I'm not really a role player

Chapter 4
"Bang!"

With a loud bang, Russell Westbrook hangs on the rim of a street court.

In the distance is Li Ke, who was just passed by Westbrook.

"Russell, can you tell me how you managed to jump so high?"

Westbrook tugged at the rim again, and the rack boomed.

After landing, he grinned and looked at Li Ke: "I don't know, maybe it was born?"

Then the topic turned to Li Ke: "It's you, Sheldon, why have you become so much faster recently?"

Li Ke knew that Westbrook would ask this question sooner or later, and he had already thought about the answer: "It's nothing, I just adjusted my running posture and the frequency of my steps."

Westbrook nodded in bewilderment.

On the other side, Li Ke opened his hand: "It's time for me to attack, give me the ball."

In the question and answer just now, Li Ke failed to get the answer he wanted from Westbrook.

After that tryout, he and Westbrook have been practicing for the holidays in preparation for their debut NCAA season, although neither has yet completed school selection.

For the training of air cuts, Li Ke has never been able to find a good way.

He can only wait for the evening when the street court is filled with streetball players. He and Westbrook join a certain streetball team and conduct targeted training during many-to-many battles.

Other than that, he doesn't seem to have much else to do.

In addition to air-cut training, Li Ke also wants to try: Can daily training help him develop one or two skills or talents that are currently the lowest level D-level known.

And his goals were aimed at the three-pointer of the skill group and the bounce of the talent group.

After practicing for a few days, I haven't gained anything yet.

In the past few days of vacation training, two groups of guests came to Westbrook's house, one group was the admissions director of the University of Southern California, and the target was Russell.

Although it is not a traditional famous school, USC also has Nick Young, a star player of the best team of the Pacific Ten Schools, and also snatched San Fernando's star high school student Tajibson in this freshman recruitment. The strength of next season should not be underestimated.

As a result, Russell put USC on the consideration list.

Old Westbrook even believes that Russell should make a decision.

But Russell is still waiting, and Li Ke knows what Russell is waiting for.

Another group of admissions officers came to recruit, and they were also acquaintances who had met once.

"We meet again, Russell, I don't know what you are thinking about."

Jamie Lin, the coach of the Stanford Crimson, sat in the living room of Westbrook's home, smiling.

Westbrook shook his head apologetically: "Sorry, Coach Lin, I still want to seek a full scholarship."

Although he was rejected, Jamilin was not so frustrated, and still said with a smile: "It's okay, you just need to make the decision you want, and there is no need to apologize to anyone."

Then he turned his gaze to Li Ke, and stretched out his right hand towards Li Ke: "Sheldon Lee, I know you, you are Lujinger's starting striker."

Li Ke didn't expect Jamilin to talk to him at all, he was taken aback for a while, and only replied: "Hello, Coach Lin."

"It's like this. I've seen some videos of Russell. In those videos, your performance was unconventional. But last week's trial training, you impressed me. I think if you can maintain your performance in last week's trial training, you have the ability to become a member of the crimson team."

Is this an invitation?

Yes, this is an invitation.

Li Ke reacted, and the first thing he thought of was whether this was an invitation for a full scholarship.

In the next second, he denied this idea.

What are you kidding, Russell can't even get a full scholarship from Stanford, so why should he?
Sure enough, Jamilin immediately explained: "It's just an ordinary invitation, which doesn't include any form of scholarship. Of course, like Russell, you can also apply for Stanford's academic scholarship. I believe your GPA is also sufficient."

Li Ke immediately understood what Jamilin was thinking. Obviously, Jamilin knew that Li Ke was an international student from Huaguo and was able to afford the high tuition fees of Stanford University. He thought that Li Ke's demand for scholarships would not be too high, and Stanford was a traditional NCAA school. The invitation they sent was too attractive to a high school player of Li Ke's level.

But he never expected that the current Li Ke is no longer the Li Ke of a week ago.

"Sorry, Coach Lin, just like Russell, what I want more is a full scholarship."

Li Ke rejected Jamilin, which was beyond everyone's expectations. Even the old Westbrook was dumbfounded.

He didn't give any explanation, just shrugged and spread his hands.

For Jamilin, Li Ke's rejection was unexpected.

But the failure of this recruitment will not cause any loss to him and the crimson team. It is just an attempt to strengthen the bench, and it doesn't matter if it fails.

After Jamelin left, no scouts or recruiters came to Westbrook's house for several days.

Another week later, Old Westbrook read a piece of news from the newspaper.

"UCLA organized a basketball game, and they sent invitations to high school students from all over California. This may be an opportunity."

At the dining table, Li Ke saw Russell Westbrook sitting next to him, and quietly clenched his fists.

Li Ke knew that Russell's turning point had come.

As for himself, in the system, the road from D-level air cut to B-level air cut is still far away.

"Before entering the NCAA, I am afraid that there will be no chance to practice..."

Li Ke rationally analyzed the current situation for himself. He knew that he couldn't be as stubborn as Westbrook waiting for an invitation from a prestigious school.

"If there is an offer for a full scholarship like USC, accept it."

The basketball game organized by UCLA is called the AAU basketball game, which is held at the Pauley Stadium, the home stadium of UCLA.

The final list of participating players was released the day before the game. Both Li Ke and Westbrook were successfully selected and were assigned to the same group.

In this entry list, Li Ke saw another familiar name.

"James Harden?"

"He also participated in this competition, isn't he just a senior in high school?"

Both Li Ke and Westbrook have the same question.

Westbrook Sr. explained: "UCLA doesn't require high school graduates to participate in this game, so..."

The faces of Li Ke and Westbrook became serious. Chase Budinger was known as the number one high school student in California, but in fact, he was only the number one among the 06 graduates.

The real No. [-] high school student in California is none other than James Harden, a senior in high school. Who makes this year's California champion belong to Lakewood Adesia High School led by Harden.

"A big enemy, but defeating this kind of opponent will attract the attention of the famous NCAA schools."

Except for Harden, there are no other names on this list that Li Ke is familiar with in 2020, but there are still many names that Li Ke and Westbrook are familiar with in 2006.

It's just this group of opponents, they didn't take it seriously.

Sometimes, success and failure are already doomed.

(End of this chapter)