Chapter 74 73. You can trust Jack's leadership! (Subscribe)
The scouts from various universities are acquaintances of each other, and most of them work part-time as scouts for multiple universities. They make money by selling player reports and scouting reports, and they will not sell the same information to only one university.

These scouts don't even just serve college teams. If there's work to be done, they'll take it in the NBA, high school, and even overseas leagues.

Thomas has many familiar scouts, and can get a lot of information about talented junior high schools from these friends. The information is not expensive, and the scouts don't even charge Thomas. They just need to go to the bar and have a couple of drinks and let Thomas pay. Of course, the information is not particularly valuable. Usually, a scout goes to a certain city to observe a designated target, and hears about someone in a certain junior high school, and asks Thomas to exchange a drink.

That's why Thomas travels around with a purpose every summer.

This time, when a scout wanted to know why the core lineup of Compton High School adjusted so quickly, Thomas leaked the news.

It can be considered as repaying the favor of the scout, and it is also helping Zhang Yang to "advertise".

Once a scout found out about this, all the universities that were interested in Zhang Yang knew about it. Even universities that didn't know about Zhang Yang originally would know about him after a scout's recommendation.

It is November 11rd, and Compton High School, which has won 3 games in a row, comes to Ryanwood City. Today, they will challenge their first real rival of the new season - Ryanwood High School, which has also started with 6 consecutive wins.

At 3:45 pm, Zhang Yang and his teammates entered the stadium.

Zhang Yang looked around the stadium. It was worthy of being a high school in a town next to the big city of Los Angeles. The competition venue was actually in the stadium of the university next door.

There are more than 8000 seats, but only about a thousand spectators, which makes it look a little too empty.

Zhang Yang looked at the opposite side. He was looking forward to this game.

Lionwood High School is also 6-0 so far this season, tied with Compton High School, Notre Dame Academy, Oakland Middle School, and Notre Dame Middle School for the undefeated start.

Compton High School and Lanewood High School are also the only two undefeated teams left in District 3.

Both teams started with 6 consecutive wins. Judging from the strength of their opponents, Ryanwood High School's winning streak is much more valuable.

Three top teams in District 3, Inglewood High School, Southern California High School, and San Diego High School, were all defeated by Lionwood High School.

So on November 11, in the CIF Division I District 1 strength ranking given by the Los Angeles media, Lionwood High School ranked ahead of Compton High School.

Lanewood High School, which had been in the middle of District 3 in previous years, jumped directly to the top of District 3 this year, thanks to two players.

Tatum looked at the bull-like player across from him and said, "Is he the transfer student? Kevin, Allen, Charlie, Jeff (12th grade center Jeff Cowan), you're going to be in trouble today."

DeRozan echoed sarcastically: "Yes, Davon Jefferson, 19 years old, 6 feet 7 inches (201 cm), 250 pounds (113 kg), mainly plays power forward and center. He transferred from Missouri High School to Ryanwood High School in the summer. In 6 games, he averaged 18 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. He is No. 1 in the latest national high school rankings. He ranks 50th."

Zhang Yang: "Brothers in the inside, please keep going. I will pray for you."

Miller, Kanter, Monroe and Cowen were all speechless. They are timid, can you please not scare them!
Davon Jefferson, Zhang Yang had heard of this player in his previous life. He didn't see this player in NBA games, but he saw the news headline about this black player being naturalized by South Korea. He clicked on it and saw that he would play in the domestic NBL league in the future. Later, he seemed to have joined the CBA Shanxi team and had also been in many clubs in Europe and South America.

DeRozan and Zhang Yang were teasing their teammates in the interior when suddenly a bearded man with a middle-parted hair appeared in front of them with an expression of anger mixed with grievance.

Zhang Yang was surprised when he saw the newcomer: "Hey, James, long time no see, why are you here?"

DeRozan's mouth twitched, but it was fun! He then said, "Yeah, James, long time no see, are you here to watch us play?"

Harden was furious: "I am your opponent today!"

德罗赞：“咦？这是真的吗？那个场均18分7板6助攻2抢断帮助莱恩伍德高中崛起的10年级天才就是你？那个莱恩伍德高中的头号得分手兼组织核心就是你？不会吧！”

Zhang Yang: "Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Harden is so angry!
The two men stared at his transfer student teammate as they entered the court, completely ignoring him.

He knew that the two men did it on purpose and that the words they said were meant to provoke him, but he just couldn't control his anger.

This is what it feels like to be an opponent of these two people!

Harden turned around angrily, went back to the other half of the court, picked up the ball and played the Los Angeles Symphony.

Zhang San and Daluo high-fived each other and successfully angered Erha.

In a game, the ability to talk trash is also part of strength.

...

The matchup between Zhang Yang, DeRozan, Harden and Jefferson is the most watched game in California high school basketball today.

There were many reporters and scouts at the scene, most of whom came with Compton High School.

In other words, professionals regard DeRozan, who is in the 10th grade, and Zhang Yang, who is in the 11th grade, as more important than Davon Jefferson, who is ranked 05th in the United States in the 50 class of Lionwood High School.

There is no way. Zhang Yang and DeRozan are too popular. The popularity is so high that it gives scouts a headache. What should they do when they want to help universities recruit two high school students who are so popular with universities? There are too many competitors, and they are still increasing.

Part of the popularity of the two was fueled by scouts like them, which made them even more upset.

