Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 22 A Different UCLA
The moment the ball went into the rim, the boos of the entire arena against UCLA stopped abruptly, as if the power was cut off in an instant.Only a small group of UCLA fans who followed the team bus to Tucson City were still desperately shouting for their home team. After the University of Arizona fans next to them shut up, their cheers were very clear.

The players in Arizona were all silent, they stared at their opponents dumbfounded, completely confused about how Ye Feng suddenly got the chance to shoot from outside.Except for Johnson and McClellan, everyone else was confused by UCLA's running position, and even struggled with whether to switch defenses.And because Hill is a center who sticks to the basket, if he pulls out, he will create a vacuum inside, but if he doesn't pull out, he will form a four-on-five situation in the area outside the basket. In this way, Ye Feng can get a smooth shot. what a strange thing.

But the key point is that UCLA's tactic is impossible to defend, at least for Arizona's player configuration, it is an almost impossible task.Even if they also withdraw Hill and play small ball, the team's backcourt and wings can't hold UCLA technically, not to mention that the players headed by Ye Feng and Westbrook are all good at running and jumping. , if they fight the rhythm of the game, they will only be brought more and more chaotic.

Seeing that the opponent's response had an immediate effect, the coach of the University of Arizona, Kevin O'Neill, frowned. He took a tactical board to write and draw, thinking hard about what adjustments should be made.But while he was thinking hard, the game continued on the court. The Wildcats still had nothing to do with their opponents, but UCLA began to improve the defensive end.For them, exchanging a two-pointer for a three-pointer is really good, but now they are nearly 20 points behind, and no matter how strong Ye Feng is, he cannot guarantee that his three-pointer shooting rate will reach [-]%. Insider activities appear to be necessary.

When the outside line was greatly restricted, Bayless still chose to give the ball to the inside line.But when Hill just received the ball, Ye Feng suddenly retracted to a low position, and Hill was sandwiched between him and Hipp.Hill, who was trapped in a double-team, felt very uncomfortable, because his footwork under the basket can be said to be a mess, and he could not rely on his own skills to get rid of the double-team.Moreover, he is also limited by his height. Shipp's defense has largely narrowed his field of vision. In order to prevent being hit by UCLA as a counterattack, he dare not play the ball easily.

When Hill was hesitating, Ye Feng directly cut off the ball in his hand while he was focusing most of his attention on Shipp.Seeing Ye Feng's successful steal, Westbrook, who was still hovering outside, rushed towards the opponent's basket like an arrow from the string, Enrique and Mbah a Moute followed closely behind him.

Ye Feng turned around to avoid Hill's hand, and directly passed a long pass across the court, and the basketball landed in front of Westbrook accurately.As soon as he picked up the ball, he flew up in one step from the free throw line and dunked the ball hard into the basket.I have to say that Westbrook's explosive power is really abnormal. After he landed, the Arizona player closest to him just ran to the free throw line. They could only watch in despair as the little point guard gave them a fatal blow. .

O'Neal quickly applied for a timeout. Although he didn't think of any good solution, it was worthwhile to interrupt UCLA's offensive frenzy.When the players walked to the bench, there was a gloomy cloud in Arizona. Hill and others all lowered their heads, not knowing what they were thinking.The UCLA players laughed constantly. They all saw the huge advantage of the small ball in this game. In their view, this victory is already a certainty.

Holland didn't expect Ye Feng's suggestion to have such a good effect. He was very pleased with the players' self-adjustment on the field, and he could clearly see that the leader of these adjustments was undoubtedly Ye Feng.After clapping his hands vigorously to attract everyone's attention, he said loudly: "Everyone played very well. We will continue to fight like this. It will be difficult for Arizona to block us. If the other party makes adjustments, first listen to Ye's opinion." , and if he can't solve it, I'll call a timeout."

Everyone's eyes were on Ye Feng who was gulping down his sports drink, but no one raised any objection to the coach's words.His performance on the court just now, whether he scored himself or made suggestions to his teammates on the situation on the court, all showed his superior tactical thinking. Even Westbrook, the captain, obeyed him.

On the other side, O'Neill's face was very solemn, but he still didn't think of any effective method, so he could only keep cheering up the players.However, even though he yelled his throat out, the eyes of the generals were still dimmed. All they could think about were UCLA's seemingly chaotic but purposeful running positions, and Ye Feng's performance outside the three-point line in the end. That near-perfect long shot in front of the defender.

