mountain top

Chapter 29: America's Strongest (New book, please collect monthly tickets and recommend tickets!)

Qin Yue won a complete victory in this contest with Freje.

比赛里，只敢躲着他打的弗雷杰全场11投仅4中，算上罚球和三分总计拿到了11分、4篮板、2助攻。

As the star player of the Captain Team
With such a report card, Frege obviously cannot lead the Captains to the next round.

而魔鬼执事队这边，15投11中，其中三分球3投1中，罚球6罚5中的秦岳则是总计为球队轰下了28分、12个篮板、4次助攻、3记封盖、2次抢断。

On the court, he had the 218-cm-tall Plabiszewski and the 208-cm-tall Freje at his disposal.

During March Madness, the media and scouts were surprised to find that:

Qin Yue's dynamic talent seemed to be further activated.

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith commented on Qin Yue's performance in March Madness: "If he runs for the draft this year, I'm totally willing to bet on his talent with a lottery pick!"

After the game, Smith's views were recognized by many people in the community.

After all, birds of prey like Qin Yue who can fly freely during March Madness are rare even in the United States where birds are everywhere.

However, even so, Qin Yue did not intend to change his original plan.

Because not to mention that he must get the quest rewards of "The Dream That Remains Unextinguished" and "In the Name of Inheritance" before the end of his college career.
Given that he can continue to hone his skills in college so that he can enter the NBA with a higher profile in the future, there is no need for him to rush.

In his memory, Qin Yue has witnessed too many Raptors fail in the NBA.

For example, what happened to Stromile Swift, the buck that Barkley called a good runner and jumper?
For example, what happened to Shaun Livingston, who should have gone to Duke for further studies but chose to skip college because he was attracted by fame and fortune?
If his current draft stock was in the top three, Qin Yue would definitely run without hesitation.

Because that means he has no room for improvement in college.

But right now, is it necessary for Qin Yue to gamble that he will be selected by a team that is willing to wait for him to grow and give him football rights to hone his skills?
In Qin Yue's eyes, the probability of that happening was too low.

For him, who has the "Mountain Top" system in his hand in this life, the best way is to perfect his skills in college like his senior Duncan, completely conquer the NBA scouts, and finally enter the NBA as the cornerstone of the team.

……

The day after Paul led the Demon Deacons to a 90-71 win over the Captains.
Wake Forest's next battle with Connecticut became the focus of world attention.

People who were originally discussing whether Jameer Nelson could become the Player of the Year, how far freshman Luol Deng could lead Duke after becoming a starter, and whether Georgia Tech's civilian miracle could continue to be staged have all stopped discussing and immediately turned their attention to the exciting drama that will be staged in the Phoenix Division.

In addition, before the game, the media were also happy to educate fans about the protagonists of this battle through various means.

"Emeka Okafor is one of the most accomplished post players in the NCAA in recent years.

On the court, he has outstanding skills, strong offense and tenacious defense.

Outside the arena, he is both virtuous and academically excellent, and is humble, low-key and pragmatic.

If I had the No. 1 pick this year, Emeka would have been a great pick.”

As a junior, Okafor, who historically would have been selected by the Bobcats with the second pick this year, is undoubtedly Qin Yue's best positive example at the moment.

Although, compared to many second-place picks in Qin Yue's memory, Okafor's career was not outstanding due to long-term back injuries in the NBA.

But in the first few years after entering the NBA, Okafor, who has always been regarded as the core of the Bobcats' inside line, also got the opportunity to fully demonstrate himself.

Perhaps, in the higher-level NBA, Okafor's talent cannot help him reach the next level.

But for Qin Yue, who had already known how talented he was through the Mountaintop system,
Talent cannot be a stumbling block for him.

"Ben Gordon is a guard with a talent you can't describe in words.

He has a gorgeous jump shot and a tight release.

As a well-rounded defender, his only drawback is that he is only 6-foot-3.

But even so, his height can't stop him from shining on the court. "

This season, Gordon averaged 18.5 points per game in the Big-East Conference and is the top scorer on the Connecticut team.

And in history, it is even more terrifying.
In his first year in the NBA, Gordon was successfully elected the NBA's best sixth man.

He averaged 24 points per game for the Bulls in about 15.1 minutes per game.

At this moment, in Qin Yue's eyes,
At least for now, he and Paul are far inferior to Okafor and Gordon in terms of level.

Besides Okafor and Gordon
To what extent is the staffing of this Kangda team reasonable?

It was so reasonable that compared with them, Qin Yue felt that the Devil Deacons were just a ragtag army.

After entering March Madness, Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun prefers to use Hilton Armstrong to partner with Okafor in the interior.

Armstrong, who is 211 cm tall, has excellent jumping ability and wingspan. The inside line guarded by him and Okafor is definitely the most difficult restricted area to break into in this year's March Madness.

In addition, on the team's wing, Coach Kahun boldly used freshman Charlie Villanueva to partner him with shooter Rashard Anderson.

In Qin Yue's memory, Villanueva, one of Yi Jianlian's main future competitors, has a barefoot height of 208 cm.

He is agile and can provide the team with certain firepower support from the outside.

As for Anderson?
Although historically, this guy has never played in the NBA
But as a strong shooter with a height of 196 cm and a weight of 98 kg, his three-point shooting percentage this season is as high as 40.7%, and he can make 2.6 three-pointers per game for Connecticut.

Okafor, Armstrong, Villanueva, Anderson, Gordon.
This five-man combination that Coach Kahun likes very much in March Madness not only has an amazing average height, but also has both athletic ability and outside firepower.

