Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 69
Texas A&M started playing NCAA games early, and after years of slump, they made it to the conference semifinals last season as the No. 3 seed in the South under head coach Billy Gillispie, but But it was narrowly defeated by the No. 2 seed University of Memphis 65 to 64.This season their coach changed to Mark Tekin, who only started coaching the NCAA team in 1998, hoping to go one step further.But this time their opponent was UCLA, whose morale was like a rainbow and the sword was aiming for the championship. Tekin didn't say anything, but he was still a little nervous. However, in order not to bring too much pressure to the players, he still tried his best to hide his emotions. , and fully prepared for the knockout round of the second round.

As an opponent of Texas A&M, Holland is very afraid of Jordan. This player is the best choice in terms of agility and jumping. If Love can't suppress him, it will bring great breakthroughs to UCLA's backcourt. Trouble.This game is indeed a contest on the inside, but it is very different from Kansas State, which was led by Beasley before. That time it was to fight offense, but this time it was to fight defense.For Love, this is a brand new challenge. After all, he is generally considered a player with strong offense and weak defense. It’s not that his defense is too bad, but compared to his offense, his defense is indeed weaker. .

But Loew didn't feel scared, he was no longer a kid who had never seen the world before.After that battle with Beasley, his self-confidence has been greatly improved, but the most important thing is that he has enough courage to face those outstanding insiders in the league, instead of hiding behind his teammates and scaring him. Shaking, or cranky before the game.Although Loew doesn't have the heart of a real strongman yet, his attitude towards challenges has changed a lot. He no longer chooses to escape, but instead holds his chest up to meet challenges, so that even if he fails in the end, He will also gain valuable experience.

This time, he will be facing a defensive center, but Love does not dare to be careless. From Coach Holland's emphasis on this inside line, it can be seen that his ability is far from what statistics can show.But as the starting center of the UCLA Bruins, he must firmly grasp the advantage of the inside line and provide the best protection for his teammates, especially... those two guys!Thinking of Ye Feng and Westbrook's super backcourt, Love couldn't help but smile: His teammates are so strong, how can he enjoy their protection without putting in any effort?In this game, I have the final say on the inside line!

The number of games in the knockout stage is very intensive, and the physical strength of the players is easily affected.Fortunately, UCLA did not spend much effort in the first game, which also made their physical reserves much better than Texas A&M who fought Brigham Young University until the last minute.During the training, Holland consciously increased the content of inside offense and defense, but still asked Ye Feng to strengthen his outside shooting, but prohibited him from making strong outside shots.Ye Feng quickly thought of the reason why the coach did this, because it is not yet sure whether Love can suppress Jordan. If he is counter-suppressed or even if it is evenly matched, then the strong shot from the outside is likely to be converted into the opponent's defensive rebound. It's hard to bear for UCLA, which likes to play second offense.

Everyone can see Holland's preference for Love, but no one complains about it, because they all know that Love's performance is the focus of this game.However, Westbrook also felt the pressure. His shooting sight was not as good as Ye Feng, and he was more likely to break through to the inside to complete layups. It was not good news for him to have such a defensive center in the opponent's team.Indeed, under Ye Feng's persuasion, he has consciously strengthened his shooting training throughout the regular season, but he is still weak compared to Ye Feng's shooting machine, which makes him even more difficult when the situation is stalemate. Willing to believe in your breakthrough technology.

Soon after all the first rounds were over, the second round began, leaving no room for the team to breathe.Watching the players walk onto the field one by one, Holland's expression was not as relaxed as in the previous game, but a little dignified. Only when he really saw Jordan and Love walking together did he find the gap between the two , it is obvious that Jordan seems to have a lot better physical fitness than Love.The opening jump ball is a direct reflection of the bounce gap between the two: Jordan easily gave the ball to his point guard over Love's head.

Love didn't feel discouraged. This is what he expected, because the jump ball is largely compared to the physical fitness of the two sides, and he thinks he is not as good as the opponent in this respect.But...Love snorted coldly: It's not just about physical fitness in the inside competition, including positioning, footsteps, and the sense of smell for rebounds are the key points of inside competition, and I have sufficient confidence in these aspects, not to mention Much longer range than Jordan.

