The new season will begin soon, and the University of Texas' opening opponent is Texas Tech University.
Texas Tech University, abbreviated as Texas Tech, is another NC AA team in Texas.
That’s right, the first game is the Texas Derby.
The ancestors of Texas Tech were poorer than those of the University of Texas. The most successful player in the NBA was Tony Battie, nicknamed "Batman".
The nickname is quite loud, and he was the No. 5 pick in the same draft as Duncan in 1997.
However, he has not been able to play to the level that matches his draft position. This season, partnering with "Superman" Howard in the interior has been the highlight of his career.
My ancestors were very poor, and now... we are still poor.
The current Texas Tech is basically a team composed of three-star or even two-star or unlisted players.
Moreover, most of the players are already juniors or seniors with mediocre talent.
Experience is their only advantage.
Playing against such an opponent in the opening game is definitely a good start for the University of Texas.
In the first game, Barnes' starting lineup was Randy Williams, AJ Abrams, Damian James, Durant and Wendell.
Durant served as the team's starting power forward in his first NCAA game.
The University of Texas played away in this game. When they entered the stadium, Lin Ying and Durant felt the NCAA basketball atmosphere for the first time.
The stadium, which seats more than 10,000 people, was bustling with flags waving, crowds of people, whistles blew, and the place was bustling with activity.
Compared to high school, the atmosphere here is several levels stronger.
It's even comparable to the NBA.
The game hasn't even started yet, but the atmosphere is already full of adrenaline.
When the game started, there were drum banging and slogans shouting. It was so loud that it hurt my eardrums, not to mention playing basketball.
So it’s not surprising that the level of basketball in the United States is so high.
Just like a towering tree, its base is too thick and strong.
The game started quickly. Wendell jumped to get the ball for the University of Texas. Durant received the ball in the low post and made a turnaround jump shot.
The technical movements were very smooth, but the ball was a little off-center after it was released, and in the end it just grazed the board, almost a three-pointer...
Some of the fans of the University of Texas who came to watch the game were stunned. Was this the third-best high school student in the United States that they had high hopes for?
This ball is also a microcosm of Durant's entire game.
Throughout the game, his offensive performance was average, and his defensive work in the paint and rebounding were also poor.
Although his confrontation has improved greatly under Wright's training, he still seems to be obviously not adapted to the role of power forward.
And the University of Texas' overall defense was not good tonight, they allowed Texas Tech to score 70+ points on them.
Don’t think 70+ is too little, many NCAA rules are different from NBA.
The biggest difference is the game time and format. A game is only 40 minutes long, and is divided into two halves, each lasting 20 minutes.
Moreover, the team's single offensive time is not 24 seconds, but 35 seconds.
The inevitable result of this rule is a slow pace of play and low scores.
So 70 points is definitely a high score for a team that is not very good at offense.
In the end, the University of Texas lost to Kansas Tech 66-73 in the opening game.
Although Texas Tech did not have any outstanding performances, four players on the team scored in double digits, playing perfect team basketball.
On the University of Texas side, although Durant scored a team-high 18 points and 8 rebounds, he only made 6 of 17 shots.
And except for him and Abrams who scored 11 points, no one else scored in double digits.
Lin Ying played as Durant's substitute in this game and only played for 6 minutes. He got 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block, but did not score any points.
After a bad start, although Barnes gave the players some "chicken soup" after the game, the feeling of loss was inevitable.
Especially for Durant, his performance in the first game can be described as terrible.
This is a huge difference from his previous idea of ​​becoming the best player in basketball.
After Barnes left, he went to the training hall to practice more.
Lin Ying also followed.
After practicing until they were exhausted, the two men sat on the sidelines, panting.
"Am I not suitable to be a team leader?"
After Durant caught his breath, he turned to Lin Ying and asked.
The gap between reality and expectations was too big, and his morale hit rock bottom.
"I trust you."
Lin Ying doesn't say much, but what he says comes from the heart.
He would say this whether as a friend or a time traveler.
Durant stared at Lin Ying for a while, then nodded.
Lin Ying believed in him so much, why shouldn't he believe in himself?
After three days of rest, the University of Texas returned to its home court to face its second opponent of the season, the University of Missouri Tigers.
The strength of the University of Missouri is similar to that of Texas Tech. Except for DeMarre Carroll, the talents of other players on the team are average.
Back at home, the University of Texas performed better than in the first game.
Although Durant's performance on the defensive end was still poor, he had a strong rebound on the offensive end.
He finished the game with 25 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 11-of-18 from the field.
Carroll, who was facing off against him, tried his best, but in the end he couldn't escape being crushed by the talent.
Under his leadership, the University of Texas also defeated the University of Missouri 71-67 and won its first victory of the season.
It is worth mentioning that Lin Ying got more opportunities in this game and his playing time doubled compared to the first game.
He played for 12 minutes and delivered comprehensive statistics of 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block.
And compared to the data itself, what is more eye-catching are the few defensive rounds on the court.
One was a round that was somewhat similar to the team's new and old student competition. He defended two players at once and successfully prevented the opponent's fast break and protected the defensive rebound.