Moreover, when the team is unable to open up the situation, they can always send top players such as Josh Boone, Marcus Williams and Tarik Brown into the battlefield.
This is a super team that is extremely rare even in the history of the NCAA:
— Connecticut Huskies.

Only by overcoming them can Wake Forest advance to the Elite Eight.

On the evening of the 24th.

When Qin Yue, who called himself "Barkley's successor", and his teammates stepped into the American West Arena,
Perhaps the only good news Wake Forest can get before the game is that Qin Yue's identity as "Barkley's successor" will help them gain the favor of neutral fans tonight.

Yes. Similar to the Captains we played in the previous round.

Cornell was also a team that was "dispatched" by the selection committee. (Note ①)

In some ways, they are even worse off than the Demon Deacons and the Skippers.

Because geographically, they were exiled from the northeastern United States to the southwestern United States.

Since Wake Forest and Connecticut are both expeditionary teams, the Phoenix fans who recalled Barkley on this night would of course give their applause and cheers to Qin Yue and his Demon Deacons.

Tonight, the Demon Deacons, playing at home, have taken the lead in gaining both geographical advantage and human harmony.

But on the court, as Connecticut started their first attack after the jump ball amid boos, the Wake Forest players on the field almost instantly felt the oppression brought to them by this Connecticut team.

From the outside, Gordon overtook Gray in one step and made a three-pointer!

This kind of smooth and fluent individual ball-holding offense seemed somewhat unreasonable even in the eyes of the knowledgeable Qin Yue.

Just now, Gray had basically reached his limit in defense.

Can.
This is the quality of a star player.

The more crucial the game is, the more you can test a player's level through it.

Some players seem to be born for big scenes.

Back to the attack by Wake Forest.

Looking at Okafor who took the initiative to match up with him, Qin Yue felt the pressure of sitting in the low position for the first time since entering March Madness.

As a player who was able to average "15+10" per game right after entering the NBA, you should know that the players who played against Okafor during this period were names that were familiar to the fans.

"I remember you weren't that soft when you played against Matt Freger before." Okafor suddenly said to Qin Yue on the court.

Hearing this, Qin Yue, knowing that Okafor was implying that he was bullying the weak and afraid of the strong, did not choose to fight with pride.

But the next second.
Qin Yue, who was getting angrier and angrier as he took a step back, instinctively dove into the low position.

Mike Breen, who was in charge of commentating the game, smiled and said, "Emeka has set up a tight net inside. How will Qin deal with the strongest college student in the United States?"

At the top of the arc, Paul saw Qin Yue diving into the low post and immediately gave a signal to Gray who was ambushing on the wing.

At this moment, Paul, who refuses to admit defeat by nature, also does not want his inside partner to give in to Okafor in the game.

In fact, if Qin Yue had really left the low post to set a screen for him, Paul would have been very likely to say Kobe's famous quote to Qin Yue out of disappointment:

"Put away your damn pick-and-roll and get back to the low post to go one-on-one with Emeka Okafor!"

On the court, Qin Yue quickly attacked Okafor after getting the ball.

However, no matter how hard he tried, Okafor was able to handle it calmly.

Unlike the opponents Qin Yue faced before, Okafor's low-post defense is well-tested.

Throughout his college career, Okafor averaged more than 4 blocks per season.

With his reputation in college basketball, he is known as a low-post defensive demon and an enhanced offensive version of Wallace.

However, what Okafor, who was standing still at the moment, did not expect was that Qin Yue's back-to-the-basket attack was not entirely based on brute force.

"Back-to-the-basket attack relies on rhythm."

In a low position, after a fake back-to-back shot, Qin Yue suddenly moved to the other side.

At this moment, Okafor, who was unable to control Qin Yue, began to move his center of gravity.

Then, Qin Yue retracted his center of gravity like a loach and turned in the opposite direction of Okafor's center of gravity.

At this moment, Qin Yue's talent was fully revealed.

But inside, before he could turn around, Armstrong and Okafor double-teamed him from the front and the back!
Seeing this, Qin Yue instinctively recalled his teammates' daily running habits in his mind and quickly transferred the ball to the bottom corner of the line.

Due to Armstrong's assist, Connecticut's overall defense had to retreat.

Therefore, in the bottom corner, they naturally had to leave Justin Gray, who had been waiting there for a long time, open.

From the moment Paul passed the ball to Qin Yue, Gray had been quietly lying in ambush here.

Swish-!
On the court, Gray scored a goal with great efficiency to tie the score for the Demon Deacons.

On the bench, Ronnie Evans, who always knew how to liven up the atmosphere, waved his towel and shouted at the Connecticut players on the court, "Do you think the No. 1 player in the United States and double-teaming can control Qin?

He is a 208cm tall magician!"

In fact, judging by the noisy atmosphere in the stadium tonight,
The Connecticut players on the field couldn't hear Evans' complaints at all.

But Qin Yue's assist actually broke through the entire Kangda defense!
In the commentary booth, Mike Breen said: "Connecticut needs to be careful. The raptor of Wake Forest tonight is obviously calmer than we expected."

At the America West Arena, the game continues.

Next, it was Connecticut's turn to attack.

……

Note ①: Don't be surprised, the NCAA selection committee is just so incompetent. However, Connecticut, which was historically sent to the Phoenix Division, eventually made it all the way through the entire Phoenix Division. It must be said that this is also a manifestation of absolute strength.

PS: I’m begging for collection, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets for my new book!

(End of this chapter)