When pride still matters

Chapter 32 Uncle Sonny
The fourth day of training camp is the All-Star Game, and before the All-Star Game begins, Sonny Vaccaro personally awards awards to the best players in the senior and junior groups.

The best players in the senior group are Yu Fei and Antonio Lawrence PG, ranked 2001nd in the United States in the 42 class.

There is no doubt that the best players in the junior group are LeBron James and Sebastian Telfair.

In addition, according to the unanimous opinions of the scouts at the ABCD training camp, Yu Fei officially surpassed DeAngelo Collins on the fourth day of the training camp and became the number one player in the training camp.

In the subsequent All-Star Game, the Jade Team dominated the limelight. Yu Fei participated in the main game and dunk contest, Iguodala participated in the dunk contest, and Roy participated in the skills competition and the three-point contest. However, no one from them won any individual event. Tournament champion.

Fortunately, as the newly promoted No. 1 in the training camp, Yu Fei was able to join forces with James in the All-Star Game. He was almost full of the cakes given by Xiao Zhan.

After Yu Fei scored 28 points and 14 rebounds in a single game and won the All-Star Game MVP, he ended his ABCD training camp trip perfectly.

After the training camp, according to the original plan, Yu Fei wanted to strike while the iron was hot before returning to his hometown and announced that he would prepare for the 2001 NBA draft.

But Sonny Vaccaro's invitation made Yu Fei postpone his plan.

Vaccaro invited Yu Fei to join a top AAU team in Oakland, California, but that team was not going to participate in any AAU competition, but to play exhibition games.

After the exhibition game is over, Vaccaro will represent Adidas to let Yu Fei see their "sincerity".

Moreover, Adidas will provide round-trip air tickets, hotel accommodation, and meals for the flight.

All Yu Fei has to do is prepare to travel again, correct his mentality, and spend another weekend listening to 2 PAC's "California Love".

It was just a few days after the ABCD training camp ended. Yu Fei's national ranking jumped [-] places in a row, officially replacing D'Angelo Collins' position and rising to fifth in the nation.

Collins did not fall to sixth place as expected, but plummeted all the way to Yu Fei's original position - 16th in the United States.

Yu Fei doesn't care about Collins. He only knows that he is in a position of national attention. There are only four high school students ahead of him. Moreover, it is certain that he has no chance to prove that he is better than the top four before the draft. .

Eddie Curry, Tyson Chandler, Kwame Brown, DeJuan Wagner.

Yu Fei remembered these four names.

Later, Yu Fei joined Oakley's famous Sentinels. When he saw LeBron James on this team, he knew that these days would not be boring.

Before Yu Fei arrived, the Sentinels might have been dominated by James, but now, even if he was the No. 2003 player in the nation in the 2001 class, he had to bow before the fifth-ranked player in the nation in the [-] class.

James did not show any dissatisfaction. He said to Fei: "I will help you perform better like I did in the All-Star Game a few days ago!"

Reading James' words carefully, you can feel that he still wants to control the team's ball.

Yu Fei, on the other hand, was like a replica of D'Angelo Collins, nodding slightly and saying, "Yes, we have worked together, and I know you will assist me well."

James smiled: "That's for sure!"

"Haha!" Yu Fei said cheerfully, "I knew that we two fatherless children would definitely cooperate closely!"

In the first game, although they were not familiar with the team's tactical system, Yu Fei and James' talent and immediate combat ability could ignore it all.

The distribution of ball rights between Yu Fei and James is [-] points.

Yu Fei six, James four.

"Hey LeBron, dunk!"

This is Yu Fei's favorite thing to do.

In a positional battle, he suddenly called a pick-and-roll and pointed at the basket for James to run towards. Then he only needed to throw the ball into the sky.

Then, when it was James' turn to feed Yu Fei the ball, Yu Fei became picky.

LeBron, you should.
LeBron, you should be like that.
LeBron, if you pass the ball so casually again, the Chosen One will be angry.

James knew that Yu Fei was basically joking, so although he heard these words, he didn't take them seriously.But unconsciously, a new level was established.

In this team, Yu Fei's status is supreme, and even James has to obey orders.

Then, since they had not encountered a strong opponent, the two dominated the game almost laughing and joking.

In the next few days, Yu Fei didn't guarantee how other people were doing. He only knew that he was having a good time. Just thinking about James's face and actions every time he held the ball, the sense of satisfaction could no longer be described in words. .

They were going to play three exhibition games in three days. During this period, Yu Fei stated again and again, "This is my team, and I want to protect LeBron and others under my wings."

As a junior, although James has ambitions, he does not feel it is shameful to be Yu Fei's little brother. He also told the media, "Fu Lai is like my big brother."

Yu Fei further showed himself in the competition.Almost all professionals who have observed him believe that he has the immediate ability and talent to directly challenge the NBA.

After the Sentinels' exhibition game, Yu Fei met Vaccaro and his wife, Pam, at the Marriott Hotel where he lived.

There were also several Vaccaro confidants in the hotel, one of whom was Chris Dennis. Yu Fei didn't know that this man was the first person in Vaccaro's camp to discover his talent.

Dennis suddenly took out an exquisite sneaker and threw it to Yu Fei.

Yu Fei discovered the unique pattern on it, as well as his signature and No. 44 (Yu Fei's jersey number in the training camp) pattern.

He immediately realized that these might be Adidas shoes specially designed for him.

Yu Fei looked at Dennis excitedly.

Dennis said: "If you tell me that you will join the NBA at the end of high school and join the Adidas family, I will give you another shoe."

Quint DiMeo, who saw this scene with his own eyes, couldn't believe what was happening in front of him. Adidas actually designed a sneaker specifically to please Yu Fei?

Did the same thing happen to McGrady, Kobe, and Garnett?

"I'm joining!" Yu Fei lost his rationality and just wanted to have his own signature sneakers right away, "I'm joining!"

Dennis then threw the other shoe to Yu Fei.

Vaccaro smiled: "So you have decided to skip college and directly sign up for this year's NBA draft?"

"Yes." Yu Fei nodded.

Vaccaro said, "Bingo!"

"You have made a great decision, kid, but before that, you must first announce it publicly, and then find a reliable agent. If you don't know who is reliable, I can recommend a few people to you."

The relationship between Yu Fei and Vaccaro heated up rapidly.

At first, Yu Fei also suspected that Vaccaro had other intentions for him, but later, the more he learned about Vaccaro, the more he believed that the old man known as "Sonny" spared no effort to help the high school In addition to wanting to take revenge on the NCAA, the raw player also has the idea that this is a matter of fame and fortune for him.

Almost every high school star who he helped has maintained a good relationship with him. These people helped to increase his reputation and connections after achieving success in the NBA. In the process, he got everything he wanted.

From then on, Yu Fei began to call Vaccaro "Uncle Sonny".

Before leaving California, Yu Fei learned the reason why Vaccaro asked someone to bring him an exclusive pair of specially made sneakers - starting from next year, Adidas will hold a national AAU championship in the Seattle area, and they hope that Yu Fei will serve as the Local representatives put on those sneakers and shot a promotional video for them.

This was not harmful to Fei, so he simply agreed, and the two parties agreed to shoot a promotional video in Seattle at the end of April.

Before that, Yu Fei will return to Kent City, become a 12th grader, and maintain training to ensure that he graduates successfully.Then, we have to find an appropriate time to announce our participation in this year's draft and openly recruit agents.

There are many things, but compared with before, these are all things that come naturally, and the door to the NBA has been opened.

(End of this chapter)