Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 30 What a beautiful scene!

March 16, 2007, the first day of the NCAA Tournament, also known as March Madness.

Texas Tech, the top seed in the BIG 12 conference, will face Niagara University's Purple Hawks from New York today.

The Purple Hawks are considered rare visitors to the NCAA Tournament, as the school's strongest sport is ice hockey, and its basketball team has only made it to the NCAA Tournament twice in its more than 100-year history.

Therefore, even if they are eliminated in the first round of the third round of the Madness League this year, it will still be a breakthrough achievement for the school, a feat that will restore its former glory.

Texas Tech, aiming for the national championship, naturally wouldn't consider such an opponent a formidable foe.

The coaching staff had already thoroughly understood the Purple Eagles' personnel structure before the game and made corresponding arrangements.

As expected, TTU's Jordan Xu was given an important task: to guard the Purple Hawks' leading scorer, Charron Fisher SG.

In the history of the Purple Hawks, Fisher was a once-in-a-decades player. In college-level games, his offense had no weaknesses, and he was excellent at both driving and shooting. He was the kind of player who could have a significant impact on the offensive end on his own.

In terms of ability, it's hard to say whether Jarius Jackson of TTU is much better than him. After all, the ceiling for both of them is to lead a team with mediocre talent to the level of Madness 3.

The opponents were unremarkable, but the venue was luxurious enough.

This is the United Center in Chicago.

The place where Michael Jordan became a legend.

Xu Ling saw the famous "unprecedented and unparalleled" flying man statue outside the stadium.

Since it was the Bulls' home court, the entire Bulls management team was present.

Team general manager John Paxson sat in the most prominent position in the front row.

Since Xu Ling is the only player from both teams participating tonight with a clear lottery prospect, Paxson's target for observation is self-evident.

Since Jordan's second retirement in 1998, the Bulls have been trapped in a cycle of tanking.

Jerry Krause's gamble on Eddie Curry and Tyson Chandler, which he attempted to prove that the Bulls could win a championship without Jordan, failed. His decision to trade Elton Brand for this purpose ultimately proved to be a failure, which seems to be the fate of most general managers who are considered to be intelligent.

When Jordan suffered a crushing defeat in Charlotte, even if he wouldn't admit it, he knew in his heart that without Krause's orchestration, the Bulls dynasty wouldn't have emerged. His decisions—choosing Pippen, eyeing Kukoc, and buying Rodman when his value was at an all-time low—laid the foundation for the dynasty and made him believe he was the key figure on the team. But when he detached himself from the very premise of success—Michael Jordan himself—he could never recapture that feeling. Believe me, this isn't an isolated case. Look at how Dumars turned the Pistons into a championship team in just a few years, and then look at how he gradually ruined everything after the Pistons' title win.

The Bulls are still paying the price for Krause's failed rebuild. Paxson had long heard of TTU Jordan's name, and the team's scouts had a very high opinion of Xu Ling, which made him want to come to the stadium to see this emerging superstar in person.

At the start of the match, TTU gave their opponents a rude awakening.

Jarius Jackson hits a three-pointer after receiving the ball;
Martin Zeno received a long pass from Xu Ling after he grabbed the rebound and scored on a fast break;

Then, the key player of the Purple Eagles team got the ball and faced off against Xu Ling—the focus of everyone's attention.

"I don't think you're anything special as a future NBA lottery pick!"

Charlene Fisher was like many upperclassmen Xu Ling had seen; they always said things they didn't mean, trying to disrupt the freshmen's mindset.

Unfortunately, your approach won't work on a fifth-year student like me.

Fisher's dominance is built on both physical and technical maturity, but his absolute talent is not high, his speed is not fast, and his explosiveness is not strong. If he enters a higher level of competition, he will turn from an all-around offensive player in college into an all-around bricklayer.

Xu Ling was merely giving him a preview of the effects of NBA-level talent under intense pressure.

Fisher was unable to use his individual skills to create ideal shooting opportunities.

He dribbled the ball for about ten seconds, then forced a shot with a step-back jumper.

"boom!"

Xu Ling turned around and grabbed the long rebound.

Fisher hastily retreated to defend.

However, the swift counterattack he feared did not happen as he had envisioned; in fact, the outcome was worse than he had anticipated.

Xu Ling dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, about two meters away from the three-point line, which is a bit longer than the standard three-point line in the NBA. Before his teammates had even settled in, he had already raised the ball.

Fisher inwardly cried out in alarm as Xu Ling's three-pointer flew over his head.

"8 to 0."

The Purple Eagles urgently requested a timeout.

Xu Ling glanced at Fisher, said nothing, just shrugged, as if asking, "Is that all you've got?", and then walked off the stage.

Knight criticized Xu Ling's shot selection as usual: "Listen, I've had enough of your Chris Jackson-style shooting, it's utter crap! But since you made it, I'm fine, what else is there to say!"

