The rise of basketball legends

"Chen! To be honest, do you secretly go to practice in the middle of the night every day!"

"Your progress is too exaggerated, a CROSSOVER almost shakes Damian out of the earth!"

"Hahaha! Did you see Damian's expression after the training match? Those who didn't know thought he just ate a catty of shit!"

After the team's training, Durant still looked unfulfilled, recalling every detail of Chen Yan's training match while eating the crispy noodles in his hand.

"KD, don't get excited, these are just basic operations..."

"Chen, you will definitely shine in the next March Madness!" Durant finished speaking and handed his bag of crispy noodles to Chen Yan: "Would you like some?"

"It smells pretty good." Chen Yan sniffed his nose.

"Then I'll pour you some and reach out."

Now it's time to leave school, the black girl and the white girl who just finished class are talking and laughing, the fragrant grass, the bright sunshine.

All this made Chen Yan lament how wonderful the campus is!

Along the way, Chen Yan heard a lot of comments about Durant.

The teachers and students of the school are full of enthusiasm for the upcoming March Madness. Discussions about the event can be heard in every corner of the campus. As the number one star of the Texas Longhorns, Durant is naturally the object of everyone's attention.

And Chen Yan standing next to Durant is like an invisible person, but he believes that when the "March Madness" officially starts, all this will change...

Soon, the two returned to the dormitory.

Chen Yan and Durant's accommodation conditions are good, with two bedrooms and one living room, open balcony, private bathroom, and a kitchen. This kind of configuration is considered luxurious in a university.

"Crash!"

After returning to the dormitory, Chen Yan immediately took a shower, while Durant opened his notebook.

On weekdays, Du Xiaoshuai's hobby is surfing the Internet, and he especially likes to browse some news related to himself.

"Chen, I don't think I have much room for improvement."

Just as Chen Yan came out of the bathroom after taking a shower, Durant's voice came over.

"How to say?" Chen Yan stepped forward and asked.

"Look, the draft predictions of major websites now rank me either as the first pick or the second pick. How can this make me improve?"

Chen Yan glanced at Durant. It was obvious that Xiao Shuai was in Versailles.

"Kevin, what are you going to do with your first income when you enter the NBA?"

"I'll give most of the money to my mom," Durant said, rubbing his chin.

Du Xiaoshuai is a single-parent family, and his conditions were not very good since he was a child. His mother had to work two jobs every day to support him in studying and playing basketball, and his life was very hard.

Chen Yan nodded after listening, just when he was moved by Xiaoshuai's filial piety, Durant suddenly changed the subject:

"In addition, I will buy a lot of crispy noodles, pile them up in the whole room, eat a pack every day, and throw away a pack!"

Chen Yan: "..."

No wonder the fans in the previous life said Durant was the richest dick, now Chen Yan finally understands why.

......

......

The day of March Madness is getting closer and closer.

The Longhorns, who are 25-10 this year, will be the No. 4 seed in the Southern Division.

Their first opponent is No. 13 seed New Mexico State University.

The NCAA tournament is divided into four divisions: the Eastern District, the Central and Western District, the Southern District, and the Western District.

Starting from the round of 64, the 16 teams in each division are ranked No. 1 to No. 16 according to their division records.

No. 1 against the No. 16 seed.

No. 2 against the No. 15 seed.

And so on...

The winner of each round advances to the next round.

The 16 teams that advance after the third round are known as the Sweet Sixteen.

The eight teams that advanced after the fourth round are called the Elite Eight.

In the end, each of the four major divisions will determine a championship team to form the final four.

In the end, the top four will face off against each other, and the winner will enter the final to compete for the championship!

All games are single elimination system, very exciting!

It can be said that March Madness maximized the uncertainty of sports, and this is precisely the charm of sports.

3 month 18 day.

7:30 p.m.

Fans finally ushered in the University of Texas VS New Mexico State University game!

