The rest is just noise

Before media day arrived, Louis confirmed the last person on the roster.

Mario Eli was also a player in the 1985 class, but he was a seventh-round pick.

The Hawks who drafted him actually gave up his ownership rights without even giving him a training camp contract. Elie did not lose heart and continued to seek opportunities to play in the NBA.

At first, Louis just thought his name was familiar and gave him a training camp contract.

As the contact lasted for a long time, the secret, or memory, of why he felt familiar with the name Eli was awakened.

In 1995, in the Western Conference semifinals between the Rockets and the Suns, Elie hit a desperate three-pointer and gave the iconic kiss of death gesture, ruthlessly destroying the Suns and Barkley's last hope.

Louis didn't watch that series and didn't understand the Rockets that year.

I am familiar with this name, all thanks to "NBA Frontline". This program aired a documentary about the 1995 Rockets in a certain issue, and one of the clips was Elie's kiss of death.

After contacting him at the training camp, Elie's energy and vitality surprised Louis. He has certain shooting skills. As long as he practices hard, he can develop three-pointers. Moreover, his physical fitness is very good.

How could such a player end up in the seventh round? He doesn't even have a training camp contract?

Louis can only think that the league's scouts have poor vision.

By signing Eli, the Knicks' 12-man roster will be full.

Louis persuaded several other fringe players in the training camp to retire, and the remaining players are all regular candidates. In other words, they can officially build a system for the new season.

Louis cut back on training time a few days before media day because of this problem.

On media day, the new Knicks team made a collective appearance.

Ewing put on the new season's jersey, and in front of many media, he gradually showed a surprising side.

During his college years, his indifference to the media was mostly attributed to John Thompson's isolation policy.

Thompson encourages his players to fight the world. Is the media a part of the world? Of course it is, and it's a bad part.

Ewing's coldness, lack of enthusiasm, and impatience with questions made many reporters uncomfortable.

There are many players in the league who treat the media this way, but Ewing shouldn't be like this.

He is seen as someone who will dominate the NBA in the future. The face of New York basketball, even if he is not as popular as Frazier in the 1970s, at least he has Bernard King as a role model.

No one liked King Kong when he came to New York, and the media and fans felt that too much money had been spent on him.

What's more, he also has a dark history of drug addiction. When he was with the Nets, he would have drug parties in his hotel room whenever he had the chance.

Later, he was able to control his drug addiction and become the King of New York and was accepted by the media. This was due to his strength. Although he is a difficult person to deal with, he will never have his dislike of the media written on his face like Ewing.

Louis noticed Ewing's problems. He had too many problems, from playing basketball to his public relations ability as a public figure. I really don't know what kind of poison John Thompson poured into his mind.

On the second day of media day, the New York Times published a long article about the Knicks media day. In the article, they wrote pointedly: "Perhaps the Patrick Ewing we imagined is just a fantasy."

, maybe he is completely different from what we imagined."

The Times saw the true nature of the matter for the first time, and Louis was very pleased.

Unfortunately, they couldn't help. The next day, Louis halved the training time, and this was the only day's training time that was halved.

After training, everyone on the team goes to Ewing's restaurant for dinner.

This can be regarded as a disguised form of advertising for the Ewing family restaurant.

However, Ewing went to Louis privately and said: "I don't want you to come to my restaurant to eat with great fanfare."

"Then how are we going to get there? Sneak around and pick the lock like a thief?" Louis asked funnyly.

Now, Louis knows how strong Ewing's dislike of the media is: "As long as you don't alert the media."

"Do you dislike being noticed so much? Why?"

"no reason."

"You are the most watched rookie in the country."

"Attracting attention? I don't think this is a good thing. They regard me as the strongest one in the Colosseum and just treat me like a beast. Should I be happy about this?"

Only then did Louis realize how serious Thompson's influence on Ewing was: "Michael Jordan made a company with a logo that looked like Jiba last year made $100 million. Can you find the second beast that did this?

?”

Ewing did not answer Louis' words, and there was no competition match held at the Blue Palace that day. Louis asked them to complete the basic training without any compromise, and then set off one after another to Ewing's restaurant.

Not going together is just because Ewing said, don't make a big fuss.

The restaurant in the Ewing family is called "Dorothy's House". The location of the restaurant is neither good nor bad, which shows that Ewing just wants to find a profitable job for his family and does not want to use his reputation to make money.

Dorothy is Ewing's mother. Without her, Ewing would not have come to the United States from Jamaica. Dorothy and her husband Carl Ewing gave birth to seven children. Initially, the couple immigrated to the United States. Due to financial problems,

Ewing stayed in Jamaica for four years. Later, when Ewing came to the United States, his basketball talent was quickly discovered. When he graduated from high school, more than a hundred universities offered him scholarships.

