Chapter 4 The Eve of the Finals
The game in NCAA's "March Crazy" is implemented in a single-game elimination system, and the excitement and cruelty of the game are far more exciting and cruel than that of the NBA playoffs. In a certain game, the winner is more accidental. Sometimes the strong side may not be able to laugh to the end, and the winner is more likely to be the one who performs better on the spot.
——This is the charm of ncaa's "March Crazy".
Therefore, there is no obvious "lower dog" in the NCAA Championship. Although there is strength, if the gap in strength is not large, anyone who advances is likely to advance.
The strength of the University of Kansas Jayhawks and the University of Memphis Tigers is not at a different level. The coaches of the two teams are considered brothers of the same school, both of whom are disciples of famous coach Larry Brown, but now they are their own masters and will compete in the finals of the NCAA semi-finals.
The DD system of the Memphis Tigers coach John Calipari is quite unique. The core of this offensive system is to instigate the organizational guards with super personal breakthrough ability to conduct breakthrough points, so as to create Ei's shooting opportunities and two burst opportunities. Under this system, the role of inside players will become smaller, and they will be more functional and blue-collar. Currently, the team's main defender Derek Ross is the core of this system. Relying on his super personal breakthrough ability and ability to attack the basket, the Tigers were invincible in this year's "March Crazy" game.
Coach Bill Self of the University of Kansas Jayhawks is playing a dynamic offensive system. His offensive system emphasizes the coordination between high and low posts, and finds opportunities for misalignment and empty positions by performing a large number of pick-and-rolls with balls and unballs.
This system emphasizes team cooperation and selfless sharing of the ball, and team-type players will find their own position in this system.
Simply put, the current Memphis Tigers play more like superstar-driven basketball, while the Kansas Jayhawks play more like popular team basketball. This is much like the NCAA version of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit Pistons.
The University of Kansas Jayhawks have not had a player who averaged more than 20 points per game this year, and the highest score was small forward Brandon Rush's 158 points.
But this does not prevent them from defeating the powerful North Carolina in the semi-finals with the advantage of being a large number of soldiers and wider generals and entering the finals. According to previous sources, many players of this team will participate in the NBA draft in June.
Xie Kai likes the team atmosphere of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. He respects coach Bill Self, completely obeys the team's arrangements, and is willing to be a team player.
There is only one day left before the final of the NCAA Final Four on April 8. The battle is imminent, and not only the two teams, but also the fans of the two teams are also discussing the upcoming finals online and offline.
In the United States, the attention of the NCAA "March Crazy" quarterfinals is even higher than that of the NBA playoffs. Those famous or not very famous basketball experts began to look forward to the upcoming finals, discuss the winners and losses, discuss the players against both sides, etc.
As the only Asian face in the finals and as the main backcourt rotation of the University of Kansas Jayhawks, Xie Kai is the object of discussion among experts.
In a TV show discussing NCAA, an expert from Chicago said that Kansas cannot let Xie Kai fight Derek Ross or CDR. Because with his thin body and poor talent, Derek will destroy him, and CDR will cut 30 points on his head.
Another Boston expert who participated in the TV show said that Xie Kai performed very well in this season. Although his physical confrontation was poor, his defense was very hard and tough, and he played well without the ball on the offense.
The Chicago expert waved his hand and disagreed. He said that what Kansas' Self coach needs to do the most is to DN Xie Kai in the final. The team cannot allow such an East Asian who cannot stand up to the wall to play an important role in such an important game. Xie Kai's strength should not appear in the final four games at all.
After Xie Fan read the news posts that accused him and ridiculed him last night, he decided not to go online to watch these things before the finals. Because watching these messy news has no effect on preparing for the finals, it will only affect his mood. He knows his own level, his strengths and weaknesses best.
Although the consciousness training made Xie Kai feel a little tired, he had no intention of stopping. Even though he was participating in the team's training class, the consciousness training was still carried out simultaneously.
The Jayhawks' training class today is relatively relaxed, and coach Bill Self does not have much anxiety before the battle. He is very serious, but he is still full of confidence. He believes in his system and believes that the group of players under him, even if the opponent has this year's "no. 1 pick" Derek Ross, he still believes that the home team can win the championship.
Xie Kai, teammates Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmos, practiced 3-pointers. The three of them were the best 3-pointers in the team and were the main firepower on the team's outside.
Coach Self called Xie Kai to the sidelines and said: "Kain, you are in good condition today and you will continue to play tomorrow!"
Xie Kaixiao said, "We must keep it!"
"Forget your performance against North Carolina, you need to be more proactive and decisive. If you have the opportunity to take action, don't hesitate, don't think about what will happen if you don't make a shot." Coach Self encouraged Xie Kai. He actually likes this low-key and hardworking young Chinese man. He knows how hard Xie Kai worked and how serious he trained in the two years in Kansas. Xie Kai has never missed training, and is always the first to come and the last to leave. He has never complained about his ball rights and playing time on the court, and always conscientiously completed the tasks assigned by the coach. On the offensive end, he has strong tactical execution and comprehensive skills, and is a good team player. What's more valuable is that he is a person who is willing to do dirty work and tiring on the defensive end. As a coach, it is really hard not to like such a player.
"Coach, please believe me. I will definitely contribute everything I have in the final without reservation!" Xie Kai said word by word.
Coach Self did not expect that the poor performance in the semi-finals did not make the Oriental man give up on himself. It seemed that his confidence was affected by his poor performance in this game.
"Kain, you need to take more responsibilities in the finals, can you bear it?" Coach Self asked.
"I can!" Xie Kai said firmly.
"In the final, you may be able to defend cdr{Chris Douglas Roberts} and Derek Rose, can you?" Coach Self asked solemnly.
"I will fight hard!" Xie Kai said it briefly, but his attitude was expressed very clearly. The contempt and even ignorance of himself by reporters, experts and fans made the flames in his heart burning. He wanted to prove that he was capable of helping the team. Although he was a Chinese, who said that the yellow race did not have the ability to stand in the final field of NCAA.
Coach Self was very pleased to see this thin yellow man showing such strong competition. In his opinion, if individual players could explode, it would be enough to change the entire situation of the battle for his popular team.
For Xie Kai, even if the coach does not emphasize with him, he will do his best to face his opponent in the finals, the Memphis Tigers, not only to prove himself, but also to his good brother, Russell Westbrook.
UC lost to the Memphis University Tigers in the semi-finals of the semi-finals. UC with Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love and Darren Collison eventually lost to his opponent and missed the final.
On that day, the Memphis Tigers, the final opponent of the University of Kansas Jayhawks, also conducted in-team training. They are now full of momentum and are confident that they will win the team's first championship trophy in NCAA history.
Chapter completed!