When pride still matters

Chapter 16 Sonny
In March 2001, Chris Dennis brought a box of VHS tapes to Portland, which he guarded like a treasure.Dennis, a Seattle native, competed in his brother's Nike Regional Invitational last year.But his attention was drawn to a boy who was taller and more distinguished than his brother.

Dennis inquired and learned that the child's name was Fry Yu.At that time, Dennis contacted the staff of the ABCD training camp, "I saw a kid who will be better than Lamar Odom."

The staff wasn't impressed by Dennis' exaggeration.And there's no sense that a talent worthy of being compared to the NBA's top power forward prospects will pop up in Seattle.

However, Dennis was not discouraged and went to watch Yu Fei's games as much as possible.He also developed a friendship with Yu Fei's coach Hank Selvan and closely followed Yu Fei's performance with the Royals.At the finals of the Washington State 4A high school championships, Dennis brought a camcorder to record the game.

Now, he brought this tape to Portland with one goal in mind - to show it to his boss, the most influential person in the basketball shoe industry.

John Paul Vincent Vaccaro, 60, prefers to be called Sonny.Almost everyone in the basketball world considers Vaccaro the godfather of basketball footwear.

In the 60s, Vaccaro founded a national high school basketball all-star game.Over the next 20 years, he developed close relationships with top college coaches and elite high school players across the country.Eventually, he joined Nike, signing the most valuable athlete endorsement contract in history with 1984-year-old Michael Jordan in 21.

At the time, Converse and Adidas dominated the basketball shoe industry.Nike's decision to pay Jordan $25 in endorsement fees during his rookie season was viewed by the industry as a hasty and reckless decision.However, doubts soon faded as Jordan's first NBA season generated $1.26 million in sales for Nike.Suddenly, Nike quickly overtook Converse and Adidas and became the most influential presence in the basketball world. Vaccaro also established his own status in the world.

At the same time as signing Jordan, Vaccaro convinced Nike to begin sponsoring an annual top high school basketball training camp.Vaccaro created the concept and name - ABCD Basketball Training Camp.The letters ABCD stand for Academic Improvement and Career Development.Vaccaro wisely retained all rights to the name, and Nike provided financial support for the basketball camp.At that time, although there were many top basketball training camps in the United States, they all charged high registration fees, which naturally blocked some high school stars from poor families.Vaccaro waived registration fees, invited top college coaches to camps and provided players with Nike gear.In addition, each elite high school player who attends camp walks away with $[-] worth of Nike shoes and apparel.Soon, Vaccaro's training camp became the first choice for the nation's top high school basketball players to showcase their talents. Nike also became the most popular presence in high school basketball, by signing basketball shoe contracts with coaches and attracting universities and colleges to sign apparel contracts. .Vaccaro became the authority on sponsorship contracts for college players.

With his outstanding performance and control of the basketball camp, Vaccaro once became one of Nike's top decision-makers.But in the end, he left Nike due to interest disputes, but Nike still maintained its influence on the ABCD training camp. The increasingly independent Jordan shoe brand always sponsored the training camp, but this did not prevent Vaccaro from bringing his ABCD Basketball camps were brought under the Adidas banner and spurred a string of high school athlete signings, including Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady.

At Adidas, Vaccaro relies on a network of AAU coaches and scouts to help identify and recruit the top high school players on Adidas' roster.Two of Vaccaro's long-term partners are Calvin Andrews and Marc Olivier.

Suddenly, expatriate Chris Dennis joins Andrews and Olivier in their Adidas suite.Then, Dennis put Yu Fei's game tape into the video recorder and pressed the play button.Andrews and Olivier were impressed by what they saw, with one saying: "Damn it!"

When Vaccaro entered the suite, he saw people gathered in front of the television and asked what they were watching.

"His name is Fry," Olivier said.

Vaccaro looked confused.

"He's a 12th-grader from Kent City, Washington," Olivier said. "Chris thinks he's going to be better than Lamar Odom."

