Before leaving Neust, Qin Zayne gave Mrs. Ann $1,200 as payment for taking care of little Dolly for the next month.
As a result, after returning from Chapel Hill with $3,000 and adding his own savings of about $900, Qin Zayne only had $1,700 left.
"I have to be careful with my spending…"
Sighing inwardly, Qin Zayne parked his car in a free parking lot about a ten-minute walk from Newport News, then walked another ten minutes to reach the airport terminal.
After checking in, a slightly out-of-breath Qin Zayne embarked on his first business trip since becoming an assistant coach at UNC.
Destination—Portland, Oregon!
Qin Zayne had already thought through this trip beforehand.
The reason Dean Smith valued Damon Stoudamire so highly was simple: the position UNC lacked the most was point guard.
Last season, UNC had been suppressed by Duke University during the ACC regular season, although they regained some pride in the tournament.
However, in March Madness, Duke ultimately won the championship, while UNC fell in the Final Four. In the end, UNC lacked a true playmaker and a scoring spark—someone who could step up in clutch moments.
In fact, this was an era where point guards were extremely scarce.
For example, in the 1992 NBA Draft, among all the first-round picks, there wasn't a single point guard.
This clearly showed how rare quality point guards were in the NCAA at the time.
It could be said that if UNC wanted to make a strong impact in next season's March Madness, they had to recruit a top-tier point guard during this recruiting cycle.
Thus, Damon Stoudamire—a two-time Oregon Athlete of the Year, who led his high school team to two state championships and earned the nickname "Little Flying Squirrel"—became UNC's top target.
However…
On the plane, Qin Zayne wasn't very confident about this recruiting trip.
To put it bluntly, even with Dean Smith placing so much importance on Damon Stoudamire, in his previous life, the "Little Flying Squirrel" had still chosen Arizona.
This meant that even with the new variable—Qin Zayne—the outcome would likely be difficult to change.
Qin Zayne didn't believe that he, a newly appointed assistant coach, could successfully persuade him.
"Since the team needs a point guard, maybe…"
Qin Zayne came up with another idea.
He considered finding his own target, recruiting them, and then using the "Super Training Master" to accelerate their development.
Wouldn't UNC have huge potential next season then?
And he, a rookie assistant coach, might even become famous because of it!
At this point, Qin Zayne's future plans had to be mentioned.
His plan was simple: assistant coach for two years, head coach in three!
That's right—he planned to compete for a head coaching position in his third year after joining UNC.
The reason was straightforward—
Both Allen Iverson from Hampton and Tim Duncan from the Virgin Islands would enter the NCAA in 1993!
"Two years is a bit tight… but I'm a freaking genius!"
The flight from Newport News to Portland took a full ten hours.
UNC wouldn't pay for business class for a lowly assistant coach, so Qin Zayne had to squeeze into cramped economy class and endure the discomfort.
Unable to sleep, he took out a stack of scouting reports provided by UNC, listing high school graduates across North America for this year.
Some were highly sought-after prospects, while others were less known.
What Qin Zayne needed to do now was select backup recruiting targets in case his pursuit of Damon Stoudamire failed.
Soon, a familiar name caught his attention.
"Bob Sura!"
As a future teammate of Yao Ming, Qin Zayne was naturally familiar with him.
"His strengths should be a strong physique, decent at both driving and shooting, but not elite in either. His passing is weak—especially in feeding the ball to Yao—and at his peak, he's a solid starting-level player."
Qin Zayne shook his head. That was his impression of Bob Sura, and it should be fairly accurate.
But that was NBA Bob Sura. In the NCAA, Bob Sura was considered a star who could stand on his own.
"Otherwise, how could he have been drafted in the first round?"
Qin Zayne felt that Bob Sura was a very solid backup option.
Especially since Sura was from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, which was close to North Carolina, making recruitment easier.
After all, one major reason Damon Stoudamire chose Arizona was likely its proximity to home—UNC was simply too far.