Texas A&M point guard Donald Sloan did not choose to push quickly after receiving the ball. He was still waiting for Jordan to settle down.His own ability to attack with the ball can only be regarded as above-average. If he does it directly, he will give up the ball in all likelihood. With such an excellent screener like Jordan, he must make good use of it.He holds the ball and gestures to Jordan, who knowingly pulls out of the paint for a screen.Since Jordan did not have the ability to attack with the ball, the Bruins decisively switched defenses and asked Love to defend Sloan.

Fortunately, Love usually uses top backcourt players like Westbrook and Ye Feng as sparring partners during personal training, and he has a lot of experience in defending smaller players.I saw that he kept hitting the opponent with his body, making it impossible for Sloan to fully increase his speed. At the same time, he also raised his hands to cover the opponent, cutting off his passing route to the greatest extent.Sloan was a little flustered. Continuous feints and turns could not completely get rid of Love's defense, and the entire system of the Bruins was not chaotic at all. He could hardly find any point of exit, so he could only continue to go to the basket by himself.

And beside him, Loew's big hand followed like a shadow, Sloan gritted his teeth and could only bite the bullet and force it.But his action has long been seen through by Love. Just as he was about to jump for a layup, Love was ready to take off before the ball left his hand. Although the height was not high, the timing was just right.As soon as Sloan threw the ball, he met Love's giant palm head-on, and a solid block shot the ball directly out of the baseline.

The Texas A&M players were stunned: This is unscientific. There is no evidence that the opponent's center is still a shot-blocker. Isn't he the best inside offense?Players of the Bruins stepped forward and patted Love on the shoulder and back to express their excitement. Only Ye Feng knew that Love had actually been working hard on the interior defense, and Sloan was not a top player. The breakthrough player, he was not surprised to be able to defend the ball, but said in a low voice: "Kevin, you are in a good state today, it seems that we can relax a little bit." Love nodded and smiled. .

Texas A&M's frontcourt ball, after some entanglement, the ball was still given to Sloan, but this time he didn't dare to go up by himself, but passed the ball directly to Jordan after the pick-and-roll, hoping that the latter can rely on his own bounce Come abuse the frame.To say that Jordan is indeed extremely talented, after receiving a pass from Sloan, he was unlucky at all, and was going to step directly to the basket in two or three steps to complete the attack.But before he got to the basket, Love stood in his way first.Jordan was dumbfounded, but he could no longer change his direction. If he changed his direction, it would be difficult to get to the basket within three steps, and he would definitely walk directly.As a result, he knocked Love to the ground without any fancy, and the referee's whistle sounded in time-offensive foul!
Little Jordan also knew that the penalty did not wrong him, so he threw the ball on the ground angrily, turned around and ran back to his own half.The successful defense for two consecutive rounds greatly enhanced Love's confidence. On the offensive end, he also took the initiative to ask for the ball in the low post. Westbrook passed the ball to him without hesitation.Since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gave the team a lesson last time, Love has liked hooks. He has broad shoulders, and coupled with his skilled inside footwork, he can often create space for himself to shoot hooks.This time facing a tall and long-armed defensive center like Jordan, he used the hook without hesitation.After continuous shaking and turning, it was difficult for Jordan to keep up with his pace. Love seized the opportunity to lean on the opponent with his left shoulder, and without even jumping, he easily hooked the ball with his right hand and scored the ball.

I have to say that Jordan is really strong. Even just looking at his physical talent, he is a very good center forward. In addition, the head coach Tekin designed him many tactics suitable for him to directly attack the basket. He made a huge impact on the team on both ends of the floor.But it is a pity that this time he met Love, and he was also very skilled in hook shooting after being instructed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.Regardless of offense or defense, Jr. Jordan has been repeatedly deflated in the interior, and the team's two guards, Sloan and Dominic Kirk, regard the Bruins basket as an absolute penalty area and only dare to shoot in the middle distance or outside the three-point line. .

The Bruins players didn't have any fear, because Jordan was almost crushed by Love at the basket, and it was much easier to even lead them.In this game, Loew spent a lot of energy on the defensive end, but he also scored a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, and also contributed an astonishing 7 blocks. It will be even more gorgeous.In the end, UCLA narrowly defeated Texas A&M 51 to 49 by virtue of its inside advantage, and successfully advanced to the conference semifinals.

(End of this chapter)