Before participating in the cover shoot, Lin Ying first became popular on American social media.
Just last night, the ball he dunked on Wright went viral.
Compared with those triple-doubles that can only stay at the literal level, this kind of visually impactful buckle can obviously stimulate the enthusiasm of fans more!
Just like the 2014 NBA draft, the media publicized a lot of information about Wiggins, the top pick, but the result was not as good as Wiggins himself posting a photo of himself touching the ground.
Pictures are always more intuitive than words, let alone videos.
And you have to know that Lin Ying dunked on Brandon Wright, the favorite in this year's draft!
A player who was originally just a minor league player like the big 12, and who only made it onto the list thanks to his crazy three performances, now dunks against the players who were predicted to be in the top three!
This perfectly fits the "inspirational" and "counterattack" characters that fans love!
Some people began to shout "This guy can play in the NBA" or even "This guy can enter the lottery"!
And it’s stylish.
Of course, Lin Ying became famous not only because of that dunk, but also because of... that man.
The University of Texas won, and Jordan came to the scene to make a real impact. It is difficult to ignore it!
Moreover, fans also gave Jordan many vivid new nicknames, such as "Reverse Human Victory Cigar", "Opponent's Key to Victory" and so on.
This wave of Lin Ying's contribution is "indispensable".
If it weren't for his performance in the low post in the second half, Jordan wouldn't have been like this.
It's a pity that this is still 2007. If it had been 2009, Jordan's crying emoticon would have taken social media by storm.
The sense of smell of "NBAdraft" is also very sensitive, or it is quite generous.
They updated their draft predictions overnight.
Wright dropped from third to fourth.
Lin Ying was promoted from the original 40th pick to the 33rd pick! He was selected by the SuperSonics!
This change in the draft prediction list has also made domestic fans excited.
You know, this is the second round!
If the University of Texas continues to play like this, it is highly likely that Lin Ying will enter the first round. There is really no chance that he will enter the lottery!
They increasingly feel that in this year's draft year, there will be a grand occasion of three players entering the NBA together.
And a certain wave soon announced that they had purchased the broadcast rights for the next game between the University of Texas and the University of Kansas.
And they also said that they will greatly improve the server and will also provide compensation for one-day membership!
Yeah, the kind that renews automatically.
…
After the first round of the NCAA, there are two dark horses still alive.
Two teams are from the Midwest Division, one is UNLV and the other is the University of Texas.
However, UNLV doesn't have much star power, and the opponents it plays are weaker than the University of Texas.
In contrast, the University of Texas will naturally be the focus of fans.
And what I have to mention is the history of Texas, which can be said to be the most special among all states in the United States.
Texas covers an area of ​​nearly 700,000 square kilometers and is the second largest continent in the United States after California.
But this state originally belonged to Mexico.
It's just that in the last century, Americans played the trick they are best at: infiltration-independence-merger.
First, continue to export the population here, and then organize the people who have been exported to become independent.
Because Texas was originally a Spanish colony, it was not very compatible with Mexico, so there was a lot of trouble over independence.
When the Mexican government could no longer hold on, the United States made a promise: Let it be independent, and we will never merge with them.
Then the Republic of Texas came along.
Then, the republic became the 28th state of the United States.
Mexico: Where is the promise? Do you want to be embarrassed? (Are you treating me like a monkey?)
America: What kind of promise? You have to show evidence when you speak! (Yes, you are a monkey!)
This shameless approach angered Mexico, which led to a fight with the United States.
As a result, Mexico was beaten violently, and the capital, Mexico City, was captured by the United States.
If you can't win, you have no choice but to negotiate.
As a result of the negotiations, Mexico lost approximately 2.3 million square kilometers, nearly half of its territory, including Texas, California and New Mexico.
However, the Americans in Texas were a minority after all. They were forced to join the United States at that time, so they did not have a strong sense of identification with the United States.
So in Texas, many people still call themselves the Lone Star Republic, and their red and blue Lone Star flags are hung high everywhere.
This is also the reason why Trump has made Texas his base in history.
So when this issue of the magazine came out, Texas fans were excited.
In their eyes, the University of Texas is a symbol of the Lone Star Republic, fighting a bloody battle with those in the United States.
