Champion, please stay!

Chapter 31. Is it a case of "praise to death"?

In the evening, the Huskies flew to Cincinnati, Ohio, and the next day, Sunday morning, the NCAA's official punishment finally arrived.

As Yi Shui and his teammates guessed when they talked about it, since there was no real fight and he only argued with the media after the game, the authorities did not punish him.

After all, NCAA players are essentially free laborers, and the only form of punishment is suspension.

So the punishment fell on the head coach, who is usually the scapegoat. Calhoun was fined $5 and severely criticized for his poor team management.

And then? Nothing more! That was the end of it. The Golden Eagles only had their head coach fined, just like when they had the conflict the year before last.

Of course, there were negative consequences to his verbal sparring with Milwaukee reporters. Yi Shui's past dissolute behavior was brought up again for criticism. The idea of ​​a prodigal son turning over a new leaf is easily associated with being incorrigible, and he suffered a wave of public criticism as a result.

He felt okay about it. He recalled being criticized by local media and classmates for a year during his sophomore season. He also felt the pressure of public opinion during the warm-up matches, but he was not affected. Instead, he even compared with Yad, who was also criticized by the media, to see who made more news.

However, when he saw the news that Yi Jianlian, who was playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, had been implicated because local media discovered that they shared the same last name, and that Yi Jianlian's performance at the start of his rookie season had fallen short of expectations, while Milwaukee was very eager for a winning record... In response, he could only offer an apology from afar.

The young guys are in great shape. After two nights of rest, the Husky players are bouncing around again today, and the effects of the elbow-swinging battle are basically gone.

That evening, the Husky team beat the University of Cincinnati Pandas to a pulp during their away game at the Fifth Avenue Third Arena.

With a score of 106-60, the Huskies crushed the Pandas by 46 points through fast breaks, extending the Pandas' losing streak to six games.

Yi Shui didn't play much tonight, only 26 minutes, scoring 23 points on 9 out of 16 shots.

When playing against the Golden Eagles, Yi Shui had already experienced the benefits of a true zone defense due to the matchup formation. Tonight, he experienced how satisfying it is to dominate weaker opponents with a zone defense!
On the Pandas' side, Yi Shui felt pretty miserable. It wasn't that they had crushed the opponent by more than 40 points that made him think that way. This wasn't the biggest point difference the Pandas had encountered this season; the Amazing Team had beaten the Pandas 98 to 45... It was the Pandas' situation that made them famous. This team had once been great in the minor leagues. Before joining the Big East, they made the Third Madness for 14 consecutive years. Going back 40 years, the Pandas even won two consecutive championships in the 60s. But after joining the top league they had always dreamed of, everything collapsed.

Previously, the Pandas were undefeated in eight out of ten years in the minor leagues, easily qualifying for the Third Madness. But in the Big East, there were plenty of teams of similar strength, and after several years they didn't even qualify once, and freshmen didn't want to go there anymore... During the preseason, the Husky players, who had a 5-13 record last season, looked down on the Davidson Wildcats, who had made it to the Third Madness last season, because the Big East had the unlucky Pandas.

...

To improve, a person needs either motivation or pressure. Yi Shui had both; he desperately wanted to improve.

After returning from the away game, he discussed the issue of physical training with Clark, and the answer he received was negative.

It's not that Clark can't do it; on the contrary, he's very good at it. During Okafor's junior year in the NCAA, he could only maintain his form for a little over 30 minutes per game, and it was difficult for him to play more than that. But in the summer of 04, after Okafor decided to enter the draft, he went through a complete physical training program with Clark. In his rookie year in the NBA, Okafor was able to maintain defensive consistency throughout playing 35+ minutes per game.

但一个完整、有效、保证健康的体能拉练，需要4-6个月、平均每个月25天左右、每天4-6小时左右体能训练，才能在这样相对较短的时间里带来质的变化。

Yi Shui knew that Clark hadn't mentioned one more thing—money. Okafor grew up receiving an elite education, so the investment in such physical training, including facilities, diet, and medical care, would be considerable. Of course, that was the least important thing. The main reason was that training for 4-6 hours a day for 4-6 months was unrealistic for him at this stage. Even someone as hardworking as Okafor only started physical training when he was about to enter the NBA.

