Champion, please stay!

Chapter 43. Can you go even faster?

Madison Square Garden, known as the mecca of basketball, is a magical stage where surprises always seem to appear unexpectedly for fans... when the main attraction isn't the Knicks.

In the NCAA basketball qualifying stage, teams in the 'top league upper bracket' mostly play at home, but as is customary, 3-4 games are played at the home court of a neighboring NBA team to 'experience' the big stage.

UConn has three adjacent NBA team home arenas: the Nets' Armoury Center, the 76ers' Wachovia Center, and the Knicks' Madison Square Garden. It's not about where UConn wants to host or which team prefers to host, but rather about the arena's schedule, since it's unknown which team will be in the top half of the bracket before the season starts.

For example, in the 04 championship season, the Husky team ranked second in the regional stage, and the schedule at the Army Aviation Stadium was just right, so the Husky team had 4 games scheduled at the Army Aviation Stadium.

This year, Madison Square Garden happened to have few events in early March, so the stage could spare three nights for the Huskies. The NCAA arranged for the Huskies to play three games on the "Experience the Big Stage," one of which happened to be the Memphis Tigers, who were famous throughout the country during the qualifying rounds.

The Tigers were the 'kings of comebacks' in the qualifying stage, while the Huskies were the 'model of comebacks' in the regional stage.
Roberts earned the title of 'Strongest Triple-Player' during the qualifying stage; this title belonged to Yi Shui at the very end of the regional stage.

Rose displayed dazzling talent during the qualifying rounds, causing his draft stock to soar to the lottery; Yi Shui did the same, going from being virtually unknown to being sought after by multiple lottery teams in just two months, from early December last year to January this year…

The match between these two teams is sure to generate a lot of buzz!
Originally, before the qualifiers began, this match was only broadcast live nationwide on the US cable television network's sports channel. Now, major television stations are flocking to broadcast the match.

Fans were happy to pay to watch the live broadcast of the basketball mecca showdown between top college players; the NCAA proclaimed the basketball mecca a place of miracles; New York basketball fans were willing to spend money on tickets; and the players from both teams were incredibly excited to play in the basketball mecca… The only one hurt was the UConn Board of Trustees.

Other schools like to play games at NBA home arenas because many top league teams don't have a 10,000-seat arena. But UConn is different. They have a standard NBA-level 17,000-seat arena. Although they don't own the arena, they do own the operating rights!
Playing at Harry Gamper Arena, after deducting the NCAA's cut, the Big East Conference's cut, and arena operating costs, UConn's share of the ticket sales can reach the highest NCAA percentage of 65%. Playing at Madison Square Garden, the NCAA and Big East Conference's cuts would be even higher, and with the arena owner, the Knicks, taking the lion's share, UConn would only receive 20% of the ticket sales.

Especially when they saw that the cheapest grandstand tickets announced by the Knicks on the 28th were over 200 yuan, with an average price of over 1,000 yuan, the UConn board members were heartbroken. If the game were held in Storrs, the ticket prices would naturally not be this high, but even with a 20% discount, they would still make more than double their money!
...

At 7:3 p.m. on March 2, Yi Shui and his teammates entered the stadium.

Perhaps it was because he was playing in a basketball mecca? The moment he stepped onto the court felt very special; the atmosphere was exceptionally good, and the fans were incredibly enthusiastic.

Yi Shui's feeling was actually correct; Madison Square Garden was indeed exceptionally lively tonight.

Normally, even when a popular team plays, New York fans only get to cheer and applaud for one team. But tonight is different—there are two! Double the fun!
Yi Shui looked at the information of the two teams posted on the big screen: the Tigers, 20 wins and 0 losses in the regional stage and 9 wins and 0 losses in the NCAA All-Round Championship, which is the qualifying round.

两个核心球员，罗伯茨，赛区阶段场均22.6分5.2板2助攻1抢断1盖帽，资格赛阶段场均19.9分6板2助攻1抢断0.9盖帽，美国会议联盟年度最佳球员、一阵、伍登奖赛区候选人；

罗斯，赛区阶段场均12.6分3.8板5助攻2.1抢断，资格赛阶段场均16.1分4板7助攻3抢断，美国会议联盟年度最佳新人、年度最佳防守球员、一阵、新人一阵、伍登奖赛区候选人。

To rise from a mere 5th-ranked high school player in the nation with first-round prospects to the lottery, Yi Shui felt that Rose was truly impressive. Against stronger opponents, his stats didn't drop but rather increased! Aside from his shooting percentage, he remembered that the team's data showed Rose had a 49% shooting percentage in the division and only 44% in the qualifying rounds, but these flaws didn't detract from his overall strengths; he truly excelled against stronger opponents.

At that moment, Yi Shui felt two burning gazes. He turned around and looked at them... Roberts and Ross! He also raised his chin and looked down at the two of them with his nostrils.

They've never met before, but the media has created such a tense atmosphere that both sides seem to dislike each other.

Both Yi Shui and Ross's hostility was simple; they just wanted to defeat each other.

Roberts' hostility towards Yi Shui had taken on a new dimension—'This bastard actually ignored me!'

He saw the video of Yi Shui's interview yesterday at noon. The reporter clearly asked him a question, but this guy only had eyes for Ross! He didn't mention him once when answering the reporter's questions!

On Yi Shui's side, he certainly couldn't guess what Roberts was thinking, nor would he try to guess, but the system told him...

