Champion Creed

Allan Houston worked hard, and this time, after drawing Roger into a double team, he neither passed the ball nor forced a shot, but instead chose to drive with the ball.

Roger, who lunged forward too aggressively, couldn't adjust his balance in time and was easily bypassed by Houston.

However, after breaking into the area beneath the basket, Allan Houston encountered the solid block of white center Scott Haskin.

Though not as exaggeratedly tall as Bradley, Haskin's height of 211 centimeters still posed an enormous obstacle under the basket.

Under his strong protection of the basket, Allan Houston's finish was unsuccessful.

In the eyes of most coaches, the closer you are to the basket, the easier it is to score.

But this law didn't apply to Allan Houston.

If you looked at Allan Houston's heat map, you'd realize that nearly every position on the court was his hot zone, where he could accurately hit shots from all angles and distances.

Except under the basket!

The closer he was, the less likely he was to score!

That was the difference between Allan Houston and those top-tier scorers.

Watching Houston awkwardly toss the ball towards the basket, and considering his shooting-oriented playstyle since college, McKinney suddenly felt that this NCAA superstar scorer wasn't so perfect.

Don Chaney also sighed. Haskin, although tall, was as thin as a matchstick that looked like it might fall apart at the slightest bump. He couldn't compete with those muscle-bound NBA centers. Yet, Houston couldn't even handle such a skinny white center.

Had he set his expectations for Houston too high?

Vin Baker grabbed the rebound and passed it to Bobby Hurley.

After reaching beyond the three-point line, Roger approached Hurley as if he wanted to ask for the ball.

But suddenly, Roger shoved off the defender Hunter and cut towards the basket.

Bobby Hurley, with his surgical precision passing, immediately sent the ball to Roger, who dashed towards the basket as the 229-centimeter Bradley clumsily ran over to provide help defense.

Everyone's eyes widened as the youngest person on the court was about to challenge the tallest one!

Bradley couldn't block the ball in Roger's hands, but he did collide with Roger's body, causing Roger to lose his balance in midair and twist around.

While his body was spinning and he was losing his balance, Roger gently lobbed the ball towards the basket. The basketball soared over the tall wall of Bradley and fell down with a perfect arc before eventually going through the net!

Roger's ability to handle physical confrontations wasn't especially strong yet, but his finishing rate under the basket didn't necessarily correlate with his ability to handle contact.

You could be a tank-like finisher like James or a graceful velvet assassin like Parker, Nash.

Roger's current style clearly resembled the latter. He might get knocked around in a confrontation, but the basketball would always hit its mark!

Against Doug Edwards, who was similar in height to him, he could score. Against the faster but shorter Hunter, he could score.

And against the 229-centimeter Bradley, Roger still could score!

He had the same level of shooting ability as Allan Houston and also possessed the finishing ability under the basket that Houston lacked!

McKinney made up his mind—it was him!

Letting such a player fall out of the lottery would be a crime!

"You're right, Don, no one wins MVPs with combine data. Roger's performance in real games is better than what he shows in physical and skill tests! These college talents are being mercilessly crushed!"

After falling, Roger quickly stood up, smiling as he looked towards the sidelines: "Coach, you said this is different from high school, but I feel like it's not that different from a high school game. Scoring, still as I please~"

Don Chaney's face was full of frustration.

Alright, maybe he really was wrong this time.

This high schooler, exceptionally brilliant!