Chapter One Henry Lincoln

"Pick and roll! Pick and roll! Set the pick and roll!"

Inside the Utah Valley Community College gym, the air was filled with the squeaking of sneakers against the floor and the frenzied shouts of coaches on the sidelines.

Utah Valley Community College, as a junior college in the United States, may have "College" at the end of its English name, "Utah Valley Community College," but the level of this "College" is so low that it can't even make it into NCAA Division I. Or rather, the schools that can play in NCAA Division I are basically the 400-plus four-year universities in the U.S.; as for other junior colleges and technical schools, they can only play in Division II, or sometimes don't even qualify for Division II. Utah Valley Community College is one of those junior colleges that can't even make it into NCAA Division II, which says a lot about the school's level.

Although Utah Valley Community College is considered a bottom-tier school in the U.S., in a country where sports and entertainment culture are highly developed, even the worst schools have their own basketball teams. And surprisingly, even though this school is fourth-tier or even unranked in the U.S., its basketball team is not the worst among all American colleges—in fact, it's more like third-tier or even second-tier.

Not long ago, this school's basketball team defeated the University of Utah in a friendly match, which shocked the entire state of Utah. Although Utah is considered underdeveloped compared to other states in the U.S., and basketball is also underdeveloped here, even so, the University of Utah's basketball team is top-tier in the state—arguably the best in Utah, and even a powerhouse nationally.

Under these circumstances, the University of Utah originally wanted to schedule some warm-up games against weak teams before March Madness to stay in shape and boost their confidence. But they never expected this kind of result.

So now, even though it's already March and March Madness is about to begin, most basketball teams that can't participate in the NCAA tournament are already on break. But at this time, the Utah Valley Community College basketball team is still busy—especially on March 8th, when the team welcomed a group of special guests.

And it was precisely because of these special guests that all the players on the team were extremely excited, even exhilarated.

After all, for a bottom-tier American school like this, it's rare to have the head coach of the Utah Jazz, Jerry Sloan, the head coach of the University of Utah, Rick Majerus, as well as scouts from top NCAA teams and NBA teams, all standing on the sidelines watching them play.

Although for these players, the NBA is a distant dream—almost impossible—if they can perform well in today's scrimmage, getting into the NCAA would be great. Not only would it fulfill their NCAA dreams, but it would also give them a chance to transfer to a four-year university. If they can seize this opportunity, it could change their lives and destinies.

After all, just like in China, junior college students in the U.S. also have the chance to move up to four-year universities.

Of course, as a member of this team, Henry Lincoln wasn't particularly excited. For him, he was different from the others—he wasn't a real basketball player. In fact, he'd only been involved in basketball for less than a year. In that time, he'd just about learned the basic rules, how to dribble, how to lay up, and how to shoot. As for any fancy moves or basketball skills, he didn't have any.

For Henry Lincoln, not even the presence of Jerry Sloan and Rick Majerus, these famous NBA and NCAA coaches, could interest him. Even if Michael Jordan himself stood in front of him, he wouldn't care in the slightest.

What interested Henry Lincoln most right now was when he could make more money.

After all, this is America—the paradise of the rich, a place that belongs only to the wealthy. And Henry Lincoln's dream now is to become one of them.

"Mr. Mason, nice job!"