Eddie House knew that the opponent wanted to anger him, so he suppressed his anger and ran around to find opportunities to catch and shoot, and to create space for his teammates to contain the opponent's zone defense.
The opportunity came to center Chad Pruitt. His two-point shot from the baseline... didn't go in.
When the Trojans attacked, Granville missed a breakthrough throw. Sam Clancy grabbed the offensive rebound, but was immediately covered, and the double attack came quickly.
He didn't force the ball forward and passed it to Li Ao, who was in charge.
The Sun Devils immediately re-circulated the zone defense after Sam Clancy grabbed the offensive rebound, but Li Ao quickly released the ball after receiving the ball, tearing apart the opponent's zone defense and sending the ball to the White Mamba who circled the top arc. in hand.
There are many benefits to zone defense, but there are definitely some disadvantages. The biggest flaw is that the three-point defense is average, especially when the pass is passed from the inside out to the player who runs out of space, the other team cannot make up for it at all.
But unfortunately, Bai Mamba failed to grasp Li Ao's wonderful pass and was left open for a three-pointer.
Avi Slater was stuck in position, and Eddie House guarded the defensive rebound.
Li Ao immediately moved toward Eddie House. He changed his strategy and pressed forward with the whole audience!
Eddie House was afraid of getting ahead, so he immediately passed the ball to Turner Hill and led Li Ao to the frontcourt.
"You useless newcomer, can you only use these little tricks?"
"I will do more postures, so you can feel them."
"Despicable!"
"You can scold a little more harshly, but you don't have to be so polite."
"..."
Eddie House stopped talking and continued running.
So calm! Li Ao secretly praised that he was worthy of being a senior. He had a good psychological quality and was a role model for our generation.
Eddie House was confident that he could easily beat Li Ao as long as he played normally. However, as Li Ao began to adapt to Eddie House's running style, Eddie House found that things were not as simple as he thought.
He is taller, faster than him, more flexible than him, and devotes all his energy to pursuing defense without caring about anything else, not even team defense. This is the first time he has encountered such an opponent.
Eddie House's running style is tilted towards containment, and others in the Sun Devils get more opportunities, but this is not a good thing for them!
Eddie House's scoring is more important to the Sun Devils than any other team's leading scorer's scoring is to his own team!
To put it simply, Eddie House can shoot, but he has to shoot.
Because in the entire Sun Devils team, except for him, no one else has the ability to average double figures per game. The starting lineup is better, scoring 7-9 points, but he is also driving it. This is among all the crazy three-level teams. It's the only one.
For the Trojans, Shelby Jordan's offensive end is nothing but rushing and eating.
Li Ao occasionally has opportunities to receive or distribute the ball, but not many.
But relying on Granville's breakthrough, Sam Clancy's cutting and rushing, and White Mamba's connecting shots, the Trojans were chipping away at the point difference little by little even though their teamwork was not as good as the opponent's!
With 2 minutes and 11 seconds left in the first half, the Trojans chased the score to 42-46, narrowing the point difference to 4 points, and the Sun Devils called a timeout!
Rob Evans also used the second timeout!
Henry Bibby quickly made personnel adjustments, replaced Shelby Jordan with Brusenthal, and the other four players remained unchanged.
Shelby Jordan plays center and can also defend him. This guy is a talent. Although he is only a little over 2 meters tall and only weighs the weight of a small forward, he is still very heroic when guarding the center.
The disadvantage is that he is not good at carrying the impact, and is not as good as Brusenthal, who was previously at the center position.
Brusenthal just doesn't like confrontation, but his weight and confrontation are actually very good, the level that a white inside line should have.
Looking at Li Ao, who was sweating and drinking energy drinks, Henry Bibby didn't expect that this kid could really keep up with the speed of the point guard!
A few days ago, at the beginning of the new month, the team conducted a routine physical test. Li Ao's strength was significantly improved compared to the trial training. Henry Bibby had known about this for a long time. The first team training Sai Li Ao has shown that he can handle Sam Clancy.
But Li Ao's speed also increased, making him extremely messy.
After analysis, the coaching staff believes that although Li Ao can see traces of years of exercise, he has not trained at the level of a professional athlete and his physical talents have not been fully developed. Now that he has begun to receive professional basketball guidance, his strength has improved and his muscles have become stronger. , and the speed has been further developed.
That's very reasonable.
In college, Li Ao's height and strength were enough to defend against four, and now he has shown the talent to defend against one. He is only 18 years old. If he grows a little taller, he might be able to defend against five in college!
