Legend of Tomorrow

Michigan's defense uses man-to-man tactics. Since Tom Izzo has deployed two defenders, it is impossible to defend in a zone. Because Guo Xu's height cannot prevent forwards, as long as the opponent has the ability to play singles with the ball and is accurate in mid-range shots, there will be obvious loopholes.

Wisconsin's white point guard Barry Hill had a height advantage and regarded Guo Xu as a weakness. He waved his teammates away and planned to hold the ball in the middle for a single.

There are no young people who don’t want to be in the limelight in major competitions. For many college players, there may only be one chance in their lifetime to play at the home court of an NBA team.

He has always been a substitute before, but today he started inexplicably. He must not be strong. I am really lucky. Barry was a little excited, calculating his own advantages, holding the ball and turning to the left. Guo Xu's judgment was very accurate. He kept a distance and moved sideways to keep up, interfering in front of him.

Barry held the ball and accelerated, but Guo Xu successfully got close to him. Barry protected the basketball with his back and leaned against the opponent. If he was facing a player about the same size as himself, Barry would probably pass the ball at this time, but Guo Xu's height of 180cm and average weight was very confusing, so he chose to hit hard.

Barry leaned hard against Guo Xu with his back and turned to the left. The scene where his opponent was hit and retreated did not appear. Guo Xu easily resisted and kept close to him.

As soon as Barry turned around, Guo Xu made an accurate judgment and poked the ball out with his right hand. Then he rushed forward close to the ground, passed Barry two steps and picked up the basketball for a single fast break.

As soon as he rushed up, he distanced himself from Barry, who turned to pursue him. Others in Wisconsin were further away, and no one was able to defend.

Guo Xu broke into the penalty area and scored an easy layup. 2 to 0.

So fast, player No. 15 Jason Guo stole the ball and scored on the fast break. Commentator Mark Woodson shouted.

Partner Tom Horvath said: This little guard looks very thin, but he is very strong. Just now, the half-head-tall UW defender Barry Hill didn't push him, which was a bit unexpected.

Guo Xu has been playing one-on-one with Cliffs for a year. Against ordinary guards like Barry who are not capable of playing in the NBA, he doesn't feel any pressure at all.

When the out-of-bounds ball came out, Barry dribbled the ball forward. Guo Xu suddenly launched a close-fitting press near the midline. His hand movements were very clean and he hit his opponent hard with his body.

By applying pressure near the midline, opponents can easily make mistakes if they lose concentration. Barry's strength was average, and he was thinking about how to fight back, when Guo Xu came up and got close to him.

Barry protected the basketball with his back, subconsciously took a step back and then changed direction to the right, trying to use the width of the court to escape, but he heard the referee's whistle. He looked at the referee and thought it was a foul on Guo Xu. Unexpectedly, the referee made a return violation gesture, indicating that he would shoot the ball back to his own half, and the ball was awarded to Michigan.

Guo Xu looked at Barry and said in a regretful tone: You are just like this? You are so tall for nothing, it is a waste of talent.

Barry was stunned. He was a third-year player. He had read the opponent's information before the game. Guo Xu was only a freshman. How could this guy look like a rookie? Talking is so exciting.

Peterson passed the sideline ball to Cliffs, the players pulled away, and Cliffs broke through from the left without relying on a cover to hold the ball in singles.

As the Wisconsin defense shrank, the two formed a double-team near the left penalty area. Cliffs passed the ball to the center and rotated the defense quickly. Richardson had no chance to shoot and took a step forward to find Peterson on the right.

Peterson was also double-teamed when he broke through. Wisconsin's formation is a 122 zone defense, which is characterized by one person at the top of the middle near the three-point line, two people a little outside the three-second zone in the mid-range, and two people defending on both sides of the inside rebound. .

The advantage of this formation is its ability to maintain pressure on the outside and effectively combat outside shooting teams through double-teaming. When the opponent's defender breaks through or cuts inside, two or three people can shrink and surround the penalty area at any time, which can also ensure the defense of the penalty area. The weakness is that the high position and the bottom corner cannot double-team.