…
The entire University of Texas team participated in ESPN's magazine shoot. A group of people formed a semi-arc on three levels and then looked up at the camera.
Paired with the title "Texas Dark Horse Attacks", the cover looks like the Akatsuki Organization, with a full sense of oppression.
The day after the magazine shoot, the whole team took a plane to Denver.
Their 16-8 game against Kansas will be played at Invesco Ridge Stadium in Denver.
Invesco Mile High Stadium is the home stadium of the NFL's giant Denver Broncos.
The Broncos have two Super Bowl championships in team history, and their status is equivalent to the Houston Rockets in the NBA.
Its seating capacity reaches more than 76,000, which is one size larger than the previous two arenas.
The remaining three games in the Midwest Division will be played here.
When they got off the Denver Airport, both Lin Ying and Durant felt a little chest tight and uncomfortable.
Although Denver is not as exaggerated as Tibet in China, where you get altitude sickness as soon as you go up, its altitude has reached 1,603 meters.
It is the highest altitude among the four major sports leagues in the United States.
The Denver Center, home of the Nuggets, is known as the "Devil's Home" because of its altitude.
Mild altitude sickness is also altitude sickness, and people need to adapt to it.
Nuggets players live and train here all year round, and it no longer feels like playing in this environment.
But things didn't work for the visiting team, especially at the beginning of the game, it felt like something was pressing on their chests.
"Damn it, I don't know who arranged it."
Durant took a deep breath and complained.
Lin Ying smiled and nodded, but did not complain.
Although this home court is a bit special, it is the same for the remaining four teams in the Central and Western Conference.
And this is not necessarily a bad thing, just think of it as adapting to the plateau venue in advance.
You must know that after entering the NBA, you cannot escape playing on a plateau.
In addition to Denver and Utah, both cities are high-altitude home stadiums.
…
In order to let the players relax, after training in the afternoon, Barnes took the players to visit the Pepsi Center.
The Pepsi Center is the home court of the Nuggets. There is no game today, so the University of Texas happened to get in touch.
A group of students who had never really been exposed to the NBA were sitting on the bus on the way to the NBA game venue. Their emotions were nothing but excitement.
"Do you think we'll meet Anthony or Iverson?"
Durant couldn't hide his excitement and turned to Lin Ying and asked.
Although the Nuggets are not a wealthy team like the Lakers, the team is full of stars.
"Melon" Anthony and "AI" Iverson, the presence of these two people is enough to make the Pepsi Center full.
But today is not a match day, so it’s hard to say whether we can meet them.
"That depends on whether they have trained today."
Lin Ying took the words.
There will be training if there are no games. If they happen to catch up with the Nuggets training when they arrive, they might have a chance to meet Anthony and Iverson.
After more than 20 minutes' drive, they soon arrived at the Pepsi Center.
When they got off the bus, they saw a conspicuous building at the door.
It was a rockery surrounded by four conical towers more than ten meters high. In the center of the rockery was an extra-large red, white and blue "Pepsi" icon.
After walking past this iconic building, you can see many fans walking around at the entrance of the arena.
NBA arenas are different from the NCAA in that they are generally equipped with corresponding souvenir shops, snack bars, and even restaurants and bars.
These are basically always open.
So on non-game days, you can also use this place as a business center.
In terms of appearance, the Pepsi Center is a donut-shaped building, and it is built directly on the ground.
After entering the arena, you can see more "Pepsi" icons, there are many on the walls and even on the ground.
But besides those, you can also see many other things.
Such as posters.
There is a huge poster hanging on the largest wall after entering the arena.
In the poster, Anthony and Iverson are standing half sideways.
Both of them were wearing white t-shirts, and they both had drowsy hairstyles, and they even had smiling expressions.
The only difference is that Anthony has his hands folded across his chest, while Iverson puts his hands down and grabs the ball with one hand.
"This doesn't look like it!"
Looking at the poster, Durant turned to Lin Ying and sighed.
He was talking about Anthony.
Their impression of Anthony can be traced back to the time when Lin Ying was on TNT. Anthony's fighting ability in the Madison Fight was five stars.
The smile on this poster is warm and innocent, completely different from the other two.
Lin Ying didn't find it strange at all.
