Champion, please stay!

Chapter 16.16. Opening Dunk!
Yi Shui was completely confused. When did he start playing tricks on elementary school students?
He admitted that he was a bit abrupt yesterday, 'using and discarding', but he still greeted people and apologized when leaving, so he didn't miss out on basic manners!
Just as he was wondering what was going on, he saw Curry walking over and greeted him, "Hi, Stephen, we meet again."

Curry didn't respond to the greeting, but instead tilted his head slightly and stared into Yi Shui's eyes, saying, "Let me see the strength of the three strongest members of the Great East Alliance tonight!"

"?" Yi Shui pointed to himself and asked, "Are you talking about me?"

Curry: "You were second in the 05-06 All-Rookie Team and Rookie of the Year voting in the Big East league, weren't you?"

Yi Shui suspected that the elementary school student was being sarcastic, but it didn't seem like that... Since the challenge had come, he couldn't lose his momentum: "That's right, that's me. I didn't expect you to know me. It's an honor."

"Although I'm in a remote small league, I still know the geniuses of you big leagues."

"..."

Yi Shui witnessed firsthand what it meant to talk nonsense with a straight face.

He thought for a moment and said, "I think there might be some misunderstanding between us..."

Curry interrupted, "That's not important. Today I'm going to show you that there are great players and great teams in the minor leagues too!"

...

"..."

Watching Curry's retreating figure after making his harsh remarks, Yi Shui was speechless once again.

Yad and Robinson, who were standing nearby, came over and asked, "Who is this guy, White and Black?"

Yi Shui asked in surprise, "How do you know he's Black? His skin is even lighter than yours."

“We Americans can naturally tell the difference at a glance. I’m darker browned. My original skin tone was grayish-white, which wasn’t good-looking… Wait, is that the point? The point is, who is he? Why did he come to challenge you?”

"He is the number one talent in North Carolina. His father is Dell Curry, the Hornets' all-time leading scorer."

"The son of a star player, no wonder he looks like that. But you have a really high opinion of him! How come he's in this godforsaken place like the Southern League?" Yad asked curiously.

Robinson was also very curious. The Southern Conference is considered a weak minor league in the NCAA, with a total of 10 teams. For many years, no top 100 high school players in the country have joined. In the past 10 seasons, a total of 7 teams have made it to the Third Madness, which is among the worst in the minor leagues.

But they didn't think they were just bragging. They knew Yi Shui's personality well. When he praised someone, he really meant it. When he looked down on someone, he really meant it. Just like when they talked about Hickson the other day, his tone clearly revealed his contempt.

Yi Shui recalled for a moment and replied, "I heard that he ranked first in the Duke tryouts in 06, but Coach K thought he was too thin and rejected him from joining."

Robinson exclaimed in surprise, "Duke? He's better than Gerald Henderson?"

Just as Yi Shui was about to ask who Henderson was, a news report flashed through his mind, one that he had read before.

Gerald Henderson, a graduate of Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania and Kobe Bryant's junior, won the Pennsylvania Mr. Basketball award in 05 and 06. He was ranked 10th among all high school players in the nation in 06. The report mentioned that if the NBA had not refused to accept high school players for the draft, he could have entered the NBA directly like Kobe. After graduating from high school, he chose to follow the path that Kobe had hoped for, rejecting North Carolina and UCLA and joining Duke University.

Upon seeing this report, Yi Shui remembered that Henderson was a rare highlight in Jordan's draft resume. During his rookie contract, he became a top scorer averaging 15+ points per game, and also possessed defensive and passing skills. He was once regarded as a top second option prospect... Later, he went to the Trail Blazers to get a $900 million annual salary contract. In his first year after the transfer, he suffered a serious injury at the end of the regular season and eventually retired at the age of 29.

This is a truly nationally renowned high school prodigy. It's normal to be surprised that Robinson is in the same grade as him.

Yi Shui replied, "Henderson is definitely not as good as him. By the way, Stanley is best at shooting three-pointers. Tonight, you... we can have a match with him."

Robinson was really interested. He wouldn't dare say he was better than anyone else in other areas, but he was very confident when it came to shooting three-pointers!
Yi Shui no longer cared what was wrong with the elementary school student; Curry was so eager to fight him, and he couldn't be happier!

After all, if his school hadn't arranged a warm-up game with several universities in North Carolina, he might not have faced Curry even once during his entire college career. Let's beat him!

Oh, right! The mission!
"Angry elementary school student:"
Objective 1: Lead the team to victory in the warm-up match against the Davidson Wildcats.

Objective 2: To surpass Stephen Curry in both three-point field goals made.

Objective 3: To achieve the highest score in the entire game.

Complete objective 1 to receive 1 Beginner Blind Box. Complete all objectives to receive the reward: Rhythm Type (Talent). Note: Stephen Curry's Wildcats are beyond the level of minor league teams; please proceed with caution.

Talent! That's amazing!

Yi Shui tried to calm himself down, not letting his excitement show, and focused his attention on the final 'pouring'.

Their strength is beyond the scope of minor league teams... Yi Shui remembered that Curry once made it to the quarterfinals in the third season of 2014, and lost to the eventual champion Kansas City Hawks by only two points. This caught the attention of Warriors general manager Don Nelson and Knicks general manager Donnie Walsh. It must be this season!
This is a bit tricky; the difficulty of the competition has suddenly increased!

But for some reason, instead of being afraid, he felt even more excited.

...

