After the photo and sharing a few more words with both coaches, Aaron believed it was time to settle into his dorm and meet his roomie.
Saying goodbye to the people, Aaron prepared to leave the office, leaving the three individuals inside the room while he grabbed his suitcases again and proceeded to follow the directions the official had given him.
"Room 309," Aaron murmured while looking at the paper and the name of the residence building that would be his home for the next year.
Yes, he had said it right: year. Aaron was confident that he wouldn't need more than one year playing in the NCAA to be able to declare himself eligible for the NBA draft and end up being chosen by one of the 30 teams.
Especially knowing that in this year, Coach Calipari caused a sensation this season by lining up a group of freshmen as starters, reaching the March Madness finals against UConn, and although it is true that they ended up losing the final and it was a tumultuous season, that does not take away merit from the coach.
Thinking about that, Aaron couldn't help but think that if history followed its course just as it had until now, he would end up facing Omar in the final, who last season had signed with the Huskies team.
Remembering the moment he heard that Omar would go to the Huskies, Aaron tried to subtly persuade him to choose some other of the alternatives he had, since compared to the original timeline, the Monarchs team had better results.
Even so, Omar was convinced that the Huskies were the best team for him both at a competitive level and in history, since it was one of the strongest and most popular universities in the entire NCAA.
Therefore, it was a surprise that the team had been excluded from NCAA tournaments and the postseason due to low academic performance that the University of Connecticut had been dragging along for several years.
Added to that, the retirement of legendary coach Jim Calhoun was another aspect that made people not have many expectations for the Huskies team in this new season, now that their ban had been revoked and they were cleared to play in NCAA tournaments and the postseason.
But Aaron knew better than anyone that this season would also be historic for the Huskies team, since by the hand of rookie coach Kevin Ollie, who in his second season at the helm of the team led them to win March Madness despite finishing in 7th place in the Big East conference.
"I can't wait to face them," Aaron said to himself while dragging his suitcases toward his student residence.
Arriving at the residence and heading toward the floor manager's office, Aaron only had to show his acceptance letter and other documents, while the manager simply gave them a quick review and pulled out a set of keys along with a contract for him to sign.
"Sign this and you can settle in," the manager told him, passing him a pen with which Aaron traced his signature quickly, and the manager gave him the keys along with a manual with the cohabitation rules of the residence.
"Your companion arrived a few days ago, so I hope you get along well," he finished telling him with a smile, saying goodbye to Aaron.
"Thank you," Aaron told him with a cordial smile while taking his things toward the building's elevator and going up to the third floor, looking for his room.
"It's here," Aaron said while inserting his key into the door slot, and with a click, the door opened, revealing the interior of the room.
Inside, the room was like any other shared room in a university dorm, with two beds in each corner of the room along with a desk and a small mini-fridge in which some drinks and food can be stored.
One side of the room already had the bedsheets on, and the desk was occupied with several books and materials which Aaron assumed were his roommate's things.
And on the walls, there were posters of several NBA players and teams, the most prominent being Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki alongside posters of their teams, the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks, in the years they won their last championships.
"It seems we will get along pretty well," Aaron thought, seeing that his roommate was an NBA fan just like him and that maybe he was a member of the school team.
While he began to unpack his things, Aaron felt his phone start to ring from the desk table where he had left it.
"Love❤️" Upon seeing the name of the person calling him, a smile quickly installed itself on Aaron's face as he slid the screen, accepting the video call.
"Hey Babe," Aaron said as soon as Hannah's face appeared on his phone screen. "Hola Honey," responded Hannah, who was also excited to speak with him.
"Did you arrive already?" she asked curiously, wanting to know if he had arrived safely in Kentucky or if he had suffered any problem, while Aaron began to relate to her everything that had happened in the last few hours since they went to drop him off at the airport.
"And how is the room? Did you meet your roommate yet?" Hannah asked him, wanting to know everything that was happening in his university life.
Following that, Aaron switched the phone's camera to start showing her the layout of the room and the side of the room which had already been occupied by the person who was possibly his roommate during his time at the university.
"It seems you are going to get along well," Hannah told him with a smile. "And how about you? How was your day at the school of super-geniuses?" Aaron asked Hannah, who had also been attending Columbia orientations and starting to familiarize herself with the university campus.
"God, it is too demanding," Hannah told him, remembering the introductions and the materials she had received before classes started, along with the atmosphere that charged the library and study rooms across the campus.
"I think you will make it," Aaron told her with a sincere smile, knowing how much she had strained herself to enter Columbia University's medical school, since only less than 2% of applicants manage to enter.
