NCAA Opening? No!

Chapter 6: NCAA Opening? No!

"Smith, Sun, congratulations."

Smith introduced himself first, then reached out and gave Sun Hao a big hug.

Americans always seemed very enthusiastic.

Because of his past life as an assistant coach at UConn, Sun Hao felt a natural affinity for American basketball.

And his English was fluent; the two of them hit it off after just a few exchanges.

Amid the laughter and conversation, Sun Hao felt that his chances of playing in America were practically sealed.

"We'll give you a chance to play for Sierra Canyon School."

Smith finally gave his answer.

In this game, Sun Hao's performance had exceeded his expectations.

He had thought the Yellow Race lacked physicality, but Sun Hao was the exact opposite.

He had thought scoring thirty or forty points in this kind of game was nothing special, but Sun Hao had dropped fifty.

It had to be said that Sun Hao had truly earned himself an opportunity, even if it was one Smith hadn't initially planned to offer.

"It's an honor."

Sun Hao experienced the feeling of two years of effort culminating in that moment of success.

"However, we can't offer you a full scholarship. You'll have to pay your own way."

But Smith's next words quickly dampened Sun Hao's joy.

It wasn't because of the money; his family's financial situation was decent enough that he could afford to go self-funded.

The key was the team's position.

Having spent so many years in the NCAA, he knew what a scholarship from an American school meant.

American college basketball wasn't like the NBA; there were no mandatory roster limits, but whether you got playing time was closely tied to your scholarship status.

Generally speaking, if a school was willing to offer a full scholarship, it meant you were guaranteed a spot in the rotation at the start of the season.

Conversely, getting playing time would be extremely difficult.

This opportunity looked like a chance, but it was really just a foot in the door—one that would shatter the moment you stepped through.

Sun Hao looked at Smith, hoping to hear him explain further.

But Smith didn't elaborate; he just smiled back at Sun Hao.

It seemed that while he was willing to give the opportunity, it was like a non-guaranteed contract in the NBA—Sun Hao would have to fight for more on his own later.

"I understand."

Sun Hao nodded.

They chatted a bit more before Smith said he had things to do and left.

Watching Smith's retreating figure, Sun Hao still felt a sense of reluctance.

He had already shown enough strength, but Sierra Canyon School's regard for him was only slightly more than Hongyuan's had been—just barely.

He shook his head, casting the thought aside.

Regardless, this was still a chance to go to an American high school, one he had worked two years to earn.

He still wanted to give it a try.

It was just going to be a bit harder than he'd anticipated.

He wasn't afraid.

Packing his things into his bag, Sun Hao said goodbye to his teammates and prepared to head back and rest for a while.

Partly because he was genuinely tired from going all out tonight, and partly because the gap between reality and his ideals meant he needed to go home and readjust his mindset.

As he walked out of the locker room, he collided directly with someone coming in.

He didn't move, but the other person stumbled back several steps.

Looking up, he saw it was a European.

The man looked at Sun Hao in surprise, clearly not expecting Sun Hao to knock him back like that.

But he quickly smiled and spoke to Sun Hao.

"Bob Raul, I'm the head coach of the Real Madrid Youth Team."

The man introduced himself in English, but Sun Hao looked quite surprised.

He hadn't expected there to be other coaches at tonight's game.

And a coach from a European team, no less!

He knew about Real Madrid from Spain; they had both a football and a basketball team, both very strong.

The football team went without saying—Beckham, Ronaldo, Zidane were all world-famous.

The most famous name in basketball is the genius player Luka Dončić.

"Did you need something from me?"

Sun Hao had no idea what this suddenly appearing Spanish Coach wanted with him.

"I'd like to invite you to play for the Real Madrid Youth Team."

Raul's words caught Sun Hao completely off guard.

It felt like he'd finally, after countless hardships, won over his dream girl—only for her best friend to confess she liked him instead.

It was like a fill-in-the-blank question where he'd suddenly remembered the answer, only to realize it had turned into a multiple-choice problem.

And this extra option was one he'd never even considered before.

At first, he'd planned to play CBA with Yi Jianlian, then enter the NBA.

