Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Since Garnett, Kobe, and McGrady proved that high-schoolers could succeed in the NBA, more and more high school players felt no need to take the college challenge.

DeAngelo Collins was one of them, cocky and full of himself, he thought of college as nothing but a burden.

Today's game against the Jade Team was billed as the ultimate battle, with Yu Fei having a photographer, Quentin Demio, on his side, and Collins followed by a professional film crew aiming to shoot a documentary about his rise from an obscure street kid to an NBA star.

The warm-up ended, and the starting players of both teams stood at center court.

Surrounding them were hundreds of scouts and college coaches, including Louisville Team head coach Rick Pitino and Milwaukee Bucks Team general manager Ernie Grunfeld, as well as Wizards Team president Michael Jordan lurking in the background.

Before the game started, Yu Fei had Will Wilkins step back; he wanted to jump ball against Collins.

This move displeased Collins's friends.

A group of thugs from New York made various noises to distract Yu Fei.

"Hey, Chinese guy, D-Lo's going to show you the gap!"

"Fifth and sixteenth are completely different!"

"D-Lo's going to teach you a harsh lesson!"

Clearly, their trash talk was to Collins's liking.

Collins smiled confidently, tacitly approving of his supporters' behavior, while Yu Fei did not respond to the crowd, merely waiting for the referee to toss the ball into the air.

Having not played center for a while, Yu Fei felt rusty jumping for the ball and Collins won possession for the Grey Wolf Team.

Without a doubt, the Grey Wolf Team was Collins's one-man show, although surrounded by top 100 seniors and top 50 juniors nationwide, it was a team led by Collins.

Only when Collins approved could others start their show.

For Collins, who was eager to prove to everyone he was far superior to Yu Fei, no one was allowed to take the ball from him before he achieved his objective.

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The first play, Collins went hard with a back-down against Wilkins; he stayed in the post for about 10 seconds, and in this match, where no one would call a five-second backing violation, his post move was truly devastating.

Unable to stop him, Wilkins gave up the score to Collins's sheer force.

Collins's entourage erupted into raucous cheers.

Next, Roy's drive met with Collins's volleyball-style block.

"Easy!!!"

Collins's friends loudly mocked the Jade Team.

"Brandon, just stand outside." Yu Fei pulled Roy up from the floor and had him inbound the ball.

Roy looked resigned; his shooting was off today, and penetrating meant he couldn't escape Collins's defense.

Jade Team inbounded from the sideline, Yu Fei got the ball, facing off against Levi Watkins, the 60th ranked SF from the Class of 2001, with no excess movement, just a shooting fake to get his opponent off balance, he burst inside the three-point line, took another step inside the foul line, gathered the ball and leaped powerfully into the air.

Collins didn't expect his teammate to be broken so quickly, nor did he expect Yu Fei to disregard his interior defense completely.

His help defense hesitated for a second, and that one second was enough to decide the outcome of this offense and defense.

Yu Fei's right hand flashed past Collins's block, glided like a butterfly over his body to finish with a thunderous dunk.

Collins glared as if he had been greatly humiliated.

Yu Fei turned towards Collins's disciples, tauntingly asked, "Why aren't you guys yelling anymore? Continue, let me enjoy it more."

They satisfied Yu Fei, hurling even uglier trash talk, believing that Collins would definitely take his revenge.

Collins continued to play low post.

In Yu Fei's view, his offensive means were too one-dimensional.

If they let Collins play one-on-one like this, perhaps he would be unbeatable, but why should they let him?

Previous teams Collins faced may not have had a forward with the height, wingspan, and athletic ability, but the Jade Team could use Wilkins to hold the inside and Yu Fei to interfere from behind.

The same offensive move, but this time, Collins was frustrated under the double team.

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This was simply inconceivable for him, for no opponent before had been able to withstand his strength.

Wilkins seemed to be able to only hard guard, but he bought enough time for Fei to complete the help defense.

