Chris Dunn
Position/point guard
Height / 1.93 meters
Weight / 99 kg
Many people will mistakenly think that Dunn is still just a child because he always has a mischievous smile on his face, but the hardships of childhood have sharpened this teenager so tenaciously that when you meet him on the court, he will pounce on you fiercely and hard, like a smiling assassin.
10
In childhood memories, my mother, Pia James, was rarely at home. In the days when my mother lost her news, from the initial panic to the later habits, my brother John and I slowly learned that our mother was a regular in prison.
One day in 2003, my mother disappeared again, and for five months, in order to survive, we sold everything of value for food, and john went to the park to gamble on dice while the kids of the same age went to school, and I, went to the court and went head-to-head with the seniors, $20 a round. When there was no food, I even snatched money from street thugs.
My name was Chris Dunn, and I was nine years old.
9
Later, we temporarily stayed at my aunt's house. My father? I have no memory of him at all, and John can't describe what his father looked like. In those gray days, I could not help but sketch out my father in my head, fantasizing that he would suddenly appear and protect me behind me.
So when I opened the door and saw two strange men shouting my name excitedly, I screamed in fright and waved the hot sauce bottle in my hand to embolden myself. "Chris, this is our dad, he found us." John reassured me. I couldn't hold back any longer, threw the bottle open, and cried.
8
Father John Sheldon took us back to our home in Connecticut, where he had a new family. I couldn't adapt to the new environment and the "moms" and "siblings" who suddenly appeared in my life, I didn't want to talk to them, I only communicated with them with my fists, I saved up the stolen cash, clipped it in a book or hidden behind a poster in my bedroom, and I never forgot the days when I didn't have money to eat.
Until one day, I opened my father's Christmas present, which had an ipod and a bicycle, but my favorite was the pair of Jordan sneakers. "Tell me what you want." For the first time, I felt the warmth of My Father's love.
7
My father seemed to have found a way to communicate with me, and on holidays he would take me to the football and basketball courts to train, where I found myself. I entered New London High School, and after playing for the varsity basketball team, I became a local "little star" - starting in high school, winning the state championship in my sophomore year of high school, and leading the team to a win-all record in my junior year of high school, I defended my title as Connecticut's Most Valuable Player in the New Haven Register, and I was also named a McDonald's All-Star — you know, the last Connecticut player to be named a McDonald's All-Star was Charles Smith nearly 30 years ago!
People around me gave me a nickname, and they called me "Peanut."
6
In addition to playing for New London High School, I joined the AAU team, where I met Andre Drummond, a monster who was recognized as one of the best high school students in the nation. When they went out to play, the sidelines were full of scouts and college coaches who wanted to recruit Andre into their team.
And I, 3 inches taller, are no longer the skinny little "peanuts" in everyone's mouth, and my combination with Andrei is invincible. The two of us talked about the possibility of continuing to play for the same team together, and he said he might go to a year's prep first. Father Sheldon said he had received calls from many universities and wanted to invite me to join their team. Don't think about the future, I just want to play every game well.
5
One day in August 2011, I walked into the coaching office at Providence College, and I was surprised when Mr. Ed Colley met me — there was a "giant spirit" general first high school student Drummond, who would notice a skinny and small guy? Coach Collie dispelled my hesitation with one sentence.
"You're the only player in the country that I want to recruit." Coach Collie opened his heart to me and shared his growth story: growing up without his father's company, hunger throughout his childhood, in order to survive through the dark years, until basketball appeared in his life, saving his life. I couldn't help but want to hug the choked and out-of-shaped middle-aged man in front of me, and I thought that I had found a mentor who could be completely trusted.
In 2012, I joined the Providence College Friars, whose last star was God Shammgod, a streetball legend.
4
I was very good when I first came into the team, but due to a shoulder injury, I could only hang up the free card in the first nine games after the start of the season, and I suffered from injuries all season and couldn't play to the fullest. After the first season of mediocre performances, with unlimited expectations for the new season, I have received bad news, due to the recurrence of the shoulder injury, I will have to take a full season off to recover from the injury. Heaven will send down a great task to the Scythians, and they will first suffer their hearts and minds, and they will work their bodies. I applied for an injury redshirt exception, and I secretly decided that in the new season, I would shock the world with my outstanding performance on the field.
3
It turns out that the whole year of Taoguang yang obscurity is not empty.
In my third year at Providence, I had a big explosion, and I had a highlight all season - 15.6 points, 7.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals, which were luxurious, leading the Friars to the national championship and receiving countless honors: best player in the Great East Division, best defensive player in the Great East Division, best team in the Great East Division...
I had been predicted by major authoritative websites to be selected in the first round, but when everyone was expecting the NBA to become the next stage for me to show my talents, I announced that I gave up running and would return to school to play for another year. I have an extremely clear plan for my future, my shooting is not good enough, my mistakes are a bit too much, and I need to continue to hone my skills.
NBA, I'm definitely going, but right now, I'm not ready.
2
Many players missed the best time to run, returned to school and performed unsatisfactorily and the draft market declined, or even lost. But I firmly believe that I made the right choice.
Throughout the season, I continued the strong performance of the previous season, helping the team to once again reach the national stage, and in the first round of the Crazy Third, we ushered in a close opponent - the University of Southern California. I struggled with bad hand feel for most of the game, USC was a tough opponent and with 7 minutes left in the game I was replaced for my fourth foul. Sitting off the field, I buried my head in the towel, I hated losing, the game wasn't over, I needed to stand up for the team. Back on the pitch, I became Mr. Key, hitting consecutive shots to stabilize the game. In the pre-final reading of the seconds, we were still one point behind, the ball was in my hands and I had a chance to finish the game. But I lost it.
I'd have blamed myself for a long time if my team had lost the game because of this misstep, but my teammate Rodney Bullock used the rebound in the front court to shoot a deadlock, and we won, and we all cheered and pounced on Rodney.
1
Facing the mighty North Carolina in the second round, we couldn't bounce back, with 29 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, which was the report card of the last game of my college career. This time I have no regrets, NBA, is my next stop. I'm no longer the angry kid on the streets of Virginia, and now I'm always willing to smile and hug everything in life. I buried the sufferings of the past in my heart, cast the sunshine in, and waited for him to send out the buds of hope.
Does basketball bring you joy too? If yes, give me a smile back.