In order to defeat his opponents, coach Dick Bennett worked hard to build the team's defensive system. In his previous life, Guo Xu didn't understand the NCAA situation and thought Wisconsin was nothing special. In fact, in his previous life, they defended Michigan and only scored 53 points in the game. , lost because they did not have a star to drive the team's offense, and only scored 41 points.

After passing the ball several times, Richardson remembered what Guo Xu had asked him to do before the game and sent the ball out to the outside. He wanted to help Guo Xu get the MOP and realize his dream of entering the NBA.

Guo Xu relied on Randy to cover his movement without the ball. He received the ball at a 70-degree angle on the right side and faced the frame. He assumed a three-threat posture and feinted with both hands holding the ball. Barry bypassed the screen to pursue the defense, but Guo Xu missed the shot and took a big step with his right foot to change direction and break through.

Due to the inertia of the pursuit, Barry was unable to move laterally quickly and was passed by in one step. Guo Xu's emergency stop at the corner attracted power forward Bill Stricker to cover up, and the ball was passed to Richardson in the right corner.

There was a big vacancy in the bottom corner. The two had trained together for more than a year. Guo Xu knew exactly where Richardson liked to run. The latter took aim and shot, and the ball went hollow into the net.

5-0, Guo Xu sent out the first assist, and the two clapped their hands when returning to defense.

Commentator Woodson shouted: It's point guard Jason Guo again. He broke through and assisted forward Jason Richardson to hit a three-pointer. Both are freshmen. Their opening performance was very eye-catching!

Barry dribbled the ball to the frontcourt to play a pick-and-roll. Guo Xu bypassed the screen from the inside to pursue the defense, blocking the way near the penalty area line and completing the close-up.

Barry failed to break through and passed the ball out. Wisconsin's style of play was to slow down the rhythm, ensure the success rate of the offense, and constantly share the ball to create opportunities. If it was impossible for the players to play alone.

The Spartans were able to keep up with people in every position. Wisconsin almost ran out of 30 seconds of attack time. Shooting guard Al Rogers and center James Bailey started a pick-and-roll. The latter cut through to catch the ball and hit hard. Richardson Richardson quickly took off for the second time and dialed the ball out of the penalty area.

In Guo Xu's previous life, no one ever praised Richardson for his good defense. He was often passed by when he played shooting guard. But in the NCAA, Richardson's defensive end is by no means a loophole, and even plays a key role. He has unparalleled mobility when he plays the 4th position. He can quickly make up defenses, assist defenses, and protect backcourt rebounds.

Cliffs picked up the ball and made a one-stop fast break layup. He missed the goal but caused Al to foul. After making two free throws and making one, it was 6-0.

When Wisconsin attacked, the players began to move the ball again and compete with their opponents on the court for patience. This made people speechless. They did not look like a group of young people at all. Reducing the number of rounds to ensure efficiency was the veteran's style of play.

With 30 seconds to run out, power forward Bill missed a three-pointer from the outside line under interference, and the rebound was grabbed by Randy.

Michigan's play style is the other extreme. Izzo asked for a quick counterattack, as fast as he can play, and to take advantage of the speed of the two defenders. The players did so. Randy passed the ball to Cliffs to start a fast break, and the frontcourt Three against two.

Cliffs received the ball and passed it to Richardson. The latter held the ball in the middle and cut in, attracting Bill and Barry to defend. He distributed the ball to the right side. Guo Xu received the ball at 50 degrees and shot a three-pointer. No one interferes.

The ball draws a wonderful arc, hollow into the net, brush!

9-0, Guo Xu scored his 5th individual point.

Tom Izzo jumped up from the bench and took the lead in applauding Guo Xu vigorously. The bench players also applauded. Only Jack Layman had a grimace. He knew that he had nothing to do in these two games.