Vaccaro rolled his eyes and stepped closer to the TV while the others made some room.Vaccaro squinted his eyes and spent a minute watching the video of the game shot by Dennis from a distance.

Despite the remote angle, Vaccaro could tell the game was a 4A high school basketball game.

"4A? Or in Washington state?" Vaccaro asked. "Where did this kid come from? You said he was in 12th grade? Why haven't I heard his name before?"

After last year's Nike Regional Invitational Tournament, Yu Fei was already well-known in high school basketball circles, but the reputation established through a regional AAU game was not enough to impress a big shot like Vaccaro.

Dennis explained: "Before entering the 11th grade, Fulai had been playing volleyball. He really became famous last year. I think he is an awakened sleeper and has great potential."

Vaccaro did not respond to Dennis.

He continued to watch game tape.

The characteristics displayed by Yu Fei are comprehensive.

You could say he's a center, but he basically doesn't stand inside except when he's on defense.But if you say he is a defender, it is difficult for him to play as a defender in high-level games with his size.

Chris Dennis is right, this is indeed Odom's style of play.But Vaccaro has met Odom at the same time. At that time, Odom was the undisputed No. [-] high school student in the United States. In terms of strength, he was above Yu Fei now.

However, even if the quality of the competition he participated in was not high enough, Yu Fei's performance was outstanding.

He is undoubtedly one of the ten best high school students in the country.

That's astonishing considering he's been systematically involved in basketball for just over a year now.

Odom has stagnated in the NBA. It seems that the title of left-handed magician will always be just a title. Will Yu Fei become different?Will he keep improving at his current rate?
As Yu Fei completed a defensive assist to block the opponent's three-pointer, caught up with the out-of-control ball, and rushed to the frontcourt to dunk and score, Vaccaro had no doubts about Yu Fei's ability. He looked at Dennis and said, "I I think if Fulai can join this year’s ABCD training camp, things will become more interesting.”

Dennis was excited and clenched his fists. He knew that his suggestion had been adopted. Even people like Sonny Vaccaro believed that Yu Fei was a future star worthy of attention.

If Yu Fei establishes a deeper connection with Sonny in the future and even signs a contract with Adidas, then his deeds of recommending Yu Fei to Sonny today may be just like Sonny's role in signing Jordan with Nike. The starting point for life to take off.

Dennis went to do follow-up work while Vaccaro turned and walked out of the suite.

It's business as usual here.

※※※

After helping the school win the state championship, Yu Fei officially reached a crossroads in his career.

Technically, his senior season as a member of the basketball team is over.

A state championship is the finish line.

Next, he can either skip college and sign up for the NBA draft like those top high school students who are confident in themselves, or he can actively deal with college recruitment and carefully choose one of the colleges.

Within a week after winning the state championship, Yu Fei received offers from 12 more universities, and prestigious schools such as Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas sent him invitations to visit.

This is more sincere than giving him an offer directly.

Just when Yu Fei was thinking about his next plan, an ABCD training camp staff member named Chris Dennis called home and claimed that they wanted to invite Yu Fei to New Jersey to participate in the ABCD training camp to be held in April this year. Moreover, Dennis He said that he and Selwan were friends and he would ensure Yu Fei's food, clothing, housing and transportation in New Jersey.

Yu Fei couldn't rule out the possibility that this was a scam call, so he went to Selwan to confirm.

"Is this the call from Chris? It seems that he has already taken care of Sonny." Selvan patted Yu Fei on the shoulder happily, "Fu Lai, congratulations, those who have been directly invited to the ABCD training camp are basically all Americans. The top high school students, this is their recognition of your performance in recent times.”

After confirming that it was correct, Yu Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

He wants to directly participate in this year's draft, but with the state championship in Washington State, he obviously lacks confidence. If he can prove his strength at the ABCD training camp, he will officially enter the NBA.

Just when Yu Fei was about to leave, he saw the resignation letter on Selvan's desk.

"Coach, is this?"

(End of this chapter)