Sports Medicine Master System

Chen Yu and Brian walked toward the parking lot together.

Seeing Brian blinking repeatedly, Chen Yu raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you... crying?"

Brian sniffled and shook his head in denial. "I’m moved. Moved, you get it? By the way, do you remember Bobby Monihan?"

"Him?"

Chen Yu paused for a moment, then remembered.

But the mention of his name made Chen Yu sigh.

He was an old fan, one whose love for the Suns had been unwavering for thirty years.

In ’68, the Suns joined the league.

That was the year Bobby Monihan became a Suns fan. He watched Dick Van Arsdale become the first All-Star in franchise history, and in ’76, he was one of the thousands who rushed to the airport late at night to welcome the team home after they defeated the Warriors to reach the Finals for the first time.

It wasn’t until ’93 that the 69-year-old Bobby Monihan suffered a stroke and lost his mobility. From then on, he never appeared at the US Airways Center again.

But he continued to buy season tickets for the Suns, so there was always one empty seat in the stands.

And it remained empty for nine years.

Not until ’02, when the Suns had a shot at the title. Trembling, supported by his son and grandson, he returned to the US Airways Center in a wheelchair and witnessed the Suns’ first-ever championship.

Then, tragically, he passed away from illness in the spring of ’03.

"By the way, did his family come today?" Chen Yu asked.

The Suns later gifted the Monihan family permanent season tickets, promising that as long as they needed it, a seat would always be reserved for them at the US Airways Center.

Brian shook his head. "I don’t know, but I’m sure they did."

Chen Yu didn’t press the matter. The mood grew somber.

"If we win the championship this year, we should see if we can invite his family to the parade," Chen Yu said.

When they defended their title last year, his family didn’t show up, as Monihan had passed away just a few months prior.

Brian nodded, then said, "I just wanted to say, there are many fans like Monihan. This year is the most critical moment. I think we need to do some events to rally the fans’ support, or maybe make a promotional video to play at home games to fire up the players."

They had two home games. Having lost the first, the second was an absolute must-win.

"Okay."

Chen Yu had no reason to object.

The team’s growth would always depend on the fans’ support.

"Also, your final words just now... they really moved me," Brian added.

Back in the film room, after the video ended, Chen Yu had concluded by saying that the reason he made the video was to let everyone know that every honor the Suns had achieved was thanks to everyone’s hard work. By looking back at the past, one could always draw strength from those people and events to keep going, no matter how many difficulties they faced.

Chen Yu shook his head slightly. He had said what needed to be said and done what could be done. The final outcome was still up to them.

The two of them reached Chen Yu’s little sports car.

"By the way, doesn’t your show start taping tomorrow?" Brian asked after saying his goodbyes.

At the mention of this, Chen Yu smiled and nodded. "Not tomorrow, the day after. Why, you want to be in the audience?"

Brian feigned coyness, chuckling. "Well, if you invite me, I’ll go. After all, I have a pretty sharp eye."

Chen Yu opened his car door and got in without a word.

’A sharp eye? What about that massive contract you gave Gugliotta back in the day?’

Starting the car, Chen Yu rolled down the window. "You know where it is. Day after tomorrow, nine in the morning. Just show up."

The next day, the Suns scheduled a recovery training session.

And after the morning session ended, a tryout was also arranged.

It was just a simple second look, as Chen Yu had already gotten a crystal-clear picture of the invited players during the prospect camp.

After the morning training, Chen Yu didn’t rush to leave the arena. He stayed and watched the entire tryout from the sidelines.

"Chen, what do you think of this Wright kid?" Sitting on the sidelines, Brian pointed to a tall, skinny player who was doing a multi-spot shooting drill under a trainer’s supervision.

The player’s name was Dorell Wright.

His draft stock was projected around the twentieth pick in the first round.

Chen Yu had added Trevor Ariza to the tryout list, and Brian had added someone too: this Dorell Wright.

Chen Yu thought for a moment, then countered, "Why don’t you tell me what you see in him first?"

Brian answered without hesitation, "He’s a five-star small forward."

Last season at South Kent High School, Wright, who was in his fifth year of high school, put up gaudy stats of 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks per game, and was rated a five-star small forward by Rivals.com.

"That’s it?"

Chen Yu frowned.

’What’s so great about a five-star recruit? They name 25 of them a year. How many actually establish themselves and make it in the NBA?’

And those monster stats didn’t necessarily mean anything.

"He’s not a good fit for us," Chen Yu said after a moment’s thought.

Wright had attended the prospect camp, so Chen Yu was well aware of his situation.

Even his life story.

He was born in Los Angeles in ’85. His father was a carpenter, and his mother managed finances at the police department. The problem was, he had wanted to be a professional baseball player since he was a kid.

