After Kobe's speech ended.
Link and the others also welcomed their first game in the ABCD Training Camp.
Dream Chasing Warriors Team vs Iron Bull Team!
Beside the court, there were camp students not participating in the game, media reporters of all sizes, and scouts from the NCAA and even the NBA.
After all, besides Dajuan Wagner, a top high schooler in the nation, the Class of 2002's Bosh and Josh Smith were also highly watched basketball talents.
The Iron Bull Team was a team with a weak interior, but they had the 5th ranked Shooting Guard in the nation—Dajuan Wagner—on their perimeter. Additionally, their Point Guard was also very strong, a five-star high school recruit ranked 61st in the nation for the Class of 2001, wearing jersey number 70.
Standing 188cm tall and weighing 88kg, he was a white Point Guard with average athleticism but strong physical play, excellent Court vision, and the ability to post up. Honestly, a height of 188cm reached the standard for high school leagues and even the NBA.
For the opening tip-off, Chris Bosh won without any suspense, thanks to his outstanding leaping ability.
Seeing such a tall player who could jump like that made the scouts' eyes light up.
Link dribbled the ball across the frontcourt.
The opposing guard immediately came up to pressure him. Perhaps in his eyes, Link, who was half a head taller and wearing jersey number 143, was nothing more than a tall Point Guard with nothing but height. How stable could his ball-handling be? With a little physical contact, he'd surely lose the ball.
Faced with the high-intensity pressure, Link first switched hands, hunched over to lower his center of gravity, and used his off-hand to shield the ball from the guard. After the contact, he burst forward with a single stride.
Although his Speed wasn't fast, he completely blew past the guard. Entering the Three-Point Shot line, Link was surprised to find that no opponent came to help defend, leaving him a large area in the mid-range. Link pulled up for a mid-range jumper, and with a clean release, the ball went "swish!" through the net for a steady two points.
Despite Link scoring the opening basket so easily, the scouts watching from the sidelines didn't even lift their eyelids.
But in the next instant, after the goal, Link twisted his body and performed an air guitar celebration.
"Wow!"
"Whoa!"
The bench of the Dream Chasing Warriors grinned as they watched Link's exaggerated celebration.
The media reporters nearby also couldn't help but chuckle. As for the scouts who hadn't even blinked, a scout from UCLA now wrote a line in Link's player profile: "Showman Personality."
A showman personality? Was Link? At least Link himself didn't think so! What did they know? After completing the "junior playing the zither" celebration, his Mid-range shot attribute for this game increased by +3, Three-Point Shot by +1, and Free Throws by +2. How could he pass up such a huge buff?
Seeing Link acting so arrogant after the goal, the guard was full of disdain, thinking Link had just been lucky.
In the next two defensive possessions, he continued to pressure, but Link easily neutralized it. Within less than 1 minute and 3 seconds of the start, Link was 3-for-3.
At this point, the head coach of the Iron Bull Team finally couldn't take it anymore and cursed at the players on the court: "What the hell are you bastards doing? And you... he's right next to you, don't you know to go and contest him?"
The court was filled with boys aged sixteen to eighteen. To get more playing time, they all hoped their stats would look better; no one wanted to be a defensive liability. If they helped a temporary teammate rotate, the one scoring might be their own matchup.
This was human nature, normal!
"Number 143, you've got good luck," the white player, who had been scored on repeatedly due to his aggressive defense, said with a dark face.
"Is that so?" Link, holding the ball at the top of the key, gave a disdainful smile.
But now he didn't dare to continue gambling for steals. Link called for a screen. As an old teammate, Bosh moved to the high post on the left to set a pick for Link. Link immediately did a between-the-legs crossover, lowered his center of gravity, and drove to the right.
Link, whose Speed wasn't fast, found it hard to shake off a defender 1v1 through Speed or explosiveness. However, Bosh's screen delayed the defender, creating space to accelerate, and Link instantly gained a half-step lead over the white Point Guard.
Link leaned against the Point Guard and drove toward the basket. Bosh immediately turned and rolled to the rim, his Speed clearly a level above the opposing center, instantly creating an open lane.
"Here you go!" Link flicked his wrist and sent up an alley-oop.
*Bang!* Bosh leaped high and completed the alley-oop.
This alley-oop connection immediately made the whole crowd erupt, and many media reporters on the sidelines began to clap. More and more scouts shifted their attention to Bosh.
"Good Rolling awareness!"
"Excellent Wingspan!"
"Outstanding Explosiveness!"
Of course...
As the engine, Link also received new comments.
"Steady playstyle!"
"Mediocre physical tools!"
"Court vision and generalship far beyond his peers!"
Six minutes into the game, it was 19 to 7, with the Dream Chasing Warriors leading by 12 points. Link was 3-for-3, with 6 points and 3 assists.
The opposing coach was forced to call a timeout.
First, the Point Guard who had been destroyed by Link was chewed out.
Secondly, the head coach repeatedly demanded that the ball must be put in Dajuan Wagner's hands. In the past 6 minutes, Wagner had only taken 3 shots, making 1, with only 2 points and 1 rebound.
After the timeout, Wagner at the Shooting Guard position easily dominated the Dream Chasing Warriors' substitute Shooting Guard, Matt Babcock.
With a simple Power dribble and an explosive burst from a low center of gravity, without any feints, he blew past Matt Babcock in one step before the latter could even react.
*Whistle!*
Dajuan Wagner blew past Matt Babcock again and charged into the paint. Facing Bosh's help defense, he sought contact in the air and, while drawing the foul, adjusted with a Double-clutch layup that went in.
This play showcased Wagner's outstanding athleticism and exquisite finishing ability.
Despite Wagner's poor shooting touch tonight, and even though he missed the Free Throw, he narrowed the gap to just 5 points.
24 to 19!
On the sidelines, the coach of the Iron Bull Team couldn't help but smile.
The media reporters nodded in approval.
The NCAA scouts who had come specifically to evaluate him were also writing furiously.