the rest, only noise

Chapter 324 This is respect
Before the media day, Louis confirmed the last person on the big list.

Mario Eli, he was also a player in the 1985 class, but he was a seventh-round pick.

The Eagles who selected him actually gave up his ownership without even giving him a training camp contract. Eli was not discouraged and continued to seek opportunities to play in the NBA.

At first, Louie just thought his name was familiar and offered him a training camp contract.

After a long time of contact, the secret, or memory, of why he felt familiar with the name Ellie was awakened.

In the Western Conference semifinals between the Rockets and the Suns in 1995, Eli made a desperate three-pointer and the iconic kiss of death gesture, mercilessly destroying the last hope of the Suns and Barkley.

Louie hadn't watched that round of the series, and he didn't know about the Rockets that year.

Familiarity with this name is all due to "NBA Frontline".In one episode of the show, the 95 Rockets documentary was aired, and there was a clip of Ellie's kiss of death.

After the training camp, Louis was amazed by Ellie's energy and vigor. He has a certain shooting skill. As long as he practices hard, he can make three-pointers. Moreover, he has good physical fitness.

How did such a player end up in the seventh round?Not even a training camp contract?
Louis can only think that the league's scouts are not good enough.

Signing Ellie would fill the Knicks' 12-man roster.

Louis persuaded several other fringe people in the training camp to leave, and the rest of them are all selected, which means that they can officially build the system for the new season next.

It was precisely this that Louie fretted over when he cut down on training time in the days before media day.

On the media day, the new Knicks made a collective appearance.

Ewing put on the new season's jersey, and in front of many media, he gradually showed a surprising side.

His indifference to the media during college was largely attributed to John Thompson's isolationist policies.

Thompson encourages his players against the world, is the media part of the world?Of course it is, and it's still the bad part.

Ewing's indifference, lack of enthusiasm, and impatience with questions made many reporters uncomfortable.

There are many players in the league who treat the media like this, but Ewing shouldn't be like this.

He was seen as the man who would dominate the NBA in the future, the face of New York basketball, if not as popular as Frazier in the 70s, at least have Bernard King as a role model.

When King Kong came to New York, no one liked him. The media and fans felt that too much money was spent on him.

What's more, he has a dark history of reading. When he was in the Nets, he would throw drug parties in his hotel room whenever he had the opportunity.

Later, he was able to control his drug addiction and become the king of New York, and was accepted by the media because of his strength. Although he was not easy to deal with, he would definitely not express his hatred of the media on his face like Ewing.

Louis noticed Ewing's problems. He had too many problems, from playing basketball to public relations ability as a public figure. I really don't know what poison John Thompson had poured into his mind.

On the second day of the media day, the "New York Times" published a long article about the Knicks' media day. In the article, they wrote pointedly: "Maybe, the Patrick Ewing we imagined is just a dream, maybe he is completely different from what we imagined."

The Times saw for the first time the nature of the matter, and Louie was relieved.

It's a pity that they couldn't help much. The next day, Louis halved the training time, and only this day's training time was halved.

After training, everyone in the team will go to Ewing's restaurant to eat.

This can be considered as an advertisement for Ewing's restaurant in disguise.

However, Ewing approached Louie in private and said, "I don't want you to come to my restaurant with a lot of fanfare."

"Then how do we go? Sneak like a thief and pick the lock?" Louie asked funny.

Only now did Louis know how strongly Ewing disliked the media: "As long as you don't disturb the media."

"Do you dislike attention so much, why?"

"no reason."

"You are the most watched rookie in the country."

"Attention? I don't think it's a good thing. They treat me like the strongest one in the Colosseum, and they just treat me like a wild animal. Should I be happy about it?"

Louie realized just how bad Thompson’s influence on Ewing was: “Michael Jordan made $[-] million last year for a company with a logo that looked a lot like Jibba, can you find a second beast that did it?”

Ewing did not accept Louis' words. On this day, the Blue Palace did not hold a match. Louis asked them to complete the basic training without any compromise, and then set off for Ewing's restaurant one after another.

Not going together is because of what Ewing said, don't make a big fuss.

The restaurant of Ewing's family is called "Dorothy's House". The location of the restaurant is neither good nor bad, which shows that Ewing just wants to find a lucrative job for his family, and does not want to use his reputation to attract money.

Dorothy was Ewing's mother, and Ewing would not have come to America from Jamaica without her.Dorothy and her husband, Carl Ewing, had seven children.Initially, the couple immigrated to the United States, and Ewing stayed in Jamaica for four years due to financial problems.Later, when Ewing came to the United States, his basketball talent was quickly discovered. When he graduated from high school, more than 100 universities gave him scholarships.

