Champion, please stay!

Chapter 49. Super Jordan is full of flaws.
Mayo arrived in a huff and left cursing.

Reporters and cameramen doing live interviews want to give it a thumbs up.

Although they are employees of Time Warner Cable Sports and are here to support Mayo, they have long worked in the eastern Virginia and Pennsylvania areas. They don't have the 'local' filter that California media have for Mayo. Instead, they feel more familiar with Mayo because he is more popular in the eastern coastal states.

They were all guessing how Yi Shui would retaliate: with a strong counterattack? By avoiding the issue? By ignoring it? No matter which one, it seemed like they would fall into Mayo's rhythm and be at a disadvantage.

Unexpectedly, Yi Shui broke out of the framework set by Mayo, and almost infuriated Mayo with just one word.

The main thing is the change in expression, from surprise to bewilderment to incomprehension to confusion to disgust... It's brilliant!
The two put themselves in Mayo's shoes... If the white muscle man and the black giant hadn't been nearby, they probably would have jumped up and started hitting him!
However, recalling the scene of Yi Shui and Mayo standing together just now, the former was a head taller and much stronger than the latter, so Mayo probably wouldn't dare to make a move... Thinking of this, they wanted to ask Yi Shui on behalf of their son how he did it. Two years ago, Mad Three and his team interviewed the Husky team. At that time, Yi Shui was just a standard-sized small combo guard. Now he is so much taller than the big shooting guard Mayo. He is not at a disadvantage in terms of height when playing power forward in the NCAA.

On the Yi River, surrounded by his teammates asking what Mayo had said, he didn't embellish it, but simply repeated Mayo's words, which immediately ignited his teammates' fighting spirit.

As the top high school player in the nation, Mayo was touted by Los Angeles media as being even better than LeBron James if he went straight into the NBA, which made many college athletes afraid of facing him.

But the Husky team is a bit different. Apart from Yi Shui, their core lineup consists of all top 100 high school players in the United States. The one who is most dissatisfied is the 'number one high school player'!
Even Johnson Bird, who wasn't among the top 100 high school players in the country, disliked Mayo. He and Harden had been beaten by Mayo in high school and had long wanted revenge.

Seeing this, Yi Shui called his teammates together and said, "Let's discuss how to defend Mayo. When I defend him, I'll follow the coaches' instructions."

If it's Stanley, switch onto him and ignore his drives, just cover his shot, but don't stick too close. He doesn't have the jumping ability to shoot over you, so if he gets past you, just let us handle it.

AJ (Price) and Nick (Froststowski), you guys support his lower body. He lacks explosiveness. Even if you can't stop him, you can still affect his starting speed and help with the defense.

Ben (Spencer) and Jerome, he's definitely not as fast as you guys, just stick close to him and try to limit him.

Don't be fooled by his title of 'Super Jordan'. He just matured earlier and has better skills. In terms of your strengths, he is not as good as you.

Jeff, Jarvan (Edwards), Ossard (Omorakot), Johnson, when you're guarding Gibson, give him more physical contact; don't worry about him getting shaken up.

Don't worry about not being able to defend against it, I and Hashim are here..."

Although the Husky players are not afraid of the renowned Mayo and are even more excited to play against him than they are against other players, they are still wary of Mayo's strength. Excessive hostility often means that the opponent is stronger than you.

But after listening to Yi Shui's analysis... or rather, his arrangement, they realized that Mayo was indeed not as powerful as they had imagined. Those were indeed Mayo's shortcomings. Each of them seemed to have some characteristics that were better than Mayo's!
Even Dyson, who had always been at odds with Yi Shui, had to admit that this bastard was really smart... He originally thought that if he were to face off against Mayo, he would go all out and fight, without thinking about the details of how to handle things.

The coaches who had somehow gotten close enough to 'eavesdrop' also agreed with Yi Shui's analysis.

Clark: "Brook is getting better and better, and his leadership qualities and abilities are becoming more and more outstanding."

Calhoun snorted and said, "He should have had that ability a long time ago... sigh..."

Kevin Ollie: "Haha, Jim, kids grow up eventually, like Ray, Richard, Caron, Emeka... We've never had a number one draft pick on our team, right? We don't have a player like Oden this year, and Griffin said he won't run, so we have a chance!"

Having inadvertently revealed his reluctance, Calhoun snorted again without saying a word, inwardly cursing, 'Young people are so annoying, I shouldn't have called this kid back.'

Kevin Ollie was actually Ray Allen's college teammate. He entered the NBA as an undrafted player and returned to work for Calhoun after retiring, making him a true protégé.

Clark analyzed: "Beasley has lost hope of becoming the number one pick. His participation in the third season of the NBA 2K10 exposed his personality flaws and his performance on the court was also very problematic. In the matchup against that pitcher named Curry, he was so badly beaten that he had to give up the game."

Rose rose quickly, but Brook defeated him head-on. Now, all that's left are Mayo and Love from UCLA. If we go further than UCLA..."

Calhoun interrupted, "Let's focus on the present! This kid will handle the defense against Mayo and Gibson, but the team defense still depends on us!"

...

The brief 'clash' between Yi Shui and Mayo not only boosted the morale and excited the Husky team players, but also thrilled the fans who watched the scene on live television.

However, most fans watching on TV were furious – Yi Shui completely disregarded Mayo!
In terms of nationwide fame and popularity, Mayo, hailed as "Super Jordan" by the Los Angeles media, is clearly superior. The Time Warner Cable Sports commentator broadcasting this game is a California local who has been commentating on PAC-10 league games for many years, and his bias is obvious.