"No, you already said my shooting is crap."

Xu Ling looked at Knight with displeasure.

Knight turned to the others, continuing to emphasize the importance of defense. After the timeout, the Purple Eagles finally broke through and scored.

However, breaking the scoring drought only alleviated the team's immediate crisis; their real weakness was their inability to stop any of TTU's players.

Xu Ling went to the low post, posted up, turned around, and Fisher's defense was moved around by him, so he couldn't help but take a step forward.

In that instant, a flash of inspiration struck Xu Ling. Certain scenes from Jordan's game footage spurred his body to move forward almost instinctively, then he used his body to separate Fisher, leaned forward, and made a layup—swishing!
"What beautiful low-post footwork!" Pat Knight exclaimed in surprise. "When did Eli learn that?"

Knight remained silent. Ever since he learned that Xu Ling had played full-time center in high school in Hong Kong but had displayed a complete and mature set of guard skills after coming to the United States, nothing that happened to this man would surprise him.

Meanwhile, Paxson was frequently reviewing Xu Ling's past statistics.

When NBA scouts identify a young player and begin in-depth research, they record everything about that player.

The most basic point is to judge his skill proficiency by all the offensive techniques he uses in the game and their accuracy.

"Post-up play is not Eli's regular offensive weapon. At least in the first half of the season, he scored zero points in the low post. Then he started testing his low post skills in games."

Paxson was increasingly confused. How could someone who couldn't back down his opponent learn to play effectively in just half a season?
Moreover, that low-post footwork was totally MJ's style. Whether it was the footwork or the connection of skills, it gave people an indescribable sense of smoothness.

At this moment, Xu Ling blocked Charlene Fisher's shot head-on, then leaped to catch the ball that had crossed half-court, heading straight for the frontcourt, where he executed a Jordan-style two-handed folding dunk right in front of the audience.

"Oh my god! Look at Eli! TTU's number 1!" the DJ at the United Center shouted excitedly, "He's practically Michael Jackson's second coming!"

That shot evoked fond memories of the Jordan era for the audience.

Suddenly, the United Centre, which should have been a neutral venue, seemed to be turning into TTU's home ground.

As long as the ball reaches Xu Ling's hands
"Eli!!!"

The cheers from the crowd were like thunder, rolling in from all directions.

However, TTU Jordan never gave the audience a single response from beginning to end.

He catches the ball with one hand, just like Jordan.

He took a step, shifting Fisher's weight, and then started moving to the left, completing the breakthrough.

Except for not sticking out his tongue during the process, Xu Ling's every move overlapped with Chicago's number 23.

Xu Ling dribbled into the paint, took off from the left, glided, made a circle in the air with one hand to avoid the block, and then lifted the ball from the other side of the basket.

The more matches Xu Ling played, the more confident he became in his talent.

All the moves he could do in his previous life but dared not make in a competition, and all the techniques that he couldn't pose a threat in his previous life due to insufficient talent, can now be used in the competition.

He landed on the ground, looked back at the ball, and saw it spinning rapidly before falling into the net without any suspense.

Xu Ling reached out and gave a high five to Daryl Dora, who was watching with great interest.

"Hey kid, at least respond to the audience!" Dora shouted excitedly. "This is a third-party stadium, you've won over the audience at a neutral venue, are you still going to act cool?!"

Xu Ling didn't even have a smile on his face. A person who is usually kind and friendly seemed to have awakened another personality on the court, showing indifference to everything outside of the game.

"Really? Why do I just find them noisy?"

"Keep pretending, I know you're secretly thrilled!"

With most of the first half played, Texas Tech had already built a 24-point lead.

It seems they don't just want to win, they also want to create a tragedy.

The Bulls' management and scouts from other teams were stunned by the game.

Without Xu Ling, TTU would be just an average strong team, and the match against Niagara University would likely be a 50/50 affair.

However, with Xu Ling added to the mix, they can slaughter their opponents in the competition and become potential contenders for the national championship.

"Did Isaiah mention on the phone a few days ago that he wanted to trade back the Knicks' draft pick?"

John Paxson looked at his assistant.

The assistant nodded and replied, "He's willing to give up anyone on the roster, plus two or more long-term unprotected first-round picks in return!"

“Tell him!” Paxson said decisively, “The Knicks’ 2007 first-round draft pick is our non-tradable asset. Forget about it!”

After saying that, Paxson looked back at the field, where Xu Ling had been substituted and was resting.

TTU Jordan sat on the sidelines, looking extremely calm, while in Paxson's mind, he had already constructed such a picture: they used the Knicks' 2007 first-round draft pick to select Xu Ling in the draft, and he would wear the Bulls jersey next season. That touch of red was just right for him. Eli should fight for the blood droplet on the bull's horn!
What a beautiful scene!

(End of this chapter)