Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 16 The Longest River

Before the game started, it was expected to be a fierce battle, and for most of the first half it was indeed so. However, once Xu Ling contained Asi Law, the situation completely turned in Texas Tech's favor.

Because the other players at Texas A&M University rely too heavily on Assie Law's performance, the whole team will falter if Law's level drops.

At halftime, TTU led by 12 points.

ESPN commentator Dick Vitale made a prediction: "Unless Asi Law finds a way to get past Eli's defense in the second half, the Red Raiders will get off to a winning start in the 2006-07 tournament!"

However, Xu Ling's defense performed even better in the second half.

Texas A&M University was strangled and never launched an effective counterattack.

The game ended with Texas Tech winning by a margin of 21 points, 87-66.

If the Pete Newell Invitational a while ago could be considered a preseason warm-up and not something to be taken seriously, then Xu Ling's dominant performance tonight against a senior with lottery draft prospects makes him impossible to ignore.

“18分8篮板4助攻4抢断1封盖”ESPN的丹·舒尔曼说，“号称要成为大学乔丹的伊莱在今晚表现得像是201公分的加里·佩顿，他在防守端完全抹杀了阿西·劳！”

Xu Ling high-fived his teammates, then noticed that several media outlets were already waiting to interview him on the sidelines.

He walked over.

"Eli, congratulations on winning your first league tournament. How do you feel?"

"I don't feel anything, this is just the beginning."

"Ash Law is ranked high on many authoritative draft prediction media outlets, and he is considered a sure lottery pick, but you obviously dominated him tonight. How did you do that?"

“I’m taller than him, faster than him, and more athletically gifted than him,” Xu Ling said in amazement. “It’s not difficult at all.”

Then an ESPN reporter asked the final question: "We noticed that you seemed indifferent to the fans' cheers. How do you view the audience's reaction?"

Interaction between athletes and spectators is an important part of sports competitions.

Xu Ling has also received a lot of criticism for this, with some people thinking that he is too arrogant and too harsh on fans because he never responds to the cheers of the audience on the field.

"I might be a bit slow-witted," Xu Ling said sincerely. "If I care too much about things off the court, I can't focus on the game."

So, is that his reason?

The sports reporters at the scene didn't entirely believe Xu Ling's words, but at least that's how he was acting so far.

However, Xu Ling's indifference to the audience far exceeded the level of Tim Duncan's low-key approach to life and high-profile work; his behavior was too obvious and came across as deliberate.

But this isn't a big deal, because most sports fans are masochists; as long as the players are good enough, their tolerance is beyond imagination.

After finishing the interview, Xu Ling left the media who wanted to conduct a personal interview and headed straight for the players' tunnel.

Students from TTU were shouting loudly on both sides of the passageway.

"Eli~~~~!!!"

"XU!!!!"

"we love you!!!"

Some people held jerseys and pens, hoping to win Xu Ling's favor.

Xu Ling had experienced this kind of scene too many times in his previous life, so he was no longer surprised. He was eager to leave, so he ignored them.

The post-match effects began to accumulate.

First, the media hype intensified.

"We never imagined that a Chinese freshman could defend the best point guard in the United States. But last night, Eli Xu showed us that it is possible."

The renowned NBA draft website DraftExpress wrote the following in the opening of its post-game column.

The following day, ESPN's official website featured a headline photo of Eli Xu, who looked up from under the basket while Xu soared through the air, swatting the ball away with his palm. The blurred background of the crowd seemed to make way for him, accompanied by a comment from draft expert Jay Bilas: "Texas Tech's defensive efficiency ranked only 72nd in the nation last season, but after this game, they might break into the top 30—and all of this changes because of Eli Xu. He not only destroys opponents with offense, but also knows how to make their star players disappear from the court."

Then there's ESPN's popular writer Bill Simmons, who is paying particular attention to the 2007 draft class, touted as a super draft class, because his beloved Celtics are going through an unprecedented slump in their history.

