On April 4, 2000, the NBA suspended play for one day.
The eyes of North American sports fans are focused on the upcoming NCAA Basketball Championship finals in Indianapolis.
The city of Polis was like a big party, with millions of people pouring into the city, far exceeding the capacity of this city with a permanent population of less than 900,000.
Even the temporary 'tent hotels' set up in parks or squares are always occupied as soon as one is set up.
No, it should be said that non-soundproof tent hotels are more popular than real hotels. The two fans of the same team saw eye to eye. They opened an hourly tent on the spot and went in to show off their bravery and voice. There were also sports such as adjacent tent competitions...
Not only did the city of Polis profit from this final competition, but the surrounding cities also made a lot of money, from hotels and restaurants to transportation, from sightseeing to retail trade, from bars to black market casinos... various industries. All industries benefited.
Both the NCAA and the City Hall of Polis thought this was an ordinary finals game. The latter provided the venue for free and gave the former a ticket commission that was a few percentage points higher than other cities to promote this upcoming venue. New venues and business districts are mutually beneficial.
Unexpectedly, the finals game of the NCAA Basketball Championship has become the most watched, most participated and most profitable event in history.
The city of Polis is making huge profits! Cities that lost out last summer are regretting it.
The NCAA is not at a loss either. The ticket share is higher than other cities. Broadcasting fees should be increased. They wish for such an 'accident' to happen every year.
At 7:30 p.m., after warming up and accepting a few minutes of brief interviews on the court stage, Li Ao entered the player tunnel with his teammates.
In the players' tunnel, they could already hear the deafening cheers.
Fans are competing with each other to see who has the loudest voice. Fans supporting the Spartans are shouting the names of Maurice Peterson, Charlie Bell, Martin Cleaves and others; fans supporting the Trojans are shouting "Whitey". Names of Mamba, Li Ao, Shelby Jordan, Granville and others.
More than 90,000 seats were arranged at the scene, and the stands were packed with people. The fanatical atmosphere of the fans was even more exaggerated than the day they played against the Gators!
Walking out of the tunnel, listening to the even crazier cheers of the fans, I thought that there were millions of people in this city watching this game, and at least tens of millions of people in the United States watching the TV... and the ocean. There should be many sports fans in the motherland on the other side who will watch the live broadcast of this game.
Li Ao's heart beat faster than ever.
win!
Must win!
If you lose such a game, you will really regret it for the rest of your life. Every time you think about it, you will feel sad.
Realizing that his emotions were too high, he opened the player evaluation report, and his overly excited emotions calmed down a lot.
There are no top shooters like White Mamba, Mike Miller, Kapono, or Eddie House on the opposite side. The team's three-point performance can only be said to be excellent, with a season average three-point shooting rate of 36% and an average of three shots per game. He scored 5.3 three-pointers, and his overall three-point performance was in the top 50 in the first-level league.
However, the Spartans' 47.6% field goal percentage ranked fifth among all teams in the entire Division I league, their mid-range shooting performance ranked 11th, their 15.2 assists per game ranked 35th, and they averaged 7.6 blocks per game. Gai ranked 14th, averaged 8.6 steals per game, ranked 9th, and averaged 18.4 points per game, ranked 2nd...
The team with the highest average margin of victory per game is Duke, with an average margin of victory of 20.2 points per game. During the civil war in the division, the advantage was too great, with an average margin of victory of 25 points per game. However, it did not make it past the third round and was hammered by the University of Florida.
Judging from the team information alone, the opponent is the most comprehensive opponent they have ever encountered this season, bar none.
But Li Ao wasn't afraid when he saw it.
The Trojans' shooting percentage is even higher, ranking third in season shooting percentage of 48.3%. The average points difference per game is not as good as the opponent's, but they also have 15.4 points. The blocks are much lower than the opponent's, averaging only 5.5 blocks per game. Cover, outside the top 100, but averaged 8.3 steals per game, not much worse than the opponent, ranking 19th.
And they have an advantage in assists. They have an absolute advantage. Granville, the season's assist leader with 8.3 assists per game, ranks first among all teams in the Division I league with 17.9 assists per game!