When he was doing basketball data analysis, he also studied David Stern.
After doing some research, he found out that this person was really awesome.
Don't talk about anything else, let's just talk about making stars, leaving behind Xiao Hua who took over by a few blocks.
Take Kobe as an example.
He doesn't just tell you that this person's name is Kobe, his name is Peter Pan or the Black Mamba.
He will also tell you that this person's character is paranoid, and he will constantly use short stories to strengthen your impression.
And when you think of paranoia, the first player that comes to mind is Kobe.
Similar ones include Iverson's unruliness, Garnett's iron-bloodedness, James' self-discipline, etc.
But how can a creature as complex as human beings have only one personality?
The paranoid Kobe was very friendly to the fans;
The iron-blooded wolf king knows how to fight and retreat at the same time;
The self-disciplined James’ favorite food is high-calorie Toca;
The unruly Iverson was as withdrawn as Lin Ying. (Excerpted from Iverson’s 76ers draft trial psychological report)
Similarly, "social" Anthony is "melon" when he smiles.
Oh, by the way, didn't the head coach of Syracuse University also say that Anthony is a famous "three good students"?
Going up the steps, there are many jerseys and sneakers on display.
When they reached the second floor, they walked through some aisles and then arrived at the competition court.
The stadium is usually closed on non-match days, but this time it was specially opened for them.
When they arrived at the venue, they took some photos one after another as souvenirs.
After visiting the arena, they visited the weight room and training hall one after another.
It is a pity that the Nuggets did not arrange training in the afternoon.
I missed this wave.
Regret was inevitable, but just as they were about to go back, they saw a familiar person walking in the aisle.
Anthony!
Anthony wore headphones and a hood, looking straight ahead, seemingly unaware of their presence.
"Come up and say hello?"
Durant bumped Lin Ying with his shoulder.
His mood at the moment ranged from excitement to nervousness.
He was excited because he actually met Anthony, but nervous because this was the first NBA superstar he had seen up close.
Lin Ying's situation is not much different from Durant's.
He nodded and walked over with Durant.
The two of them walked over and stopped Anthony.
Anthony frowned slightly when he saw someone blocking the road, but his eyes widened when he saw Durant and Lin Ying.
That expression seemed to say: Is it you?
Anthony knows them?
Durant and Lin Ying were both surprised when they read this information.
Don't think that Durant is this year's hot rookie, NBA stars will pay attention to him.
There is a draft every year, and there are not a few rookies who get lost every year.
Unless you become a star, how can so many people know you?
"Mello, I am..."
Because Carmelo and melon have similar pronunciations, and because of his sweet smile, Nuggets fans will replace Carmelo with melon.
The title of Durant is almost nothing like this.
"Kevin Durant."
But what Durant didn't expect was that Anthony, who took off his hood and headphones, smiled sweetly and directly said his name.
"Forest."
Then, he turned around and said Lin Ying's name.
Not to mention how surprised both of them were at this time.
Even if you know Durant, what is it like to know Lin Ying?
His handsomeness has spread throughout Denver like the fragrance of flowers?
"I bought Georgetown University and you guys killed me in the first round."
Anthony then said with a hint of annoyance.
Just like a group of people on the Rockets bought "Crazy Three", the Nuggets also bought some.
Anthony is a graduate of Syracuse University.
Because he didn't get into the "crazy three" universities at Syracuse University this year, he bought his old rival Georgetown University.
As a result, no one expected that Georgetown, which was recognized as having the potential to compete for the championship, was upset by the University of Texas in the first round, and it was a disastrous defeat.
Driven by curiosity, he took a look at the game, and then remembered Durant and Lin Ying, who had a triple-double.
"Why are you here?"
It was only after saying this that Anthony realized something was wrong.
Durant opened his mouth to explain, and then Anthony came to his senses.
"Although they are difficult to deal with, I am optimistic about you."
What Anthony said next is very interesting.
He was originally optimistic about Georgetown, but now Georgetown has lost a big score to the University of Texas, so he is optimistic about the University of Texas.
There is nothing wrong with this logic!
And speaking of it, when he led Syracuse University to win the championship, his opponent in the final was also the University of Kansas.