Henry Bibby controlled his emotions and couldn't let others see it. He didn't want to give this kid a good look.
After the timeout, the Sun Devils did not make any personnel adjustments as Henry Bibby expected. In the entire Pac10 division, this opponent's starting lineup ranked second in average playing time per game, second only to the Bruins.
The Sun Devils attack and serve from the middle line.
The lead was reduced to 4 points and the Sun Devils started to fight!
Let’s start with Eddie House’s unlimited cover tactics!
Although Li Ao was as flexible as a loach, his height of over two meters in shoes, his flexibility, and the caress of his big hands gave Eddie House a headache, but the latter still ran out of opportunities with the help of his teammates.
Eddie House received the ball on the right side of the three-second zone. Facing Sam Clancy's defense, he didn't hesitate. He took off the ball, fell back and shot a two-pointer...in!
This ball is purely based on personal ability!
After such a wide range of running, he can still hit the shot under defense. There are few people in the entire NCAA who can do it.
When the Trojans attacked, the ball came to Li Ao, who ran to the right baseline to connect.
No one from the Sun Devils came forward to cover up the defense. After playing for a few minutes, Rob Evans discovered that this handsome boy from the East seemed to have no offensive ability, at least he didn't show it. During this timeout, he immediately adjusted his defensive strategy. .
After receiving the ball but not passing it, Li Ao didn't hesitate, just picked it up and threw it!
Rob Evans was heartbroken when he saw this scene. This confident attitude, these smooth and beautiful movements... well, his heart was pounding.
The shooting posture is picturesque, of course it has to be ironed.
The Sun Devils protected the defensive rebounds, and more than 20 seconds later, they slowly executed their tactics and once again created a shooting opportunity for Eddie House.
This level of patience made Li Ao, who was pursuing the defense, call him outrageous.
After running a tactic three times, he was exhausted!
Eddie House hit another two-pointer, 50 to 42, and the Sun Devils' lead reached 8 points!
The Trojans not only failed to defend, but the offense was also constipated. Brusenthal's long two-pointer still missed.
The Sun Devils protect the defensive rebounds. Although they have no fast break ability, the pressure of the positional battle on the Trojans is back!
The main attacker is still Eddie House. Having already scored 21 points, he wants to continue to score. He needs to rely on his ability to open the point difference back to double digits. He wants to refresh his personal single-game scoring record. , to vent the hatred in his heart during the few rounds he was guarded by Li Ao!
The Sun Devils' starting five have an unparalleled tacit understanding. Everyone can pass the ball, and they are all picking and rolling and distributing the ball for Eddie House. In addition, Eddie House is really good at interspersed running, which makes Li Ao who is chasing him suffer. Unspeakable.
It was time for Eddie House to get rid of the defense again. Seeing that he could not catch up, Li Ao jumped forward before Eddie House circled the pile again, reached out and slapped Eddie hard. -On House's right arm!
The slap was so hard that it knocked Eddie House over.
Just when Eddie House curled up in a ball in fear and was about to fall to the floor, the momentum of his fall suddenly stopped. Someone picked him up around the waist and dragged him forward a few steps.
He turned his head to express his gratitude...屮!
The one who protected him was Li Ao, who rushed towards him and slapped him!
After Li Ao stood firm, he pulled Eddie House up and held him steady.
Eddie House's teammates saw Li Ao's rough foul and were about to rush forward. When they saw this scene, they all stopped.
Eddie House felt like he was being picked up like a little Kunzi. At this moment, ten thousand alpacas were running through his heart.
He gritted his teeth and patted Li Ao's arm to express his gratitude.
When you get beaten, you have to thank the other person for protecting him! He is so angry!
[○･｀Д´･○]
But the other party's operation was truly sportsmanlike and avoided the possibility of him falling and getting injured.
No, the fans at the scene spontaneously applauded when they saw Li Ao's actions!
Are they all a bunch of blind people?
Didn’t you see this foul move of killing a thousand swords? o(▼伶▼メ;)o
What makes Eddie House even more angry is that the Trojans have only committed 4 fouls so far, and they have to restart the offense before the 1+1 penalty is called.
The two teams have one thing in common - their defensive coordination is good, but neither team is strong enough, resulting in average defensive efficiency.
The hardness is reflected in the fact that both teams committed very few fouls.
Eddie House, who became more and more angry as he thought about it, exploded in the next movement. He didn't even give Li Ao a chance to foul. He ran faster than Li Ao, caught the ball around the pile and shot...
He was so full of adrenaline that he didn't notice when he was running. When he took action, his arm was affected by a slap.