The coaching staff also took his stamina issue seriously, but they chose to address it by adjusting his playing time and defensive coordination, as well as finding a backup for him. They found a candidate – Johnson Bird, a center of 206 cm tall with enough mobility to play small forward. He has excellent offensive and defensive talent, so Bird doesn't need to be a superstar; he just needs to be able to fill in during the weakest phase of the opponent's offensive lineup.

Yi Shui naturally supported the coaching staff's arrangement. He knew it was the best arrangement the coaching staff could make. Even NBA teams could only spend one or two years gradually building up the stamina of their rookies, since skills and fundamentals also take time to develop.

He could only look forward to the mission, and... to getting back to the state of training to exhaustion every day, not only when playing away games but also on match days!

Better skills and more accurate shooting allow for offensive plays with less effort and greater defensive consistency.

Also, pushing your physical strength to the limit might actually unlock some potential, although it's no longer possible to see significant improvements every now and then, like it was right after my 'transformation' in early August.

On Friday, November 30th, the Huskies played a tough game at home against the visiting DePaul University Blue Devils.

The Blue Devils team may seem to have average overall talent, but they are incredibly strong because the university's signature major is quite special—architecture. Their main roster is almost entirely made up of fourth- and fifth-year students, aged 22-24!
The Blue Devils players are all incredibly fit. Although they've only made it to the Third Madness twice in the last 20 years, no team in the Big East enjoys playing against them.

Among them, Wesley Green, ranked 73rd in the nation in the class of 03, and Karen Clark, ranked 98th in the nation in the class of 03, are both 24 years old and in their fifth year of high school. Their physical maturity is far beyond what is expected. Wesley Green, in particular, is 215 cm tall and weighs 130 kg, yet he can still play 30 minutes per game. Players like Thabeet, Yad, Omocaro, Edwards, and Johnson Bird are exhausted to the point of tears.

好在哈士奇队外线优势大，靠着易水19投8中、其中三分球10中3、加上4中3的罚球，拿到22分7板3助攻1抢断3盖帽，普莱斯10分5助攻、罗宾逊12分……哈士奇队以65比61险胜蓝魔队！
...

December 1st, Saturday, is the last month of 2007.

Today, for Yishui, there is some good news and some bad news.

Personally, he went to the Kangda Gymnasium this morning to practice three-pointers. After several sets of corner three-point drills, his weakest area for three-pointers—the left corner—has improved to over 80!
配上左侧45度角的84、顶弧的81、右侧45度角的86、右侧底角的81……实战结合训练，从‘蜕变’开始到现在，4个月时间，远距离投篮总评从69暴涨到83！

However, the rate of improvement for long shots from each position begins to slow down after reaching 75, and becomes even slower after reaching 80. Even the rate of improvement from the 45-degree angle on the wings slows down significantly, and the other three positions are even more affected.

His three-pointers from the top arc were originally much more accurate than those from the two corners, but now they're almost as accurate as those from the right corner, and he's even being caught up by those from the left corner.

However, his close-range shooting has recently started to improve after the period of rebuilding his foundation, rising from 87 to 88, and his passing has also increased to 79.

The news was a mix of good and bad. He was 1.97 meters tall, and with shoes on, he was the same height as Yad. Only then did he realize that Yad, the "two-meter giant," was actually two meters tall with shoes on.

When Yad arrived at the Cornell University gymnasium at noon, Yi Shui casually asked, "Jeff, why have you shrunk?"

Seeing Yad lean in next to him and compare heights, with a look of utter despair on his face... his frustration at his speed dropping to 91 dissipated considerably.

There's good news about his height gain: the system indicates that gaining weight to 93 kilograms won't affect his speed and agility, which are both around 91.