After watching the game footage of Texas Tech and Texas A&M, he quickly wrote a column praising Xu Ling: "Do you know the essential difference between Eli and Yao Ming? Yao Ming is a 7-foot-6 giant in the paint, while he—Eli Xu—is someone who can apply pressure from beyond the three-point line, use textbook sliding steps to cut off driving routes, block shots with amazing jumping ability, and even complete a dunk over someone in transition, and possesses elite-level shooting ability. To put it bluntly, he reminds me of my Celtics' legendary 'Hondo' John Havlicek. Do you know what the most coincidental thing is? One of Hondo's college teammates was a guy named Bob Knight, yes, the one you're thinking of, and he is Eli's current coach. I believe all of this is the best arrangement."

Finally, Simmons predicted that if Xu Ling continues to play like this, it won't be long before he's in the lottery position in the draft prediction group.

Then, belatedly, domestic media also discovered that a promising young player had emerged in the NCAA who was likely to become China's next NBA player.

The hype across the ocean also began.

The fans' reaction was the most enthusiastic, with extremely excited comments under the headline on the Houbo Sports website.

"Holy crap, it's a guard! A guard! Not one of those big, dumb dummy guys like Yao Ming who's mass-produced in China!"

"Don't be ridiculous, you Luoyang Flower Blossom fan upstairs! The Prince of Ming is a once-in-a-lifetime figure!"

"Isn't that an even taller Wade? Hurry up and get those shoes moving!"

Such provocative, praising, and amazed comments swept through the Chinese basketball community. Within a day, Xu Ling's name crossed two worlds, becoming the hottest figure in the basketball world.

The only change that Xu Ling could perceive was that the posters in the school's training hall had changed.

Previously, the poster displayed was the post-game poster from the team's last run into the Sweet Sixteen, but today it has been quickly replaced with a poster of Xu Ling dunking over Asi Law.

This was the only change, and it made Knight very unhappy.

"Who's behind this?! It's just a Big 12 conference game, is it really necessary?!" Knight cursed. "It's like that bastard has already fucking won the John R. Wooden Award!"

Unfortunately, Xu Ling was present at the time.

Knight has absolutely no shame for talking badly about people behind their backs. When the person involved caught him, he nonchalantly said, "Don't you think this is too high-profile?"

"No, I quite like it." "What?"

"Compared to the John Wooden Award," Xu Ling said, "I definitely prefer the award for best point guard in the country for dunking on someone. Don't you like it, Coach?"

Knight sneered: "Looks like you've been so hyped up by the outside world that you've forgotten what the world is like!"

"We haven't reached that stage yet, but we're very close," Xu Ling replied.

"Then you fucking get to be taught a lesson by the world!" Knight seemed to have a disease that couldn't stand seeing Xu Ling smug. "You think Asi Law is the whole world? He's just a piece of shit! No matter how good he is, he's just one of the top players in the country, and he's not even the best!"

"is it?"

"Nonsense!" Knight's temper suddenly flared up. "Let's not talk about others, just take Mike Conley, who's a freshman like you. He's far superior to Ash Lowe!"

Xu Ling said calmly, "If we were to meet Ohio University at March Madness, my attention would only be on Greg Oden."

"Oden?" Knight was furious. "You're already thinking about Oden? We just won a tournament, and you're already thinking about Oden?"

Xu Ling had to remind his coach, "You were the one who brought up Ohio University first."

"I'm talking about Mike Conley!"

“Who cares about Mike Conley?” Xu Ling said. “I only care about Oden.”

"Enough! I've had enough of your nonsense! You arrogant bastard, the world will teach you a lesson sooner or later! And let me remind you one last time, you're not even the top freshman in the Big 12!" Knight shouted. "That title belongs to Kevin Durant. If you want to see Oden, you'd better beat Durant first!"

To be honest, these two things are not simply a matter of order.

But Knight's sudden question really caught Xu Ling's attention. He looked at assistant coach Chris Beard and asked, "Coach, when is our game against Kevin Durant?"