The angle of the ball was not grasped well and it hit the basket!
Granville grabbed the ball and advanced to the frontcourt. After several consecutive offensive possessions, the Trojans team's offensive confidence plummeted. The Sun Devils defended the zone. Granville didn't know whether to break through or not. Give the White Mamba or Brusenthal the ball.
There was less than one round left in the first half. Seeing that the team had not started its movement, Li Ao became anxious.
These teammates are too soft!
Can't bear this blow? But there was nothing he could do...how?
He saw Turner-Hill following him.
(눈‸눈)
(✪ω✪)
Li Ao forced Turner Hill, who was 1.9 meters tall, to the right side of the three-second zone, blocking the opponent's position!
There wasn't much time left, and Granville didn't have time to think too much and lobbed the ball over.
Li Ao didn't know how to hit from behind, but with a height difference of nearly 10 centimeters and a wingspan difference of more than ten centimeters, after receiving the ball, he stuck out his butt and separated Turner Hill, who was trying to steal, and aimed at the basket. Standing on tiptoes, he quickly hooked the ball to the basket before Avi Slater could block the shot...
He hasn't learned the hook yet, but he has learned the movements in a decent manner. He practiced both hands while watching the old man show off his skills, and the old man corrected his movements.
Don't jump if you can, and never jump to ensure the stability of your shot.
Luckily, I got in!
Trojans players are in high spirits!
Guard against the opponent! Keep the score and don't let the opponent continue to widen the gap in the half!
In the last few seconds, Turner-Hill advanced to the frontcourt and broke through directly. The Trojans' defense was timely, and Turner-Hill's shot at the buzzer was blown away by Sam Clancy.
The halftime buzzer sounded, 44 to 50, and the Trojans trailed the Sun Devils by 6 points heading into halftime!
…
“Brian (White Mamba) you are too soft, if Jeff (Trey Pagnier) had your shooting ability, he would definitely take off.
Brandon (Glanville), you are good at everything except your height. It would be great if you could score as well as you organize offense.
David (Brousenthal) You are so strong, drill inside! Look at Sam (Clancy), although his skills are poor, at least he dares to rush...
The defense is also as fierce as Shelby! Jeff and Sam are okay…”
After returning to the locker room, Li Ao began to output wildly to express his dissatisfaction.
With the change in mentality, Li Ao paid more attention to these matters and was more willing to spend time analyzing them.
These problems were too obvious in this game.
The main thing is that it's not that they are incapable, but that their playing style is really soft.
When he started to pay attention, his bad habit of speaking unforgivingly started to happen again.
As the saying goes, if a handsome guy is called ugly, he will just smile, knowing that the other person is jealous.
But if you are really ugly and you are called ugly, you will definitely get offended.
Li Ao's comments pierced the young minds of his teammates. If they couldn't beat him, they would give Li Ao a hard time.
Even Trepagnier, Granville, Brookval and others who were close to him had evil thoughts, but they tried their best to suppress them.
As for attacking in groups... no one is alone yet.
Those who achieve great things must be able to endure!
Thinking about it, even Henry Bibby, the head coach, was often very angry. With comparison, they suddenly felt much better.
And there is Shelby Jordan, who loves to torment his teammates, so they have a certain resistance.
But there are warriors among the masses.
Sam Clancy retorted: "Didn't you just hit a few good goals? And you think of yourself as the boss of the team?"
"Hey, I'm playing well. I just want to say that if you have the ability, you can also hit some good shots!"
Sam Clancy is furious, he wants to practice more! He swore he would crush this bastard under his feet!
The others were glad to see this and it was right not to refute, otherwise they would be pissed to death.
There is nothing wrong with what Li Ao said, this is their problem.
In the past, everyone had the same taste in these aspects, and everyone chose not to think about these issues.
They are soft and do not like confrontation. From a psychological perspective, it means that they are actually quite face-saving.
Now that the story has been spread out, and even Sam Clancy has shut up, the situation has become awkward.
Li Ao misses his good brother. Sure enough, it is most comfortable to make friends with people who are good at kung fu.
It's a pity that although my good brother loves to play basketball, he is worse than him.
After half a minute of silence, the coaching staff arrived in time. Henry Bibby started to conduct halftime analysis without saying much, breaking the awkwardness.
Seeing that the expressions of the team members were not very good, he was very satisfied. He was right to hide outside the door and not come in immediately. The boy would stand up at this time.
What he has to do now is to transfer the irritable mood that kid brought to his teammates to his opponents!