In order to ensure the fairness of the game, the NCAA usually selects a neutral court to play in the knockout stage.

Today's game venue for the two sides is the home of the Phoenix Suns - the American West Arena!

The Meixi Arena, which could only accommodate 1.9 people, flooded in with 2.5 fans tonight!

The entire arena was packed to the brim!

The enthusiasm of the fans can be imagined!

"GO! Texas Longhorns! GO!!!"

"Don't give your opponent a chance!"

"Get rid of them! Come on, New Mexico State University!!"

"Kick their asses and bring the win back to Texas!"

Before the game even started, fans from both sides kept cheering and clamoring from the stands.

The atmosphere of basketball is very strong, Chen Yan has already smelled the smell of gunpowder before the game started.

In this environment, he can't wait to play to show his talent!

In addition to enthusiastic fans, many NBA players also came to watch the game.

Nash, Stoudemire and Grant Hill of the Suns were talking and laughing off the court at this time.

Fans have been surprised by this.

As March Madness, which attracts the attention of the whole United States, it is normal to attract some celebrities and NBA players to watch the game.

The faces of the three are full of satisfaction. They are all players running on this field on weekdays, and it is rare for them to be spectators.

"Amare, which team do you think will win tonight?"

During the warm-up stage of the players, Nash, who was free, asked Stoudemire beside him.

"I don't know. I don't know these two teams." Stoudemire spread his hands and said straightforwardly.

Stoudemire has little interest in this game and even the entire NCAA. If he hadn't been kicked out after a fight with his wife today, he probably wouldn't have appeared at the game.

"Grant, which team do you like?" Nash turned his head and asked Hill beside him.

Hill smiled. "The Texas Longhorns have a better winning percentage."

"Because they're the No. 4 seed?" Nash asked.

"No, because they have Kevin Durant."

After listening to Hill's words, Nash cast his eyes on the tall and thin boy on the court.

He has also read a lot of reports about Durant. To be honest, Nash is also looking forward to Durant's performance tonight.

Although there is no commercial operation like the NBA, the NCAA also has a star effect. As the current No. [-] small forward in the NCAA and a strong contender for the No. [-] pick this year, Durant's appearance always attracts a lot of attention.

At this time, Chen Yan was warming up by Durant's side like a little transparent, no one paid attention to him, a nobody.

After a while, the shouts of the fans increased by tens of decibels.

The entrance ceremony has begun!

"This college basketball atmosphere...how is it better than the NBA?"

After feeling the warm atmosphere at the scene, Stoudemire couldn't help sighing.

Like Kobe, Garnett and other stars, Stoudemire has attended many colleges but never went to college. Naturally, he has no chance to experience the NCAA game atmosphere.

"This is March Madness!"

Nash looked at these young players who appeared one after another with some fascination, his eyes were full of his appearance in the NCAA.

After the pregame ceremony, all the Texas Longhorns gathered around head coach Rick Barnes.

Pregame talks are part of the Texas Longhorns' repertoire.

"Boys! After a season of hard work, we are finally here, the stage we all dream of!"

"Cheer up! Don't be disturbed by the outside world, keep 12 points of focus, and enjoy the crazy March that belongs to you!"

"Fight for our family, fight for our fans, fight for our badge!

The head coach Rick Barnes mobilized the players' emotions at once!

"Win the game!"

"Send them back home!"

"One! Two! Three! The Texas Longhorns must win!"

The Texas Longhorns put their hands together and chanted victory chants.

Chen Yan also shouted along with his teammates.

Although the game has not yet started, the high spirits of the team and the warm atmosphere of the scene have already made his blood boil!

After the pre-match mobilization, Chen Yan returned to the bench with all the substitutes.

Although Chen Yan's performance on the training ground has amazed the coaching staff these days, head coach Rick Barnes decided to put him on the bench.

At this stage of the schedule, no coach will easily change his main roster. The change of main players is very likely to destroy the team's tacit understanding and chemical reaction accumulated over a season.