Curry wasn't as confident as Yi Shui had imagined.

Having made the challenge, he could hear his own heartbeat; his earlier bravado had vanished.

Last season, he led the Wildcats to the Southern League championship upon joining the team, earning a spot in the Madness 3 competition. He had quite good luck in the qualifying rounds, with 8 out of 10 opponents being minor league teams. He ultimately achieved a record of 7 wins and 3 losses, which won him the favor of the judges and made him into the Madness 3 team of 64. However, he did not win a single game against the six top league teams, especially in the first round of Madness 3 against the powerhouse Maryland Turtles, where he was completely dominated.

However, after exchanging a few words with Yi Shui, Curry felt something was off. The other person didn't seem to be trying to tease him at all, which made it even stranger. Yi Shui was the strongest junior in the Big East League, or at least one of the strongest, and he was coming to ask for an autograph? It didn't make any sense.

In those days, social media wasn't as developed, and there were natural information barriers between states and leagues. Curry's understanding of the Big East Conference in the far northeast was still based on the information he gathered during the national tryouts last April and May...

Curry shook his head; he couldn't think about it anymore, his mind was itching.

Since he'd already issued the challenge, he didn't need to worry about anything else! After being eliminated in the first round of the Madness 3 last season, he trained hard with his father for almost half a year. He wanted to find a suitable opponent to test his progress, and this opponent was just right!

As Curry's conviction solidified, that momentum returned!
...

After the pre-match preparation time ended, the starting lineups of both teams came onto the field.

The referee was bewildered to see both teams staring fiercely at each other as if they wanted to devour each other. Wasn't this just a warm-up match?
These two teams probably don't have any real animosity, right? They might not even play each other once every eight or ten years. Even if they did have a grudge back then, the players have changed several times over...

Curry challenged Yi Shui to a duel, which was overheard by a teammate and quickly spread throughout the team.

Last season, Curry led them to the 3rd Major, completely dominating them. Whoever Curry wants to fight, that's who he'll fight! Top league teams? That's exactly what they want to play against!
On the Husky team's side, the big-mouthed Yad quickly spread the news throughout the team, so their cohesion wasn't that strong. For example, the three guards from the class of 2006 were hoping that Yi Shui would embarrass himself tonight. The day before yesterday, not only was Dyson relegated to the bench, but the other two guards from the class of 2006 also saw their playing time drastically reduced.

However, at least the starting lineup consists of people from Yishui!
Yad and Robinson are on the same team, and Price and Thabeet also like to partner with Yi Shui. The former finally has the ball to control, and the latter has more opportunities to score. As for Yi Shui taking more than 30 shots... it doesn't take up their shot attempts, and Yi Shui can make them!
After playing well for two years, Yad also had a certain leadership ability. He got along well with the junior and senior substitutes. The Ukrainian defender Vrosostsky, who didn't get along with Yi Shui, disliked Dyson even more. The two freshmen had become Yi Shui supporters early on...

In summary, about 80% of the Husky team players share a common hatred for the enemy!
At 3 p.m., the Husky team played a friendly match against the Wildcats away from home.

Wildcats center Boris Menor is also a tall player, standing at nearly 2.2 meters, but Thabeet is superior in height, wingspan, and jumping ability, winning the jump ball and giving the Huskies the first possession!
Price and Yad attempted a pick-and-roll to stretch the defense, but it failed!
The Wildcats did an excellent job of blocking at the free-throw line, collapsing on the flanks, and double-teaming the ball handler after completing the interception. Price was double-teamed and stopped by the opposing forwards Thomas Sander and Andrew Lofdale in the right elbow area! Fortunately, Yi Shui ran around the high post and Price quickly passed the ball out.

Yi Shui received the ball, but Curry caught up and stuck to him tightly. This kid is much stronger than he looks!

He didn't rush. He turned sideways, grabbed the ball with one hand, and stretched it to the far end. After Price and Yadela opened up, he turned around, dribbled back half a step, and faced Curry who was pressing forward. He took a step to the side and accelerated to break through!
Curry defended very hard and didn't lose his position visibly, but his lateral movement and turning speed were too slow, allowing Yi Shui, who has top-tier speed, to leave him behind!
The Wildcats' wing forwards were unable to collapse into the zone defense in time, and Yi Shui broke directly into the three-second area.

Fortunately, their tall center retreated to the basket in time.

When Yi Shui broke through the defense and saw Mayno, who was nearly 2.2 meters tall, he felt the same way Hickson felt when he attacked the basket and saw Thabeet the day before yesterday—it was as if a mountain was standing under the basket.

But unlike Hickson, who hid and dared not go in, Yi Shui got really excited when he met Curry and jumped towards Meno!

If this is a mountain, then cross it! If you can't even cross this mountain, how will you face the towering peaks you'll encounter in the future?
Meno hadn't expected that the opposing guard, with his towering height, would try to force his way past him. By the time he reacted and pressed forward, it was too late. Amidst the screams of the baseline crowd, everything went black...

Yi Shui rode on Meno and slammed the ball into the basket!

Curry, who stopped at the three-second line, gaped as he watched Yi Shui celebrate by bumping his butt with his teammate. "Is this guy really that wild?"
Judging from Yi Shui's skin color, he assumed she was a technically skilled person like him, but he never expected her to be a violent individual!

"The game has begun, it's your turn, Stephen!"

Requesting monthly votes! Requesting recommendation votes!


(End of this chapter)