However, it's clear that their height has reached a critical point. On the team's side, they received a major boost—they beat out both the Georgetown Amazings and the Kansas Cleveland Hawks, both undefeated teams, to become the cover team for the Associated Press's first-month special issue of the season!

The Associated Press publishes three special issues each season on college basketball: a November opening summary, a February mid-season assessment of the roster competition, and a March preview of the "March Madness" campaign.

This special edition doesn't have much influence among fans who enjoy watching professional games, but in college basketball, it's considered one of the top tiers besides Sports Illustrated, and it also has a significant impact on NBA teams.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Husky team has appeared on the cover of this special issue twice, in the 03-04 season and the 05-06 season. Yi Shui learned from Yad that after appearing on the cover both times, the number of NBA scouts coming to their home games increased dramatically, and in those two years, a total of 10 players from their team were selected by the NBA.

Yi Shui remembers that after the 05-06 season, as many as 6 of his teammates were drafted, and now it seems that only 3 are still in the NBA: Gay, Hilton Armstrong, and Josh Boone.

From this perspective, appearing on the cover of the Associated Press special issue is also a huge benefit for Yi Shui personally.

The reason they made it onto the cover of the special edition is that after a three-game winning streak, their record is now 5 wins and 2 losses, surpassing the Louisville Cardinals and moving into third place in the Big East Conference!

Ahead of them are only the 7-0 Amazing Team and the Notre Dame Warriors, who also have a 5-2 record but have defeated them.

Yi Shui read the section about their team in the special edition, which mainly focused on the topic of 'comeback'. Before the season started, the Associated Press predicted that they would win a maximum of 4-5 games, but now they have already won 5 games after the first month... The Associated Press is not afraid of being proven wrong.

There are also analyses of why they were able to achieve a three-game winning streak after starting with a 2-2 record – the zone defense system was successfully established.

In their first game against the Golden Eagles, a zone defense duo, a physical altercation occurred, and afterwards, few people paid attention to the game itself; instead, they were all discussing the two teams' past conflict.

The Associated Press provided a detailed analysis of that match.

However, throughout the entire article about Yi Shui, there is very little information about him personally; it is only briefly mentioned—the dissolute prodigal son has finally turned over a new leaf and become the team's scoring pillar, and that's it.

However, after he arrived at the hotel in Gaines, Florida with the team, he saw that the New York Times website's coverage of their team devoted most of the article to him.

After all, compared to the Associated Press, which has an official background, the New York Times, as a privately owned company and with a long-standing good relationship with Cornell University, can report whatever it wants.

He averaged 20.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 7 games, which is acceptable. Apart from Harland and Gaodi, the other top scorers in the Big East league have similar performances. Moreover, he has the lowest shooting percentage, 45.3 points, 36.7 rebounds, and 79 assists. In addition, he also averaged 3.5 turnovers per game, the second highest in the Big East league...

But he also averages 1.7 steals and 4.1 blocks per game! He has a total of 29 blocks, second only to Thabeet's 30 blocks in the Big East Conference! His steals are also above average!
The New York Times also focused on his role in the team's zone defense, concluding that Brook, the Eastern Star, is the only truly two-way player in the Big East Conference.

Looking at the website's comment section, which had received over 10,000 comments in just a few hours, Yi Shui felt like he had become famous again, and this time the impact seemed to extend beyond the Great East Alliance.

He never imagined he would become famous for his defense...

Moreover, private companies are known for their aggressive spending, and the New York Times even presented them with a sense of "fatalism."
In the 05-06 season, the Huskies started with a 4-2 record, which wasn't bad. However, after a conflict with the Golden Eagles in the 7th round, they won all the remaining games in the division stage from that game onwards, achieving a 12-game winning streak and winning the Big East League championship with a 16-2 record, thus qualifying for the Madness III.

This time, after their conflict with the Golden Eagles, they started another winning streak... Just like before.

The New York Times raved about the Huskies and Yi Shui, but Yi Shui himself felt a mix of joy and sorrow. Whether it was the "unique combination of offense and defense" or the "fatalism," neither of them seemed to be exactly what people wanted to hate.

