Champion Creed

Afterward, Allan Houston still demonstrated the level of skill expected of him.

His shooting was incredibly accurate, he never recklessly took shots, his positioning was intelligent, and he defended tirelessly.

But Roger's talent had already outshined everyone else.

Most high school players see a decline in their performance when they enter the NCAA, and the same goes for NCAA players entering the NBA.

However, Roger, in this game comprised of top college players, did not feel any discomfort and played incredibly smoothly.

This made McKinney believe that Roger was someone who was as immediately effective as Allan but whose potential far exceeded Allan's by a long shot!

Don Chaney was surprised, as Roger's performance was extraordinary.

A high school student, no matter how good, shouldn't be able to match these top college players who had several years of experience.

By his side, Roger's agent, Eric Fleisher, watched Chaney's astonished expression and felt secretly pleased.

He had anticipated this outcome and was waiting for Chaney's surprised look.

It wasn't that Eric had the ability to predict the future but that he was very aware of how hard Roger had worked to make it to the NBA.

None of the college players present had thought about hiring a trainer to improve themselves, so their skills had stagnated since the crazy March madness.

But Roger had been constantly getting stronger and hadn't wasted a single day.

The biggest mistake one can make in life is to think there is still time, and fortunately, Roger did not make this mistake.

He quietly caught up with these college basketball talents, he quietly developed new scoring methods, he was hungry to unlock all his potential.

The process was certainly tough, take Roger's basket-finishing moves as an example, he could finish under Bradley's defense because he trained every day on perfecting left and right-hand under-basket finishes. The training was dull and repetitive, jumping to perform a layup, then jumping again before the ball hit the ground and switching hands in the air to continue the layup.

He continuously jumped, doing left and right-hand layups over and over again, repeating this basic but nauseating move, with Eric watching sleepily by the side.

Yet, Roger never missed a day.

So, Eric had anticipated Roger's performance.

That was also the confidence he had to decline the Bulls' workout invitation.

Roger was destined to be selected in the lottery area!

The decision to try out for Pistons first was because they had the last two lottery picks, the 10th and 11th.

Impressing the Pistons would be akin to telling the entire league, "Roger is a lottery player, prepare a lottery draft pick if you want him."

Eventually, Roger's White Team won this 28-minute training game.

Allan Houston scored 15 points, but the highest scorer was Roger with 20 points.

28 minutes and 20 points, plus a previous 40 points in the McDonald's All-American Game and 58 points in the state championship.

Billy McKinney was already imagining Roger scoring high in the NBA.

After the tryout, the Pistons' general manager called Roger and Eric over:

"Roger, you undoubtedly performed the best among the rookies in this tryout. If you are still available at the 10th pick two months from now at the draft, we will choose you. Don't worry about the contract, the Pistons are not under much salary pressure right now, we were the sixth lowest in the league last season in total salary. In Detroit, you'll definitely get a salary package that you can't find elsewhere."

Salary negotiation, this is something that needs to be emphasized in the draft era.

The Pistons are currently rebuilding, and only the Baby-Faced Assassin has a contract over two million.

This means that the team owner definitely has ample room to offer a rookie contract.

After the tryout, McKinney specifically took Roger and Eric out for a meal.

But Eric did not discuss the contract details with him in advance.

Because he believed, Roger's place wasn't here.

Back in the hotel, he told Roger, "Your draft position is beyond this point, tomorrow everyone will know about what happened in Detroit. And those teams with higher picks will soon be unable to contain their curiosity."

Detroit was both a safety net and a springboard.

Indeed, the next day, media across America were reporting on Roger's excellent performance in the tryout.

Inside sources of the Pistons revealed, Roger was by no means inferior to top college scorers like Allan Houston.—"Detroit Free Press".

Roger's performance was impressive, and he will definitely be a star player in the future.—Billy McKinney.

In a training match against top college players like Allan Houston and Shawn Bradley, Roger was the highest scorer!—"The New York Times".

As expected, after the top high school players, top college players have also fallen victim.—ESPN's "SportsCenter" host John Anderson.

All signs indicate that Roger has received a commitment for the 10th or 11th pick from the Pistons, he won't fall out of the lottery!—"Jonesville Observer".

Most of these news items were intentionally leaked by Eric.

In this day and age, women know to wear bikinis to show off their good figures.