"And this one—Eric Snow."
Qin Zayne wasn't very familiar with him, only knowing he had been Allen Iverson's teammate on the 76ers and a locker room leader.
His strengths were probably strong defense and solid point guard fundamentals.
"He can only be a backup's backup."
After flipping through all the scouting reports, Qin Zayne couldn't find a third viable option.
"Are point guards really this scarce nowadays?"
…
Ten hours later, Qin Zayne arrived in Portland.
Due to the time difference, it was still afternoon, so he had plenty of time.
He took a taxi and searched the outskirts of the city until he found a reasonably well-furnished hotel. He walked in and immediately asked:
"Can you issue an invoice?"
The receptionist, a curly-haired Indian man, nodded. "Of course."
"Single room, three nights. How much?"
"$60 per night. $180 total."
"I'll pay $200, and you issue me an invoice for $300."
The man hesitated, then shook his head. "Sorry, we don't provide that service."
Qin Zayne didn't insist and left.
He tried another hotel nearby and asked the same question.
After checking four hotels in a row, he finally entered the fifth…
Behind the counter stood an Asian man with a receding hairline, wearing an apron and sleeve covers, wiping the counter.
The hotel looked a bit old, but it was very clean.
Qin Zayne stepped forward and asked again:
"Boss, can you issue an invoice?"
This time, he spoke in Chinese.
The owner was stunned. "Eh? How did you know I'm Chinese?"
Qin Zayne smiled. "Japanese and Koreans don't usually wear old-fashioned aprons like that."
The owner laughed honestly. "I can issue an invoice."
"Single room, three nights?"
"$50 per night. $150 total."
"Can you issue a $300 invoice for $150?"
"Sure, no problem."
By evening, Qin Zayne finally checked in.
He studied a map and found that the Stoudamire family lived about a thirty-minute drive away.
…
Early the next morning, Qin Zayne entered a middle-class neighborhood in Portland's Rose City area and found Damon Stoudamire's house.
"Hello, ma'am. I'm here to see Damon Stoudamire."
A Black woman opened the door. Qin Zayne guessed she was his mother.
She didn't immediately let him in. Instead, she asked:
"Which university are you from? Too many recruiters have been coming. Damon can't meet everyone."
"I'm from the University of North Carolina Tar Heels."
As soon as she heard UNC, she stepped aside.
"Please come in. I'll call Damon."
Soon, Qin Zayne met Damon Stoudamire and his father in the living room.
At this age, the "Little Flying Squirrel" was quite shy and lowered his head when he saw Qin Zayne.
So his father took the lead in the conversation.
"My name is Willie."
Damon came from a basketball family. Willie had been a star NCAA player and was even drafted into the NBA, though his career didn't go far.
His uncles were also basketball players, and his cousin, Salim Stoudamire, would later become a top shooter.
Willie was very familiar with the recruiting process.
He got straight to the point:
"What can UNC offer my son? Playing time? Tactical role? Future development?"
Qin Zayne, being inexperienced, could only follow his lead.
"Before I came, Mr. Dean Smith personally stated that UNC can offer Damon a full scholarship. He's also willing to promise a starting position. As for future development…"
Qin Zayne hesitated.
"Why don't I let Coach Smith discuss that with you directly?"
After getting permission, Qin Zayne made the call.
However, the conversation didn't go smoothly.
UNC, as a top-tier program, couldn't promise Damon absolute core status as a freshman.
His development would depend on performance, and the team wouldn't sacrifice results just to build around him.
He would need to adapt to the system—not the other way around.
This created a gap compared to other schools making stronger promises.
After the call, Willie shook his head.
"I don't think UNC will be our first choice."
It was expected.
Qin Zayne nodded calmly—but inside, he had another plan.
Before coming, he had learned about a street basketball league in Portland—the Midnight League—organized by Willie himself.
Damon had been a regular participant in the past, and now that it was vacation time, he hadn't missed a single game.
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