Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 19 The First Away Game

After seeing UCLA's double pick-and-roll and inside-out tactics, Kansas completely dispelled the desperate thoughts.Although on the surface it seems that there is no need to fight too hard in the warm-up match, the real reason is that Self will not be able to find a solution for a while.At the end of the first quarter, he told his players that according to the original plan, they can play as they want, don't care too much about winning or losing, and mainly focus on tactical practice.

Seeing how well Kansas cooperated, UCLA did not plan to kill them all. Under Holland's instruction, as long as Westbrook and Ye Feng were on the court at the same time, other players would run double pick-and-roll tactics under their guidance, completely treating Kansas as a mill. knife stone.Holland is very clear that the environment of competition and training is different. No matter how good the movement is in training, it will be for nothing if you can't perform well in the competition. Now there is an opportunity to use the competition as a substitute for training. How can you not fully How about using it?

Except for the first few rounds of this game, the atmosphere of the two teams was friendly for the rest of the time, and finally they scored a high score of 104 to 90.Given that the NCAA only has 40 minutes per game, generally those who can score more than 80 points in a single game are considered sharp offensively.As a combination with high expectations, Westbrook and Ye Feng scored 42 points, 15 rebounds and 18 assists together, and Love, who guarded the basket, also played his true qualities as a data brush. 23 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks proved that Holland was against him. Your trust doesn't come out of thin air.

There was no press conference after the game, but the players and coaches of both sides took this opportunity to chat.Self admired UCLA's double pick-and-roll tactics very much. He asked curiously: "Mr. Holland, I admire your tactical level very much. You can think of using such a method to pinch those two excellent guards together." , and although this tactic is not complicated, it is difficult to quickly find a solution."

Holland's expression became very strange. He coughed and said, "Mr. Self, you misunderstood. I didn't come up with this idea. My only contribution may be to dig deeper and discuss this tactic. And improve it for some extreme situations.”

"Oh? Is there a coach with a higher level than you, Mr. Holland, in the UCLA coaching staff?" Self looked suspicious, and he almost wrote "Ghost Letter" on his face.

Holland was very embarrassed when he heard the words. He pulled Self aside and said in a low voice, "Although I don't know the specific situation, it is our team's shooting guard who proposed this idea..."

Self was taken aback: "Is that the Asian defender who is very accurate in three-pointers? My God, as a player, he actually has such a rigorous tactical thinking. I feel that I am old. I have led the team for so many years. Can't compare to a brat..." Holland looked at his devastated expression, and smiled like a fox who stole a chicken.

And Ye Feng obviously couldn't hear Self's thoughts, he was busy communicating with several main players of Kansas City.For a long time, Asian teams have not had a high status in the world basketball world. Many Americans think that Asians can't play basketball well, including a few boys from Kansas.But today Ye Feng taught them a lesson with his performance.

Rush stopped Ye Feng and kept asking this and that, probably this was the first time he played against Asians on the court.He asked curiously: "Ye, I remember that although your country's basketball is good, it's not considered a strong team. Why are you such a pervert?"

Ye Feng rolled his eyes at him: "What is a pervert? I just practiced more than you. First of all, China has a large population base, and the probability of basketball geniuses being low is still there; secondly, I'm an American. The swingman, because my basketball education is basically completed in the United States."

However, Rush was still brooding about Ye Feng calling Mbah a Moute to play off-ball pick-and-rolls. He said in confusion, "Ye, when you made your first three-pointer, it was obvious that with your skills, you would be able to play in the pick-and-roll." Why did you call your team's small forward to cover for you?"

"Oh, this, because I'm lazy, and there should be one less defender in front of me. I'm not strong enough to hit a three-pointer in a two-person attack." Ye Feng explained with a smile.Rush sighed, and directly covered his face: Losing to an opponent is not terrible, the most painful thing is that you think he is very tall, but they give a kindergarten-level reason.

Cowen also came over and shook hands with Ye Feng. He said in a muffled voice, "Ye, you are really good, but if we meet again in the regular season, we will beat you." For this Russian center, Ye Feng also had a good feeling. With great affection, he said with a smile: "That's not sure, then we will compete again to see who is stronger!" Cowen grinned and nodded.