"Chris Douglas Roberts is furious about your disregard during the interview and is determined to beat you up and then mock you mercilessly... Mission: Do You Deserve It? Triggered."

Objective 1: When matched up against Roberts, you need to limit his shooting percentage to below his season average. (51% + 40.3%)

Objective 2: Your overall field goal percentage must be above 50% when facing Roberts' defense.

Goal 3: You need to score higher than Roberts.

Reward: Long-range talent +1 (all angles, all areas, including three-pointers and long two-pointers).

Yi Shui had noticed that the taller guy in the twin towers looked at him with more than just hostility; it seemed like there was hatred in his eyes. He even spent two seconds trying to recall if he and this guy had ever competed for a female companion before, but the answer was no; he hadn't seen him before… He hadn't expected it to be because of this. No wonder he completely ignored this guy yesterday—Rose! That's Derrick Rose! Who would notice an 'unknown'?
However, being hated by this future, untraceable rival isn't necessarily a bad thing. Look, there's a mission! And a new reward at that!
The reward is probably related to Roberts' playing style. This player looks like a lean and strong black man, but his athleticism is relatively average. He is good at shooting, and his mid-range and long-range shots are very accurate. He is a perfect fit for Rose's driving and kicking style of play, and is a good player for the small forward and shooting guard positions.

After his three-point shooting improved to 80+, his progress slowed down. This was because his long-range shooting had reached a certain level. However, he also considered the issue of talent. For example, he had different talents for each shooting angle. He had a fixed 100% training efficiency bonus for the two 45-degree angles on the wings. He invested about the same amount of training time, but the right 45-degree angle was more accurate than the left 45-degree angle.

Yi Shui suddenly had an idea: could he use this in future matches? If the opponent has two stars, could he praise the one with more distinctive features and more talking points? What a pity! The OK duo disbanded a long time ago, otherwise when playing against the Lakers, he could just focus on praising the big guy, and that guy with the afro would definitely contribute.

Just as I was feeling regretful, another mission came up.

"Your 'flower-picking declaration' has further fueled Derrick Rose's fighting spirit, making him want to crush you, who is known as the 'greatest third-string player in the United States'... Mission: Ruthless Flower Destroyer Triggered."

Bonus Objective: Cover the Sky - For every block you make against Rose, you'll be rewarded with a two-hour Block Training Card.

Objective 1: When facing Rose's defense, if you are not double-teamed, you must always end the offense with a shot, and your shooting percentage must be above 50%.

Objective 2: Defeat the Tigers.

Reward: Speed ​​+1.

Yi Shui's eyes lit up; she had to get this reward!
He glanced at the opposing perimeter players. According to the team's data, the tallest player on the opposing team who could play positions 1-3 was Roberts, who was about the same height as Yarde.

In other words, unless the opposing team decides to use a player who can only play inside to defend him, he has a height advantage throughout the game!
Being tall is definitely an advantage! Time to set up a high-tower sniper cannon!
...

At 8 p.m., Thabeet tipped the ball over the head of the 208cm center Taggart Shawn, sending it behind him and eliciting wild cheers and screams from the fans in the stadium.

'This center is amazing! Should we pick Hasheem or Brook? I'm so torn!'

New York fans are always so confident; they've already started picking fights.

Soon, their hesitation dissipated, and the fans in the arena chanted "Brother Bi" - Yi Shui received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right side, and facing Rose's defense half a step inside the three-point line, he pulled up and hit a three-pointer!

Price: Getting assists is becoming more and more down-to-earth.

Rose: No? You didn't even dribble the ball? You just threw it away? Do you think I'm invisible?
Yi Shui: No, I see you as a cannon emplacement.

In the opening defensive play, the Tigers players were quite unsettled. They had barely set up their defensive formation when the opposing team's offensive finishing speed was far too fast. They didn't have Hibbert on their side! And even when they were playing against the Amazing Team and kiting Hibbert, their offensive finishing wasn't this quick.

The Husky team players had some initial difficulties adjusting, but they've gotten used to it now. Their prodigy, Brook, is getting more and more reckless each month, claiming it's because he's grown taller... Anyway, they think this reason is ridiculous and perfunctory, and they're unwilling to come up with a legitimate reason for their increasing recklessness.

As the game transitioned from offense to defense, Rose advanced to the frontcourt and saw Yi Shui guarding the top arc, causing him to unconsciously quicken his pace.

He wants it back!
Price's lack of athleticism makes it no different to assign him to guard Rose and Fisher, and he is instead assigned to guard the opposing shooting guard nicknamed "The Five-Star General" Donny McArthur.

Facing Yi Shui's defense, Rose quickly changed direction in front of his body, seized the opportunity, accelerated and drove past Yi Shui to the three-point line!
The fans in the stadium were cheering and screaming for Rose to get past Yi Shui, but Calhoun on the sidelines was smiling. The moment he saw Rose accelerate, his protégé had already jumped backward...

Dyson's lips twitched as unpleasant memories of the team's practice matches kept resurfacing.

Rose drove into the paint, jumped over Thabeet, and attempted a reverse layup... but Yi Shui, who had caught up, slapped it out of bounds!

When Ross landed after being blocked, he forgot to control his body and fell to the ground with a thud. He looked at Yi Shui in disbelief. Wasn't this guy just beaten by him in one go?

Amidst the continuous screams and cheers of the fans, Yi Shui looked down at Rose.

"That was close! I almost couldn't keep up with your speed. Can you go even faster?"

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(End of this chapter)