Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 32 is always like this.
"The Duke players are undoubtedly unhappy with Eli's deliberate offense to their head coach!"

"Yes, they definitely think Eli crossed the line!"

"However, that's Eli for you. He's widely considered a master of trash talk and psychological warfare!"

Mike Krzyzewski stood with his arms crossed in front of the bench—he had fielded his preferred "three guards + mobile big man" lineup today. The backcourt duo of Greg Paulus and Jon Schayer had already torn apart countless opponent defenses this season. Add to that the athletic DeMarcus Nelson, and while Duke lacked a proper-sized small forward, this was actually the norm in college basketball.

Their opponent, TTU, also doesn't have a proper small forward; that position has always been filled by Xu Ling and Martin Zeno in rotation.

The key is whether the player responsible for filling the gap has enough talent.

Duke has talent.

This was where Khrushchevsky's confidence lay, but Xu Ling's initial provocation did indeed linger in everyone's minds.

The Blue Devils' star player stepped up.

Josh McRoberts received the ball at the high post, and compared to him, Darrell Dorra was like a center from the 60s.

McRoberts faked a shot, dribbled the ball, and drove to the basket for a layup.

Then, McRoberts intended to say a few words to Knight like Xu Ling had, but he was intimidated by the imposing aura emanating from Knight's gloomy rabbit eyes, and instead said to Xu Ling, "This is Coach K's return gift!"

"Darryl, when are you going to stop making me worry about your damn defense?!"

Knight's roar came from the sidelines.

Dora looked completely innocent; he simply couldn't handle a versatile inside player like McRoberts.

If you pay too much attention to his shots, he is likely to break through your defense. But if you lower your center of gravity or spread out your defense to limit his breakthroughs, he will shoot directly over you.

“Don’t worry about it, he was the number one high school student in the country (2005) after all,” Xu Ling said. “It’s normal for him to kick your butt hard.”

Dora laughed and said, "Thanks for your comforting words, newbie, I feel even worse."

"Be patient, position yourself well, and wait for me to pass the ball!" Xu Ling said calmly.

Duke certainly wouldn't fight unprepared. Their three guards on the perimeter all possess good athleticism, and Coach K made meticulous plans to defend Xu Ling before the game started.

Once Xu Ling receives the ball on the outside, Nelson, who is defending Zeno, will quickly come over to double-team him.

If a pick-and-roll is called, a switch will be executed decisively.

Moreover, the players double-teaming will use their wingspan to ensure that Xu Ling cannot pass the ball directly to an open teammate with a single pass. Even if the double-teamers do not do a good job of harassing, the other three players will actively block the passing route.

In short, it's impossible to give Xu Ling the opportunity to create an open shot by using double teams on the perimeter.

Once a second pass is made through a teammate acting as a "relay station," Duke players' athleticism allows them to easily fill the gaps.

This is the kind of game that college coaches love to play, a game that might be called over-coaching in the NBA.

The players on the field are just pawns of the coach; most things that happen on the field are under the coach's control.

This was also the first time Xu Ling experienced what a defensive package was like in the NCAA.

If a tailor-made package works, it can block a player's opportunity to launch an attack from a certain position.

It can be said that Duke used this tight defensive package to shut down his opportunities to receive the ball directly in the sweet spot on the perimeter and launch an attack.

However, Knight also has plans for Duke.

Although Duke has a wealth of talent, their record this year has been poor, with only 8 wins and 8 losses in the ACC. In some smaller leagues, such a record would not be enough to earn them a wildcard entry into March Madness.

Duke's poor record stems from their overflowing talent but lack of a court vision and offensive consistency.

Josh McRoberts is undoubtedly an outstanding college player, but he lacks leadership. Duke's true leader is Greg Paulus, but he doesn't possess the former's skills. The other starters all have good athleticism, but they are either technically rough or severely unbalanced in their skills.

Knight seized on Duke's weakness, setting up a 2-3 zone defense. Xu Ling was matched up against Duke's top outside scorer, Paulus, while Zeno closely guarded the opponent's most reliable perimeter shooter, Jon Shayer, creating an impenetrable defense under the basket, allowing them to attack freely.

In the first ten minutes of the first half, the presence of both coaches was extremely noticeable.

If any point goes wrong, the coach will point at the player who made the mistake and berate them.

It was probably only at this moment that people realized Coach K was truly Knight's disciple.

In the eleventh minute of the game, McRoberts used a screen to pull away from Jarius Jackson, who was supposed to switch on him, and then drained a three-pointer.

"Shh!"

Duke leads by three points, 12 to 9.

Knight immediately called a timeout.

"JJ, you said you want to play in the NBA?" Knight roared furiously. "With so many NBA general managers here tonight, who do you think will give you a chance? Your contribution so far is zero, you've been completely useless! You've failed the title of captain!"

He roared, "Get off the field! I've had enough of you!"

Then, Knight turned to second-year guard Allen Voskull: "You come on and take JJ's place! Martin Zeno, from now on you'll be guarding Greg Paulus!" Knight then glared at Xu Ling, "Do you remember what I told you at the start of the game?"

"Slaughter them?"

"So how did you do it?"

"I slammed home a beautiful basket."