Both sides have their own strengths. When Li Ao saw the analysis of the opposing team, he just felt pressure, not fear.
In terms of player evaluation, as Li Ao expected, there were no top players with a 90+ evaluation.
but……
Maurice Peterson, senior, 201 centimeters, 98 kilograms, overall rating of 89, averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1 block per game in the third period.
Charlie Bell, junior, 191 centimeters, 85 kilograms, overall rating of 86, averaged 13.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game in the third stage.
Martin Cleaves, senior, 188 centimeters, 86 kilograms, overall rating of 87, averaged 12.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1 steal per game in the third stage.
Andre Hutson, junior, 203 centimeters, 105 kilograms, overall rating of 85, averaged 10.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.6 steals and 1.8 blocks per game during the three-year period.
AJ Granger, senior, 206 centimeters, 111 kilograms, overall rating of 84, averaged 9.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game in the third stage of the Madness season.
The five starters are all mature players in their junior or senior years, and each one of them is on this year's draft prediction list!
If you want to talk about the "flaw" of the opponent's starting lineup - playing time.
Andre Hutson, who has the lowest playing time per game, averages 31 minutes per game.
On the bench, the Spartans only have two players who average 5 points per game, two of the top 100 high school students in the United States in 1999.
Jason Richardson, ranked 14th among high school students in the United States, has a comprehensive evaluation of 73. He averaged 3.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game in the season. In the third stage of the mad season, he averaged 5.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. His strengths include scoring points + pitching + rushing boards. ;
Arushian Anagonye, ranked 68th among high school students in the United States, with a comprehensive evaluation of 74, averaged 4.2 points, 3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in the season. In the third stage of the mad season, he averaged 5.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He is only 203 centimeters tall, but he has An organizational power forward who weighs 115 kilograms and has very fine hands.
In the third stage of the madness, only 9 players from the Spartans had playing records, but overall they rotated with 7 players. The remaining two players with playing records averaged less than 5 minutes per game.
This rotation shows that the Spartans are trying to win the championship this year while their top five starters are at the peak of their college careers.
It is worth mentioning that the Spartans still have four top 100 high school students in the United States in 1998 and 1999 who are on the fringe of the rotation or even outside the 12-man main roster.
The player evaluation report is similar to what Li Ao learned during the preparation stage. The opponent's starting lineup is strong and their side has strong depth.
A showdown between individual ability and team!
After turning off the system, Li Ao came to the opposite side of the technical desk and greeted the hospital assistant aunt. There were no celebrities or ladies this time. He was relieved but regretful.
It was good to practice his technique with Jessica and his impact with the wealthy daughter. The two of them taught him a lot of knowledge.
Today there are... the old man and Dean Teng!
Dean Teng encouraged Li Ao for a few words, and then began to sigh, "I didn't expect you to be so good" and the like.
Li Ao quickly stopped the other person's casual thoughts. In the past two months, every time he saw Dean Teng, he said the same words.
He said to the old man beside him: "McHale, you didn't take the box this time."
"Of course I'll be cheering for you from the sidelines in the final! You've done a good job with your hook." The old man hinted crazily that he must not be forgotten in his speech after winning the championship.
"Haha, you taught me well. I relied on my hook and scored a lot of points in the paint while the opponent wasn't paying attention."
After chatting for a while, Li Ao was called to take photos with those dignitaries and celebrities.
When leaving, Li Ao heard the black aunt sitting next to the old man say angrily: "You will definitely lose tonight, haha, what a dark horse, we just didn't meet a real strong team, we will win tonight, step on it." It feels great to win the championship with a dark horse.”
The old man and Liam immediately fought back, but the aunt was only slightly at a disadvantage with one against two. The three of them didn't use any curse words at the beginning, but later they all used the curse words.
He took a look at the aunt's bejeweled dress. She must be the mother of the opposite backup point guard Brandon Smith.
It is said that this black point guard is a young man from a rich family, and he has a rare white father and a black mother. His father is in the jewelry business in South Africa... The result of business factors?