...

The next day, Sunday, the Husky team arrived at the Dome Arena in Gaines City to prepare for the game. Yi Shui learned that the American cable sports channel was going to add a broadcast of their game against the University of South Florida Bulls that night, and he finally understood why the New York Times had been so hyping them up the day before.

Dolan really went all out by scheduling a live broadcast for the Bulls, who were tied for last place in the league with the Rutgers Red Cavaliers after a seven-game losing streak!
He borrowed Yad's phone to check and found that some of the more popular NCAA and NBA games were going to be broadcast live across the United States tonight, but the Knicks didn't have a game tonight.

So they set their sights on them, who had just been featured in an Associated Press special edition!

At 6:30 p.m., after entering the stadium, Yi Shui could feel the effect of the New York Times's incitement of hatred from the opposing players' demeanor.

The Bulls players, who should have been discouraged and given up after failing to win a single game at the start of the season, were incredibly excited tonight!

Yi Shui takes the opponent's perspective – a nationally televised event, the opponent is a team that has been praised to the skies these past two days, how satisfying would it be to beat them?
After the game started, the Bulls played with great intensity, while the Husky team, facing the last-place team, played very casually even with Yi Shui's reminder. As a result, the Bulls outscored the Husky team 39-27 at halftime!
The Huskies went into halftime trailing by 12 points!
The Bulls' overall team strength is lacking, but they still have two outstanding players. One is Dominique Jones, a sophomore combo guard who averages slightly more points than Yi Shui, with 21.1 points per game and a slightly better 46.7% field goal percentage. The other is Kentire Gransbury, a senior offensive center who averages 16 points and 11 rebounds per game. Both of them are top players in the Big East and even the entire country. It's just that their teammates are too poor, which drags them down, similar to Hickson of the Timberwolves.

Fortunately, after halftime, the Husky players woke up in time. Led by Yi Shui, Yad, Thabeet, and Dyson, they scored 35-26, narrowing the score to 62-64. In the final moments, Yi Shui made a steal and substitute point guard Spencer sprinted to the frontcourt and made a buzzer-beating floater, forcing the game into overtime!

In overtime, the Bulls' two stars, who had combined for 45 points, couldn't hold on any longer, and the team only managed 2 points in 5 minutes, while the Huskies steadily scored 10 points.

最终，易水出战41分钟，18投8中、其中三分球6中2、加上6中5的罚球，拿到23分7板3助攻2抢断3盖帽，率领哈士奇队以74比66逆转公牛队，拿下4连胜！

Yi Shui experienced the effect of the Big Apple city's provocation, but it wasn't over yet. The next day, Monday morning, Yad brought him another piece of news: the nationwide live broadcast previews on major TV stations, the content of which was—can the Husky team end the Amazing Team's undefeated myth?

The Amazing Team won again at home last night, extending their winning streak to eight games to start the season, and they are now on a winning streak!
This Friday, the Huskies' home team will face the Amazing Team.

Considering the media hype of the past few days, for the Husky team, this can't even be called inciting hatred; it's practically like being praised to death. They've been pushed into the position of targeting the Amazing Team, but...

Yi Shui felt absolutely no fear or worry!

When he saw the live broadcast preview, he felt the same way he did last night when he was in the shoes of the Bulls players – how awesome would it be to end the Amazing Team's undefeated record?

Not to mention they and the Exclamation Team are 'arch-rivals'!
He even felt that, given the team's current dominance, the fact that they were being pushed into this position by the media meant that their efforts since the start of the season had not been in vain! It was a form of recognition!
Praise to death? If you eliminate your rivals, they won't be the ones getting "killed"!
He wasn't the only one with this idea. On the bus to the airport, after the big-mouthed Yad told his teammates about the live broadcast announcement, everyone on the bus shouted in unison, "Take down the Amazing Team!"
Requesting monthly votes! Requesting recommendation votes!


(End of this chapter)