What was there not to showcase about Roger's successful tryout?

Dukan took these news articles to Krause's office, where Krause, so thin that only three layers of chin remained, nearly dislocated his jaw, "This... Roger, never possibly drop out of the lottery!?"

Krause had thought that after attending the tryout, Roger would face reality and sneak back to Chicago for a tryout.

But what he did not expect was that Roger had gotten a lottery guarantee!

A high school guard actually receiving a lottery promise after just one tryout... At first, Krause only saw Roger's potential, but now, Roger's readiness for battle also couldn't be underestimated!

The Bulls were not a rebuilding team, so they certainly wouldn't make a major trade for a high school rookie. Initially, Krause thought the team could pick Roger at the end of the first round as a potent sixth man.

Considering Pippen's offensive stability was as changeable as a 40-year-old woman's mood, having a sixth man to share Jordan's scoring pressure was definitely a good idea.

But now it looked like Roger was even considered a key to rebuilding by the lottery teams.

Krause's plan was likely to be shelved.

The Bulls were the first NBA team to pay attention to Roger, but now all they could do was watch this beautiful thing from afar, which was the cruelest torture in the world.

There was no way around it; the NBA was not a league where you could "have your cake and eat it too."

If you have a championship lineup, it means you have to say goodbye to those young elite talents.

The Lakers, who managed to both contend and land the No. 1 pick to select James Worthy, were after all an exception. To replicate that, first you need a sufficiently foolish trading partner.

Krause looked at the papers in his hands, somewhat reluctantly.

Was this really the end with Roger?

He put all of Roger's scouting reports into the drawer of his desk, not knowing when he would take them out again.

Afterward, Roger took part in several more tryouts with lottery teams, all of which went very well.

In high altitude Denver, the Nuggets were very satisfied with Roger's physical and technical tests.

But what satisfied them the most was a response Roger gave during the interview phase.

At that time, the general manager of the Nuggets, Bernie Bickerstaff asked Roger, "In the NBA, who do you admire the most?"

Ninety-nine percent of guards would answer Jordan, ninety-nine percent of centers would answer David Robinson.

But Roger's reply was unexpected, "Reggie Miller."

"Ah? Why?"

"He's resilient. If someone scores on him, he immediately retaliates.

And as we all know, Reggie's physical gifts aren't considered good in the NBA. When you see him on the court, you might think you could easily knock him down and even step on him. But in the blink of an eye, he'd be standing there with that stern face, spouting trash talk, stubbornly battling you with his skinny body to the very last moment.

So, who do I admire the most? My answer is Reggie."

After that, Bernie Bickerstaff admitted in an interview with local media, "We are seriously considering the possibility of picking Roger at number nine!"

Bickerstaff was moved not just by Roger's performance in basketball, but also because he could see during the interview that Roger was a fighter who hated to lose!

All of America went crazy; this high school rookie from Asia might actually be selected at the ninth spot?

When Roger first announced he was skipping college, many people thought he had lost his senses.

But now, he could confirm that he was among the top ten players in this year's draft!

As all of America speculated on which spot this special high school rookie would ultimately be selected, Roger also took time out from tryouts to shoot for the film "Blue Chips" with Shaq.

During the shoot, Roger and Shaq got along very well. They played around, chatted, and teased Nick Anderson together.

O'Neal liked being around Roger because at the Magic, all his teammates thought his jokes were too over-the-top, too childish.

But his compatibility with Roger was very high.

For instance, when O'Neal took advantage of a photographer's nap to paint all his nails pink.

Roger not only didn't find Shaq childish, he'd also quip as soon as the other person woke up, "Hey Wick, don't just steal your mom's nail polish."

Afterwards, amid the other person's stunned expression, they both laughed heartily together.

O'Neal was in charge of pranks, and Roger took care of the snappy comebacks, and since both young men liked rap music, Shaq was having the time of his life.

Andrae, several times when calling Roger, could hear O'Neal's laughter in the background.

At that moment, Andrae felt somewhat sour, as if his hair was turning green.

The filming was initially just a minor interlude before the draft.

But after the shooting ended, when Shaq returned to Orlando, the management of the Magic heard a proposal that made them doubt their own ears.

O'Neal told the team, "I think Roger fits the Magic better than Webber; if you pick him, we could be the next Magic and Skyhook."