I'm not really a role player

Chapter 5 AAU Trials

Poly Pavilion, the home stadium of UCLA.

There are 11 NCAA championship flags hanging in the sky, as well as the retired jerseys of legendary stars such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, and Gail Goodrich. This is a arena with a profound heritage.

Russell Westbrook stepped into the arena with reverence.

In front of thousands of fans, he closed his eyes and kissed the KB3 bracelet on his wrist, muttering words.

Li Ke behind him patted him on the back: "Kelsen will watch all this in heaven."

Westbrook nodded, then fisted his right hand, turned around and touched Li Ke: "Come on, too, Sheldon, you have made great progress recently, and this game will definitely bring you an invitation to the NCAA Division I."

The two stepped onto the court, and they were both starters in this game.

Westbrook wore the No. 3 jersey, which was Kelsen Baals III's jersey number, and Li Ke did not change, continuing to wear his No. 88 jersey.

"Russell fights for Kelsen, then I will fight for the former Li Ke. I will help you continue your basketball dream..."

After wearing No. 88 this time, next time, he will re-select his jersey number.

Li Ke and Westbrook are the red team, and on another court, James Harden is wearing a white jersey and sitting safely on the bench.

"In this game, whether it is the red team or the white team, there will be no clear tactical core or style of play, but one thing is very important. The UCLA coaching staff will not pay too much attention to the statistics of a certain player. What they value more is who can win this game!"

The coach in charge of the organization stood in front of the red team's bench, yelling these words against the noise in the arena.

Only then did Li Ke realize that not only was Harden on the opposite side his opponent, but his teammates might also be his opponents.

But fortunately, he has Russell, a good brother who cooperates with him very well.

The red and white team made their debut, with ten players, each in their own position and performing their duties.

After the jump ball, this basketball game called AAU kicked off.

With the white team's possession of the ball, Li Ke was ready to rush in front of Harden immediately.

"Give him to me."

"No, he's mine!"

As a result, a black guy on the same team named Tyreke took the lead.

Sure enough, opponents are everywhere, and even the blue-collar job of marking Harden is up for grabs.

At this time, James Harden was still a young boy in the third year of high school. Although he was not yet the future one-point leader, his posture on the court already had the taste of the future generations.

The red team scrambled to defend against him, but it made him more motivated to pass the ball without hesitation.

Unlike the red team, the core of the white team has long been determined to be Harden.

No way, his name is too loud, a bit like Jordan in the All-Star Game, no one dares to compete with him for the ball.

Facing Tyreke, who seemed physically strong, Harden signaled his teammates to pull away, casually dribbled a few times under the crotch, and then suddenly activated, stepped forward with his right foot like a poisonous snake, but immediately retracted.

Terek believed it was true, turned around half a step, and was staggered directly by the shaking.

Harden got an open space and made a shot on the spot.

Swish!
The cheers of the Pauley Pavilion exploded, and James Harden seemed to prove it with only one ball. Although he is only a senior in high school, he is the number one high school student in California!
In the red team's round, as the team's point guard, Russell Westbrook received the ball from the backcourt.

He took a deep breath, slowly controlled the ball across the half court, and then, like a shock wave, it went straight into the white team's penalty area.

In the next second, there was a bang!
Westbrook completed the dunk, and the Pauley Pavilion also did not hesitate to cheer. Westbrook raised his hands and enjoyed it all.

"This little guy No. 3 is too hot!"

"But he is still not as good as James. Just now James scored a three-pointer!"

"Unfortunately, James is only a senior in high school, but if this No. 3 is a senior in high school, UCLA should take him down!"

The stands in the arena seem to be discussing the two protagonists after two rounds of the game. On the court, the offense and defense have switched.

The white team attacks, and Harden still controls the ball.

"Terek, replace me."

He lost face in the last defensive round, and Tyreke was still a little unconvinced, but Harden's reputation was so great that he was really a little scared. If he defended and lost again, it would completely ruin his position.

After all, for a non-star high school student like him, defense is one of his selling points.

At this time, Li Ke offered to accept the offer. He hesitated for a second or two, but finally gave in.

The defender who defended him was changed again, and he was still a yellow boy. Harden didn't underestimate it, let alone take it seriously, he just became more excited.

"That's right, that's it, one by one..."

Although these words were whispered, to Li Ke's ears, they still sounded like trash talk, so he also replied:
"There will be no next one."