Regarding the news about the Spartans, Li Ao has seen that Brandon Smith's mother often quarrels with opponent fans on the sidelines, and he finally saw it today.
Li Ao didn't care about this. With the old man and Liam here, he wouldn't suffer.
If the aunt who weighs 200 pounds dares to take action, Li Ao believes that the old man will lie down immediately and blackmail her to death.
There are many public figures here today, including dignitaries and celebrities, as well as many star athletes.
It seems that Paris Hilton has been extremely popular these days. Many female celebrities put her stickers on Li Ao when taking photos. It's just different from what they imagined. This handsome boy's hands and feet are extremely clean. He is such a gentleman that they want to curse him. , they pressed it up, and this guy moved a little bit, making them extremely embarrassed.
The camera is filming! Can you give me some face?
Athletes from the local racing team, rugby team Colts, and basketball team Pacers also came. Many people entered the field to encourage the players of the two teams. Li Ao and the opponent Maurice Peterson received the most blessings...
Although it took time, Li Ao, a talkative person, was still very happy and got to know a lot of people.
It was a bit regretful that he wanted to get to know Reggie Miller, who also came to the scene and sat in the fourth row opposite the technical table. However, he did not enter the court like his teammates, and just sat in his seat with a look of surprise on his face. The expression of "Don't let anyone in".
He was a little bit unhappy, but it didn't matter. He just wanted to get acquainted. Anyway, he didn't want to play for a team in this city in the future.
He is so popular in this city. If he really became a player for the Pacers, wouldn't he be greeted by his relatives at home?
After finishing the pre-match chores, Li Ao and his teammates returned to the bench. He felt that his teammates were even more excited.
Glanville, for example, chirped about a photo he took with Colts legend Eric Dickerson.
Everyone definitely likes more than one sport. For example, Granville started playing basketball late because when he was in junior high school and high school, he was a football quarterback and also played basketball, but it was not his main sport.
Feeling the rising emotions of his teammates, Li Ao looked around again at the more than 90,000 fans around the stadium... I guess the NBA finals don't have this kind of card!
I want to win even more!
At this time, the task prompt came.
"The host's ambition to make the Trojans great is about to be completed... Mission: The Great Trojan Trigger."
"Great Troy:
Goal: win the championship.
Reward: 20,000 achievement points, 1 level 5 skill upgrade card, 1 purple level equipment upgrade card. "
"The highest stage of college basketball is right in front of you, let's show off your talents under everyone's attention... Mission: Trigger the glorious moment."
"The shining moment:
Goal: Lead the team to defeat the Spartans.
Reward: 1 random off-ball skill, 1 random three-point shooting action pack, 1 random equipment. "
This personal mission is really... simple and straightforward!
he likes!
…
After adjusting his 'Card Master' bracelet, Li Ao came to the field with four teammates including Granville, Trey Pagannier, White Mamba, and Charles.
The starting lineup on the opposite side is Martin Cleaves, Charlie Bell, Maurice Peterson, Andre Hutson, and AJ Granger.
At 7 p.m., the highly anticipated finals of the 2000 NCAA Basketball Championship began!
The referee blew the whistle to start the game and threw the ball into the air. Charles beat AJ Granger to win the jump ball, and the Trojans scored first!
Granville received the ball and advanced slowly. After his teammates got into position, they started running. He, Li Ao and Bai Mamba cooperated in a small area.
Li Ao was at the 45-degree three-point line on the right side to cover Mamba without the ball. Mamba was moving to the sideline, suddenly ran back, moved to the top arc, and hit Morris Peterson and Andre Hurt. Sen was caught off guard, and both of them subconsciously pounced towards White Mamba.
Li Aofeng averaged 20 points per game in three five games, the highest on the team, but the most important thing in the Spartans' defensive preparations was the White Mamba, who averaged 19.4 points per game.
And they saw Granville push the ball into the top arc... the action changed!
Glanville is small, but everyone says he controls the ball well and has big hands. He can grasp the ball firmly and throw it to the right sideline.
