He ran for a full two hours, exhausted and drenched in sweat.
Then, he did 200 push-ups in intervals.
After frantically exhausting his Stamina, he finally felt a slight sense of sleepiness.
For the sake of the morning game, Link gritted his teeth and forced himself to shut down.
The next day.
When Link woke up, it was already 7:15 AM.
In the next instant, Link looked around and found the dormitory completely empty.
"What's going on?"
"Did they all go to practice?"
"Right, many scouts have come to the training camp. To catch their eye and leave a good impression, even those high schoolers who usually like to sleep in will cultivate a hardworking persona during this time."
...
...
"Huh..."
"What's this?"
Link noticed that his base [Stamina] attribute had increased by 1 point, rising to 51 (84).
His base [Strength] attribute also increased by 1 point, rising to 50 (80).
Could this be related to my frantic Stamina expenditure yesterday?
It makes sense. To force a shutdown yesterday, the training intensity was particularly high. Plus, since his current potential for Stamina and strength is NBA-level, it's like a newbie gains period for fitness, yielding twice the result with half the effort.
After getting up, Link saw a note left by Chris Bosh. It basically said they couldn't wake him up no matter how much they shouted, so they all got up at 6:00 AM to go to the basketball gym for practice.
Uh... couldn't wake up, uh, that was because he was too inexperienced last night. He used the "star training partner card" late at night and ended up tossing and turning for most of it, only going to sleep at 3:00 AM. He should use the "star training partner card" around noon or after dinner to keep himself as energetic as possible within a 24-hour period.
Upon arriving at the basketball court, Link found that all the players of the [Dream Chasing Warriors Team] were already there, except for him... oh, wait, there was one more person—the head coach, Chris Grant, who arrived even later than Link.
About half an hour later, a suit-clad Chris Grant rushed to the court, clutching a report in his hand.
"Guys, are you ready to take on the challenge today?" Chris Grant's voice was passionate and excited, as if he had been injected with adrenaline.
"Yes!" Link and the others shouted in unison.
...
"In my hand are our opponents for today..." Chris Grant held up the A4 paper, his expression suddenly becoming serious and focused.
Chris Grant began introducing their two opponents for the day.
The morning opponent was the [Iron Bull Team]. Although the name sounded rustic, they had a top-tier player—Dajuan Wagner, a basketball star from Camden High School in New Jersey. Like Link, he was a Senior, a 191cm, 91kg Shooting Guard who averaged 41 points per game and was ranked 5th in the nation.
When Chris Grant announced Dajuan Wagner's name and stats, the entire Dream Chasing Warriors Team couldn't help but gasp. The players were visibly nervous, including the high-ranking Josh Smith and Chris Bosh.
But Link was the sole exception.
Even though Dajuan Wagner wouldn't make much of a name for himself in the NBA later on, Link knew very well that this undersized Shooting Guard was a 2002 lottery pick, selected 6th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Meanwhile, Matt Babcock, who was good at gathering information, whispered to Link, "Link, do you know? This Dajuan Wagner is simply too strong. He'll definitely make it to the NBA! You must take the morning game seriously!"
The afternoon opponent was the [Lightning Storm Team]. Although the name sounded cool, the team's top player was only a lower-ranked five-star high schooler, which didn't cause much of a stir among the group.
"Even though our morning opponent is very strong, I hope you'll fight hard and not give up," Chris Grant began his inspirational speech, attempting to boost the team's morale.
However, his subtext was—"To get more attention from scouts and raise your rankings, I hope you win at least one game today."
Link felt that this interim coach, Grant, didn't believe they could beat the [Iron Bull Team] led by Dajuan Wagner either.
...
...
Before the official games began, the ABCD Training Camp invited a heavyweight guest to appear and share his personal experiences.
That's right!
It was Kobe Bryant!
The current Kobe Bryant was still a youth with an Afro.
As the 1995 ABCD Training Camp MVP and the current second option for the Los Angeles Lakers, his arrival drew a wave of cheers from the students.
Kobe told the students about his personal journey, especially mentioning how he was just a "nobody" when he first came to the ABCD Training Camp, wearing jersey number 143. These words immediately made the others in the Dream Chasing Warriors Team instinctively look at Link. Although Kobe gave off a cold and aloof vibe on the court, in front of Link and the other students, he was like an excellent mentor, encouraging every one of them.
On the other hand.
The mechanical, cold electronic voice of the system rang in Link's mind again.
[Ding, triggered random task — unwilling to be ordinary.]
[Task Description: Within 2 days, raise your training camp ranking to the top 50.]
[Task Reward: 200 GOAT points;]