Among them, there are many universities willing to give the Ewing family some unappreciated benefits, but Dorothy stopped them all.One of the things she taught Ewing was to be able to afford it, and they chose Georgetown, which didn't provide any extra subsidies, just because John Thompson promised to make Ewing a real man and not drop his studies.

In 1983, Ewing's mother Dorothy died of a heart attack due to years of physical labor.Her only wish is that her children can find a foothold in this country. Ewing's athletic talent makes it possible for him to achieve greatness, but he must get a degree.

It is precisely because of his mother's wish that Ewing will complete four years of college and get a degree.

Louis didn't know what to say after learning about this. Maybe he shouldn't blame Ewing for not listening to him. There was nothing wrong with "listening to mother's words". It was George Town who was wrong, and John Thompson who was wrong.Ewing should have gone to UCLA.

At the Dorothy House, Louie also met Ewing's son, Patrick Aloysius Ewing Jr. After 18 years, this kid will enter the NBA in the second round.

Louis and Dave Anderson sat at a table, and Ewing came over to entertain him: "What do you want to eat?"

"Do you have any recommendations?" Louis asked him back.

So Ewing walked away and decided by himself what to serve to Louis's table.

"You seem to have a complicated relationship with Patrick," Anderson said.

Listening to this confusing question, Louis replied with a smile: "My relationship with everyone is quite complicated."

When Ewing came to the back kitchen, he specifically instructed his father Carl, "Both of these are made a little bit more spicy, and the taste of the guests is stronger."

It is understandable that he punished Louis, and by the way, punishing Anderson can only be said to be a concrete manifestation of his aversion to the media.

"Are you sure you fat friend can withstand the spiciness we have?" Old Carl asked Ewing with a serious accent.

"Absolutely no problem." Ewing said, "Call me when you're done."

As a result, Louis and Anderson saw two plates of fried rice and a plate of fried chicken nuggets.

"Is this your Jamaican specialty?" Louis asked.

Ewing had a look of joy and anticipation on his face that made Louis uneasy: "My dad made this for you, try it?"

In front of Ewing, Louis and Anderson both cut a piece of fried chicken and put it in their mouths.

In an instant, it was as if someone had put a whole millet pepper in Louie's mouth, and his mouth was on fire!

Anderson blushed from the heat.

Ewing asked, "Is it delicious?"

"Tell your dad, this is the most delicious fried chicken nugget I've ever eaten since I came to America." Louie said insincerely.

Ewing didn't expect Louis to hold back. While expressing admiration for his stamina, he felt a little guilty.

"Want a drink?"

"You know what I like to drink, so get Dave some non-carbonated ice."

Ewing went to get it, and Anderson shook his head and said, "I can't eat this."

Louis actually said: "We are here for the first time, we have to give Patrick a little face, let's eat more."

"No, I can't eat something so spicy." Anderson was so spicy that he lost his self-restraint.

"How about this, give me all your chicken nuggets, and you can eat more of that rice."

"I will try my best."

Ewing came to their table with a drink: "Use it slowly."

Then he walked to the distance and silently looked at Louis's table.

"Coach Lu, do you like spicy food so much?" Anderson asked in surprise.

"Trust me, I would have destroyed these plates at another restaurant," Louie said as he ate the chicken nuggets that made him angry. "I hate chili."

Anderson saw the uncontrollable sweat and unstoppable tears on Louie's face, and knew that he was also suffering.

For what purpose would a person who doesn't like spicy food make himself eat so much spicy food?
"Why eat it if you don't like it?" Anderson asked.

"Didn't you say that the relationship between Patrick and me is very complicated, and I want to make it less complicated." Louis's face was drunk, "I hope to become friends with him, which is very important to our future. When you come to a friend's house for dinner, the first thing you need to do is to let go of your stomach and eat whatever you have. Unless you are allergic to that food, eat it. This is respect."

Louis finished the fried chicken nuggets for two, a whole plate of fried rice that was spicy beyond imagination, and served with at least 800ml of Coke.

By the time the meal was over, he could no longer feel the presence of his tongue.

Before leaving, Ewing came to say hello, and he saw that Louis's two plates were all gone.

"Can you eat like this?"

"I'll give you a suggestion. If you want me to be a repeat customer of your house, or if you want me to live a few more years, it's better to put less spicy food." Louis didn't want to come back to Dorothy's House for dinner at the cost of turning into a jet fighter.

"Do you want to pay?"

"No need." Ewing said, "I take this order."

Louis couldn't even control his smile, and the nerves on his face were so hot that he couldn't control it: "I won't thank you."

(End of this chapter)