After chatting for a while, Durant asked to take a photo with Anthony.
Anthony agreed directly. He put his left and right hands on their shoulders and let Springman take the photo.
And maybe he thought it wasn't enough, so he took another photo with the two of them alone.
After the filming was finished, he smiled and said hello to the two of them and left.
"Ying, I think if you don't join the same team as me, it would be good to come and play for the Nuggets."
Looking at Anthony's back, Durant couldn't help but say.
Just like he said when he first entered the door and saw the poster, Anthony is so different from what he imagined!
Lin Ying nodded.
After a brief contact, Anthony is still very casual.
It's just that if he ran for the draft this year, he didn't think he would come to the Nuggets.
Because...the Nuggets have no draft picks at all this year...
Before leaving the Pepsi Center, Lin Ying stopped by to measure his height.
2 meters 03.
As expected, he is 2 centimeters taller than when he first entered the University of Texas.
Although he had had a premonition in advance, he was still very excited when he saw the result.
Although the original bone age test results showed that he could grow to 2.04 meters, no one knew when he would be able to grow there.
If he can grow to 2.03 meters in his freshman year, it will undoubtedly be a shot in the arm for him.
It is even foreseeable that if he participates in joint trials, his new height will also improve his draft stock.
…
Back at the hotel, Barnes and Springman discussed playing Kansas in a few days.
Old opponents, they are familiar with their opponents, and their opponents are also familiar with them.
Just like Lin Ying thought, they didn't think that the growth in just two crazy three games would give them any advantage in the competition with Kansas.
Take the game against the University of North Carolina as an example. The reason why Lin Ying's low post offense was able to play such a big role was largely because he was caught off guard.
If it were to happen again, Lin Ying's role in the low post would definitely not be that great again.
And Kansas will definitely study the video of their game against North Carolina and then conduct targeted defense.
"Rick, I suggest we start with a smaller lineup."
Springman suggested again.
The reason why I say no more is because from the moment he entered Crazy Three, he began to propose using a smaller lineup.
Playing Kansas would be their third round game, and it would be the third time he suggested this.
In the first two games, Barnes took a conservative route and used the regular starting lineup.
This time, he agreed.
In fact, his hiring was not purely conservative, but he wanted to see how effective Lin Ying would be at the fifth position.
It was unexpected that Hibbert's mentality exploded so quickly against Georgetown, but against North Carolina, Lin Ying first took on Hansbrough and then faced Wright, winning one against two without losing.
This has fully explained the problem.
"Let's pick up the speed."
Springman continued.
The Big12 lost to Kansas before. Even if the University of Texas had a triangle offense, it didn't have an advantage in positional warfare.
Since we are all starting with a small lineup, we simply play fast and try to avoid positional battles.
The past two games have also shown that with Lin Ying and Augustin, they have an advantage when it comes to defensive counterattacks.
Barnes didn't object either.
A good basketball head coach does not necessarily have to be a master of tactics, but he must be trustworthy when it comes to employing people, and he must not be suspicious of others.
This is true for both the players and the coaching staff.
…
The second round of "Crazy Three" is about to begin, and media attention and publicity are also continuing to increase.
From 16 to 8, it seems that there are many teams, but in fact this is already the semi-finals of each major region.
If we can make it to the next round, it will be the conference finals.
For fans in various regions, this has reached the red-eye stage.
The city of Denver also had a large influx of fans before the start of the second phase.
Basketball has become the main theme of this city at this stage.
To be more precise, it should be the NCAA, because even TNT threw the Nuggets game aside.
There were news reports that the NBA Finals did not receive as much attention as the NCAA Crazy Three game.
There may be some exaggeration in this, but this statement is enough to illustrate the high level of attention Crazy San has received.
Especially after entering the second stage, this statement is close to being true.
On the evening of the game day, the streets of Denver were empty.
Although there are only three games in the second stage, the three games are played on different days.
The first day in Denver is the game between UNLV and UCLA.
The winner between these two teams will be the first to advance to the Midwest Division finals.
Barnes directly rented the hotel's conference room to watch the live broadcast.
In this way, after watching the game, you can directly analyze the details, killing two birds with one stone.
"Do you think UNLV can still win?"