After failing his tryout with Hongyuan, he'd switched to playing at an American high school, then NCAA, and finally the NBA.

As for Europe, even though he could communicate in English thanks to his past life, he knew no one there and nothing about the place.

Plus, he'd only ever heard of European basketball without any real exposure to it. Going there meant adapting to everything from scratch.

No matter how he looked at it, it just didn't suit him.

But maybe because Smith's offer wasn't as good as he'd expected, Sun Hao didn't refuse outright. Instead, he invited Raul into the locker room.

Hearing him out wouldn't cost anything.

And despite all the drawbacks he'd just considered, Europe had also produced plenty of NBA stars. It wasn't a completely impossible destination.

Once they were seated in the locker room, Raul laid out all his terms.

Room and board covered, guaranteed playing time.

Compared to Smith's offer, Raul's was far more generous.

Yeah... room and board was seriously tempting.

Now Sun Hao was even more torn.

Should he go play at Sierra Canyon School, seizing the opportunity he'd spent two years writing letters to earn, or head to Spain for the better conditions?

The former was his original plan, the latter a sudden wild card.

Choosing the former meant sticking to the plan he'd always believed was the safest route into the NBA.

Choosing the latter meant better opportunities, but also significant risk—because European guards weren't exactly in high demand in the NBA at this point.

He couldn't decide on the spot, so he told Raul he needed time to think it over.

Raul agreed, but he could only stay in Guangdong for a week.

Since getting a visa would take time, if Sun Hao really wanted to go to Spain, he'd probably have to give an answer by tomorrow.

After seeing Raul out, Sun Hao slung his backpack over one shoulder and left the gym alone.

It was already autumn in October, but Guangdong's temperature was still like summer. Even at night, a single layer was enough.

From leaving the gym to catching the bus, and then on the bus itself, Sun Hao's mind was churning over the choice.

Finally, he looked up at the passing scenery of Guangdong through the window, and a decision crystallized in his heart.

Going to an American high school had plenty of advantages, but the difficulty of making it big was greater, and the opportunities fewer.

There were just too many guards in the States—a bunch of athletic freaks. The advantages he had now wouldn't be advantages there at all.

Not to mention he didn't even have a full scholarship.

In other words, he'd be riding the bench for a considerable stretch at the start.

For him, sitting on the bench would seriously slow down his growth rate.

It was like the difference between drills and real combat—the actual results were worlds apart.

Sure, with his system, he'd eventually make it. But the Five-Year Pact with Li Yuanwei and the others? That might not hold.

In contrast, Europe valued guards more, so he'd have more opportunities.

That was the decisive factor.

Rather than rot on the bench in America, he might as well go to Europe and speed up leveling his system.

And there was another reason swaying his choice: his hobbies.

Everyone has hobbies. Sun Hao had two: besides drinking goji berry tea, he loved to travel.

The goji berry tea was purely for health.

As for travel, his philosophy was simple: life was short enough. If he didn't get out and see the world, he'd be doing himself a disservice.

Back in his NCAA days, he'd traveled all over most of America. Now that he had a chance to go to Europe, he Didn't Want to Miss it.

Once the decision was made, everything else was just cutting through the knot.

He went home and told his parents his plan.

They were pretty open-minded and fully supported him going to play in Europe.

Even his mom was preparing to go to Europe with him, but Sun Hao refused immediately.

He had long since passed the age of being a mama's boy, and the key was that bringing his mom along would make a lot of things inconvenient for him!

It definitely wasn't that he was craving those European fillies' bodies.

He just needed to become independent early.

His mom was eventually convinced.

After settling things at home, Sun Hao made consecutive calls to Smith and Raul.

Smith was somewhat shocked and regretful about Sun Hao's decision to decline Sierra Canyon School, but he didn't say anything else about it.

The opportunity was something Sun Hao had earned himself, so of course he had the right to choose to give it up.

Sun Hao then called Raul.

Raul welcomed him on behalf of Real Madrid first, then told him to hurry up and get his visa sorted.

Sun Hao's parents had connections, and a few days later they successfully resolved his visa issue.

A week later, Sun Hao and Raul prepared to head to Madrid, the capital of Spain.

That was also where Real Madrid's youth team was located.

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