Five seconds after Collins's failed offense, Fei drove the fast break and slammed the ball against the board, with Iguodala following up gleefully, completing an alley-oop dunk.

In this world another prophet will emerge, as endless seas will carry another divine ship, the beloved heroes will be vanquished and never recover, and even great Achilles will be returned to Thessaly.

DeAngelo Collins failed to understand this principle. Ignoring his teammates' wishes to share the burden, he took the ball again, attempting to breach the opponent's defense.

This time, Wilkins pretended to be overwhelmed, letting him penetrate deep into their territory, and just as Collins was about to finish his move, Fei appeared from the heavens and plucked the ball with both hands.

The atmosphere in the Rosman Center became wild.

Collins's supporters fell silent, and scouts, college coaches, and NBA professionals were all shocked by the young man before them.

The number five high school player in all of America seemed to be no match for him.

Fei dribbled to the front court, and Levi Watkins still did his best to defend. He caught up, blocking Fei's path.

"Don't you feel ashamed following someone like that? You're at least a top 60 in America."

Fei had barely finished his trash talking when he suddenly stopped and pulled back, popping a high-arc three-pointer over Watkins that was unblockable.

"Swish!!!"

Fei turned toward Collins's friends and family, smiling and said, "The noisy dwarfs finally shut up."

Fei did not remind Michael Jordan of Scottie Pippen, or rather, today's Fei didn't resemble Pippen at all.

Whether it was his zone defense that spanned the area inside the three-point line, his unstoppable fast breaks, or the abrupt stop-and-pop three-pointer that seemed completely mismatched with his stature, Jordan was reminded of another former teammate, Brad Sellers (SF/PF/C), who completely lost out to Pippen in internal team competition.

Jordan often heard people say that someone has the talent of a superstar from the neck down. If this statement applied to Sellers, then his entire body was filled with superstar talent, except he lacked the big heart and tough character necessary to be a true superstar.

Sellers could not withstand Jordan's tests, nor could he face Pippen's competitive drive—in fact, fragile inner strength was precisely why Sellers fell to the ninth pick in 1986, which wasn't even a lottery pick back then.

Jordan believed in his first instincts.

Fei's first impression on him was flawless.

The exceptional static and dynamic talent at the forward position, the technical reserves that allowed him to move up a level effortlessly, the full-fledged fighting spirit and competitive desire, and the ability to perform excellently even in the face of a challenging game environment.

His mentality and mental strength were far stronger than Sellers's.

What was surprising was that this was just the beginning of Fei's rampage.

Half a minute later, Fei called for a pick and roll on the outside and named Collins.

If Collins didn't step out, Fei would take a three-pointer. And he hit it again!

That three-pointer elicited a "Wow" from the crowd because it proved that Fei's three-point shot was a regular move, not just a lucky fluke.

The mentally unbalanced Collins actually lost the ball during a one-on-one low post offense, Fei picked up the ball and sprinted to the front court to complete a spin and a behind-the-back dunk.

As the game continued, one of Collins's fatal weaknesses was exploited by Fei—if faced with a pick and roll, he was clueless.

If Collins didn't step out, he would be easily bypassed even if he did come out.

Moreover, once Collins struggled on the offensive end, he lacked the ability to create opportunities for his teammates.

Unfortunately, this was one of Fei's strongest aspects.

Fei's performance gradually matched the description given to Jordan by the Wizards' scout—the taller version of Scottie Pippen.

With three minutes left in the game, the decisive moment of the match occurred.

Fei called for another pick and roll from the outside, Collins still didn't come out.

But Fei didn't opt for an outside shot; instead, he drove the ball straight to the rim. Undoubtedly, the era of DeAngelo Collins as a top player in America had come to an end, his downfall heralded the rise of another dazzling star, a destiny determined from the start, time always sweeps away what doesn't belong.

Fei erupted like a whale breaking the ocean surface, slamming a barbaric dunk against Collins's body, the thunderous sound brought the game to its climax.

This was the end of DeAngelo Collins.

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