There were many universities that were willing to give the Ewings some undesirable benefits, but Dorothy stopped them all. One thing she taught Ewing was to be able to afford it, so they chose not to provide any additional subsidies.

Georgetown, just because John Thompson promised to make Ewing a real man and not leave behind his studies.

In 1983, Ewing's mother, Dorothy, suffered injuries and died of a heart attack due to years of manual labor. Her only wish was that her children could find a place in this country. Ewing's athletic talent

Give him the possibility of achieving greatness, but he must get a degree.

It was precisely because of his mother's wish that Ewing completed four years of college and obtained a degree.

After Louis learned about this, he didn't know what to say. Maybe he shouldn't blame Ewing for not listening to him. There was nothing wrong with "listening to mother". What was wrong was Georgetown, and what was wrong was John Thompson. Ewing originally

Should go to UCLA.

At the Dorothy House, Louis also met Ewing's son, Patrick Aloysius Ewing Jr. 18 years later, this child would enter the NBA in the second round.

Louis and Dave Anderson were sitting at the same table, and Ewing came over to greet him: "What can we have?"

"Do you have any recommendations?" Louis asked him.

So Ewing walked away and decided on his own what to give Louis and the others on their table.

"You and Patrick seem to have a complicated relationship," Anderson said.

Louis listened to this confusing question and replied with a smile: "My relationship with everyone is quite complicated."

Ewing came to the kitchen and specifically instructed his father, Carl Sr.: "Make these two dishes a little spicier, as the guests' tastes are stronger."

His persecution of Louis is justifiable, and by the way, his persecution of Anderson can only be said to be a concrete manifestation of his dislike of the media.

"Are you sure your fat friend can handle the spiciness we have?" Old Carl asked Ewing with a heavy accent.

"Absolutely no problem." Ewing said, "Call me when you're ready."

As a result, Louis and Anderson saw two plates of fried rice and a plate of fried chicken nuggets.

"Is this your Jamaican specialty?" Louis asked.

There was a joy and expectation on Ewing's face that made Louis uneasy: "My father made this for you personally, try it?"

In front of Ewing, both Louie and Anderson cut a piece of fried chicken and put it in their mouths.

In an instant, it was like someone put a whole chili millet into Louis' mouth, and his mouth was on fire!

Anderson's face turned red from the heat.

Ewing asked: "Is it delicious?"

"Tell your dad, this is the most delicious fried chicken nugget I've had since I came to America." Louis said sincerely.

Ewing didn't expect Louis to hold back. While he admired his endurance, he felt a little guilty in his heart.

"Want a drink?"

"You know what I like to drink. Just give Dave some non-carbonated ice drinks."

Ewing went to get it, and Anderson shook his head and said, "I can't eat this."

Louis actually said: "It's our first time here, so we have to give Patrick some face and eat more."

"No, I can't eat something so spicy." Anderson was so spicy that he lost all self-control.

"Let's do this, give me all your chicken nuggets, and you can eat more of the rice."

"I will try my best."

Ewing came to their table with drinks: "Take it easy."

Then he walked to a distance and silently looked at Louis' table.

"Coach Lu, do you like spicy food so much?" Anderson asked in surprise.

"Believe me, if I had gone to another restaurant, I would have smashed these plates." Louis said while eating the chicken nuggets that made him angry. "I hate chili."

When Anderson saw the uncontrollable sweat and unstoppable tears on Louis' face, he knew that he was also suffering.

For what purpose would a person who doesn't like spicy food eat so much spicy food?

"Why are you eating it if you don't like it?" Anderson asked.

"Didn't you say that the relationship between Patrick and me is very complicated, and I want to make it less complicated." Louis' face looked like he was drunk, "I hope to become friends with him, which will be very important for our future."

It’s important. When you come to a friend’s house for a meal, the first thing you have to do is to let go of your stomach and eat whatever you want. Unless you are allergic to that food, just eat it. This is respect.”

Louis finished the fried chicken nuggets for two people, a whole plate of fried rice that was spicier than expected, and at least 800 ml of Coke.

By the time he finished the meal, he could no longer feel his tongue.

Before leaving, Ewing came to say hello and saw that both of Louis' plates were empty.

"Are you so good at eating?"

"I'll give you a suggestion. If you want me to be a repeat customer of your family, or if you want me to live a few more years, it's best to use less spicy food." Louis doesn't want to come back to Dorothy's House and eat in a transformed form.

At the expense of warriors.

"Want to pay?"

"No," Ewing said, "I'll take the order."

Louis couldn't even control his smile. The nerves on his face were so intense that he couldn't control it: "I won't thank you."