"Don't doubt it," Hannah responded to him with a smile. "I don't know how you will do to juggle both academics and sports," Hannah told him, who couldn't imagine herself studying and playing at the same time without going crazy in the process.
"Well, to start with, I have an academic advisor who designs a study plan for me which will allow me to carry a controlled study load," Aaron responded to her, remembering the emails he had received before arriving on campus along with some guidelines from his advisor.
"And second point, I will only take one year of general studies, so there is not much I should worry about for the moment except having to play and having a good level of play this season," Aaron finished saying with a smug smile on his face.
Hannah rolled her eyes at that, already knowing. "Hopefully next year you can come back to New York," Hannah said wishfully, hoping that in the draft Aaron would be chosen by either of the two teams located in the city.
"I see it as difficult; remember that both the Knicks and Nets won't have first-round picks in the next draft," Aaron explained to her with an uncomfortable smile on his face.
The Knicks had lost this and some other picks due to the massive 3-team trade for Carmelo Anthony, who firmly sought to escape the cold of Denver and land in the Big Apple, his hometown, hoping to give them the championship the city had been waiting so long for years.
And in July of this year, the Nets traded their first-round picks to acquire two of the members of Boston's big three, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, seeking to get an immediate ring with both legends.
Of course, that ended in failure, since both players were already veterans and didn't have the same energy as a few years ago when they were crowned champions in Boston, sinking the Brooklyn franchise even further.
Thinking about that, Aaron couldn't help but think about how the Nets years later tried to gather several superstars again to get the longed-for ring, getting Irving and Durant in free agency and trading several first-round picks for Harden; one didn't have to be a genius to know how that turned out.
A trace of disappointment quickly appeared on Hannah's face upon hearing that, but she quickly disguised it, not wanting to worry Aaron, while both continued talking about other topics to lighten the mood until the room door opened again.
Through it entered a young man almost as tall as Aaron but of darker skin tone and definitely much more muscular than Aaron was, which was saying a lot because although Aaron was not a pure beast at the level of Shaq, his physique was more stylized.
Once inside, he didn't take long to notice Aaron, who was in the middle of the room still with the phone in hand, who upon recognizing the person he had in front of him decided he should end the call. "Hey love, I'll call you later, okay?" Aaron said to her in an apologetic tone. "Ok, good luck," Hannah told him while sending him a kiss from the cell phone screen before the call cut off.
"Julius Randle," Aaron said, paying special attention to the person he had before him, who nodded in response. "Aaron Reed," Julius said, also recognizing the person he had before him, causing an indescribable tension to be felt in the room between both giants.
"I've heard a lot about you," Julius said, breaking the silence that had settled in the room while giving a meaningful look to Aaron. "The same could be said about you," Aaron said while his gaze evaluated Julius Randle's physique and remembered his best moments in his only season with the Wildcats team.
In that season, Julius played 40 games for the team, averaging 15 points per encounter and 1.4 assists, decent numbers that allowed him to get the SEC Rookie of the Year award and make the All-SEC First Team.
"A pleasure to meet you," Aaron told him while extending his hand before him, waiting for Julius to return the greeting.
Julius stood briefly still while his gaze passed from Aaron's face toward the extended hand he had before him, but after a few seconds of looking, he extended his hand, shaking the same hand.
But without ending there, Julius began to apply force in his grip, expecting some reaction from Aaron, who upon feeling more and more pressure in his hand did not stay behind and equally began to apply force, not wanting to show weakness before his future teammate.
Upon seeing how the boy who was before him didn't show any sense of discomfort or pain in his expression, a smile formed on Julius's face.
"I think you and I will get along very well," Julius said, finally letting go of Aaron's hand. "I say the same," Aaron said while lightly shaking his hand at the discomfort he felt from the squeeze.
"Do you need help with that?" Julius asked, pointing to the suitcases that were in the room and that had not yet been unpacked. "Please," Aaron said while Julius helped him settle in.
And that was how Aaron's first friendship at the university was forged with one of his future teammates and with whom he would train the next month to be in preparation for the NCAA season that was closer than expected.
"Excited for the start of training in a few weeks?" Julius asked him once they finished unpacking and each found himself lying on their respective beds.
"You have no idea," Aaron responded to him, not being able to wait to step onto the Joe Craft Center, one of the best basketball training centers in the US.
Then they began to discuss other topics such as their tastes, basic cohabitation rules, and basketball in particular, until it was time to turn off the lights and go to bed.
Authors thought's
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