"Next Saturday, and we have two games against them this season, but before that, we have the tough nut to crack, Kansas," said Beard, who knows the schedule by heart.

Knight snorted and turned to leave.

suddenly
"wrong!!!"

Xu Ling shouted it out.

Knight looked back at him, didn't ask, but his expression said it all: What are you doing wrong?

"The most important thing before that is our dear head coach, Bob Knight, who is about to reach a career milestone," Xu Ling said with a smile. "If you win just two more games, you will surpass Dean Smith to become the head coach with the most wins in college basketball history, and I don't think anything is more important than that."

"You've been talking too much nonsense today!"

Coach Knight, who considers himself the highest mountain in college basketball and also the longest river (currently, there's probably no disagreement), said to Xu Ling: "It seems that that piece of trash Asi Law really didn't put too much pressure on you. You have a bit too much energy. Here's what we'll do: add 30 minutes to your defensive footwork drill today. You're not allowed to go home until you finish. I won't accept any objections from you!"

Knight is really gone.

Xu Ling looked at the teaching assistants: "Can any of you reason with him?"

Do you think the general will listen, Eli?

They call each other "General" in private; it's unimaginable how cheesy they must be to your face.

After a long time, most people had left, but Xu Ling was still practicing his defensive footwork at Wimbledon.

Since he started calling himself the college Jordan, Knight has increased his training volume, spending an extra half hour each day practicing defensive footwork compared to others.

Xu Ling knew this would be good for improving his defense, so he didn't resist it, but today, with an additional half hour on top of that, it was pure torture.

Xu Ling was practicing asceticism while cursing Lao Deng.

When he arrived near the court, he found Jarius Jackson still practicing his shooting, so he asked, "Captain, haven't you gone back yet?"

Jackson took a shot. The basketball bounced off the front of the rim. He didn't immediately pick it up, but turned around and looked at Xu Ling with a complicated expression.

"I'm thinking about something."

"Good news? Bad news? ...Or just something boring?" Xu Ling asked casually.

Unexpectedly, Captain Jackson said something that Xu Ling never expected: "Do you believe in God?"

The question came rather suddenly, and Xu Ling was taken aback for a moment.

As a time traveler, he indeed found it difficult to answer this question simply.

“I’m not so sure,” he replied carefully. “I’m more inclined to believe what I can see and do.”

In his daily life, he is not a believer in any religion, so his answer was particularly pragmatic.

“But I believe,” Jackson said, bending down to pick up the ball, his tone remarkably certain. “God gave me this talent and led me down the path of basketball. So, whether in good times or bad, I am willing to follow His plan.”

Jackson paused briefly, looking at Xu Ling with a deep gaze: "And now, you make me increasingly feel that our being able to come together must be part of some kind of arrangement by God—He wants us to accomplish something truly great together."

"For example, winning the national championship?" Xu Ling asked with a smile.

“Oh no!” Jackson looked at Xu Ling incredulously, as if the other party had said something boastful. “Unless you can beat Kevin Durant, don’t talk about the national championship. I mean, we can try to compete for the Big 12 championship.”

Xu Ling immediately lost interest: "I'm more interested in beating Durant."

"Since you put it that way, then I'll have to increase the difficulty of your training!" Jackson walked up to Xu Ling, passed the ball to him heavily, and showed a slightly "ferocious" smile that only a captain and senior could have: "From now on, I'll dribble and attack, and you'll guard me! If you can't guard my offense, you'll have to practice for another half hour!"

Xu Ling caught the ball, felt the force coming from it, and smiled.

“Captain,” he lowered his center of gravity and assumed a defensive stance, “you better pray that you play as well as God has ever done today.”

(1) If Yang Hansen establishes himself in the NBA, then we will soon see the contemporary Luoyang Flower seize the opportunity of the times and step into the limelight. I even wonder if the "Yang Hansen joke bar" has appeared yet.

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(End of this chapter)