In such an atmosphere that was looked down upon by most people, the Memphis players were not affected. Instead, they closed their social media and concentrated on training.
Pastner himself seemed to realize that there was a huge gulf between him and Stevens, so he started to take the lead and went into a small dark room with the coaching staff all day long to watch Butler University game videos.
Apart from focusing all his attention on the game, Li Kaiming only contacted Jiang Shan and his uncle through text messages and phone calls. Other than that, Li Kaiming paid no attention to anything else. Even the reporter who usually gave the most face only waved his hand after meeting him. , telling them to ask them at the pre-game press conference if they have any questions.
Stevens, who is known to be strict in running the army, naturally would not let his team members talk loudly outside, so the silence on both sides remained until April 3.
The pre-game press conference was held as scheduled. The popularity of the NCAA semifinals was not comparable to the competition in the division. The NBA playoffs had just begun at this time, and the popularity was far less than the March Madness semifinals. Therefore, most of America’s The sports media have all set their sights on the semifinals in Indianapolis.
Especially today's two games were held separately, that is, only one game was going on at the same time. The result was that almost all the media with dignity came to the pre-game press conference.
As soon as Li Kaiming entered the press conference, he was startled by the crowded scene in front of him. He was already prepared for this, but he was still stunned by the number of reporters present.
Pastner also had a rare shave today. He had been working all night long for four or five days to formulate tactics and had no time to pay attention to his personal image. The handsome white man in his early thirties has turned into a man who looks in his forties. slovenly middle-aged man.
He moved the microphone, then looked up at the reporter, indicating that he could start asking questions.
As soon as he finished speaking, most of the reporters raised their hands. Pastner singled out a reporter from CBS to give them a face. After all, they have the official broadcast rights of the NCAA.
And this reporter didn’t waste Pastner’s precious first time. He immediately asked the question that people are most concerned about, “The outside world is not optimistic about Memphis. What do you think? Will you develop targeted tactics for Butler? ?”
Pastner nodded, "The outside world is not optimistic about us, which will only become our motivation. We have been training hard and never pay attention to external comments. As for my tactics, I can only tell you the tactics against Butler. There must be, but I can’t reveal a word at the press conference!”
Everyone at the scene laughed!
Pastner's interview ended quickly. Next, the reporters focused on Li Kaiming and Williams, especially Li Kaiming, who was able to liven up every pre-game press conference.
Faced with similar questions raised by reporters, Li Kaiming shrugged helplessly, "As my coach said, we don't pay attention to the outside world's evaluation of us, we pay more attention to ourselves. If you ask me if I have any feelings for myself, Confidence, I definitely have it, and it’s very sufficient!”
Butler's interview was also very similar. Neither Stevens nor Haywood are the kind of people who like to speak harshly. They prefer to show their full strength in the game. Therefore, most of their answers are Kudos to Memphis.
Looking at this pre-match interview, reporters all know that in the semi-finals, it will be difficult to have the explosive news like before. All teams will ask their players to pay attention to their rhetoric and not leave anything to the outside world. The handle of the article.
The first game of the semi-finals, with the attention of millions of people across the country, kicked off at 6:10 p.m.
Ten minutes before the game, the starting lineups of both sides were shown on the big screen at Lucas Oil Stadium as usual.
University of Memphis Tigers: Point guard Willie Kemp, shooting guard Elliott Williams, small forward Daniel Mack, power forward Wesley Weatherspoon, center Kaiming Li.
Butler University Bulldogs: Point guard Zach Hahn, shooting guard Grant Liendecker, power forward Matt Howard, small forward Gordon Haywood, center Andrew Smith.
Brad Stevens stood on the sidelines with blond curly hair and a black suit. He looked at the court calmly with a pair of deep eyes on his straight nose.
At the other end of the field was Pastner, who was wearing a gray suit. Two young and handsome head coaches in their thirties met in the national semifinals. From a distance, it was a spectacle.
The commentator for this game, I don’t know what CBS was thinking, but they actually sent “turtle commentator” Koslov, an opponent that Li Kaiming fans are already very familiar with!
Of course, the guests present were also heavyweights. Former NBA player Matt Bullard and famous CBS basketball commentator Sharp were also sitting in the commentary box.
After seeing the starting lineups of the two teams on the screen, Koslov was the first to start the conversation, "Both of you, the starting lineups of Memphis and Butler University have not changed. What do you think?"
Nonsense, how else can I watch it? See with your eyes of course!
Matt Bullard sorted out his thoughts, and then said slowly, "Before the game, I participated in the ESPN program, and my views did not change much from the program. It was not easy for Memphis to get here, but this Maybe it’s their last game!”
Sharp on the side also echoed, "Yes, I think so too. It's not that Memphis is not strong, they are very strong, but their lineup is too unbalanced and the coach is also a shortcoming!"
Koslov nodded and asked another question, "What do you think Li Kaiming will do today?"
Still here! Matt Blood and Sharp looked at each other, and then a wry smile appeared on their faces.
Koslov's attitude towards Li Kaiming is as well known as Sima Zhao's, and asking such a question now is undoubtedly digging a hole for them.
The current Li Kaiming is not the Li Kaiming before. He will definitely land in the NBA as a lottery pick, and may even be the No. 1 pick. Faced with such a potential star in full swing, Matt Bullard and Sharp will naturally not easily Offended by the former.
Moreover, as two people who have been deeply involved in the media field for many years, they can also vaguely feel that Li Kaiming is as popular as he is now. In addition to his own performance, there may be another big hand behind the scenes that cannot be seen. Driving all this.
To have such terrifying energy, the people behind the scenes must not be someone they can afford to offend!
But Koslov asked this question again in full view of the public, and they had to answer, so they were silent for a long time. Finally, Sharp came forward and answered Koslov's question.
"There is no doubt about Li Kaiming's strength. In my opinion, he should be one of the few strong points in Memphis, and his performance will also determine the trend of the game!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Koslov's face turned gloomy!
These two damn guys! He actually didn't give him any face at all! Praise Li Kaiming in front of him!
[Congratulations to Jokic and the Nuggets for reaching the finals for the first time in team history! By the way, please vote~]
