After defeating the Red Laser Team led by Quincy Douby in the afternoon, Link accepted individual interviews from three media outlets.
He triggered the main quest "Center of Attention" three times in a row (receiving an individual media interview or a full scholarship offer from an NCAA Division I team before graduating high school earns 100 Goat points).
Link earned 300 Goat points.
Although the questions from the three media outlets were varied,
some were about basketball,
and some were about his personal life.
But a portion of the questions overlapped.
Host: "Who is your idol? Do you want to be the next Kobe Bryant, or Allen Iverson?"
Link: "I just want to be the first me."
Host: "Do you want to play in the NBA?"
Link: "Of course, and I will definitely enter the NBA."
Host: "Which NCAA university are you interested in?"
Link pondered for a moment. This question was related to whether he could continue to receive full scholarship offers from NCAA Division I teams.
Link: "For this question, I'd like to discuss it thoroughly with my family and coach after the ABCD Training Camp ends."
Link's humble yet confident answers and his maturity beyond his age earned him a lot of goodwill from the media reporters.
...
...
Before dinner.
Link checked his Goat points.
[Gota points: 465/1,665]
At noon, Link used 1 star (draymond green) training partner card to refine his offense.
[Close-Range Shot] basic attribute +1, increased to 56 (80); [Driving Layup] basic attribute +1, increased to 59 (78).
Link continued to choose to draw.
4 consecutive draws, he obtained:
3 star (draymond green) training partner cards; plus the one remaining, Link currently has 4 Green training partner cards.
1 All-Star (Kyle Korver 14-15 Season) training partner card;
"Hehe, my luck is pretty good today. I drew an All-Star training card, and it's a Three-Point Sharpshooter!" Link secretly rejoiced.
Link's Three-Point Shot basic attribute is only 49 points. Let alone in the NBA, even in the High School League, it has nothing to do with "accuracy." As a reborn person, he naturally knows the importance of the Three-Point Shot, especially in the small-ball era. If a guard doesn't have a Three-Point Shot, they can expect to warm the bench.
Link's poor Three-Point Shot wasn't because he didn't want to practice it, but because he didn't have the talent or potential before. Uh… fans of the small-ball era have completely understood from Ben Simmons, Antetokounmpo and others that basketball talent isn't just about "running and jumping" or "controlling and passing," but also about touch.
Of course, after fusing with Green's player template, Link's Three-Point Shot talent potential increased to 73 points, and there is already considerable room for improvement. This white Sharpshooter's training partner card should play a significant role.
...
...
Link and his Dream Chasing Warriors teammates went to the training camp cafeteria for dinner.
"Wow… Link, did you notice? They're all looking at you, Link, you're already the star of stars in the training camp." Matt Babcock stood on his tiptoes and whispered into Link's ear.
"Am I?" Link asked with a smile.
"Of course, Link, you are now one of the hottest stars in our training camp. Hehe, after today's ranking update, you might enter the top ten." Another teammate said.
At this moment, Link once again experienced the feeling of being "surrounded by stars."
I have to say...
This feeling was indeed great.
"Link!"
"Hey, Brandon!"
"Link!"
"Melo!"
The passing Yellow Mamba Roy and Sweet Melon Anthony also smiled and greeted Link.
"Link, our opponents tomorrow will likely be their team." Bosh said.
"That's right!" Link nodded.
"Sigh!" Josh Smith sighed, saying, "Honestly, I really don't want to guard Melo!"
Josh Smith and Sweet Melon were teammates at Oak Hill Academy, and they had many matchups during regular training, with Anthony almost always dominating him.
"Don't worry, buddy, we have Link…" Matt Babcock said with a smile.
Josh Smith subconsciously nodded.
Although Link's student ranking in the team was not the highest, nor was his average score the most, he had created a sense of reliance among his teammates through the games over the past few days.
He was the backbone of the team; it felt like they could win games by following him.
...
...
After dinner.
The training camp rankings were updated once again.
Link's ranking jumped from 22nd to 6th, surpassing his teammate Chris Bosh, who was 10th.
Only five people ranked higher than Link: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Brandon Roy, and Dajuan Wagner.
Although Link had defeated Dajuan Wagner, these "seed players" and "top talents" were never judged by a single game.
As for Lamine Kook, who lost two games today, he had fallen from his previous second place to 11th; not only that, the scene of Lamine Kook receiving two Technical Fouls in his game against Link and being ejected by the referee was destined to be "criticized" by the media reporters present.
The media loves to create gods, and even more, loves to personally destroy the gods they create.
Lamine Kook's downfall also caused the media to shift their focus to "Link" and "LeBron James," who defeated him.
Especially Link, who is from China. It is rare for Asian players to play basketball in the United States, let alone in the NBA.
As long as he doesn't falter in the next two days, Link will become the media's "new darling," and they will praise Link highly, hoping he might fall like Lamine Kook later.
"Wow…"
"OMG!"
Future NBA reporter Matt Babcock clasped his hands to his head and exclaimed, "Link, this is simply unbelievable! You not only entered the top 10, but you're 6th! Link, your future is limitless."
"Eh! It's alright!" Link sighed slightly, seemingly not very satisfied with this ranking.
"Uh… Link… you're being too modest, you're 6th! Now, not only do prestigious NCAA schools want to snatch you up, but even if you announced entering the NBA now, you'd have a chance." Matt Babcock said.
Link shook his head.
Rising in the rankings is definitely a good thing, but… he was just one spot away from completing his main quest — [The Great Powers Are Me!], which required entering the top five in the training camp rankings.
Link couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
Of course, there was still a chance in the next two days. As long as he played steadily, he could enter the top five.
...
...
After dinner, Link returned to his dorm room.
Before entering meditation, he used the All-Star (Kyle Korver) sparring partner card.
The shooter Korver is a historic pure shooter in the NBA. When he first entered the league, the team traded a "printer" and some US cash to acquire him. Although he never served as the team's leader or primary scorer throughout his career, he used his extreme Three-Point Shot and defensive awareness to compete on the court. During the 2014-15 season with the Hawks, he helped the team achieve a 60-22 record, the best in the Eastern Conference, and became an All-Star reserve that season.
Of course, this was his only All-Star experience in his career.
"Korver isn't known for his defense. If I were to have a hundred-point battle with him, I might be able to defeat him." Link thought to himself.
After entering the virtual space.
Link discovered that Kyle Korver also had "Challenge Projects" similar to peak Draymond Green.
Hundred-point battles, from three stars to five stars.
Link confidently challenged Kyle Korver to a one-on-one, but soon, Link realized that he had underestimated NBA players. Korver's defense was stronger than Link had imagined. His defensive awareness was excellent, his positioning was smart, he didn't jump unnecessarily, and his physical strength was not weaker than Link's current level.
Furthermore, while Korver's ball-handling offense wasn't great, that was in NBA games. Against Link, who was still a high school student, Korver was barely sufficient. And his Three-Point Shot was truly accurate.
Uh… after all, in the later part of his career, at 37 years old playing for the Cavaliers, Korver still shot 41% from three-point range in the playoffs.
First round of hundred-point battle: 41 to 100.
Second round of hundred-point battle: 49 to 100.
...
...
Forget it!
Link decided to adopt a "war of attrition," using the same method he used against Green to deal with Kyle Korver.