The NCAA has a poll list voted on by the coaching staff every year, which is also an important basis for the NCAA organizing committee when selecting wild card teams.
Before the start of the season, Sandek analyzed this list with his players.
UCLA is second on this list.
They have won all four games in the regular season so far and outscored their opponents by an average of 20 points per game!
Whether it is external evaluation or their own performance, they are absolutely worthy of their reputation.
UCLA has two cores this season, Russell Westbrook on the outside and Kevin Love on the inside.
Westbrook was still playing as a substitute for Darren Collison during the regular season last season. He did the same thing that Xu Yong suggested to Cook Sikes, the team's defensive leader.
But since the game entered the playoffs and subsequent championships, his playing time has continued to increase and he has become an indispensable role for the team.
Westbrook has naturally become the team's starter this season. In addition to maintaining elite defense, he has also shown terrifying impact and is already considered a top ten player in this year's draft.
Love is a freshman. He is the second-highest high school student in the United States in the class of 2007 after O.J. Mayo. He averaged 20+10+2 per game in the invitational tournament. While showing dominance at the basket, There is also a three-point shooting rate of nearly 40%. Considered a top-five pick in this year's draft.
In addition, UCLA also has two players with NBA prospects. One is third-year student Darren Collison, who used to put Westbrook on the bench, and "Prince of Cameroon" Lu, who is known for his defense on the front line. Richard Mbah a Moute.
In fact, in the original list, in addition to UCLA, the Pac10 also included Stanford University (10th), Washington State University (12th), University of Arizona (17th), University of Oregon (18th), University of Southern California ( No. 23) Finalist.
Because the list only takes the top 25, Arizona State University does not appear on that list.
Of course, one thing is another, and in the latest survey, with its outstanding performance in the invitational tournament and the opening of the regular season, Arizona State University has jumped to... the 25th position.
Even though No. 25 was playing No. 2, it still didn't look like much of a chance.
Facing a strong enemy, the mentality of the players is different from before.
Before training on this day, the team members played table tennis in the locker room again, which was also a way to relieve stress.
However, Xu Yong discovered that Harden did not go up to play.
"Why don't you go up and try?" Xu Yong sat next to him and turned around to ask.
Harden looked at the ping pong table in front of him and shook his head: "I gave up, it was too difficult for me."
Xu Yong was taken aback by this answer. In ancient times, there were emperors who started their business before half-way through it, but now there is Harden who gave up after practicing for less than a week.
But Xu Yong didn't ask further. After all, this was just a way of entertainment.
"Compared to this, the next game will be more difficult for us." Harden said and looked away from the table tennis table.
Xu Yong nodded. Even if he was as confident as he was, he knew that it would be difficult to arm-wrestle with UCLA based on their strength.
"It's not like we have no chance at all." But Xu Yong was Xu Yong, and he added after nodding.
Harden looked at Xu Yong doubtfully.
"James, what do you think UCLA's goal is this season?" Xu Yong then asked.
"Championship." Harden answered simply.
UCLA has been in the Elite Four for the past two consecutive seasons. This season they have recruited Love again. There are no weaknesses from the outside to the forwards to the inside. The championship is their only goal.
"Then they will spend time studying schools such as North Carolina, Kansas, and Memphis. They will indeed pay attention to us, but it is more of a routine matter, not like the University of California, Berkeley." Xu Yong nodded. Said later.
The three schools he mentioned are giants that, along with UCLA, have occupied the top four for a long time this season.
Harden understood immediately after hearing this: "You mean we can seize the opening?"
"Yes, the game is at our home court. Once we get the momentum of the game, you know what will happen." Xu Yong nodded, talking to smart people is easy.
After saying that, he also gave Harden a "you know" expression.
Harden certainly understands that on the NCAA stage, because there are few mature superstars, and the game time is long, it is very difficult to reverse the game once the momentum is lost.
He nodded and said no more, but looked at the table tennis table again, his eyes full of expectation.
If nothing else, the game against UCLA will attract scouts. If they can really win, it will be a big help to his draft stock.
The talk of "earning experience in the NCAA before entering the NBA" is pure nonsense. As long as you can ensure that you are selected with a high pick, the sooner you enter the NBA, the better, because age represents potential. As for other things, the NBA trains players better than college. Much more professional.
Of course, there are still benefits to attending college for one year, because college also provides cultural education. Many high school players are missing this link, resulting in a lack of cultural quality.
League president David Stern is also aware of this, so he implemented a draft age rule in 2006, and no one under the age of 19 can participate in the draft.
So the most popular thing now is "one & done", which translates to "play for one year and leave", which means running for the election after playing freshman year.
But the prerequisite for doing so is to fully demonstrate your talent and attract the attention of NBA scouts.
Otherwise, the pick will be low, and only fools will play one&done.
As a person who is gentle and introverted, but actually very smart, Harden knows the importance of this game even more.
…
A few days later, the city of Tempe was extremely lively.
Although the straight-line distance from Los Angeles to Phoenix is more than 600 kilometers, there are still many UCLA fans who fly to support the Bruins.
On the morning of the game day, Xu Yong and Harden were sitting in the aisle on the second floor with their backs to the audience benches.
After a while, a group of people entered the arena amid a burst of noise.
Arizona State University did not make any small moves in the arena like the University of Arizona did. According to the normal procedure, the visiting team warmed up in the morning and the home team warmed up in the afternoon.
The visiting team's warm-ups are usually closed, which is why the two of them are sitting here.
They have never played against UCLA before, so this is the only opportunity to observe their opponent in advance.
Harden turned around and took a look outside. After sitting back down, he directly made a set of prayer movements: "A moment of silence for Jeff."
Xu Yong looked confused, then turned around and looked out.
Then he quickly understood why Harden did what he did because he saw Kevin Love.
His impression of Love basically stayed in his Cavaliers days, when he debuted as a male model and was so handsome that he was so handsome.
But the Le Fu in front of him, with his huge body, immediately reminded him not of Love himself, but of Jokic.
This guy is too big!
In terms of height, Love is only 2.03 meters like him.
But soon, his impression disappeared, because Love, who was like a mountain of meat, directly performed a two-handed dunk during the warm-up.
Xu Yong sat back and imitated Harden in praying for Ayers.
A giant who can be chosen by James as a teammate has absolute strength.
And if Love can grow six to seven centimeters taller, then he will be on the same level as Nowitzki and Garnett in the NBA.
Of course, this assumption is not actually necessary in the NCAA, because with his size and athletic ability, he is enough to dominate the paint in the NCAA.
As a high school student in the class of 2007, Xu Yong has certainly heard of some of Love's deeds before, such as dunking the basket with a single jump.gif.
But what I just saw confirms the saying: Seeing is worth hearing a hundred times.
