When he arrived at the training ground, not all the teammates had arrived yet, but the manager and coaching staff were already there, along with a few people he hadn’t seen yesterday—probably trainers and doctors.

Brown saw Edward Thompson, who had completely lost the energy and spirit he had yesterday, and laughed, “Leo Carter, you’re here so early! You took over a thousand shots on your first day of training, that’s impressive.”

Edward Thompson wore a long face. “Don’t mention it, I feel like running away.”

Last night before going to bed, he was still full of motivation.

But when he woke up this morning, he felt like his arms were about to fall off. He even canceled breakfast with the dorm auntie, since he would have had to make it himself. Instead, he went out and bought two hot dogs and some milk.

Brown laughed heartily, “Come on, sit here, I’ll give you a massage.”

Edward Thompson didn’t refuse. If it weren’t for training, today he would have wanted to ask Liam Pike to go get a massage.

Once Brown started, Edward Thompson couldn’t help but twitch from the pressure.

But it actually felt good, and when he felt the massage hit the right spot, he said, “Steve Brown, I think you’re even more professional than Xavier Johnson.”

“That’s right, I actually stayed on the team because of my massage skills.” Brown sounded a bit proud, but then gave a wry smile. “Back in my freshman year, I hoped to be part of the varsity team, but I didn’t make the roster in either my first or second year. Still, I didn’t want to leave, so I took on the job of club manager, which everyone else thought was a hassle. Leo Carter, you’re working so hard, I hope you make the roster!”

Why did he suddenly feel like he was carrying someone else’s dream?

Even though the expectation didn’t seem like much, Edward Thompson felt a bit of pressure, but also a bit more motivation.

Still, he replied calmly, “Don’t expect too much from me. I just think basketball is fun... but I’ll work hard.”

“Hmph, enough talking. Are you done resting? If you are, go get ready. Today we’re working on legs.”

An unfriendly voice suddenly came from the side, startling Edward Thompson.

But after Henry Bibby finished speaking, he turned to talk to the assistant coaches, not even giving Edward Thompson a chance to respond.

Enjoyment time was over. Edward Thompson got up and did warm-up exercises with Brown’s help.

Just as Brown said, Edward Thompson felt that this club manager really could do everything besides playing basketball!

As it got close to 9 o’clock, the men’s basketball club members gradually arrived.

Edward Thompson did a rough count—there were more than 50 people!

Henry Bibby gave a brief introduction of the 11 new members joining this year. Each time someone was introduced, there was a smattering of welcoming applause, including for Edward Thompson.

Only one person was different—Nate Hale.

This newcomer received enthusiastic cheers from the teammates.

Brown said to Edward Thompson, “Besides the three who passed the tryout with you that day, we had seven more join over the summer—some are freshmen, some stood out in campus games. Of these 11, only Nate Hale is confirmed for the main roster, but you’re not competing with him...”

Edward Thompson nodded at this.

He knew about this teammate—well, he hadn’t before, but lately Vivian Carter and Liam Pike had been filling him in on team matters.

Nate Hale, ranked 89th among all high schoolers in the US this year, a top-100 recruit that the Trojans managed to snag. Last season, he led Mission Viejo High School to the California high school league quarterfinals, narrowly losing to Inglewood High in the quarterfinals.

After introducing the newcomers, Henry Bibby began organizing the first team training of the new season.

The difference was obvious: the teammates whose names Edward Thompson remembered were assigned by Henry Bibby to train with assistant coaches or trainers.

The other 30-plus people were assigned to train with upperclassmen who hadn’t made the official roster.

When Edward Thompson didn’t hear his name called for the assistant coach group, he couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. But his name wasn’t on the list for the upperclassmen group either... Henry Bibby called him aside.

He had felt like he was done for, but suddenly perked up and asked excitedly, “Coach, am I not training with them?”

Henry Bibby shot back, “What do you want to train with them for?”

“Uh...” This time Edward Thompson was stumped.

Henry Bibby snorted, “Can’t guess this time? Go work on your fundamentals! Sam, come teach him defensive footwork. He’s very confident in his stamina—wear him out for me!”

Chapter 6: Unexpected Recognition

He felt targeted again, but Edward Thompson couldn’t do anything about it.

Who told him to be so bad?

Turn frustration into motivation!

Sam Hayes, another technical coach on the team, had already heard from Xavier Johnson about how much the head coach ‘favored’ this newcomer.

He didn’t say much, just got straight to work, guiding Edward Thompson through warm-ups, helping him loosen up his muscles and joints, and then immediately starting training.

Yesterday’s shooting practice had already felt tedious to Edward Thompson.

But now, he thought yesterday’s training was bliss—defensive footwork fundamentals were true torture!

And the assistant coaches’ attitudes were very different: Xavier Johnson was enthusiastic and talkative.

This assistant coach in front of him was much colder and spoke very directly.

“This isn’t right. Do it again.”