Su Xi and McNamara quickly became good friends. McNamara was a devout Catholic—rigorous, humble, sincere, and driven—qualities that Su Xi also possessed.
They were also both fans of Eminem. Eminem had swept the board this year, becoming the undisputed best-selling artist and "Man of the Year" for 2002.
McNamara liked Eminem because he was a white guy whose rap skills surpassed even the Black artists. McNamara hoped to carve out a place for himself in the Black-dominated world of basketball.
Su Xi, on the other hand, simply liked Eminem's cool, I-don't-give-a-damn attitude.
With shared interests and hobbies, the two young men became good friends in less than a single evening. The next day, they appeared in the cafeteria together before heading to practice.
As usual, McNamara was on offense, and Su Xi was on defense.
This continued for two straight weeks.
Under this high-intensity training regimen, the "Super Explosive Power" talent Su Xi had gotten from Reggie Williams increased to 70%. His defense against McNamara grew increasingly effective, his harassing pressure mounting. Out of ten possessions, he could now stop three or four.
This was an incredible accomplishment.
After all, McNamara was Pennsylvania's Mr. Basketball. His offensive skills were superb, and his four-year high school scoring total ranked seventh all-time in the state of Pennsylvania.
...
Although Boham had yet to speak with Su Xi, in his mind, Su Xi was already a hard-working, inspiring, and determined player.
He made a decision internally: he would keep this player on the first team.
'This isn't the NBA. The NBA is all about talent.'
'This is the NCAA. This is the Syracuse University Orange Team, run by Jim Boham. To hell with talent. Hard-working people deserve a chance.'
Jim Boham was an emotional man.
Time flew by, and soon it was September. Carmelo Anthony finally arrived at Syracuse University.
From the moment he set foot on campus, members of the Board of Trustees were there to greet him, with the New York media trailing close behind to cover the event.
Coach Jim and two of his assistants went to greet him as well.
Su Xi, McNamara, and a few other returning players stayed in the gym, waiting for Carmelo Anthony's 'inspection'.
This was the special treatment Syracuse University afforded Carmelo Anthony. On the basketball court, superstars had special privileges, even in the college ranks.
This phenomenon would become even more pronounced in the professional leagues, as seen in the disparities in salary, media exposure, and commercial value. In the NBA, a guaranteed minimum contract was only a few hundred thousand USD, whereas a superstar could command an annual salary of over twenty million USD. The adulation and endorsement deals superstars received were also on another level.
In college hoops, at least, everyone ate the same food, wore the same clothes, and had the same living arrangements.
"Gerry, you're a Five-Star Player too. How come you just showed up early for training, all quiet, with just your bag?" the team's starting power forward, Hakim Warrick, teased McNamara.
Hakim had arrived on campus on August 20th, so he had also started training early. He was a talented Black forward who was considered to have a shot at the NBA, though his chances weren't great. The NBA demanded an extremely high level of talent, and his height was a disadvantage.
"Everyone's different," McNamara said with a shrug, showing little emotion. He wasn't the jealous type; he preferred to just quietly work on improving himself.
"Besides, I'm a Five-Star Player because I met the standard. Carmelo is a Five-Star Player because the high school basketball ranking system's highest rating *is* five stars."
McNamara was exceptionally humble.
That was why Su Xi had befriended him.
Carmelo Anthony arrived at the gym with an entourage. He had his hair in cornrows and was dressed in an ostentatious, oversized hip-hop outfit. He had a baby face and a huge smile. He walked right up and greeted everyone enthusiastically. "Hey, fellas, great to meet you all. Let's unite and get some big things done!"
He went down the line, shaking hands and bumping chests with the coaching staff and his new teammates. Very street, very hip-hop.
Seeing this, Su Xi's memory drifted. He recalled Reggie Williams walking into this gym for the first time. It felt like the same grand reception; both of them had been so full of life and swagger.
The two figures overlapped in his mind's eye.
When Carmelo Anthony got to him, Su Xi shook his hand, bumped chests, and then patted him twice on the back with his left hand—the unique greeting he had shared with Reggie Williams.
Anthony was slightly taken aback by the two pats.
Su Xi stood at the end of the line. After Anthony had greeted everyone, he looked at Su Xi and asked, "Are you Chinese?"
"Yes," Su Xi nodded.
"Your fellow countryman Yao just became the number one pick in the NBA. You must be pretty amazing yourself, huh?" Anthony said, making polite conversation.
Su Xi said, "I don't really know how to play basketball."
