After coming out of the Virtual Space, Link continued to the gymnasium.
Unlike yesterday, many media outlets had come to the gymnasium today to film.
Among them were the three media outlets that had previously interviewed Link.
In front of the cameras, those players who originally liked to slack off during training became diligent and hardworking.
Link didn't pay much attention to this and focused intently on starting his own training.
Tonight, he didn't practice box jumps, but instead started practicing deadlifts.
Link's strength was 50. For a high school guard, this strength was definitely at the T1 level. Combined with his weight of 92kg, those toothpick-like high school interiors couldn't gain any advantage against Link.
However, Link's strength lay in his "lower body strength"; his upper body strength was just passable, and his core strength was relatively poor.
In the Virtual Space, during the final shot to beat Kyle Korver, the finger roll after the hop step...
Link could clearly feel that after the hop step, his body had obviously lost balance in the air. There was a significant element of luck in that finishing shot. Moreover, there was no such thing as Stamina consumption in the Virtual Space. If it were a real game, a hop-step finger roll after a long-distance sprint would surely have gone wildly off-target.
Because of this...
Link decided to properly improve his "core strength" during the upcoming period.
The other trainees in the camp, even the bench players, would more or less show signs of fatigue after a day of exertion.
But Link was full of energy, looking like he'd been injected with chicken blood compared to the others.
"So hardworking!"
"No wonder Link can become a star trainee in the camp even with average basketball talent."
"That's not right to say... Isn't having abundant energy a type of talent too?"
"I feel like Link grew up drinking bull's blood; he's full of drive every single moment!"
"Yeah, who could say otherwise!"
The surrounding media reporters all praised Link.
Mhm...
This was the first step for the media to create a god.
After the training camp ends the day after tomorrow, Link's name would likely appear in every corner of the United States.
...
...
On the other hand.
Inside the office of ABCD Training Camp President Sonny Vaccaro.
He was discussing with the camp's management whether they should continue filming Lamine Kook's documentary.
Before today, Lamine Kook was the darling of the ABCD Training Camp. They hoped to use his experience and story of entering the NBA as an advertisement for the camp.
But today, Lamine Kook had been defeated by Link and LeBron James in succession. Not only that, but his entire mental state seemed to have developed significant issues.
Sonny Vaccaro knew very well that once this negative news was exposed, no NBA team would likely use a high draft pick on him.
"Mr. Sonny, Lamine Kook is completely finished. We shouldn't waste time on him."
"Yes, Mr. Sonny, I suggest shifting our resources to other trainees, such as Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, oh... and that kid from China—Link."
"Wow, if we choose to promote Link, I believe we will certainly gain a lot of attention."
"Exactly. For the American high school basketball world, without a doubt, this will be explosive news!!!"
"At that time, our ABCD Training Camp will receive all kinds of outside attention, especially if he can enter the NBA in the future..."
The management hoped to have the team filming Lamine Kook's documentary switch to filming Link from China.
In 2001, there were very few Chinese players coming to the United States to play, so it would definitely attract the attention of many American fans.
Sonny Vaccaro remained silent.
Link was one of his targets, but not the primary one.
He wanted to choose Carmelo Anthony, followed by Amare Stoudemire.
Link was the last choice.
But the management's analysis, along with Link's performance during this period, caused his resolve to waver.
"Let's wait until after tomorrow's game against Carmelo Anthony to make a decision!" Sonny Vaccaro said slowly after a moment of deliberation.
...
...
The next day.
Link woke up.
He was surprised to find that his strength attribute hadn't even increased by 1 point.
Fuck!
Is this damn system's update slow?
But on second thought, Link suddenly realized that the duration of the [physical sports special training card] had long since run out.
This is freaking uncomfortable.
Even though his strength potential was as high as 80, which was 30 points away from his base attribute of 50, strength was a combination of "upper body," "lower body," and "core strength." Perhaps there was some improvement, but it might not necessarily reflect in the numerical value.
The opponent for the morning game was announced.
It was the Ice Man led by Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony served as the team's starting small forward and was currently ranked second in the camp, second only to LeBron James.
Besides Anthony, there were three other All-American five-star high schoolers on the [Ice Man] team.
The Point Guard matched up against Link was a 3-star All-American high schooler.
Standing 190cm tall and weighing 84kg, this static talent was quite impressive for a sophomore.
He had first-class athletic talent, solid Ball Handling, and decent physical contact ability, but like many local American small guards, his shooting was inconsistent, and he relied more on drive-and-kicks.
For the current Link, he rather liked defending this type of player.
By giving him a two-step cushion, Link could anticipate his moves and effectively block his driving lanes.
Standing 196cm tall, weighing 92kg, and with a wingspan of 213.2cm, Link looked a bit too oversized when standing next to the opposing guard.
When the opponent's drive was obstructed and they tried to power through, Link's strength and size advantage were fully capable of forcing them to a stop. Of course, after all, his lateral movement was slow and his Explosive Acceleration was poor, so he would occasionally let some through, allowing the opponent to drive in.
But Bosh and Josh under the basket weren't there for nothing. With the opponent's momentum mostly buffered by Link, blocking them was all too easy.
By the end of the first half, the Dream Chasing Warriors had built an 8-point lead.
52 to 44!
Link had recorded 8 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 Steal.