However, as a professional scout, it is a great pleasure to be able to watch these two extremely talented guys play in person.

At 4 p.m., the battle for the top spot in District between Compton High School and Lanewood High School began.

Zhang Yang, DeRozan, and Miller each made a mid-range shot at the start, and the score was 6 to 0. But the lead did not last long. Led by Harden and Davon Jefferson, Ryanwood High School responded with a 14 to 6 climax, overtaking the score 14 to 12, and Compton High School called a timeout.

Provoking Harden before the game seemed to have the opposite effect... Zhang Yang had no regrets.

That's what trash talk is all about. Sometimes it can successfully affect the opponent's performance, and sometimes it can motivate the opponent to play better.

I can only say that Harden has made great progress, not only in strength but also in spirit. If it were last year's Harden, he would probably be crying in the corner at this time.

In this half of the game, Zhang Yang had a deeper understanding of the strength of Lanewood High School.

Harden's current strength is actually just okay; Davon Jefferson is not particularly good either, has no scoring ability, and averages 18 points per game purely by relying on second-chance offense and catching rebounds.

But the role players at Ryanwood High School are much stronger than those at other high schools. If you only look at talent, any one of them is at the level of Tatum, Miller, and Keefe.

Although most of these people have not been able to fully display their talents due to the poor player training of Lionwood High School, they are in grade 11 or 12, and no matter how weak they are, they are still better than players with average talents.

These people allowed Harden to show his talent in organizing offense. Coupled with Davon Jefferson, who although has poor skills but has explosive physical fitness, good rebounding awareness, and active rim protection, Ryanwood High School has played an amazing role.

Zhang Yang thought about it and got it!

...

After the timeout, Compton High School made adjustments on both offense and defense.

On the offensive end, the game turned into a positional battle. Zhang Yang and DeRozan took turns playing one-on-one, and Tatum seized the opportunity to counterattack defensively.

On the defensive end, block Harden's three-pointers and attacks on the rim, and block Davon Jefferson's offensive rebounds under the basket.

When Thomas heard this contingency plan, he thought it was full of loopholes.

This offensive strategy basically relies solely on the one-on-one abilities of Zhang Yang and DeRozan.

The defensive strategy was not that reliable either, with both wings leaking.

But he did not reject Zhang Yang's suggestion. After all, the game was played by the players and he believed in Zhang Yang's judgment.

As Thomas expected, after the timeout, the wing of Ryanwood High School made consecutive open shots and had another offensive climax, scoring 12 points. Zhang Yang and DeRozan played very hard, but only scored 9 points during this period.

But as the game went on, the wing shooter from Lanewood High School started to miss shots, and it got out of control. The more he missed, the more he hesitated, and the more he hesitated, the more he missed...

From the end of the first quarter to the middle of the second quarter, Compton High School fought back continuously, scoring 18 to 9 and overtaking Ryanwood High School 39 to 35!

Thomas was a little surprised at first, but after watching for a while, he saw the reason - the role players of Ryanwood High School lacked confidence!

They dare to shoot when they score consecutively, and when Davon Jefferson guarantees offensive rebounds, they dare to shoot even if they miss.

But when their mid-range and long-range shots started to miss and Davon Jefferson couldn't grab offensive rebounds, they began to worry about not being able to make the shots.

Thomas remembered seeing this situation when he watched the reserve team game last year.

At that time, he and two colleagues complained that Ryanwood High School was a waste, and that a group of talented junior high school students had lost their confidence.

The players of the main team come from the reserve team. The main team also has the same defects as the players of the reserve team of Ryanwood High School!
Thomas was once again amazed at Zhang Yang's ability to command on the spot, even taking advantage of his opponent's psychological qualities!

After overtaking the score, Zhang Yang and DeRozan took advantage of the opportunity and established a 10-point lead in the third quarter.

Harden tried to lead the team to counterattack, but his talent awakened too late, and he can't beat either of the two bastards on the opposite side.

The final score was 94 to 82. Zhang Yang and DeRozan scored a combined 60 points, leading Compton High School to defeat Ryanwood High School, bringing the record to 7 wins and 0 losses, and occupying the top spot in the third district!
Thomas looked at Zhang Yang and DeRozan. These two guys were amazing. They once again refreshed his expectations!

He felt that the opponent was going to be in trouble. This game would definitely be reported by the media. His Jack had completely exposed the flaws of Ryanwood High School and would definitely be targeted by other teams.

The way to break the deadlock is actually very simple - Harden made the shot in a singles play.

This is what Zhang Yang and DeRozan usually do. In this game, without their one-on-one ability allowing their teammates to focus on defense, this strategy could not be implemented.

Thomas feels that Harden has that kind of talent, but he just can't do it now.

Harden actually saw this. He also tried hard to play one-on-one in the game, but was targeted by Zhang Yang. His outside shots were blocked, and there were a lot of people under the basket when he broke through...

Looking at Zhang Yang and DeRozan who were celebrating on the opposite side, Harden felt very unwilling.

He wants to be stronger! Stronger than his friends!
He decided! From today on, these two people are the opponents he wants to defeat the most! Their friendship started from this game and was broken... "James, we are going to the steak house you mentioned, do you want to go?"

"I am coming!"

……

……

Asking for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets! Thanks to my friends, the first order in the 12 hours before 24 o'clock just exceeded , and the daily order will be starting tomorrow!
(End of this chapter)