Oregon, Nike Headquarters
In the office of the team responsible for evaluating college players, a red-haired woman's voice suddenly attracted everyone's attention.
"Henry, didn't you say that Li Kaiming had a chance to become the spokesperson of a series? The result is this? I'm afraid even Tennessee can't beat Tennessee today..."
The words of the red-haired woman immediately resonated with the vast majority of people. As an evaluation team for player signings, in addition to paying attention to the player's public opinion environment, it is more important to pay attention to his on-field performance.
What is going on now is the Midwestern Conference finals between Memphis and Tennessee. The remaining games either ended yesterday or were after the game in Memphis. Therefore, although Naik and Li Kaiming did not reach an intention to sign, most people Still watching this game silently.
Among them were the leader of the team, Karl, a man in a suit, Gina, a red-haired woman who had previously pointed out Li Kaiming's Achilles tendon rupture in the meeting, and Henry, who was very optimistic about Li Kaiming.
As a professional player, Henry already had a conclusion in his mind as early as the end of the first half.
Even if Memphis can win this game, it will be a miserable victory.
He understands the importance of physical strength in the professional league too well!
Memphis' starting five played all the time in the first half to open the point difference to 14 points. As a result, at the beginning of the second half, Tennessee scored 5 points in a row within two minutes, instantly catching up to within double digits...
Even Henry, who had full confidence in Li Kaiming, felt a little pessimistic at this time.
If this continues, this 9-point difference may not be sustained for too long...
At this moment, his colleague Gina, a red-haired woman, suddenly smiled at him and said, "Henry, is this the Li Kaiming you like? I don't think he's playing well! He still wants to sign for a higher level. endorsement contract? Are you overthinking it?"
Facing Gina's barrage of difficulties, Henry seemed to have something blocked his throat and couldn't say a word.
Karl, the person in charge of the office, also nodded slightly, "Gina is right, Henry, it seems you made a mistake this time..."
Seeing the team leader saying this, Henry's heart immediately sank.
Facing the doubts from his colleagues, he felt a little unhappy. As the only professional player in this team, he was extremely confident in his vision.
Although he did not refute verbally, he slowly clenched his hands hidden under the desk and whispered in a voice that only he could hear, "Li Kaiming, please stand up. I don't believe you only have this." In two seconds..."
——
At the game, Pastner called a timeout with panic in his eyes.
There were 15 minutes left in the game, and the score between the two sides had become 35:29.
Within five minutes of the second half, Memphis was beaten 8-0 by Tennessee. When the score difference reached single digits, Pastner wanted to call a timeout, but he still wanted to wait.
After all, there are only three timeouts in the second half. If nothing else goes wrong, there will definitely be a critical moment in this game. If all the timeouts are used, then we can only watch with big eyes and small eyes.
Besides, it may not necessarily be defeated by the opponent...
It was such a fluke that Pastner delayed another three minutes before calling a timeout. Although Tennessee only scored 3 points in these three minutes, Memphis did not score a point!
If we don’t call a timeout, it will almost be a tie!
Li Kaiming sat on the bench chair and took the towel handed by the staff. He wiped the sweat from his body several times and then turned his head to Pastner.
Pastner drew a few tactics on the tactical board, then looked up at his disciples and found that their eyes were full of exhaustion.
How about trying a substitute?
Seeing the coach's hesitation, Li Kaiming said, "Coach, let Wesley and the others take a break. I'll take Robert and Will with me!"
Hearing Li Kaiming's words, Pastner seemed to hear the gospel from heaven. The clueless mess in his heart was instantly chopped off with a knife!
He patted Li Kaiming's shoulder hard and said, "Come on, Li!"
The timeout time passed immediately, and the referee signaled the players to come on and start the game. When Memphis players led by Li Kaiming came on the court, everyone on the scene was stunned!
The commentator made no secret of his surprise, "Oh my God, Pastner actually changed the substitutes! Let Li Kaiming play with James Harvey, Robert Sully and Will Coleman!"
In addition to these four people, the only other big enemy left is naturally the other core of the Tigers-Williams!
Pastner's meaning is very clear, you and Li Kaiming don't rest today!
Seeing that Memphis took the initiative to enter the substitute lineup for the first time, Tennessee coach Bruce Bol was grinning so much that his mouth reached the back of his head!
Josh, Josh, I thought you could hold on from beginning to end, but I didn’t expect that you would be unable to withstand it. Then I reluctantly accepted the victory in this game...
So, the Memphis lineup at this time became: point guard James Harvey, averaging 3+0+0 per game this season, shooting guard Robert Salley, averaging 10.4 points per game, three-pointers are relatively good, but they belong to that kind of A role player who is strong in offense and weak in defense. He can score 10 points on the offensive end and 12 points on the defensive end. Needless to say, small forward Elliott Williams and power forward Will Coleman are 205. Averaging 7+6 per game, he is a pie-eating insider with an extremely explosive body but no basket.
And Robert Salley and Will Coleman are the only substitutes that Memphis can use, and they are also the kind of substitutes with extremely distinct advantages and disadvantages, players who can stretch their hips at the slightest touch.
And Li Kaiming and Williams, with such teammates, faced off against Tennessee's starting lineup after the first half was played.
Seeing this scene, even Henry, who had always been full of confidence in Li Kaiming, shook his head in the office. It seemed that the situation of the game had completely tilted towards Tennessee...
In the Athletic Department of the University of Memphis, sports director Leonard and staff member Daisy stared at the screen. When they saw that Pastner was finally on the bench, Leonard sighed, turned to Daisy and said, "Turn it off. Well, I know these guys very well, and it is undoubtedly a fool’s errand to think of defeating Tennessee with these guys!”
Daisy's heart tightened when she heard the supervisor's words. She turned her head and stared at the back of No. 34 on the screen, with a glimmer of hope still remaining in her heart.
He can create so many miracles, and he should be able to do it this time...
Before taking the field, Li Kaiming called his teammates over. He leaned down and put his long arms around Williams and Coleman to ensure that his voice could be heard by every teammate.
"Brothers, neither the guys on the opposite side nor the audience seem to think highly of us. But what I want to say is that our energy comes from ourselves. We are the winners and losers in professional games. If we fall here today, it will be a month. After, three months or a year from now, who will still remember that we were a team that was never expected to reach the Elite Eight? No one will remember, everyone will only remember the winner! What we have to do , just release yourself without reservation and let the other side and those who look down on us see what a fucking tiger is!"
"In front of the King of the Jungle, no one can challenge him, even if he is scarred!"
