The woman in professional attire smiled charmingly, no longer bothering He Xi Meng. She directly drove him to Jordan’s sprawling estate on the outskirts of Washington D.C.
Upon entering the estate and driving for another ten minutes, the car finally arrived at a exquisitely decorated private stadium.
The enormous number "23" above the stadium’s main entrance served as a reminder to visitors whose home court this was.
When He Xi Meng pushed open the stadium doors, the interior was already buzzing with activity. It seemed that the "they" Jordan had mentioned had indeed arrived before He Xi Meng!
The first figures He Xi Meng’s eyes fell upon were a group of old-timers: Ewing, Oakley, Pippen, Kerr, Payton…
Facing these veterans was a group of younger players: Carter, Rasheed Wallace, Stackhouse, Hamilton, Brad Miller, Artest…
The old-timers were Jordan’s teammates and rivals over the years.
Among the younger players, the first three were Jordan's junior alumni from the University of North Carolina.
Hamilton and Brad Miller were not UNC alumni, but they were core players on the Wizards for the new season and Jordan's trusted lieutenants.
Artest had indeed received Jordan’s invitation! Although He Xi Meng was unclear why Artest had been invited, as he wasn't from UNC and didn't have much interaction with Jordan.
This was because Artest entered the league in 1999, by which time Jordan had already retired from the Bulls.
Could it be simply because Jordan recognized Artest’s talent?
Besides them, He Xi Meng also spotted Lakers assistant coach James Worthy!
James Worthy was also from UNC and was considered Jordan's senior alumnus.
The two sides appeared to be engaged in a scrimmage, with the old-timers forming one team and the younger players the other.
Jordan, currently on the court, was driving hard against Carter. After sinking a fadeaway jump shot, he finally acknowledged He Xi Meng, who had just entered.
"Hey, Xi Meng, you're late!"
Jordan then called a timeout and strode over to greet He Xi Meng.
"I was handling some personal matters, which caused a slight delay."
Behind Jordan, a host of seasoned and rising stars also came over to exchange fist bumps with He Xi Meng.
This was quite a gathering, but it wasn't enough to intimidate He Xi Meng.
After all, he was already quite familiar with some of them, such as Kerr, Payton, Carter, and Brad Miller…
"Warm up a bit, then jump straight into a game?"
Jordan enthusiastically invited He Xi Meng to join the game.
"No, no, no! The plane was too bumpy, I'm a bit airsick… I'll sit this one out today. How about I just watch?"
"Watching is no fun!" Jordan immediately shot down He Xi Meng’s attempt to slack off.
"Uh, do you know how to coach?" Jordan gestured towards the court. "Right now, we only have James as a professional coach. How about you guest coach? You coach one team, and James coaches the other, to make the scrimmage more realistic?"
"Coaching…" He Xi Meng smiled, set down his gym bag, and adjusted his athletic wear. "This is something I happen to know a little about!"
"Excellent! James will direct us old guys, and you'll direct these young guys. We'll play by game rules, two quarters per game, and then we'll switch roles!"
"But, don't we still need a professional referee?"
"Referee?" Jordan snapped his fingers. "Shirley!"
"I'm here!" Behind He Xi Meng, the woman in professional attire who had picked him up from the airport had, at some point, changed into a referee’s uniform.
"Come, let me introduce you. This is my chief assistant, Ms. Shirley! A professional with both NBA and international referee certifications!"
"Wow!" A chorus of whistles erupted from the assembled players behind Jordan.
He Xi Meng stared at the beautiful referee in front of him, falling into a brief silence. Jordan, noticing He Xi Meng's unusual reaction, lowered his voice and asked, "You don't think Shirley is… that kind of woman, do you?"
"What kind of woman?" He Xi Meng quickly feigned ignorance.
Jordan patted He Xi Meng on the shoulder with a knowing, ambiguous smile.
"Shirley is the second daughter of the Polling family. She has no family obligations, so she can do as she pleases… but she's passionate about basketball, so she came to work with me. While she's my assistant, honestly, I have no control over her… for example, what she chooses to wear, or who she invites to spend a night with…"
"Old Joe, what do you mean by that? I have a girlfriend! Don't try to stir up trouble like this, okay?"
Jordan didn't reply, instead giving He Xi Meng a look that said, "Keep pretending."
He Xi Meng rubbed his temples; his head was starting to ache.
Indeed, none of the people around God were ordinary.
Fortunately, the scrimmage was about to begin. He Xi Meng quickly used the game as an excuse to divert Jordan’s attention from his chief assistant.
He Xi Meng's team consisted of six players: Carter, Rasheed Wallace, Stackhouse, Artest, Hamilton, and Brad Miller!
They had centers, power forwards, small forwards, and shooting guards covered, but they were lacking a reliable point guard. If He Xi Meng could have played, it would have been a perfect lineup. As it stood, one of them would have to play point guard. Carter, for example.
In the just-concluded 2000-2001 season, Carter averaged 4 assists per game, possessing considerable playmaking ability.
In fact, among the league's top four shooting guards, Iverson was a natural point guard. The other three, whether Carter, Kobe, or McGrady, all possessed excellent organizational skills! It was just that their scoring prowess overshadowed their other abilities.
"Vince, since I'm not playing, you'll have to step in as point guard!"
Carter nodded. "No problem."
"Jerry, you'll play shooting guard, matched up against Michael!"
Stackhouse nodded. "How should I defend? What intensity level?"
He Xi Meng thought for a moment. "We don't know Michael's current true competitive form, or if he's still invincible. So, let's defend him with all we've got at first! Put some pressure on him, see how it goes, and then we can adjust accordingly."
"Understood!"
"Ron, you'll play small forward. Pay attention to the coordination between Scotty and Michael."
"Rasheed, while guarding Oakley, remember to help Brad with double-teaming Ewing! This is a scrimmage, so we'll likely play half-court sets. Even though Ewing's condition has declined, he can still be a significant threat in the half-court."
Rasheed Wallace and Brad Miller both nodded.
"Richard, stay with me for now. You'll get some rest later!"
"Okay!" Like Artest, Hamilton was one of the least experienced players here, so waiting a while was understandable.
"Although this is a scrimmage, I believe Michael wouldn't go to all this trouble to gather us here for us to take it easy! Especially you young guys…"
"Not you guys, us!" Carter interrupted He Xi Meng, kindly reminding him.
"My apologies, slip of the tongue! It's us young guys. We are all the new cornerstones of our respective teams. We need to let Michael understand the true strength of this league as much as possible! Let Michael prepare himself mentally, rather than dwelling on past glories! Otherwise, it will be detrimental to his comeback…"