Advertisements were still playing during the live broadcast, and Durant and Lin Ying started chatting.
"Hard to say."
Lin Ying did not give a definite answer.
UCLA is a talented and experienced team.
Afflalo, Darren Collison, Mbah a Moute... none of these people are freshmen.
In fact, in history, UCLA defeated the University of Kansas by a large margin this year to reach the Final Four.
Although UNLV continues to bring surprises to people, it still needs to beat such a team.
To use a very vivid analogy: That is twice as difficult as the University of Texas defeating the University of North Carolina.
Of course, nothing unexpected happens to Crazy Three.
Otherwise they and UNLV wouldn't be able to reach this point.
"I think UCLA is a sure winner!"
Durant is quite straightforward.
While we were talking, the commercial was almost in progress, and the players on both sides had already started to be introduced on the live broadcast screen.
At UNLV, apart from Joel Anthony, Lin Ying had really never heard of anyone before.
And even Joel Anthony is just a blue-collar player.
His season statistics were displayed on the screen, 2.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 blocks.
Except for blocks, the other two statistics are considered poor in the NCAA.
This is also determined by his physical condition.
He is 2.06 meters tall in shoes and plays center, but his wingspan is average.
This kind of player can finally play in the NBA. He really has inhuman qualities.
Joel Anthony's characteristic is his defensive ability.
Very strong, and that strength is not reflected in the data!
It can be said that he can do all the dirty work you can think of on the field, and he can do it very beautifully.
For example, blocking, blocking, screening, off-ball confrontation, etc.
Many players are unwilling to do these things because the data cannot reflect them, but he is very keen and does a good job.
He is probably also the spokesman for "data cannot explain everything".
This is also one of the reasons why Lin Ying did not say like Durant that UCLA would definitely win.
Because the only shortcoming of this UCLA team is probably that they don't have a good inside player.
The game started quickly, and UNLV defended a 2-3 zone defense from the beginning.
This is not yet the era of small ball. There are indeed many players who can shoot accurately from the outside, but not many have achieved high production levels.
UCLA's choice was also correct. They moved the ball from the outside to play more and less in some areas, and then shot three-pointers from the outside.
This UCLA team is weak on the inside but strong on the outside. As the core of the team, Afflalo averages 16+ per game and shoots over 40% from three-point range.
UNLV's approach can be said to be exactly what it wants.
If nothing unexpected happens, within a few rounds UNLV will be beaten so hard that they dare not use zone defense, and may even be forced to switch to a 3-2 zone defense.
However, you don’t know which one of tomorrow and the unexpected will come!
Why didn't UCLA shoot three-pointers tonight? Afflalo made three consecutive shots from the outside.
The frame looks like it has been smashed crookedly!
The players at UNLV are not very capable individually, but they are very skilled in coordination, and they are top-notch players especially in the fast break.
Moreover, there is a point where three-pointers in offensive and defensive zone can easily be counterattacked, that is, rebounds are basically long rebounds.
Long rebounds are very easy for opponents to form defensive counterattacks.
As a result, UCLA was at a disadvantage at the beginning.
After stubbornly missing two more three-pointers, UCLA finally had no choice but to accept the fact that they were not accurate from the outside tonight.
Okay, if the three-pointer is not accurate, just shoot it in.
Anyway, everyone here is good at punishment.
Then, Joel Anthony's moment comes.
Originally, the 2-3 zone defense was focused on defending under the basket. Although UCLA could penetrate from the outside, it had to lose a layer of skin to reach the penalty area.
Joel Anthony's various harvests in the penalty area.
Either the position is blocked and you can't make a good move, or the opponent directly forces you to make a mistake, or the opponent can catch you at the right moment.
This scene is simply a replica of the tiebreaker between the Rockets and the Warriors in the 2018 Western Conference Finals!
At the end of the game, UNLV defeated UCLA 56-52, upset for the third consecutive round, and entered this year's Elite Eight!
UCLA made a total of 2 of 21 shots from beyond the three-point line, and they couldn't find their touch in the entire game.
At the end of the game, Lin Ying looked at Durant with a sad face.
Who did Durant say was the sure winner?
No, Durant also said before that the University of Texas would definitely advance to the quarterfinals?
Chapter completed!