It wasn’t until after his sophomore year, when he transferred to Leuzinger High School, that he joined the school’s basketball team on the recommendation of the baseball coach. After that, his talent exploded, and he grew into a five-star high school prospect in just three short years.

But because of this background, Chen Yu felt his fundamentals were poor. His ball-handling, defensive skills, and experience were all terrible.

In high school, he could get away with it thanks to his physical gifts, but for a player like that, the lack of fundamentals would be exposed as soon as he entered the NBA.

He would need a lot of development.

The problem was, the Suns didn’t have many opportunities for him to get reps. Kovol and the others were already getting precious little playing time.

Besides, the Suns weren’t short on forwards; in fact, the position was a bit crowded.

So no matter how you looked at it, he wasn’t a good fit for the Suns.

Based on the results from the prospect camp, he wasn’t projected to be a lottery pick, and Chen Yu wasn’t very optimistic about his development either.

"Well, let’s keep an eye on him," Brian said with a pout.

When the tryout ended, Chen Yu was about to leave when Dorell Wright approached him, blocking his path.

"Sir, could I bother you for a moment?" he asked, nervous and hesitant.

Not far away, his agent, Greg Lawrence, who had come with him, saw what he was doing and his expression changed drastically. He kept trying to catch Wright’s eye.

"Of course. What’s up?"

Chen Yu stopped and asked with a smile.

It wasn’t like they’d never met before, they just hadn’t spoken much.

"Sir, I’m not asking about the tryout results," Wright clarified first. Then he said, "I know the open auditions for your show, *How to Make It to the NBA*, start tomorrow. I just wanted to ask if a guy named Russell Westbrook is on the list of players who were selected. Like me, he’s also from Los Angeles."

Ads for Chen Yu’s show had been running all over the country for a while, and the screening process for the open auditions had begun half a month ago.

Chen Yu thought for a moment but couldn’t recall the name at all.

They were currently in the first phase of the audition process. By collecting data, accepting self-registrations, and getting recommendations from relevant personnel, they had screened and selected a total of 282 players from across the country.

These players would participate in the open auditions, and in the end, about thirty of them would be chosen to actually be on the show.

With so many people, there was no way Chen Yu could remember everyone’s name.

"Why? Is he a friend of yours?" Chen Yu asked in return.

Wright had said this Westbrook was also from Los Angeles.

Wright sighed and said, "He used to be my teammate. Something very unfortunate happened this year, and I’m afraid he might give up on basketball. So I wanted him to sign up for your show, but I don’t know if he listened to me."

"Oh? What unfortunate event? May I ask?" Chen Yu waved for Brian to go on ahead and asked with a serious expression.

Wright hesitated, then nodded and asked, "Sir, do you know Kelsey Barlow?"

Chen Yu was taken aback, his expression growing even more solemn. "You mean the high school player who passed away from a sudden heart attack last month?"

Hearing this, Chen Yu recalled that according to media reports, this Kelsey Barlow was from Leuzinger High School.

Chen Yu’s team had actually recommended this player before.

Six-foot-seven, with guard-like skills, he was hailed as one of the top high school players in the nation. He’d even dropped 50 points in a double-overtime game.

He was originally on the invitation list for the open auditions.

But just last month, in May, he collapsed without warning during a friendly game. He was rushed to the hospital but couldn’t be revived and was pronounced dead, the cause being hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Chen Yu had even lamented it at the time.

After all, with the case of Vivian Foe, Chen Yu had always been dedicated to pushing for changes in sports medicine.

He never expected to hear his name again from Wright.

Wright continued, "Kelsey and Russell were very, very good friends. Kelsey’s sudden death hit him incredibly hard. Sir, he’s not very tall, only five-foot-nine, and he’s never been a starter on the school team. On top of that, he’s exceptionally good at math and even got a math scholarship to Stanford University."

Chen Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. ’Getting a math scholarship to Stanford University is no small feat. I should know, I got one myself back in the day.’

At five-foot-nine, he was too short. He could easily give up basketball and focus entirely on a path in mathematics.

"But I think he still has a lot of potential, and he loves basketball so much. I don’t think he should give up now. That’s why I wanted him to sign up for your show, hoping it might help him regain his confidence in basketball. So I just wanted to ask you if he signed up."

Chen Yu understood completely now. He thought for a moment and said, "Alright, let me make a call and check."

Chen Yu took out his phone and called the person at his company in charge of the show.

A moment later, he had an answer.

"Don’t worry, he signed up."

Chen Yu patted Wright on the arm. "I’ll keep an eye on him. I hope he can move past the pain of losing his best friend."

’It seems Wright really cares about his underclassman.’

"Thank you, sir."

Wright quickly bowed in gratitude.

Chen Yu waved his hand, signaling it was nothing. He hesitated for a second but didn’t say anything more and turned to leave.

’Honestly, at five-foot-nine, and being that good at math, he might be better off just giving up basketball and focusing on his studies.’