Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 65 Battle of Champions

In the process of competing for the league championship, basically the arena of any participating party is not selected as the venue for the competition, even if it is the top four or even the first team.Of course, the NBA will not give way for a mere league championship game, but UCLA is lucky. On the day of the game, the Clippers will go to an away game and the Lakers will not play. The Pac-[-] easily applied to the Staples Center as the championship game arena.This arrangement is beneficial to UCLA, after all, their school is not far from the Staples Center, while the University of Arizona has to travel a long distance.

Although he defeated the University of Arizona twice in the regular season, it has reached the last moment. It is not known whether the opponent has a hidden big move. Holland dare not relax at all. If he played so well, he couldn't end with a defeat before the championship, even if he was basically sure that UCLA would have no problem advancing to the tournament.As long as those on the NCAA selection committee are out of their minds, UCLA will be in the tournament.But if he can't make the cut as a league champion, he'll feel like UCLA's regular season will have some flaws.

I have to say that Holland's caution is justified, because the coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats, our dear Mr. Kevin O'Neill, has already started closed training. They film warm-ups and shooting drills, and when it comes to tactical training, he will politely but firmly ask the reporters to leave the training hall, and even ask the security personnel to step up their vigilance.Soon this matter reached Holland's ears, which made him more and more convinced that the opponent must have a potential tactical arrangement, and it might subvert their system throughout the season.

But Holland thought about it again, and felt that there was nothing terrible about it. After all, the execution of tactics depends on the players. Unlike the NBA, the NCAA has various deals. Entering the draft or graduating and leaving are the only ways the roster can move.Moreover, most of the official games still depend on the players adapting to the situation on the field. It does not mean that you will definitely play that tactic if you set a tactic for the next round. Another tactic.

Holland, who had figured it out, felt that all the burdens on him had been thrown away. He felt that there was no need to let his opponent lead him by the nose, even though his actions had always been kept secret.So in the training session, he strongly asked the players to be fully familiar with all the tactics of the team, so as to prevent everyone from forgetting how to run tactics because of being too nervous during the official game. , Of course, what he showed everyone was the video of the player who was about to match.Holland's idea is very simple and rude: I don't care what tactics you have, I just need to let the players match up with the players who suppress you.

While the two teams were intensively preparing for the finals, the media in several states near the west coast of the United States also began to support them. Except for the media in California and Arizona, which clearly supported their teams, other states The media maintained a neutral attitude.But no matter who it is, they all think that this will be a wonderful game. Although the University of Arizona has no wins against UCLA in the regular season, they have defeated two teams ranked above them in a row before, fighting for themselves. They have gained a lot of popularity, and they also started closed training mysteriously, obviously they came prepared.They all sent a huge interview team, hoping to introduce the game to their readers as soon as possible.

Soon the day of the finals arrived, and the Staples Center also replaced the floor with the team logos of the UCLA Bruins and the University of Arizona Wildcats ahead of schedule.This is just a small case for the arena staff. They usually do too much work of this kind. After all, the Staples Center is the only arena in the entire NBA that is the home of two teams at the same time. The floor with the logo of the Lakers was laid in the last game, and the floor with the logo of the Clippers will have to be replaced in the next game.

As a local team in Los Angeles, UCLA was allowed to use the Lakers' locker room. After all, former Lakers player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also came from UCLA.I have to say that the locker room of the NBA is much more luxurious than that of the NCAA. After all, the NBA is a business league, and the team owners are willing to spend money on the team, let alone the old giants like the Lakers.The entire Bruins team entered the locker room just like Grandma Liu entered the Grand View Garden. Everyone saw and touched everywhere, and even praised: "This physiotherapy room looks very professional, much better than ours." Isn’t it too advanced for me to go to their shower room? As expected of the NBA, taking a shower is so awesome!”…

When Holland saw that the players under him looked like idiots, he was so angry that his face turned black. He coughed heavily, clapped his hands vigorously, and waited until everyone's attention was focused on him. , he said solemnly: "Boys, this is your last game before the championship. I have to say that you have performed very well this season. Do you want to end with a defeat? I don't I know whether you are willing or not, anyway, I am not willing. I am not God, and I cannot guess what tactics the Wildcats will adopt, but I believe in your strength, and I hope you can bring UCLA a victory!"

