you are all star

Chapter 85 The Biggest Regret
Although Neil was not selected to participate in the national youth basketball game this time, he walked out of the shadow area with the comfort and encouragement of his relatives, friends and teachers, regained his confidence, and continued to pursue his basketball dream.

This Christmas, because the previous basketball was rotten and could not be played, his father bought him another one specially, and when he handed the basketball to him, he also handed him a piece of cardboard with Louis's own handwriting written on it. The content is: "My dear son, father, I have witnessed and witnessed your obsession with basketball for so many years, and I have also witnessed your hardship and hard work on basketball. Now, the basketball I gave you when I was a child has disappeared It’s rotten. Based on your love for basketball, your father bought you a new one. I hope it can accompany you through high school and college. You should cherish it. At the same time, I hope you don’t give up on yourself For many years, a dream I loved since I was a child."

Neal received the same basketball with the NBA LOGO printed on it as in the past, but there was a portrait of Neal's idol Michael Jordan on it.

Therefore, Neil likes it very much, and is especially grateful for the love his parents have shown him. He also made up his mind deep in his heart that he must strengthen his training. In a blink of an eye, there is not much time left in junior high school. I can't live up to their expectations, let alone the basketball and dreams I have always loved. Before I graduate from junior high school, I must participate in a national youth basketball game to feel the atmosphere of the game. It doesn't matter whether I win the championship or not. After participating in it, I will continue to work hard in high school and strive to win a national youth basketball championship when I graduate from high school. I will be satisfied.

During the winter vacation of the second year of junior high school, Neil spent a very happy holiday with his parents, but the time was so short, and as spring approached quietly, Neil had to bid farewell to his parents, carry his schoolbag, and set foot on his own life again. The road to school, the road to dream, Neil, who is over 13 years old this year, seems to have become a strong man, with a schoolbag on his back, a salute and a basketball in his hand, he does not let his parents accompany him, and goes alone Done.

Louis and Nuana were very happy. Seeing that their son seemed to have grown up now, they could rest assured and concentrate on earning money for his high school tuition and living expenses next summer.

The time slipped away while their family was busy and desperately chasing. In the blink of an eye, the new year was coming to an end. In mid-November, this year Neil was selected, and he will have the opportunity to participate in the national youth basketball team. It's just that they can't go home this Christmas, and they will go to New York to participate in the competition with the players selected by each school.

When Louise and Nuana heard the news, they were both happy and sad. In the end, the couple decided to accompany their son to the bustling metropolis of New York to participate in the competition and spend the last Christmas with them before graduating from junior high school.

Thinking of the sudden news of the competition, Louis and Nuana were secretly delighted. Fortunately, with the hard work of the husband and wife this year, they saved nearly 2 US dollars in savings, excluding daily expenses, and Neil’s daily expenses for this competition. It will be reimbursed by the school, including Marcus, who accompanied him, is also reimbursed by the school.

Before setting off, Louis and Nuana had other plans. Their son's competition was from early December to mid-January. Except for their son's competition time, the rest of the time they worked as part-time workers to earn some pocket money.

The family came to New York in this way. Sometimes they even never dreamed that they would have the opportunity to come to New York once in this life. Neil even dreamed that he could witness the city he had longed for since he was a child when he was in the third grade of junior high school—— ——New York, now that I have my wish, I can finally concentrate on the game during the game time, and take a good tour of this bustling metropolis during the rest of the training and rest time.

As the competitions are in full swing, the Human Torch team formed by Neil and his teammates, on the one hand, has a huge disparity in strength, on the other hand, they have never participated in such a national competition before. There were spectators from all over the country, and every game was broadcast live. Neil and his teammates could not complain about the noisy atmosphere of the game in the first few games. As a result, they suffered a five-game losing streak at the beginning. The competition period is too long, and the competition for rankings is adopted, that is, the knockout competition. Finally, the top four in the competition will be sent to compete for the championship. Although the Thunderbolt team is struggling to catch up, the tacit understanding among the players is not strong. Most of them relied on singles, and each won by scoring points, so no matter how hard they struggled, they could only rank in the top nine and eventually missed the semi-finals.

