Chapter 165: The Perceptive Englishman

The basketball was deftly controlled on the court, yet the players from both competing sides looked somewhat out of sorts.

It was already December, and the Stanford University exchange delegation arrived in Jinling right on schedule. Following the welcome ceremony, their varsity team commenced a friendly match against the Chenguang Foreign Language School varsity team the very next day.

Turgun had been warmly welcomed by Chenguang Foreign Language School upon his arrival in Jinling. Although he was merely a high school student joining their institution, schools everywhere would undoubtedly roll out the red carpet for someone of Turgun's caliber. Moreover, Turgun's enrollment had also brought along a special assistant for the Chenguang Foreign Language School high school varsity team.

Ma Dongmei's safe return from an away game with a hard-fought victory had set Wang Lei's mind at ease. Naturally, he had no desire to idle about doing nothing all day, so he accepted the invitation from Chenguang Foreign Language School to coach their varsity team. After all, Wang Lei wanted to keep a close eye on Turgun while simultaneously guiding him to further strengthen his physique and basketball skills.

Wang Lei's addition thrilled Chenguang Foreign Language School beyond measure. Regardless of how long he might stay, his sheer fame alone was undeniable, and as an all-around talent, even if he were just placed there as a mascot, he would still command immense attention.

Once the match against the Stanford University varsity team got underway, the North American players—who had started out full of arrogance and disdain, intending to teach these kids a lesson while incidentally getting a warm-up—were caught completely off guard by Turgun's unreasonable three-pointers and dazzling ball-handling right from the opening whistle.

As a member of the Pac-12 Athletic Conference, the Stanford University varsity team was by no means a powerhouse or a traditional basketball powerhouse on a national scale in North America, but they were certainly no ordinary team either. Their overall strength placed them at the very top of the second tier across the entire North American West Coast. Pitted against the Chenguang Foreign Language School varsity team, a North American university squad possessing such exceptional athletic ability was essentially the difference between an elephant and a kitten.

The players from Stanford University never expected that among this group of opposing kids there would be such an anomaly as Turgun. Such outstanding ball-handling and shooting prowess were rarely seen even among North American collegiate players.

Standing on the sidelines, Wang Lei watched as Turgun used his agility and technique to toy with the muscle-bound players from North America. A smug smile inevitably crept across his face; regardless of anything else, this kid was entirely his creation.

However, even though Turgun displayed an ability in this friendly match that seemed almost a tier higher than his opponents, his teammates were unfortunately more than a tier below them. Consequently, looking at the overall score, the Stanford University varsity team still held a crushing lead, while Chenguang Foreign Language School's points were almost exclusively scored by Turgun alone.

Although Wang Lei had been coaching the team for just a few days, it was a great pity that there were no qualified players whatsoever in this high school squad. There was indeed a wealthy second-generation heir who wanted to prove himself, but his grandstanding was ruthlessly crushed by Wang Lei, to the point where he didn't even get to share the court with Turgun.

Despite missing a leg, Wang Lei was still more than capable of bullying ordinary people. The gap between professional and non-professional players is sometimes truly astronomical.

On the court, the Stanford University varsity team was still double-teaming and swarming Turgun, yet Turgun continued to score against them basket after basket. Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Jim Johnson, the head coach of the Stanford University varsity team, could no longer contain his curiosity and walked over to the side of the court where Wang Lei was stationed.

"Excuse me, are you the person in charge here?"

Jim Johnson did not for a moment suspect that the young Wang Lei was actually the true person in charge. Instead, he walked directly toward Liu Siping, the former head coach of the Chenguang Foreign Language School varsity team and now Wang Lei's assistant and secretary, who was standing right behind Wang Lei.

Although Jim Johnson had a fleeting moment of doubt regarding Wang Lei's height, upon seeing Wang Lei's face, he simply assumed Wang Lei must be an assistant coach or something similar.

"Uh, well, the one in front is!"

Although Liu Siping didn't understand the English Jim Johnson was speaking, he could roughly gauge the man's intent from his tone and gestures. After all, any coach watching Turgun's performance on the court right now would inevitably want to find out more about him.

"Whoa, I didn't expect to see such a young coach. Hello, sir. I'm Jim Johnson, head coach of the Cardinals. You can call me Jim."

"Hello, Jim. To be honest, I'm indeed not the person in charge. I'm only in charge of a specific player on the court. It seems you're here for him."

Wang Lei had specifically studied English for a period of time back when he was preparing for his North American tryouts, so simple communication posed no major problem.

"Haha, you're right, sir. I can tell that the player performing best out there is unique. His stage shouldn't be here, but in the best basketball league in the world. Could you introduce this player to me in detail?"

Jim Johnson hadn't expected Wang Lei to be so direct, but since the other party was so straightforward, there was no longer any need for him to conceal his purpose.

"Mr. Johnson, I have to say, you North Americans truly possess an inherent arrogance when it comes to basketball. I think if you were to pay attention to the sports news over on our side, you would know who that kid is. He is the MVP of the youth basketball division in the largest national games we just concluded, and he is only seventeen this year."

"Well, I admit you have a point, but I must clarify that I am not a North American. My hometown is in Europe. Still, this young man is certainly exceptional enough; no matter where he is placed, he should be the brightest star. I'm quite curious about what plans he has for his future."

Jim Johnson wasn't really a North American at all. Although he bore a very common name in North America, he had actually grown up in England during his childhood before moving to North America later on.

"Just as you said, Mr. Johnson, I very much hope to see him perform on a grander stage, and he himself wishes to challenge stronger opponents. Here, his talent and abilities cannot be fully unleashed."

"Haha, this has got to be the best news I've heard on this trip. Let me reintroduce myself: I'm Jim Johnson, current head coach of the Stanford University varsity team. I cordially invite you—uh, may I ask what your name is?"

"My surname is Wang, and his name is Turgun, Turgun Memet."

"I cordially invite Mr. Wang and Mr. Turgun to visit us at Stanford University. I believe we can offer Mr. Turgun a very generous scholarship, and he will become the pride of the Stanford Cardinal."