Holland's words were not very passionate, and they were obviously repeating the same old tune, but saying it before the start of the final was like a shot in the arm. Everyone on the Bruins team began to breathe heavily, and their eyes There seemed to be dancing flames in the locker room, and an invisible but palpable fighting spirit gradually rose in the locker room. At this moment, they all had the same belief in their hearts, that is to defeat the opponent, and win the title of the Pacific Ten Schools League champion. Identity headed into the tournament.

Seeing the mental state of the players, Holland was very satisfied, but this good mood disappeared when he saw the Wildcats' starter list.It's no surprise that Bayless, Budinger and Hill are on the roster as the Wildcats' solid starters, but other than those three, the other two names didn't appear in the starting lineup for any of the Wildcats' games during the regular season. : Nick Wise, Jawan McClellan.Holland is very familiar with this change, but it is hard to imagine that this is the lineup of the Wildcats. Obviously this is a lineup of three guards, or Hill can have a big team with four small players. Holland is almost sure that the Wildcats are in the lineup. In this game, all the treasures will be bet on outside shooting.

After the start of the game, the new tactics of the Wildcats quickly achieved results. The five starting players of the Bruins felt the pressure doubled. Perhaps only the backcourt combination of Ye Feng and Westbrook could handle it easily. After all, their own strength Strong and speedy defenders, they didn't behave in a hurry even if they faced a lineup of three defenders.And another outsider, Mbah a Moute, has a hard time. Although he is faster than the inside players, the Wildcats are facing him with a real small guard. He is much faster than him in terms of speed, so he is a strong defensive player. On the contrary, it has repeatedly become a loophole that the opponent makes full use of on the outside.

As for Shipp and Love, who are guarding the inside line, they are even more aggrieved. Love is a bit better. After all, the Wildcats still sent Hill to protect the rebound. The small guard is annoying, but it's within his tolerance.But Shipp has almost become the most difficult one in the whole team. The Wildcats play a large and a small lineup, which means that Budinger is at the top of the [-]th position, and it is obvious that their rebounding is completely handed over to In addition to Hill, although Budinger is a power forward, he still plays as a small forward. No matter in terms of speed, technique or attack range, Shipkong has strength but can't use it.Especially when Budingera went to the outside to shoot a three-pointer, Shipp obviously couldn't keep up with him and could only let the opponent shoot from the outside. The only thing he could do was to pray that the ball would be missed directly.

Facing the new lineup of the Wildcats, the Bruins were caught off guard. If it weren't for the amazing destructive power of Ye Feng and Westbrook on the offensive end, the Wildcats might have opened up the score gap as early as the first 5 minutes.Even so, Hipp was already sweating profusely in such a short period of time, and his steps were trembling. Although he could easily use his height to suppress Budinger on the offensive end, he spent a lot of energy on the defensive end. Even many times, they are doing unnecessary back and forth running, which can not prevent the opponent, but also has a great impact on themselves.

In the first half of the game, the Bruins trailed by 15 points 23 to 8. For their super offensive ability, only 10 points in 15 minutes is definitely a shame, let alone nearly 10 points behind. .After Holland called a timeout, everyone walked off the court with a gloomy face. Obviously this is not a very rare routine, but it just forced them to exhaust themselves.Of course, it is Hipp who feels the most. He can't wait to drink a large bucket of sports drinks to replenish his energy. These 10 minutes are really exhausting.

Seeing everyone's frowning faces, Holland tapped on the tactical board and said loudly: "Such a small thing will knock you down? Huh? Everyone seems to have been kicked by someone just now, so let me lift them all up." Let's start! It's just a big one and four small ones, let's fight the big ones, and treat them in the same way!"

　Exactly where the NCAA Division I championship games are played is difficult to find out, so let's assume for a while that these games are held at neutral venues like the final stages of the NCAA tournament.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)