The two commentators launched a tirade against Yi Shui.

This has led many casual fans who only watched the live stream for the "Yi Shui VS Mayo" spectacle to develop a bias – Mayo is the best in the world, the next Jordan, while Yi Shui is arrogant, uncouth, and obsessed with women, and will definitely be crushed by Mayo tonight.

However, how the commentators guide the opinions of the fans watching on television has little impact on the players on the field.

At 7 p.m., the referee blew the whistle to start the game. Thabeet easily won the jump ball over Keith Wilkinson, the 208cm center on the opposing team, and the Huskies went first!
Yi Shui received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right side, with Mayo guarding the three-point line. Upon seeing this, fans from both sides cheered loudly.

That's what they came to see!
Mayo became increasingly popular and was adored more and more during his college years because his playing style was a 'one-on-one' style, which was not common in college games, and he basically never lost a one-on-one match.

Yi Shui's popularity continues to rise for a similar reason: the label of "prodigal son returning home" has brought him more attention, and his ability to step up and solve problems when the team's offense is blocked has translated attention into popularity.

However, Yi Shui hesitated slightly when facing Mayo's defense.

Strategically underestimating their opponent but tactically preparing for battle, Yi Shui did not underestimate Mayo in the slightest. Even if he didn't work that hard in the NBA, he could still average 15+ points per game, and he certainly has the talent to average 20+ points per game.

But this guy's defense... how come he's full of openings?

I can play however I want, but I'm actually a little unsure of which way to play.

After a moment's hesitation, Yi Shui pulled the ball to the left, and the instant the opponent reacted with a lateral movement, he immediately dribbled between his legs and broke through on the right!

If both driving and shooting opportunities are good, then prioritize driving!
The Trojans' forwards were well-prepared, and it's common for Mayo to be easily beaten.

Small forward Dwight Lewis and power forward Taj Gibson moved ahead to block him, but... Yi Shui's speed was too fast!
Lewis failed to block in the mid-range, and Gibson moved into position in the elbow and three-second area sideline, but he couldn't block in time. He could only watch as Yi Shui drove right up to their center Wilkins and put the ball into the basket!

Watching Yi Shui high-five Thabeet and Yad as they retreated to defend, the Trojan front three recalled a player from their division – Russell Westbrook!
They had watched Yi Shui's game videos and even went to the stadium a few days ago to watch the Husky team beat the Vikings team. They knew that Yi Shui had good athletic ability, but they didn't expect him to be so fast!

This guy must be at least two meters tall! He's taller than Chase Budinger, the white shooting guard from Phoenix's PAC-10 All-NBA First Team, and he's as fast as Westbrook! So tall, so fast, and his three-point shooting is pretty good too... Rose: o(╥﹏╥)o You know how hard I played that day, right?
Mayo neither knew nor cared how much of a headache his frontcourt teammates were on defense. His basketball philosophy was: if the opponent scores, just get it back!
As the game switched between offense and defense, the Husky team was on high alert, with each player carefully marking their assigned defender and ready to stick to them the moment the switch occurred.

The Trojans' offense has two main characteristics: height and speed.

At 196 cm tall, shooting guard Mayo is the shortest player in the starting lineup. Point guard Daniel Hackett and small forward Lewis are both 198 cm tall, and power forward Gibson, at 206 cm, is also significantly taller than Yard. The Huskies only have a height advantage at shooting guard and center. Trojans head coach Tim Floyd's offense relies on Mayo drawing double teams and then passing the ball, while the others use their height advantage to shoot quickly.

However, Mayo, who confidently received the ball after crossing the halfway line and wanted to dominate Yi Shui and show him what he was capable of, got into trouble.

When Mayo first received the ball, he was facing Yi Shui's half-step defense and had easy ball control. However, when he started to launch an attack, he found that there was no space to shoot because the opponent's height and wingspan were much longer than his!

He accelerated, trying to get past his opponent with his speed, but as soon as he entered the three-point line, he was challenged by his opponent, which affected his start. Although his opponent did not continue to challenge him, he stuck to him tightly and blocked his shooting space!
He drove close to the baseline but still couldn't shake off Yi Shui's presence. Normally, he would pass the ball to Gibson, who had moved to the mid-range for a receiving pass, but seeing Yi Shui's focused and serious handsome face... he got carried away, turned around, and forcefully pulled up for a fadeaway jumper...

He successfully avoided Yi Shui's block, but the ball went way off course and hit the right side of the rim with a "bang!" It bounced back!
Yi Shui turned around and grabbed the defensive rebound before Gibson could rush in. He then took a step past Gibson, who was rushing to steal the ball, and launched a fast break!

Gibson made an irrational attempt to advance and was beaten. There was no one in front of Yi Shui, only Mayo chasing behind.

The Trojan fans and Husky fans at the scene were cheering wildly, but soon the former's cheers grew quieter and the latter's cheers grew louder... Mayo chased after Yi Shui empty-handed, but couldn't catch up with him!
When Yi Shui entered the opposing three-point line and completely shook off Mayo, the Husky fans erupted in cheers, while the Trojan fans turned into boos.

Yi Shui grabbed the ball at the free-throw line, took a step and jumped, slamming the ball into the basket with one hand!

As Yi Shui landed and turned to retreat on defense, he put his hand behind his ear, listening to the cheers and boos from the fans in the stadium... "Shubao Du's defensive style works pretty well too!" Huh? Why did I say "also"?

(End of this chapter)