The NCAA has put a lot of thought into the top 64 groups of the Crazy Three, trying its best to arrange the teams in the Crazy Three in the right position. There is a strength gap between the 9-12th place in each group and the 13-16th place. Probably quite large.
The most intuitive statistics show that every year, teams ranked 9-12 win, but teams ranked 13-16 are upset only in the late 1970s.
Seeing the current situation of the teams in the same league that have been competing for several months, Li Ao felt deep sympathy and was very sad.
I squeezed, but no tears came out.
Then use a wry smile to express your sadness.
With the experience of the first game, Li Ao and his teammates have a better understanding of how to make the best use of the current game.
You must win. Although these games are not paid attention to, they are still official games in the official NCAA statistics. Now they are on a winning streak and they must continue it.
But the mentality of the game has relaxed, and he is more focused on training his own abilities, polishing the team's tactics, and forming a better understanding with his teammates.
Li Ao currently has three directions for strengthening. One is to continue to strengthen defense, the other is the catch-and-shoot style as the main offensive point, and the other is the running method as the main offensive point.
When playing against the Aztecs, although he relied on his awareness and used emergency stops and turns to create shooting opportunities, he reviewed the game after the game and felt that his movement was not good enough.
The running position cannot just be fast, but it needs to be fast and more details need to be grasped. This is a different rhythm from the running position of containment + support.
In addition to the aspects that he personally wants to improve, the coaching staff also arranged a new direction for him to strengthen-rebounding.
As a main striker, his rebounds are too few.
It has something to do with his playing style. He floats on the outside for a long time, and his defense is also focused on outside shooters.
But it also has a lot to do with ability.
After today's team training, the coaching staff specially arranged several sets of training for him to get stuck and grab rebounds.
On the 23rd, Wednesday, the Trojans defeated the Idaho Broncos with a score of 95 to 87. The score difference was not big, but the players of the Idaho Broncos were mentally shattered after the game.
They have always seen hope, and the point difference fluctuates around 10 points, but they just can't narrow the score further.
After this game, Li Ao's basic skills of emergency stop and emergency stop catch and jump shot both reached the passing line and improved to 60!
Coupled with the improvement of CIC to 79, the overall evaluation came to 72!
As time goes by, Li Ao and his teammates are getting better little by little.
Hard training and suitable opponents are perfect for him at this stage.
But what he is most happy about is not the improvement of CIC's basic skills, that will happen sooner or later.
As his emergency stop catch and jump shooting ability evaluation increased to 60, his 'mid-range fixed-point catch and shoot' training method was successfully upgraded to 'mid-range catch and shoot training method', reaching level 3!
DeRozan's mid-range shooting package, experience bracelet, level 1 tasks, and level 3 training methods, his mid-range shooting training efficiency exceeded 200%! Reached 205%!
On the 25th, the Trojans narrowly defeated the Gauchos 74-69, on the 27th they slaughtered the Western Broncos 96-69, and on the 29th they beat the Roadrunners 84-71. They won all 5 games at this stage!
Each of these five teams in the Pacific Sports League was doubting life after playing against the Trojans and felt that their basketball dreams were shattered.
They are all teams in the top few teams in the division, and the strength gap is a bit too big.
Each of them came to Los Angeles with great ambitions, but ended up facing the top spot in the top league. Except for the Gauchos, who broke out at the last moment and narrowed the point difference to 5 points, the other four teams were not even close to the point difference. No.
They are really quasi-professional, and they are really an amateur team.
On Li Ao's side, he couldn't bear it every time he saw his opponent's expression doubting his life.
Therefore, at the end of every game and every time his winning streak increased by one, he celebrated crazily with his teammates, trying to use a happy atmosphere to drive his opponents and make them happy.
Although he failed, he tried hard and his merits are immeasurable.
…
The five home games are over and a new month has arrived.
On March 1, after a day of training, on the 2nd, the Trojans left Los Angeles and came to Dallas.
After coming out of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, the bus drove for about ten minutes and arrived at its destination - the University of Dallas in Irving Township.
As expected of the state with the strongest sports atmosphere and the most violent sports fans, the basketball fans of the University of Dallas gave the Trojans a warm welcome - a parade-like crowd with cheers and curses.
