No.1 in basketball scoring

Half an hour later, at 6 p.m., Thomas arrived at the basketball court on time.

DeRozan stopped training, greeted Zhang Yang, and approached him.

Zhang Yang quickened his pace and took a moment to size up the head coach.

About 40 years old, he had a handsome face typical of a mature middle-aged man, but his thinning hair was more mature than one would expect, as if the countryside was encroaching upon the city.

After DeRozan introduced the two, Thomas got straight to the point, "Jack, I want to invite you to Compton High School to join my team. I watched your game yesterday. Your tactical awareness and timing impressed me. I heard from DeMar that you've been practicing basketball for less than 10 days. He keeps praising your talent. Knowing him, he wouldn't praise someone without good reason."

"If you want to play basketball, to become a better player, I hope you can join my team. Hidden Mountain High School is a good school, but all the high schools at Hidden Mountain don't take sports seriously..."

Zhang Yang patiently listened to the other party talk. Earlier, when he was emotionally engaged, he threw himself into training, interrupting his thoughts, which enabled him to now listen calmly without impulsively responding.

From the way Thomas spoke, Zhang Yang felt that he was not someone who boasted aimlessly; his initial impression was positive.

After Thomas finished speaking, Zhang Yang replied, "Personally, I would like to go to Compton High School. I really want to be teammates with DeMar and receive more professional basketball coaching, but I need to discuss this with my parents first and get their approval."

Thomas's impression of Zhang Yang greatly improved upon hearing this.

Every year, he needed to interact with dozens, if not hundreds, of middle school talents. Other 14 or 15-year-old kids were very self-centered; impulsively responding was one thing, but they never even considered their families' thoughts... Of course, he understood—kids will be kids, and the vast majority of athletic talents were black.

But understanding doesn't mean liking. Amid a vast majority of self-centered youth, Zhang Yang was like a breath of fresh air, which he really appreciated.

Thomas smiled and said, "Of course, this isn't just about you; you need to discuss it with your parents. This is a big decision for you and your family. Don't rush your decision. Take your time to think about it. Here's my business card, call me once you've made a decision."

Zhang Yang carefully put away the business card, his impression of Thomas continuing to improve.

He had some understanding of these school coaches.

According to the memories of his predecessor, just three years ago when Jarett Young had just graduated from middle school, many high school sports teams came to recruit him.

Jarett Young privately complained that some school coaches treated him like a fool, promising that choosing their school would surely lead to a professional sports career and lots of money.

In the end, after consulting with his mother, Jarett chose California High School, which simply called their home. The reason was simple: the coach from California High School talked like a normal person.

Thomas didn't stay long, left after speaking his piece.

Zhang Yang resumed training, and although DeRozan wanted to chat with Zhang Yang about the city of Compton, seeing the situation, he too focused back on training, occasionally checking on Zhang Yang and correcting him whenever he noticed something awkward.

More than an hour later, at 7:50 p.m., both ended their training and each went home.

After Zhang Yang got home, showered and had dinner, he went upstairs to the study to search the internet for information about the city of Compton, Compton High School, Tony Thomas, and so on.

Having a strong-willed mother, Zhang Yang already felt that transferring schools suddenly would be difficult, and after checking the information, it seemed even more challenging.

The city of Compton... left much to be desired.

However, the basketball teams, facilities, funding, coaching skills, and teammates' abilities at top-tier schools, as well as the rivals they would meet, were incomparable to those at non-top-tier schools.

For sure, playing a year at Hidden Mountain High School would not provide as much growth as at Compton High School, otherwise those talents wouldn't be so eager to attend top-tier schools.

If he had a choice, he'd of course prefer to go to schools like Inglewood High, Lynwood High, California High in Los Angeles, but currently there were no better options.

And excluding the problem of city safety and academic strength, the overall athletic strength of Compton High School was ranked among the top five in all Southern California high schools, making it a very good choice.

Zhang Yang fell into deep thought about how to discuss the matter with his parents. It was indeed a difficult issue… Soon, it was 10:30 p.m, and he heard his parents talking.

After an hour, he still hadn't thought of a foolproof method, decided to stop thinking about it, and went directly to the living room to say to them, "Dad, Mom, I have a very important matter to discuss with you."

Yang Jing and Zhang Chen looked at each other—Their son actually came to discuss something with them? How rare!

Yang Jing asked, "What is it? As long as it's not too excessive, I might consider it."

Zhang Chen said, "Sit down and talk."

The three sat down on the couch, and Zhang Yang straightforwardly said, "I want to transfer to Compton High School."

Yang Jing had thought Zhang Yang might want a car, or a new phone, or maybe he had a girlfriend and needed some money… among other things that boys like to boast about, but she had never expected him to want to transfer schools.

Especially to a place like Compton…

Zhang Chen quietly tapped Yang Jing's arm, and she nodded, then asked Zhang Yang, "Why do you want to go there?"

Zhang Yang organized his words and said, "DeMar is the strongest middle school basketball player in Southern California. Yesterday, when we were playing a game together, his school's coach, a local from our area, watched the game at the park. He thinks I have a talent for basketball and extended an invitation to me. I want to go."