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The incident on the field did not affect McGillop on the sidelines, where the veteran coach was sitting.

Nearby, sports director Murphy hurried over. He was still wearing a suit, but the sweat on his brow and his slightly open collar showed that he was not in a good mood.

"Hey McGillop, my old buddy, the game starts in ten minutes and we still haven't announced the starting lineup," Murphy said anxiously.

"A lot of media came to this game, damn it, they're all here to see those bastards from the Kansas Jayhawks. We have to find a way to beat those bastards."

So, my dear head coach, what is our starting lineup for this match? Or rather, who is the team's starting small forward?

McGillop didn't say anything, but silently handed the note he often held on the sidelines to Murphy.

The note had two names written on it, Zhou Yi and Aize. The two names were constantly being crossed out and rewritten until only one name remained.

Murphy glanced at the note, a hint of shock flashing in his eyes, yet also a hint of certainty about the answer.

Davidson's gift is finally about to be opened, but whether it will blossom or fall like a shooting star, no one knows.

The answer lies in that basketball on the court, which is 23.85 centimeters in diameter.

-

As the start time approached, the fans in the packed stands became increasingly restless, constantly shouting, screaming, cheering, and making other noisy noises.

"Go Wildcats, take down those damn bastards!"

"Curry, Curry!!"

Amid the cheers, Zhou Yi stood on the sidelines, making his final preparations for his entrance.

Just ten minutes ago, he had received a notification from the coaching staff that he would be starting in this match.

Meanwhile, in the stands, the audience members looked puzzled as they watched Zhou Yi standing courtside with Curry, waiting to take the court.

"Who is this kid? Didn't we just bring in four-star high school player Eze for our small forward position?"

"Asians can't play basketball, we need Eze."

"Aze, Aze."

A small group of fans started making a fuss the moment Zhou Yi appeared. As the first official game of the new season, the Wildcats' head coach did not field the four-star high school student Eze, but instead chose an unknown Chinese boy.

Watching this scene, McGillop couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for Zhou Yi on the sidelines.

Placing key signing Eze on the bench and instead choosing an unknown Chinese player was inherently a risky move.

If they suffer a defeat against the Jayhawks, a team they have a long-standing rivalry with, even McGillop, who has coached the Wildcats for many years, will face criticism.

However, after a month of getting to know and observing him, McGillop had come to acknowledge the Chinese boy's abilities.

He works hard and does extra training every day. His better shooting and basketball IQ compared to Eze also make him a better fit for the Wildcats' passing and cutting.

To protect the boy from premature criticism from the media and fans and from getting caught in a media storm, McGillop has kept the team's starting lineup undecided.

But the worst-case scenario still happened. As a key signing this season, Eze was highly anticipated by many Wildcats fans.

When Zhou Yi unexpectedly replaced Eze, his different skin color and nationality still brought him more influence.

"Go back, kid, we need Eze."

One excited fan even took off his shirt before being escorted out by security.

"Don't be nervous, Zhou. That's how the audience is. When you're unknown, they'll yell at you, but when you achieve something, they become the most loyal people in the world. And when you get old and leave the field, they'll miss you."

Curry patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder from behind, seemingly trying to help his new teammate relieve pressure.

"I'm fine, Curry."

As he spoke, Zhou Yi stepped onto the field. He calmly looked at the fans on the sidelines, who were cursing and booing.

But so what? He'll have these guys giving him the loudest cheers in an hour.

"Beep—"

With the referee's whistle, the match officially began.

The basketball was passed from the tall and long-armed Aldridge to the Jayhawks' point guard Collins, a future NBA undrafted player who played one season for the Charlotte Hornets before disappearing from the league.

However, during his college years, he was an absolute star player.

Although he is only 180cm tall, he is strong and has a powerful build, making him a short, stocky, and powerful player.

He controlled the ball firmly and advanced it to the frontcourt.

Wildcats head coach McGillop's strategy for this game was to have fourth shooting guard Gosling switch onto the opposing point guard, a 198cm tall Canadian.

Curry was tasked with guarding the Jayhawks' shooters to reduce the physical exertion on the defensive end.

Collins, nicknamed "Little Steel Cannon," controlled the ball and used his speed to get past Gosling, driving towards the paint.

Seeing the opponent charging towards him, Lovedale hurriedly raised his hand high, but the basketball in Collins' hand was clearly higher in the arc.

"boom--"

The sound of a slam dunk echoed behind Lofdale as Aldridge slammed Collins' alley-oop ball into the basket with both hands.

"Oh, an alley-oop dunk! Aldridge scores the first point of the game."

After the alley-oop, Aldridge didn't immediately retreat to defense. Instead, he stood arrogantly under the basket and bowed slightly, seemingly thanking the audience for watching his performance.

"FUCK, you damn guy."

"You idiot, the Wildcats will beat you to a pulp."

Wildcats fans on the sidelines were enraged by Aldridge's arrogant behavior, and shouts of abuse came from the stands.

Aldridge remained unmoved, and even mimicked the AI's ability to listen.

"Hey guys, the Wildcats' hoops are really delicious today."

As Aldridge ran, he talked triumphantly to his teammates on the field, and even secretly nudged Zhou Yi from behind.

"Hey, noodle kid, watch out."

The game continued, the Wildcats were on offense, and the ball got into Curry's hands, seemingly to regain his pride from earlier.

Lofdale stretched out his hand high in the paint, calling for the ball, and Curry lobbed it to the captain.

With one or two blows, Lovedale's back pounded against Aldridge, the muscles he'd honed in the gym colliding with Aldridge's and making a series of thuds.

Aldridge is not a player with outstanding dynamic qualities, but he has amazing static talent, and his taller stature makes Lofdale's post-up game less effective.

Seeing that he couldn't get past the defense, Lofdale threw the basketball toward the basket with a turnaround floater.

But Aldridge, with his hands raised, was just too tall, and Lofdale's floater clearly lost its aim, hitting the rim hard and bouncing away.

"Steal the ball—"

The players on the court all rushed towards the bouncing basketball. The Jayhawks' power forward was the closest, and the ball was about to fall into his hands.

But a figure wearing a red jersey with the number eight suddenly burst out from the side like a whirlwind.