Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The fourth day of the camp was the all-star game, and before the start of the all-star game, Sonny Vacarro personally awarded the best players of the upper and lower grade groups.

The best players of the upper grade group were Yu Fei and Antonio Lawrence (PG), who was ranked No. 42 in the whole of America for the class of 2001.

There was no suspense in the selection of the lower grade group's best players, with LeBron James and Sebastian Telfair being chosen.

Furthermore, according to the unanimous opinion of the ABCD Camp scouts, Yu Fei officially surpassed DeAngelo Collins on the fourth day of the camp to become the top player of the camp.

In the subsequent all-star game, the Jade Team certainly stole the spotlight, with Yu Fei participating in the main game and the slam dunk contest, Iguodala in the slam dunk contest, and Roy in the skills challenge and three-point contest, but none of them won the championship in the individual events.

Fortunately, as the newly minted number one player of the camp, Yu Fei got to team up with James in the all-star game, and Little Bron's assists nearly stuffed him full.

Yu Fei scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a single game, and after lifting the all-star game MVP trophy, he ended his ABCD Camp journey perfectly.

After the camp ended, according to the original plan, Yu Fei was to capitalize on the momentum by announcing his entry into the NBA Draft of 2001 before returning to his hometown.

But an invitation from Sonny Vacarro caused Yu Fei to postpone his plans.

Vacarro invited Yu Fei to join a top AAU Team in Oakland, California, but the team wasn't going to participate in any AAU competitions; instead, they were scheduled to play exhibition games.

After these exhibition games are over, Vacarro, on behalf of Adidas, would show Yu Fei their "sincerity."

Moreover, Adidas would cover the costs of round-trip flights, hotel accommodation, and meals for Yu Fei's trip.

All Yu Fei had to do was get ready to travel again, keep the right mindset, and spend another weekend listening to 2PAC's "California Love."

Those were the days immediately following the end of the ABCD Camp when Yu Fei's national ranking jumped up eleven spots, officially taking over DeAngelo Collins' position, and rising to No. 5 in the nation.

Collins did not fall to the sixth spot as expected, but instead plummeted all the way to Yu Fei's former position—No. 16 in the nation.

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Yu Fei didn't care about Collins; he only knew he was in a position that drew nationwide attention. There were only four high school players ranked ahead of him, and certainly, he had no chance to prove himself better than the top four before the draft.

Eddie Curry, Tyson Chandler, Kwame Brown, DaJuan Wagner.

Yu Fei committed these four names to memory.

Then, Yu Fei joined the renowned Oakland Soldiers, and when he saw LeBron James on the team, he knew the coming days wouldn't be uneventful.

Before Yu Fei's arrival, the Soldiers might have revolved around James, but now, even though he was ranked No. 1 in the entire nation for the class of 2003, he had to defer to the player ranked No. 5 in the class of 2001.

James didn't show any dissatisfaction and said to Yu Fei, "I will help you perform better, just like I did in the all-star game a few days ago!"

Carefully considering James' words, one could sense that he still wished to control the team's ball possession.

Yu Fei, like a reincarnation of DeAngelo Collins, nodded slightly and said, "Yes, we've worked together before, and I know you'll assist me well."

James smiled, "That's for sure!"

"Haha!" Yu Fei laughed heartily, "I just knew that us two kids without fathers would cooperate closely!"

In the first game, even though they were not familiar with the team's tactical system, Yu Fei and James' talent and readiness for battle meant they could disregard all that.

The ball possession distribution between Yu Fei and James was sixty-forty.

Yu Fei sixty, James forty.

"Hey, LeBron, go for a dunk!"

This was Yu Fei's favorite thing to do.

In a set play, he would suddenly call for a pick and roll, pointing at the hoop for James to charge, then all he needed to do was toss the ball high up into the air,

Then, when it was James' turn to feed the ball to Yu Fei, Yu Fei became nitpicky.

LeBron, you should do it like this...

LeBron, you should do it like that...

LeBron, if you keep passing the ball so carelessly, 'The Chosen One' is going to get angry.

James knew that Yu Fei was mostly joking, so even though he heard these words, he didn't take them to heart.

But unknowingly, a new hierarchy had been established.

In this team, Yu Fei's status was supreme, and even LeBron had to follow his orders.

Then, because they hadn't encountered any strong opponents, the two of them almost dominated the games while laughing and joking.

In the following days, Yu Fei couldn't vouch for others, but he knew he was having a great time, especially when considering the satisfaction of LeBron looking to him for approval each time he had the ball—it was indescribable.

They had to play three exhibition games in three days, and during this period, Yu Fei declared over and over, "This is my team, and I intend to take LeBron and the others under my wing."

As an underclassman, although LeBron had his ambitions, he didn't feel that being Yu Fei's little brother was shameful. He even told the media, "Fulai is like a big brother to me."

Yu Fei further showcased himself in the games. Almost all the professionals who observed him believed that he had the talent and readiness to directly challenge the NBA.

After the exhibition games of The Oakland Soldiers, Yu Fei met Vacarro and his wife Pam in the Marriott Hotel he was staying at.

The hotel was also occupied by several of Vacarro's trusted people, one of whom was Chris Dennis, whom Yu Fei didn't know was the first in Vacarro's camp to spot his talent.

Suddenly, Dennis pulled out a pair of exquisite sneakers and tossed them to Yu Fei.

Yu Fei noticed the unique designs on them, along with his own signature and the No. 44—the number from his camp jersey.

He immediately realized that these might be Adidas sneakers designed especially for him.

Yu Fei excitedly looked at Dennis.

Dennis said, "If you tell me you're joining the NBA at the end of high school and are willing to join the Adidas family, I'll give you the other shoe."

Witnessing this scene, Quentin DiMio couldn't believe what was happening before him; had Adidas really designed a custom pair of sneakers just to woo Yu Fei?

Had the same thing happened with McGrady, Kobe, and Garnett?

"I'm in!" Yu Fei lost his rationality, consumed by the desire to have his own signature sneakers immediately, "I'm in!"

Dennis then tossed the other shoe to Yu Fei.

Vacarro chuckled, "So you've decided to skip college and enter this year's NBA draft?"

"Yes," Yu Fei nodded.

Vacarro exclaimed, "Bingo!"

"You've made a great decision, kid, but before that, you need to announce it publicly, then find a reliable agent. If you don't know who's reliable, I can recommend a few people to you..."

Yu Fei's relationship with Vacarro quickly heated up.

Initially, Yu Fei was skeptical about Vacarro's intentions, but the more he got to know him, the more he believed that this man, known as "Uncle Sonny," was so wholeheartedly helping high school players not just out of a desire to get back at the NCAA but also because it was a win-win for him.

Almost every high school star he had helped maintained good relations with him, and as these individuals achieved success in the NBA, they boosted his reputation and network. In the process, he obtained everything he wanted.

From then on, Yu Fei began calling Vacarro "Uncle Sonny."

Before leaving California, Yu Fei learned why Vacarro had someone bring him a pair of custom sneakers—starting next year, Adidas planned to organize a national AAU championship in Seattle and they wanted Yu Fei to represent them locally, wearing those sneakers in a promotional shoot.

This was a good deal for Yu Fei, so he agreed outright, with plans to shoot the promotional video in Seattle at the end of April.

Before that, Yu Fei had to return to Kent City, resume his life as a senior, and maintain his training to ensure he graduated smoothly. Then, he would find the right time to declare for this year's draft and publicly scout for an agent.

There was a lot to do, but compared to before, these things were naturally unfolding, as the door to the NBA had already swung open for him.