This has become instinct for the Texans, even though this is the first time in team history that they are playing the Trojans.
Li Ao couldn't help but sigh when he saw this well-organized and disciplined welcome ceremony:
“It’s such a beautiful sight.”
It was night, and all the Trojans players stayed in the dormitory to have a good rest. Even Shelby Jordan didn't go out.
It doesn't matter in other states, but in Texas, there is a real possibility that there are fanatic fans waiting for them outside, and these people can really do it.
This time's opponents include three teams from the minor league Southwest Athletic League, ranked 4-6.
Both are minor leagues, but the Southwest Athletic League is much stronger than the Pacific Athletic League, with the first place locking in the top three spots.
Before coming to Dallas, Li Ao learned about the Southwest Athletic Conference. The 12 members of this league are all universities in the southwest region of the United States. Every season, 2-3 teams in this division enter the Crazy Three.
The fourth team comes from the American Athletic Conference, the Southern Methodist University Texas Broncos.
The basketball level of Southern Methodist University is average. This season, it ranks 13th in the American Athletic Conference, the strongest league. It is as good as the Sun Devils or Dukes.
But this university's football is very good. In the history of the team, it has won 3 national championships and 11 conference championships. In 1981 and 1982, it completed two consecutive national championships.
Compared with the previous five opponents, the four opponents this time are obviously much stronger, but they are within the range that the Trojans can handle with ease.
After Li Ao analyzed this schedule, the NCAA was bad, but it also did some things. The purpose must be to make the crazy three games more exciting and make more money, but it did help teams with potential.
As for what happens to teams that are viewed as having 'no potential'...good thing they, the Trojans, are doing well this year.
After a night's rest, the Trojans' new schedule began on March 3, and their first opponent was the Texas Broncos.
Facing the Texas Broncos, whose strength is similar to that of the Dukes and Sun Devils, the Trojans must play better when facing those two teams in the final stages of the civil war in the division!
The Texas Broncos play wildly and are indeed worthy of the name Broncos. They are much better than the two lame horses of the Pacific Sports League. They have sharp interspersed movement, strong counterattacks, and certain outside shooting capabilities.
The Trojans didn't defend well.
But even if the Cardinals come, they probably won't be able to defend well and may be upset. Perhaps the Dukes' team that switches defenses very quickly can guard Texas' wild horse.
The progress over the past ten days was reflected in this game.
The Trojans adjusted their play style very smoothly, from offense and defense to offense first. After the adjustment, there was not much discomfort. They quickly increased their firepower and suppressed the Texas Broncos.
In the end, the Trojans defeated the fierce offensive Texas Broncos 99-91, extending their winning streak to 24 games.
This game is more difficult to play than the previous five games, but the opponent's appropriate strengthening is in line with their current preparation progress for the crazy three games.
…
Training, competition, one game after another.
On March 9, the Trojans defeated the Texas A&M University Aggies 68-57, winning all 9 training games and extending their winning streak to 27 games!
After the game, the Trojans players were so excited that they celebrated wildly on the scene and beat away the away fans who had cursed and booed them for days.
He was booed the whole time, all 4 games were played, and all the games were over, and he was still booed.
It can be said that Texas fans have a strong sense of local sports, but they are unhappy as opponents.
But winning the game itself also makes Trojans fans happy.
This relatively easy game is equal to a free winning streak.
Every victory they win now is setting a new record in team history.
In order to leave a great record for future students and give them motivation to work hard.
There is absolutely no other reason. As friendly and friendly seniors, what bad intentions can they have?
Back in the locker room, everyone was still very excited, and Li Ao was also very excited, but when he was excited, he suddenly became worried: "It's going to be crazy three days soon. We will play against the 63 strongest college teams in the United States. I hope If you can continue to win, don’t end up with 27 wins and 1 loss.”
These words undoubtedly poured cold water on everyone's excitement.
Sam Clancy complained: "You are such a disgrace, how can we lose!"
Bai Mamba stood on Li Ao's side: "I also think we can't lose, but we can't be careless. The next opponents are completely different from these 9 games. We have to do a better job than the Cardinals and Wildcats in every opponent." Be prepared!"