He had no intention of pandering to Anthony. He met the highly-touted superstar's gaze directly, perhaps even looking down on him slightly.
'After all,' Su Xi thought, 'I already see myself as the heir apparent to the God of Basketball. There's no need to act subservient to this "super" Five-Star Player.'
Anthony wasn't exactly conventional either. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he gave a thumbs-up. "Cool! I like your rebellious streak."
He wasn't being sarcastic. He genuinely liked it.
Head Coach Jim Boham walked over and formally introduced Carmelo Anthony, as well as McNamara, to the team.
After a round of applause, Boham emphasized the team's rules and discipline.
Then, he had an assistant coach distribute the new season's playbook to every player.
He had updated the playbook over the summer, primarily modifying the backcourt tactics. Last season, the team's core ball-handler had been Reggie Williams. As a swingman, Williams had controlled the ball, effectively sidelining the point guard.
This season, with McNamara's arrival, some of those ball-handling responsibilities would return to the point guard position. Furthermore, Carmelo Anthony's style was quite different from Reggie Williams'. Reggie liked to bring the ball up the court himself for one-on-one iso plays. Carmelo Anthony played a more classic small forward game—his offensive skills were polished, his offensive arsenal was diverse, and he excelled at catching the ball on the wing to score.
As the players were flipping through their playbooks, last season's starting point guard, Carl Joseph, rushed in with his bag on his back.
He was late.
He quickly dropped his bag to the side and joined the line.
Jim Boham glanced at him, walked to the side, and called Carl Joseph over.
The players all silently shuffled to the other side of the court. Boham was a strict coach; Joseph was about to get an earful.
"I bet he's got at least 20 suicides,"
Hakim muttered.
But soon, Carl's loud shouts were heard: "Why? Why? Why?"
This surprised the players, and they all looked over.
What had gotten into Carl that made him dare to yell at the head coach?
Su Xi initially had no interest in the commotion, but his brow furrowed when he suddenly heard his name.
"...Why?! You'd rather keep that fragile Little Sheep Su Xi than me? You're sending me to the reserve team? You think I'm worse than *him*?"
"I won't accept it! I want to compete against him!"
Carl yelled, "This is against the rules! I'm going to file a complaint with the Board of Trustees' athletic committee!"
Jim Boham didn't expect Carl to have such a big reaction.
But his decision was made. He was going to cut Carl, a guard who had been mediocre last season and had an exceptionally lazy attitude in practice, and give the spot to the hard-working and proactive Su Xi. It would do wonders for the team's chemistry and have no downside.
Now that the team had McNamara, it didn't matter if Su Xi was actually better than Carl. What mattered was the atmosphere within the team.
"I've made my decision. There's no need to shout about it here," Boham said coldly, dismissing him. "Don't bother coming to practice anymore."
But Carl had already run over to Su Xi. He pointed a finger at him and bellowed, "Little Sheep Su Xi! You little piece of trash who's only here mooching off the team because of that asshole Reggie Williams! Do you dare go one-on-one with me?"
"That damn Reggie Williams already got himself killed in a car crash! You shouldn't be here! You don't deserve my spot!"
Carl's words were vicious.
His expression was savage.
Everyone on the team was disgusted with him, especially for the way he bad-mouthed Reggie Williams. When Reggie announced he was declaring for the draft, Carl had been the biggest ass-kisser on the team, even offering to carry Reggie's bags for him in the NBA. And now he was saying this.
Even Carmelo Anthony, who had just arrived, thought Carl had gone way too far.
McNamara even stepped forward. "First of all," he said, "you need to respect the head coach's decision instead of screaming about it. Second, you need to respect Reggie, who helped this team get to the Final Four. And finally, if you want a one-on-one, I'll play you."
"Who are you?" Carl glared at McNamara.
McNamara was about to introduce himself when Su Xi reached out and stopped him. He stepped out. "Fine. If you want a one-on-one, let's go."
Su Xi stepped forward.
This took many people by surprise.
Everyone knew Su Xi's basketball skills were mediocre at best. That included McNamara, who, despite training with Su Xi for so long, believed he could only play defense.
"Jack..." Hakim tried to talk him down. "Let the coach handle it."
"No!"
Su Xi shook his head.
'If I don't shut this bastard's provocation down right now, I'll never be at peace with myself. My conviction will be shaken. I'm going to be the God of Basketball, after all.'
He said coldly to Carl, "A buzzing pest like you is truly disgusting."
"Five baskets!"