misheard.
“Roger, Mr.
Basketball of Louisiana, he is now the hottest high school player in Arica.”
“Damn it, we’re discussing a three-peat, why do you keep bothering with so nobody who can’t even play in the NBA yet?”
Truth be told, Jordan was lucky to have beco famous in an era when the internet wasn’t well-developed.
Otherwise, many of his words would have severely damaged his public image.
If it were Jas assessing a high school player, Jas would absolutely praise him: “Man, you know, Roger has always been my brother, and also an extrely outstanding player…”
In short, he would never directly use “nobody” to evaluate soone else.
But not Jordan, especially when he was angry, he tended to be unfiltered.
Such a person was only fit to be the second GOAT.
Jordan once again refused to comnt on Roger, and because both tis he heard the na when he was in a bad mood, he even started to instinctively reject the na.
With his mood soured, Jordan ended the press conference and then saw soone in the parking lot who made his mood even worse.
Truth be told, Jordan would rather be locked in a small room with his head forced to watch gay videos than to see Krause’s oily, nauseatingly fat face.
And right after that, his most hated Krause approached him, and said sothing that almost made Jordan explode, “Hey Mike, everyone’s discussing ‘The Truth’ Roger now, what do you think of him?
Everyone says he’s the one closest to your scoring ability.”
“Have you all fucking lost your minds?!” Jordan roared.
Krause stood there confused, what the hell did I do to you?
“Listen, Jerry, tonight…
no, I never want to hear that damn na again!” And with that, Jordan got into his car.
He decided to gamble all night to vent his negative emotions.
Krause was speechless, as the team’s general manager, he was inexplicably yelled at like a dog.
If that bastard wasn’t Michael Jordan, he would have packed up and left long ago!
After returning to the office, Krause cald down and looked over the scouting report from Ivica Dukan again.
“If I were the decision maker, even if he wanted to co right now to the Bulls for a tryout as a high schooler, I’d give him the opportunity.”
Well, it’s a good thing you’re not the decision maker.
“By the way, he has another advantage.
Because he is Chinese, so, he probably doesn’t use drugs, doesn’t like gambling, and has no gang background, maybe he doesn’t even have a quick temper.”
Yeah, you’re fucking right!
While Krause and Jordan were having their tempers flaring, Joe Abunassar in the hotel in Baton Rouge told Roger two pieces of good news.
The first good news, the McDonald’s All-Arican Ga had officially invited Roger to participate!
The McDonald’s All-Arican Ga is currently the top high school all-star event in the United States, with a very glorious history.
In its first year, 1977, they had invited Magic.
In 1979, the Baby-Faced Assassin and the “Human Highlight Film” competed in Charlotte.
In 1981, Michael Jordan scored 30 points in the McDonald’s All-Arican Ga.
Roger’s good friend Shaq also shone in the 1989 McDonald’s All-Arican Ga, skyrocketing to fa.
These great nas represent the glorious history of the event.
This is a hall of fa for top high school players, being invited ans your abilities have been recognized, proving you are one of the best high school players.
And winning this event and taking the MVP ans you can drop the suffix “one of.”
As far as Abunassar knew, Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Rashad Griffith, and other top five high school players in the country had also received invitations.
And the McDonald’s All-Arican Ga would be broadcast live nationwide through CBS.
This ant that Roger had the opportunity to harvest the top five high school players in the nation right before the eyes of the whole country!
Roger of course knew that to attract the attention of NBA teams, the McDonald’s All-Arican Ga would be key.
Because those participating were all top high school players, there were no nobodies.
Thus, the level of the event was recognized by the NBA.
Many high school prospects got into the NBA’s sights after performing in similar all-star gas or training camps.
Like T-Mac, who made a sensation at the ABCD camp a few years later.
Roger was already quite famous, and if he continued to heat up in the McDonald’s All-Arican Ga, he would surely win over the NBA teams!
“So, what’s the second piece of good news?” Roger asked Abunassar.
“William Friedkin, an Oscar-winning director, has invited you to shoot a sports movie called ‘Blue Chips’, and your good friend Shaq is one of the leads as well.
This won’t help your draft much, but, it should get you a good amount of cash.”
As he said this, Abunassar shrugged, “You’re a star player now, ‘The Truth’.”
Move over Pierce, sorry, Penny.
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