After playing again, the morale of the two sides was completely reversed. UCLA still made full use of Hill's inability to defend against the opponent's defense line, and searched for the most suitable shooting opportunities through a wide range of ball transfers.On the defensive end, although Arizona's insiders are still able to score goals despite their best efforts, their shooting percentage has dropped to less than 45%, which is already a very low shooting percentage inside, especially at the basket.

Every time he makes a substitution, Holland will ensure that there are at least three players with strong athletic ability on the field, which provides convenience for the team to compete for defensive rebounds.As for offensive rebounds, he ordered at least two to three people to be left to prevent the opponent's fast break, and only under this premise can they participate in the offensive rebound.

And Ye Feng is the key.Watching him fight with a group of tall and strong men in the interior, even Arizona fans can't help but think of a famous name in NBA history-Ervin Johnson, also known as "Magician".In Game 1980 of the 42 Finals, Lakers center "Skyhook" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was absent due to injury. At that time, a rookie magician volunteered to replace Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the team's starting center. As a result, he scored 15 points, 7 rebounds and [-] assists. He helped the team win the championship that year, and he was awarded the finals MVP.

In this game, although Ye Feng did not rely on his height to gallop inside like the magician back then, there is no doubt that his presence allowed UCLA to ensure that UCLA did not lose too much to Arizona in rebounding. You must know his height Only 1.95 meters.And he is also good at using his teammates' running positions to create opportunities for himself. His powerful outside shooting ability makes everyone realize that there may be another super shooter in the NCAA this year.

Arizona, unable to think of a countermeasure, was defeated. UCLA directly tied the score before the end of the first half, and the second half became a stage for their performances.Even in order to make Love better adapt to the away environment, Holland often put him on the court without hesitation. Even if the team is forced to close the score, the next small lineup can still break Arizona again. The hope of tying the score.

In the end, UCLA beat Arizona 108 to 89 and achieved the last victory before the start of the regular season.The biggest contributor to the team's victory is undoubtedly Ye Feng, and his statistics also prove this point. He scored 34 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists, plus 3 steals and 3 blocks. His light completely covered up the rest of the team. people.It is precisely because of this game that his status in Holland's heart has risen sharply, and he has become the team's No. [-] man after Westbrook. His crazy scoring ability has also become well known to fans.

In fact, not only a small number of UCLA fans came to Tucson this time. As a paradise for the entertainment industry in the United States, Los Angeles local media also sent reporters to pay attention to this warm-up match.It is reasonable to say that this is not worthy of their spending too much ink, but when UCLA came up with a different double pick-and-roll tactic against Kansas in the last game, it undoubtedly stimulated their interest as a sports reporter.In addition, this time against the University of Arizona Wildcats is the only away game in the UCLA warm-up game, and they also want to see what this old strong team can do.

Of course, they were disappointed at the beginning, especially after seeing the sluggish performance of the big insider Love in the away game, they almost overwhelmingly believed that UCLA's new season might be just a team with dragons at home and away games.But soon UCLA changed its tactics, and to their surprise, Holland directly gave up the inside and used the small ball tactics to win, but they didn't know that it was the MVP of the game who made the suggestion. Feng, but this does not prevent them from lavishing praise in the newspapers.

"UCLA seems to have come out of the predicament of last season, and after the two rookies Ye Feng and Kevin Love joined, their strength has grown significantly compared to last season. But it seems that Le Husband still needs to adapt to the NCAA, as for Ye Feng, he has done quite perfectly."

-- "Los Angeles Times"

"We have to admit that Coach Holland is very good at training the team, and it seems that he is ready to become a real tactical master. The UCLA Bruins played a different style in the three warm-up games. I have absolutely no idea how Holland was able to do that, and of course it's a good thing for the team."

-- "Los Angeles Daily News"

In addition to the local media in Los Angeles, "Sports Illustrated" also ranked UCLA second in the NCAA's new season outlook.Although they reached the final four last season, being able to rank second this time also shows a lot of problems.In the author's opinion, this is a completely different UCLA team from last season. Even though they also have outstanding stars, this year's UCLA team is more diverse in tactics. A more favorable tactical system, and the team's backcourt and interior have quite good strength.

Perhaps, this Bruins team has further strength!

(End of this chapter)