However, Neil’s trip to New York has attracted a lot of attention from outsiders and the media. He suffered a five-game losing streak at the beginning, but he was able to advance to the top ten in the country in the end. The record is still optimistic. There are 40 participating teams. There are many teams, and it is Neil who has been supporting the Alexandria City to send this team forward. He can average 18 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists per game. Second only to Wright of the Hungry Wolves sent by Washington, a black kid who was also born in a slum with excellent physical fitness and super athletic ability, he averaged 21 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists per game, close to a triple-double.

It is because of Wright's gorgeous data that he led the Hungry Wolves to the finals with the first place record and advanced to the quarterfinals.

Neil was out with regret.

Even though it was the first time for Neil to participate in such a high-quality competition and missed the semi-finals, at least his magnificent double-double data won the respect of many opponents, and also won congratulatory messages from all the teachers and students of Edward Middle School, and also won the Alexandria City Sports Award. Highly recognized by the committee, because he led the team to advance to the top ten even though he suffered a five-game losing streak at the beginning. The Wolves went to the competition in the third group of junior high school, and the middle school competed with the middle school. In the end, they only got the No.15 record in the country, and also missed the semi-finals. This year, each middle school selected elites to participate, and Neil actually led the team to enter the country. top ten.

Although Neil was a little sad after the game, he was more calm because he didn't have much hope from the very beginning. The fire team, without a break-in, will definitely be very difficult to fight, and it turned out to be the case.

However, Marcus told Neil and his parents that the National Youth Basketball Tournament has a junior high school group and a high school group, and it is held once a year. Although Neil is about to graduate from junior high school, it does not matter. When Neil participates in this kind of competition again in the future, he will definitely be very experienced. He will not be directly crushed in the early stage of the competition like this time.

Louis and Nuana also told Marcus that they would continue to urge him to work hard and strengthen training, and let him join the school team in high school, continue to prepare for the national youth basketball game, and strive to win the championship trophy and the glittering gold medal. Gold medal, because that is too important for him to take the road of professional basketball player in the future.

Marcus was so relieved for Neil to hear his parents think so, to have such parents.

Neil also made a decision in his heart, actively hinting to himself that this is not an end, but just a beginning, and he will not give up. After this trip to New York, Neil also felt the biggest difference between Alexandria and New York. One is The world's financial center, an international metropolis, and a small, very remote city, he still had this idea in his mind for a while, train hard in high school, exercise hard, study hard, and hope to come to New York to study in college.

Although the following major games related to him are over, for him, it has just begun. After participating in this National Youth Basketball Tournament, he felt that those games he participated in before were not considered games. A training technique, nothing more.

So, Neil then started a new round of running with a higher goal and a farther vision.

He repeated every day, again and again, through Lavender's computer to check various Michael Jordan videos. After watching dozens of times, hundreds of times, he began to put them into practice. He practiced again and again. Homework, just do this, and sometimes even play basketball games. He chooses to operate a team by himself, organize, attack, and shoot all by himself. He really likes that kind of lore. The feeling of MVP, he finds it particularly exciting.

In the evening, every night, he would exercise with Lavender and his Wolves teammates. Because of him, Lavender also fell in love with sports and playing basketball, and her game skills are not bad now. Sometimes she would use her computer to Go to restaurants, restaurants, make an appointment with Neil, and then play basketball games, whoever loses will get something to eat, but the money is all paid by Lavender, because he always loses, and occasionally wins a game or two, thinking that his family has always been poor, and Neil often lived frugally, and couldn't bear him to pay, so he had to pay for it himself. However, both of them were very happy.

In a blink of an eye, as the time came when the shutter of the camera was pressed, they graduated from junior high school one by one. For Neil, there was no great regret in the three years of junior high school. This school also met Lavender, which made him lucky to meet such a good alumni. Even though Paulie treated him like that at the beginning, he always admired him from the second semester of the second semester to the end of the third grade, and never bullied him again. Fortunately, he met such a good teacher and teammates, which allowed him to participate in the national youth basketball game, which increased his knowledge, but the biggest regret was that he did not win the national youth basketball championship. This was Neil's biggest regret in the three years of junior high school.

(End of this chapter)