All Chen Yan can do now is wait.

"Beep!"

With the whistle of the referee, the game officially begins!

Texas Longhorns starting lineup: DJ Augustin, Justin Mason, AJ Abrams, Durant, Damien James

This is a typical small lineup, and the tallest player in the team is actually Durant, who is at the small forward position.

New Mexico State University starting lineup: Doug Brown, Noah Richardson, Branson, Sutton, Marcus Gill

Unlike the Texas Longhorns, NMSU didn't have an NBA-caliber player, and their ability to make it to March Madness was all about teamwork.

The game started with the Texas Longhorns jumping to the hoop first.

On the first attack, DJ-Augustin handed the ball to Durant.

At the beginning, the Texas Longhorns resorted to the team's most stable tactic: give the ball to Durant.

With a simple shake of the ball, Durant directly pulled up and shot Branson in the face.

"Shh!"

The goal was scored easily. Branson took off half a beat late and did not interfere too much with Xiaoshuai's shooting.

Looking back, NMS responded with a very different offense than the Longhorns.

Noah Richardson circles to the top of the arc through a screen, catches the ball and hands it to Sutton who runs back to the free throw line.

Sutton took advantage of the trend and made a ground pass to find Marcus Gill inside, who easily hit the board and hit two points.

The players of New Mexico State University are not outstanding in personal ability, but they have a good sense of teamwork and strong tactical execution.

Texas Longhorns offensive round.

DJ-Augustin used the pick-and-roll to reach the basket. Seeing no chance, he came out in a circle and handed the ball to Durant near the free throw line.

Xiaoshuai found a shooting opportunity after making three threats, and it was another mid-range shot!

"Shh!"

The rhythm of the ball is perfect, and the opponent can only look at the ball and sigh.

Hit two mid-range shots in a row in the opening game!

Everyone thought that Xiaoshuai was going to go berserk in this game, but no one thought that this was Durant's only sports score in 10 minutes!

New Mexico State obviously studied the Texas Longhorns' offense and took special care of Durant in the following rounds.

Constantly use double-teams and defensive circles to cut off the connection between Durant and his teammates.

Offensively, New Mexico State will shoot whoever has the opportunity.

This style of play seems to have no offensive core, but in fact every player is an offensive core.

About 10 minutes into the game, New Mexico State University had already achieved a 5-point lead.

DJ-Augustin played very poorly at the beginning, only scored 4 points on 1 of 2 shots, and did not connect the team's offense very well.

Faced with this situation, Durant can only retreat to a deep position to get the ball.

Durant's style of play fell right into the arms of the Mexican State University.

Mexico State University put pressure on Durant to defend, give a sudden shot, and let the big man Marcus Gill block the shot to interfere with Durant's layup.

This defensive system is a bit like the 2004 Detroit Pistons.

According to the scouting report, mid-range and long-range shots are Durant's main offensive method, accounting for more than 7% of his shots. Therefore, New Mexico State University's defensive strategy made Xiao Shuai very uncomfortable.

The output of sports warfare was blocked, and Durant could only continue to make fouls to kill opponents.

Constipated in scoring, the Texas Longhorns' offensive scene looked to be struggling.

Rick Barnes was not idle, making continuous substitutions and adjustments, but the effect was mediocre.

The Texas Longhorns' second unit doesn't have players who can stretch Durant's offense.

In the last 5 minutes of the first half, DJ-Augustin hit his first three-pointer of the game.

Rick Barnes continued to make substitutions, replacing Dexter Pittman and Martin Hill one after another to ensure the team's defensive rebounds.

On the offensive end, Rick Barnes still relies on the outside combination of Durant and Augustin.

The difference between the two sides has always been maintained at around 5 points.

After a dead ball, Rick Barnes cast his eyes on Chen Yan, but in the end he did not replace him.

Chen Yan has not proven himself in official competitions, and Rick Barnes does not fully trust him.