Li Ao received the ball, ignored Martin Cleaves who flew up, and took a long two-point shot...hit!
The two leading strikers of the Spartans did not expect that White Mamba, the star of the team, at least nominally the star and the boss of the team, would actually score the first goal in the game against the talented newcomer... What a terrifying team. Team team.
Although they were surprised, the two of them felt normal. They did not despise this opponent at all.
Is it a joke to win 32 games straight to the finals?
In transition, the Spartans attack.
Charlie Bell broke through in singles to attract a double attack. AJ Granger helped Morris Peterson block Li Ao. Morris Peterson cut in to catch the ball. The White Mamba shrank back to the basket. Morris Peterson faced the defensive lever for a layup. ...Hit!
Both sides played their trademark opening attacks.
In the next few rounds, both sides tested each other and the success rate of shots was quite high.
Fans had not associated the two teams together before, but when the two teams played against each other tonight, the fans suddenly discovered that the two teams played similarly!
The Trojans' three-person team's small-area cooperation + mid-range and basket-bound play is actually a star tactic, with strong breakthroughs + a point guard with accurate throws, paired with the two strongest scorers in the team.
The Spartans, on the other hand, have pure star tactics!
The game is very simple and crude, and goals rely more heavily on the player's personal strength than on tactical coordination.
But there are essential differences between the two teams. The Trojans' starting lineup is just suitable for this tactic, and it can reduce the physical exertion of Trey Pagannier, who has the highest playing time.
The Spartans, that's how they play, and it's not because of the start of the game or the big moments.
After playing for more than 4 minutes, Martin Cleaves missed a three-pointer from the wing. Li Ao grabbed a defensive rebound and Henry Bibby called a timeout.
The Trojans did not fall behind. In the last offensive possession, Trey Paganier scored a three-pointer. The current score is 12-10.
The small-scale cooperation between Granville, Li Ao and Bai Mamba can be described as perfect.
Unless Li Ao makes a qualitative improvement in mid-range shooting or cutting into the frame, it will be difficult to get better. The room for improvement of Granville and White Mamba is no longer high.
Henry Bibby called a timeout because their style of play did not last long.
But the opponent is different. Although the opponent's style of play is highly dependent on the individual abilities of the stars, when the opponent comes to the crazy three, the main rotation is 7 players. No matter how they are put together, there will always be at least 3 starters on the court.
And if the five starting players on the opposite side participate in this year's NBA draft together, regardless of whether it is the first round or the second round, all five of them will have a high probability of being selected.
This is a traditional skill of the Spartans. They won the championship in 1979 because former head coach Judd Heathcote deceived as many as eight top 100 high school students in the United States to join them in the summer of 1977 and 1978. Those 8 All the talents really showed up. In the 1977-78 season, the team collected five of the top 100 high school students in the United States. In the first season, they had a season record of 25 wins and 5 losses, and finally reached the Elite Eight.
In the summer of 1978, after they gathered eight talents, they averaged a net margin of 22.5 points per game in the 1978-79 season, posted a record of 26 wins and 6 losses, and directly won the NCAA Basketball Championship.
Being good at cultivating new players and being willing to let talented stars show their personal abilities on the court has become the label of the Spartans. This is the reason why the Spartans have been able to get three or four of the top 100 high school students in the United States every year for the past 20 years. .
In fact, among the top 100 high school students in the United States that the Spartans have obtained over the years, the number of those who have played well and those who have not played are actually evenly divided, but they still attract talented high school students.
Which top 100 high school students in the United States are not among the best among their peers in a school or even a city or a state? Who would think that they are the one who can't fight?
Of course, he can make good use of the stars, and the Spartans' head coach Tom Izzo is also recognized for his ability.
However, Henry Bibby called a timeout not because of the opponent's fierce attack. He had expected this.
What he needs to adjust is the defense.
He didn't want to adjust like that if he didn't have to, but he had to do it right after the start.
There will be additional monthly tickets tonight, please vote before 12 o'clock to the end of the month! The monthly tickets are probably all collected, but the recommended tickets are also excellent, and there will be more updates~
(End of chapter)