After seeing off the Kansas Jayhawks, Westbrook followed Ye Feng and Love to their dormitory, euphemistically called "discussing tactics".Ye Feng knew in his heart that this guy just wanted to eat and drink because he was in a good mood after winning the game, but he didn't expose it, instead he took some ingredients from the refrigerator and started cooking.

The delicious four dishes and one soup were quickly swept away by the three of them. Westbrook was half lying on the sofa, rubbing his stomach and humming comfortably.Ye Feng poked him, and asked with a "shy" face: "Russell, the next game is going to Tucson City for an away game, is there anything that needs attention?"

Westbrook rolled over and sat up, staring at Ye Feng as if he was looking at a monster, and said after a while, "Ye, you are also a player who has played in high school leagues after all, don't your teams only play at home?"

Hearing Westbrook's question, Ye Feng's face turned even redder, and he whispered: "Hey, the away games of high school games are just like that, not to mention anything else, the size of the arena is obviously different, isn't it Have you never played an away game in the NCAA? Do you want to tell me? If you don’t, I’ll ask the coach!”

Westbrook shrugged and said, "Isn't that what the away game is like? Except for a few fans who are willing to drive with us on the away game, it can be said that at least 90% of the entire scene will be the opponent's fans. Oh yes, if we reach the final If you choose a neutral venue for the match, you will be more popular at that time, not to mention making it your own home court, at least you can overwhelm the opponent in terms of momentum."

He took a sip of water to moisturize his throat, and continued: "Playing away games is mostly the same as at home, but the opposing fans will try their best to interfere with you. Fortunately, this is only in the NCAA. Extreme fans do everything they can, and even make noise at the door of the hotel where you stay, making you unable to rest normally. In addition, some teams also have such a dark history. Kyle, the giant with the largest number of NBA champions The special people did not turn on the air conditioner in the fifth game of the 1984 Finals. The Boston Garden Arena was completely closed. In the Cardinals' era they also intentionally rigged the floor so that the floor was dented in one place, and then the Celtics players would deliberately force the opponent into that place and cause turnovers, but whether this is true or not I don't know. "

Ye Feng was very surprised: "The NBA is too dark, right? I can only say one word for this method of consuming the opponent!" Westbrook patted him and said with a smile: "Let's think about the NCAA now, but Opponent fans should just boo you, and at most they will disturb you with some slogans and inflatable sticks, so don’t be so nervous.”

Love asked curiously from the side: "Russell, how many times have you been booed?" Westbrook smiled awkwardly and said: "I was a backup point guard last season, so the boos from the opposing fans Sound...you understand..."

Soon it was the day before the warm-up match.Although Arizona is next to California, in order to allow the players to get enough rest, Holland still plans to start one day earlier.To Ye Feng's surprise, when they set off on the team bus, there was really a convoy following the bus. He was even familiar with the license plate numbers of some of the cars. Usually, whenever the team had training or games, You can see those cars parked at the entrance of the arena.

And the team didn't follow behind in a regular manner. Once there were fewer vehicles on the road, they would take turns to drive the car to both sides, parallel to the team bus, and honk their horns from time to time.Each car has a big Bruins logo on the hood, and different slogans on the doors on both sides.

These are die-hard UCLA fans who travel thousands of miles from state to state just to watch a game.For them, basketball occupies a large proportion when choosing which school to choose. When the strength of the schools is not far behind, they prefer to choose a school with a more enjoyable team.

Before this, Ye Feng never thought that there would really be such fans. Even though Westbrook made a promise, he promised, but he was still skeptical in his heart.But today, he was completely moved by these fans. Only then did he realize the status of the NCAA in the hearts of Americans, and he also knew why many people said that the NCAA is the most appealing basketball game in the entire United States.

This is just a warm-up match. After the official game or even the top 64, as long as the away game is not too far away, there will definitely be more fans who would rather skip class and travel with the team bus.Even if their voices are very small in the opponent's territory, they can hardly play any role. In many cases, the players can't hear their voices at all, but in their opinion, as long as they can fight with the team, it is enough up.

That's right, this is American college basketball!
(End of this chapter)