"And then you just fucking did absolutely nothing!" Knight roared. "You want to say you were double-teamed and couldn't attack? Fine, I'll let you control the ball! Unless the damn Blue Devils start double-teaming you from the backcourt, I don't want to hear any more of your bullshit excuses!"

The timeout ended, and the referee signaled for both teams to return to the court. Xu Ling stopped before stepping onto the court, turned around and looked directly at Knight: "Besides my opening shot, I also shut down Greg Paulus."

“What do you want me to say?” Knight trembled with anger. “A fucking kiss?” “No, just a reminder.” Xu Ling said this, turned and walked onto the court. “Don’t blame me for other people’s mistakes.”

Knight was furious and wanted to say something, but Xu Ling had already walked away. He turned around and saw Jackson being substituted off the court. He pointed at his incompetent captain and roared, "See that, JJ? What a terrible captain you are! Our rookie isn't even willing to take the blame for you!"

The relationship between Xu Ling and Knight was filled with similar turbulence.

Knight always tries to get angry at Xu Ling as a warning to others, but Xu Ling firmly refuses to take responsibility that is not his.

Their season was filled with similar arguments, with Knight often saying he could no longer stand the damn rookie, while Xu Ling never explicitly expressed his dislike, but instead used his consistently outstanding performance to make Knight raise his standards time and time again.

Xu Ling dribbled the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt and positioned himself at the top of the key.

Duke did not have a contingency plan for Xu Ling to play point guard.

DeMarcus Nelson's one-on-one defense looked hopeless.

However.
Xu Ling suddenly swayed and stepped back, creating a one-meter distance between himself and Nelson. He then leaped up and, ignoring everyone, launched a pull-up three-pointer.

"You fucking—" Knight's roar continued until the basketball pierced the net, "Good! Defend him, kill them."

Texas Tech University thus overtook them.

This scene gave Mike Krzyzewski goosebumps. He couldn't believe that Coach Knight had specifically called a timeout just so that Xu Ling could dribble to the top of the arc and force a three-pointer.

This is something Coach Knight will not tolerate.

However, Krzyzewski then saw Xu Ling high-five Knight and exchange a quick message during his defensive run.

Was that person really Coach Knight?
Coach K wouldn't have this thought if he had overheard their conversation.

"If you keep throwing those fancy balls, I'm taking you out!"

"But I made it, coach."

On the defensive end, Xu Ling switched to guard Duke's sharpshooter, Jon Shayer.

Zeno's defense against him wasn't very successful, so Knight assigned Xu Ling to defend him. If a pitcher like that gets going, the defense will be very difficult.

However, Shayer is also a very pure pitcher with virtually no ability to attack with the ball, so this arrangement actually freed up Xu Ling.

He can keep an eye on Shayer and observe the situation on the field to make immediate judgments.

Every Duke offense had to start with Paulus or McRoberts.

This is a clear characteristic.

Shayar made a move, trying to take Xu Ling away from the core area.

Xu Ling followed him, but as Duke's tactics were initiated, he broke away from the defense like a ghost. Right behind McRoberts, an evil hand reached out—with a thud, the basketball fell to the ground.

McRoberts opened his eyes wide and saw that Xu Ling had somehow gotten behind him.

"Counterattack!!!"

Martin Zeno roared as he retrieved the ball.

Xu Ling, who had just stolen the ball, started at full speed and pointed at the basket.

"No, is it that far?"

Zeno's heart skipped a beat, but Xu Ling still pointed to the basket.

Zeno couldn't imagine how Knight would punish him if he missed this shot, but Xu Ling kept pointing at the basket, determined to make a big mistake.

So Zeno hardened his heart and threw the ball forward with both hands.

It wasn't the best pass, but it was the most opportune moment. Xu Ling had just arrived in the paint, and with a push of his feet, he bounced as if he had springs in his body.

"Eli!!!!!!!!!"

The commentator screamed the name of the man in the air.

Xu Ling grabbed the ball with one hand and slammed it into the basket with all his might.

boom! ! ! !

When Xu Ling heard Knight cursing and swearing on the sidelines again, he knew that the old man was angry again.

As he ran past the Duke bench, he saw Mike Krzyzewski staring at him and suddenly asked, "Coach K, how long have you and Coach Knight's 'friendship' lasted?"

This question was offensive, yet it hit the nail on the head. The bond between teacher and student is a beautiful story, but he dismissed it as "friendship" and added the word "time-sensitive," clearly with a hint of mockery.

Khrushchevsky paused for a moment, but quickly replied, "A full twenty years."

"Thanks a lot."

After Xu Ling finished speaking, he turned and ran away without looking back.

Xu Ling found it hard to believe that Coach K could tolerate Knight for twenty years. He himself had only endured it for a few months and already felt he was nearing his limit. However, he soon discovered that once he saw through Knight's path-dependent bluffing tactics, it was easy to deal with. Xu Ling was now completely immune to Knight's little tricks.

Putting aside all the chaotic drama, Knight remains a good coach. But Xu Ling couldn't help but wonder, even if his motives were good and the results were good, can these "good" core elements truly justify the legitimacy of the methods he used?
He ran back again, passing Knight once more. What was he going to say this time?
“If you’re feeling hot, keep attacking!” Knight said in a deep voice, “but don’t get carried away. Don’t forget this is a five-man game!”

Yes, that's always been the case.

(End of this chapter)