Basketball Dragon

Chapter 16 Unwilling Debut

After waiting for several months, Li Hai finally got the opportunity to be assigned to the main team for training.

He was a little nervous, but after all, he was not a real stunner, and after a few rounds, he played well.

Coach Boyehan asked him to try three positions, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4.

There is Anthony at the 3rd position, and he can only appear in this position for a few minutes during Anthony's off-court rest in a game. The 2nd position is also Duani's substitute, and he has to analyze the time with another substitute.

When he needs to be at the 4th position, it is not the substitute Warrick, but Warrick plays the 5th position. When the team speeds up the offensive and defensive rhythm, of course, he still needs to share time with the backup center.

Li Hai understands what kind of player Coach Boyehan needs, and he defends very hard, and he doesn't hesitate to shoot when there is an open opportunity.

He knows that only with a positive attitude and comprehensive skills can he get more chances to play.

In November, the NCAA competition finally started. The first opponent of Syracuse University was the University of Memphis, which was strong in the same district.

The coach of the University of Memphis, John Calipari, once coached in the NBA. He is good at dribbling and breakthrough tactics. The fast-paced breakthrough and three-pointers are actually similar to the fast-paced Syracuse University.

On the 14th, Li Hai's first NCAA game started.

In terms of height on the court, Syracuse University has the advantage. Memphis University's starting No. 5 is a short center with a little more than 2 meters. The height of No. 4 Hakeem Warrick also has an advantage. Successfully, Anthony won the first ball without hesitation.

But what happened next was somewhat beyond their expectations. University of Memphis center Chris Massey had excellent physical fitness, and Craig Firth was completely suppressed.

In the first game, when the outside lines of both sides were not very accurate, the University of Memphis relied on the inside line to firmly grasp the advantage in its own hands.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Anthony began to score continuously in singles mode, but Syracuse University's score was always behind.

Li Hai watched anxiously, and looked at coach Boyihan from time to time, but coach Boyihan had no intention of changing players at all.

The other players of the team were also standing on the sidelines anxiously. Halfway through the first half, Syracuse University's trailing score also reached double digits, Li Hai finally couldn't help it.

"Coach, let me play, I can help the team."

Coach Boyihan had a refined look, "Li, don't worry, I have my own arrangements."

At halftime, with Syracuse trailing by 13 points, coach Boyehan said at the break: "Don't be nervous, lads. We're going to play free basketball, with courageous, confident shots."

"I'm sure you've calmed down now, in training I've told you what to do in such a situation, let's find ourselves in the second half."

At the beginning of the second half, Syracuse University's outside shooting has improved, and the two sides are in a state of back and forth.

"Lee, get ready to play."

The coach's voice was like the sound of nature. Li Hai stood up and took a deep breath. Even if he had professional game experience, he would still feel nervous when he stood on the NCAA field.

He replaced the backup center Jeremy McNeil, Hakeem Warrick to the 5th position, he played the 4th position, freshman, in addition to the main players Carmelo Anthony and Gerry Mack Namara, he was the second to be substituted, and the first was Billy Edlin, who was on the bench at No. 1.

Syracuse University attacked, Anthony caught the ball and pulled it up with a fake move.

Li Hai also trained with the opponent for a few months, and he knew that the ball was a little bit wide when he saw Anthony's shot, so he rushed to grab the offensive rebound with his predictive ability.

He held the ball a little bit, tricking the rushing defender to jump up, and then turned around and shot back.

Damn, as soon as the ball was shot, Li Hai felt that the power was a little out of control. The NCAA arena is indeed different from that in China. One point flew, and the other was black and hard. He was still a little nervous and his body was a little stiff. A goaltend is short.

As soon as his foot landed, he slammed into the backboard again, knocked away the University of Memphis players in front of him, and grabbed the backboard again.

A whistle sounded, just when Li Hai was about to jump for a dunk, the referee's whistle sounded like a bucket of cold water poured down.

Li Hai grabbed a rebound and fouled, and the ball was in the opponent's hands.

Coach Boyihan on the sidelines was personable and gave him an encouraging look, and Li Hai immediately felt a lot more at ease. What he was most afraid of was that he would be considered unfit to be replaced before he showed his strength.

The University of Memphis is attacking, and their guard Antonio Bucs is extremely fast, but after breaking in, they can only choose to split the ball, because even if Syracuse University withdraws the center, the height is still dominant, and it is difficult for them to have a chance when they break in. Layup.

Hakeem Warrick stepped forward to help and Antonio Bucs swung at his teammate lurking on the baseline as before, but this time Lehi held out an arm.

Compared with the previous team members, Li Hai's reaction speed was obviously a little faster.

He caught the ball and passed it to Gerry McNamara who was running forward. McNamara moved forward and handed it to Anthony. Anthony attracted two defenders and scored the ball. Receive the ball at 45 degrees from the line and make a decisive shot.

He didn't feel scared because of his previous mistakes, the ball fell into the net and he hit a three-pointer.

"That's it." Coach Boyehan gave a thumbs up to the field.

"Anthony, your pass is good, Li Hai, your shot is also good."

After Li Hai took the field, Syracuse University's rhythm was obviously faster, its offensive ability was stronger, and its defense was not at a disadvantage. As Li Hai once again grabbed the frontcourt and stood on the free throw line, Syracuse University began to Take the initiative.

With 5 minutes left in the second half, Li Hai grabbed the backcourt and launched a fast break, assisting Anthony to hit a three-pointer, and Syracuse University narrowed the gap to only 1 point.

Just when the blood in Li Hai's whole body was about to boil with the tense atmosphere of the score, coach Boyihan replaced him.

With him off the field, Memphis once again took control.

At 65:70, Li Hai's first NCAA game ended in failure, and he scored 7 points and 7 rebounds.
Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 27 points, but failed to bring victory.

Li Hai didn't understand why the coach wanted to replace him at a critical moment. As long as he was given a little more time, he was confident in helping the team to overtake the score.

The feeling of just sitting on the bench and watching the team lose is really not good, and he is very unwilling.

(End of this chapter)