Harden ignored Li Ke, but started directly.

The same style of play, the casual dribble in the crotch, and then suddenly start.

Li Ke was not as reckless as Tyreke, he didn't make any movements, not even the slightest shift in the center of gravity of his body.

Harden's change appeared. He turned the imaginary into reality, followed the right foot he stepped forward, and then stepped forward with his left foot.

It's not a dry pull in place, but a breakthrough!
Harden accelerated, he felt the pressure on his side, but he also felt the relief in front of him and behind him, he felt that he was about to get rid of Li Ke.

So, the third step and the fourth step, stepping out one after another.

He seemed to have completely shaken off Li Ke, back and forth, left and right, completely open-minded.

Harden's eyes began to stare at the basket, and when he slapped the basketball again, his hands were empty.

With a bang, exclamations erupted in the Poly Pavilion.

"Didn't he get thrown off by James?"

"It's too fast, whether it's chasing back or stealing the shot, it seems to be outrageously fast!"

"The yellow boy completed the steal on James Harden!"

"He also put the ball directly to the number 3!"

"Another whirlwind boy, this number 3 is also very fast!"

Harden turned around, only to see Russell Westbrook hanging with one arm over the basket in the backcourt.

The scoreboard jumped, it was 4:3.

"Two whirlwinds, the red team defeated James Harden in this round!"

Only then did Harden realize that No. 88 stole him, assisted No. 3, and completed the fast break.

"Damn mistake!"

He flicked his hands pretending to be annoyed.

Another attack by the white team, Harden stopped being casual, dribbled the ball with his waist bent, and told Li Ke who was defending him again:

"In the next round, you will definitely disappear from my presence."

This time it was definitely trash talking, Li Ke smiled, but didn't respond.

The old routine, the outside crotch dribble, the cross step, the sudden start...

Li Ke was still not fooled, he was very confident in his speed.

But this time, Harden's breakthrough was not so fast. He pushed against Li Ke and kept separating Li Ke with his huge strength.

As long as Li Ke can't withstand his impact, he will have room to make a move.

But Li Ke was like a maggot attached to his bone, unable to get rid of it at all.

Just relying on brute force, he rushed all the way to the penalty area and made a layup against Li Ke's defense.

The basketball limply hit the edge of the backboard.

Did not enter!

"There will be no next one!"

Harden remembered this sentence.

Indeed, there will be no next one. For two consecutive rounds, he failed to score from Li Ke's defense.

Even in the high school championships in California, he rarely encountered such situations.

"No. 88, excellent perimeter defender, worth considering."

Corey Keating is UCLA's assistant coach in charge of recruiting freshmen. He also proposed to hold this game. Seeing Li Ke's defensive performance, he smiled.

In any case, the original intention of holding this game has been achieved.

And then, Westbrook once again unstoppably completed dunks, and he muttered again: "This No. 3 is more worthy of consideration, he has higher potential."

USC head coach Tim Floyd, wearing heavy shades, emerged from the depths of the stands, seated next to his assistant Lindsey Williams.

"Do you think we should grab a violent scorer like No. 3, or a blue-collar wing like No. 88?"

"Russell."

Lindsey Williams' answer was curt, and Tim Floyd shook his head.

"And then, how to distribute the ball. Nick is a singles player, and this Russell seems to be a singles player, a singles player who can only break through in a straight line, even worse than Nick, and what we need more is a blue-collar who can wipe Nick's ass."

"Then grab it all."

Still answering briefly, Tim Floyd tilted his head, as if thinking about the feasibility of grabbing them all.

While various discussions were taking place in the stands, the game also entered a fever pitch.

Li Ke defended Harden for two consecutive rounds, and no one wanted to compete with him for the thankless task of defending Harden.

But then, Li Ke also failed to completely block Harden.

Harden still found a gap in Li Ke's defense. Li Ke's defense only made Harden feel the difficulty of scoring offensively.

This is enough, on the defensive end, Li Ke has successfully completed his task.

Of course, Li Ke knew why he was successful. The S-level speed has long been overflowing among this group of high school students who have not yet reached their peak.

"Harden's current speed can only be A at most, and it may even be B. This is my advantage. However, my speed also has an advantage at this time. After entering the NCAA, and facing an opponent like Harden, at most it can only be a tie."

After NCAA professional training, whether it is Harden or Westbrook, their physical functions will reach their peak.

(End of this chapter)