In the locker room after the game, Tigers players were excited and gathered around Pastner.
Pastner looked around, his voice choked up, "Thank you! In the end, we made it to the end. We defeated one strong enemy after another, and we have reached this point. Every one of you is doing a great job!"
The players were infected by his emotion and applauded spontaneously.
Li Kaiming stood in the crowd, looking at Pastner, whose eyes were a little red, and he was filled with emotions.
If Pastner doesn't lead the team to March Madness, he will be fired.
And if he hadn't seized the opportunity to come on as a substitute, he would have also faced leaving the basketball he loved most.
…
The C-USA league champion also has a trophy. At Pastner's suggestion, everyone took a group photo around the trophy.
Looking at the happy faces of Pastner and his teammates, Li Kaiming knew that after Calipari left, Memphis would soon usher in a new era, and in this era, he would be the most important part of it. , and create their own era together with their teammates.
——
Memphis, Tennessee.
In the living room with a very obvious Chinese style, a middle-aged man burped, stroking his round beer belly with his left hand, holding a toothpick in his mouth with his right hand, and slowly moved to the sofa in the living room.
He skillfully turned on the TV, closed his eyes comfortably, and felt the blockage between his teeth, while he kept picking at those naughty strands of meat with a toothpick.
Today's news is playing on the TV across from the coffee table.
"According to the Daily News Journal, the C-USA League playoffs held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, came to an end today. The University of Memphis Tigers defeated the University of Texas at El Paso 78:56. The Miners won the league championship this season..."
The middle-aged man's ears twitched, his eyes suddenly opened, he bent down to find the remote control for a long time, then quickly turned up the volume of the TV, while staring at the TV screen intently, as if he had seen something extraordinary.
"In this game, Memphis Tigers player No. 34 Li Kaiming performed well. He played 34 minutes and scored 40 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 blocks and 2 steals. His shooting percentage was as high as 70%. At the same time, he He completely locked up the opposing Miners center Claude Britton, making the latter 0-for-8 from the field in 30 minutes..."
The middle-aged man's eyes widened and he was stunned for a while, then suddenly shouted loudly, "Honey! Come and see!"
The middle-aged woman who was clearing away the dishes in the kitchen replied impatiently, "I'm washing the dishes! If you have anything to say, just tell me!"
The middle-aged man was not angry at all. After decades of married life, he had already become accustomed to his wife's temper. "Come here quickly, Kaiming seems to be on TV!"
Suddenly there was a sound of clattering bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen, and then a figure walked out of the kitchen in a hurry. As she walked, she wiped her wet hands on her apron a few times and arrived in front of the coffee table. Immediately, I turned up the sound of the TV a few notches.
But the sound is actually loud enough.
On the TV, the announcer's voice continued.
"Li Kaiming suddenly emerged in this playoffs. He made his first appearance in the game against the Houston Cougars. He scored 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks in just half of the game. He also contributed C -The first buzzer-beating three-pointer in the history of the USA League. Against the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in the semifinals, he scored 26 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists and 8 blocks. He was the key to the Memphis Tigers entering the Crazy Three. Yue’s greatest contributor…”
Looking at the announcer's eloquent narration on the TV and the very familiar figure in the video, both of them fell silent.
After the middle-aged man Sun Jianjun was surprised for a while, he appeared with a look of surprise on his face, "Hey, I told you that this kid will definitely have a future in playing basketball. You still don't believe it!"
Zheng Lan was silent, staying motionless on the spot. After a while, she forced out a smile and said, "Old Sun, how much money do you think Kaiming will earn in the future if he plays so well?"
A gloating smile appeared on Sun Jianjun's face. He pretended to think for a while and said, "I heard them say that if you can enter the NBA, you can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year!"
Sun Lan's eyes widened with a look of disbelief on his face, "How can you earn so much by playing bad basketball? Old Sun, are you making fun of me? Let's open a restaurant and work hard for a year. It’s only a little over 100,000!”
Sun Jianjun chuckled, "Don't believe it. There are people who earn tens of millions a year. I've told you before. Throw away the domestic thinking. It's the 21st century now, and it's not just studying that can make big money!" "
Sun Lan was about to retort, but as soon as she heard the announcer's voice on the TV and the familiar name, those words that poured cold water on her were stuck in her throat and she couldn't say anything.
——
Charles Barkley lay on the sofa, changed into a comfortable position, then turned on his mobile phone and started browsing the news as usual. As a special commentator for TNT, he naturally focused on basketball news.
Suddenly, a news headline caught his attention.
"A Chinese-American player scored 40 points in the final, but the commentator said he couldn't make it to the NBA?" 》
The moment he saw the title, Barkley felt extremely disdainful. Can he enter the NBA by scoring 40 points? That’s too much to underestimate the NBA! No matter where you got the forty points? What if it is in a low-level league in some community?
"Well, today's media doesn't want to improve their own standards. They just think about headlines like this all day long and spend their energy on the whole stunt. It's really a declining world." Barkley shook his head and sighed.
However, he still subconsciously turned on the news. His eyes quickly scanned the title and the first few lines, and then he frowned.
"Huh? It's actually the C-USA League finals?"
He flipped down a few pages quickly with his fingers, and then an expression of disbelief appeared on his face, "Isn't this guy the player in the video on yesterday's show?"
He quickly quit the news, got up and went to the computer. He opened the computer and entered Youtubo. He clicked on the sports category and found what he wanted without even searching.
"The Chinese-American genius from Memphis suddenly emerged, scoring 40+10 and leading the Tigers into March Madness!" 》
The pinned video is Li Kaiming’s highlight, and it also comes with a passionate title. Just half an hour after it was uploaded, this 10-minute highlight has been viewed more than 100,000 times!
Buckley couldn't wait to click on the highlight. Looking at the buffering logo in the center of the screen, he felt as if there were tens of thousands of ants crawling in his heart.
The video finally started. Barkley stared at the screen. His eyes widened as time went on. He kept shaking his head and exclaiming, "Oh! God! This guy is so handsome! His inside skills are as perfect as a work of art." !”
After watching Li Kaiming's collection, Barkley couldn't wait to share his feelings on Facebook and Twitter, he wrote in the article.
"I have watched the highlights of Li Kaiming from the University of Memphis several times. This guy's performance is incredible! His inside skills and completion are, in my opinion, the best after Tim Duncan. I have become his fan! In my opinion, not only can he enter the NBA, he will also enter the NBA with a very high draft pick!"