Sam Clancy opened his mouth twice, but no sound came out.
He just wanted to fight again out of habit, but he already agreed with what these two people said.
Even Sam Clancy was like this, and other people also sounded alarm bells in their hearts.
27 consecutive wins and entering the crazy three. If you are eliminated early, it will be more embarrassing than not entering the crazy three!
Henry Bibby, who was watching from the sidelines, had no emotions in his heart. He also found that the players were too excited, but he didn't think about how to deal with this problem.
That kid will definitely stand up at this time. Just let that kid do the dirty work that offends people.
The coach is always serious in this regard. When he says the same thing, it is difficult for the players to empathize with him. As a former player, he understands this very well.
Seeing the atmosphere gradually becoming depressing, about to go from one extreme to another, Shelby Jordan stood up.
He said carelessly: "Leo, you are right, we have to be more serious and work harder next time, but tonight, we are the winners, get excited!"
"oh……"
His teammates immediately agreed.
What the handsome boy said made sense, but what 'Little Ranbir' said was what they liked better.
Normally 'Little Ranbir' is very annoying, but now he is still very cute!
…
On the morning of the 10th, Li Ao returned to Los Angeles with the team.
The coaching staff gave the players two days off and gathered at 9 a.m. on the 12th.
The rest of the day, their Trojans players don't have to continue taking classes until the end of the season.
After that, the school will give small classes to the participating players to prepare for the exam in mid-to-late May.
Although there are performance requirements for playing in the NCAA Division I competition, you only need to get a D or 2 points... After all, you can only get 5 points on the Einstein exam.
With such performance requirements, even if some black players whose brains are really full of muscles would work a little harder and read more, there would be no problem.
Li Ao made an appointment with Vivian and Liam for lunch. It was Friday and there was no class in the afternoon. He and Liam went to the arcade to spend the afternoon and relax.
After a day of slowing down, on Saturday morning, he arrived at the Memorial Stadium at 8:30, and at 9:00 he brought the old man over for extra practice.
First, the mid-range catching and shooting level 2 training task was completed. Once completed, the system returned 100 achievement points.
During the time he went to Dallas, he successfully completed this training task and can now complete it stably.
The old man sighed: "Leo, you are progressing too fast. I remember that you did this training half a month ago, and the degree of completion was very low. Now you can complete it quite well."
"The team's nine games have given me a lot of opportunities to attack. It's normal to improve quickly through the combination of competition and practice."
"No, no, no, it's mainly about talent. There are so many players in the university, who is improving faster than you?"
"That's right, I'm a genius..."
Li Ao thought about the past 9 games and found that he had indeed had an opportunity to perform that he had never had before.
Against five opponents in the Pacific Sports League, he averaged 19 points per game, and his shooting percentage was higher each game. After five games, his total shooting percentage was 46%.
When we played in the Southwest Athletic League, our scoring dropped to 14 points per game, but our shooting percentage remained stable!
The opponents are stronger and the team's style of play has also changed. Although he is still the main offensive point on the bench, he is not as unlimited as before. His personal strength has improved and his shot selection has become better.
After another day of hard training, Li Ao returned to the apartment and used the 'body physiotherapy' function. After receiving professional physiotherapy, he returned to his small suite, took a shower and lay on the bed.
I had a lot of distracting thoughts and couldn't sleep for a while.
I don’t have so many distracting thoughts during the day, I just know to work hard and get things done.
But at night, my thoughts started to wander.
Tomorrow, Sunday, the NCAA will announce the lineup for the Crazy Three, and the Trojans will also start preparing for the Crazy Three.
Who is the next opponent? Is it strong? What kind of opponents will you encounter? Will he meet a future NBA star like Arenas?
Where are their Trojans? It should be number one, right? It would be so embarrassing if No. 1 loses in the first round...
How far can you go if you win? An elimination game is really maddening! But also exciting…
He wanted to sleep very much, but his head was getting clearer and clearer.
He quickly stopped his distracting thoughts, took the initiative to think about other things, and diverted his attention.
He opened the system and looked at the comprehensive evaluation of 74, his expression became strange.
(End of chapter)