Also, when facing Carroll, he used his body to withstand Carroll's strong attack one-on-one, and then gave the latter a slam dunk.
At that time, the University of Texas was still trailing by 5 points. His block boosted the team's morale, and then the University of Texas overtook the score in that substitute transition period!
After the game, the University of Texas locker room was filled with excited wolf howls.
Although the University of Missouri is not very strong, it feels great to win.
There was even a comparison with the first game, which made their improvement in this game even more apparent.
Things are moving in the right direction.
After the game, Durant and Lin Ying went to the training hall for more practice.
I can understand going to practice if you lose, but why do you have to go even if you win?
I am so excited after winning, and I am motivated to practice more!
All in all, for both of them, the training hall is like a girlfriend. They feel uncomfortable if they don’t see her for a day.
Compared with the previous game, Durant's emotions are completely different.
After the practice, he was also panting on the sidelines, already fantasizing about the next game.
"We'll win the next one!"
After he recovered, the way he spoke was completely different from after the previous game.
Lin Ying nodded.
The University of Texas' next opponent will be the University of Kansas!
Compared with the previous two teams, Kansas is obviously one or two levels stronger.
Randy Williams had already made it clear at the time that it was definitely the strongest team in the Big12.
However, Williams also said that Brandon Rush is still recovering from injury, which is the best news for them.
Without Rush, Durant will have much more room to play.
As long as Durant plays well, the University of Texas is not without a chance!
The NCAA schedule is not as tight as the NBA schedule, with basically 1 to 2 games a week.
After nearly a week of preparation, the University of Texas players boarded a plane to Lawrence.
On the plane, the team members were very excited.
The overall strength of the Big12 League is average, and winning the league championship is the safest way to make it into the "Crazy Three".
And to win the championship, Kansas is the opponent they must defeat.
Therefore, the players put their best efforts into this game.
This also includes Durant and Lin Ying.
They practiced hard and sweated all summer just for moments like this.
After getting off the plane, the players went to the hotel to rest and prepare for the evening game. Durant and Lin Ying secretly ran to the Allen Center where the evening game was held in advance.
The two originally went there to adapt to the venue in advance, but were turned away.
Because they were not led by the head coach, security refused to let them enter the stadium.
The two men tried to persuade him in vain, so they could only sit at the door and wait for Barnes and the team bus to arrive.
While they were waiting, dozens of students arrived at the entrance of the stadium.
That included some girls dressed sexy.
Compared to China, students in the United States dress much cooler.
In November, you can still see people wearing flesh-colored stockings.
Durant's eyes were shining, and his gaze was fixed on the ground without moving.
At this time, Lin Ying noticed that a bus was coming towards the stadium, so he stood up and looked over there.
The bus that came was not from the University of Texas, but from Kansas.
The group of students soon started shouting with excitement.
After the bus stopped, the University of Kansas players got off one after another.
The short and stocky Sherron Collins, the sturdy Julian Wright, and Sasha Cowan, who bent over and lowered his head when getting out of the car...
Every time a person came down, some information related to them began to emerge in Lin Ying's mind.
Just then, a scream suddenly came from the other side , coming from the group of girls.
Chalmers is coming down!
He is 1.88 meters tall, with slender calves, strong arms, and a face that is considered handsome among black men.
As Kansas' star player, he has a great chance of playing in the NBA, and his financial future is bright.
This is no longer a matter of priority in choosing a spouse in college, but rather a matter of being a “girl harvester”.
Lin Ying turned around and prepared to ask Durant to stand up and see if he could follow the Kansas people in.
As a result, when he turned around, he saw Durant's face full of envy.
As for Durant, his talent is several levels higher than Chalmers', but his appearance...
He patted Durant on the shoulder.
When you become famous in the NBA, you will be as handsome as Jordan!
Lin Ying’s idea was right. When the Kansas team members went in, the students followed them in, and they also mixed in.
Since they had no way to ask, they walked around inside for a while before finding the visiting team's locker room.
By the time they changed into their equipment and went to warm up, Kansas had already been warming up for a while.
What's more embarrassing is that Kansas occupied the entire court during warm-up, and the two of them could only stare blankly after they entered.
"Let's...don't do such stupid things next time!"
The series of setbacks made Durant a little depressed.
They might as well just stay in the hotel and rest like everyone else.
Lin Ying didn't say anything, his eyes were on the Kansas players who were training on the field.
He is now like a data entry device, recording the training content of the Kansas players on the field into his mind.
The more he watched, the harder the evening games seemed to him to be.
Kansas not only has outstanding talent, but also has very high tactical qualities.
There is a reason why the University of Texas lost to Kansas by a large margin last year even though they had the Trident.
"excuse me?"
As they were watching, someone came over to question them.
The person who came over was the assistant coach from Kansas.
When Lin Ying and his team entered the stadium, they had already been noticed by Kansas.
It was just because Lin Ying and the others were wearing training uniforms that they didn't know who they were at first.
After a brief exchange, the assistant coach learned that they were from the University of Texas and didn't say much.
After he returned, Kansas switched from full-court training to half-court training, and the training content also changed from tactical training to basic training.
It was obvious that they were wary of Lin Ying and the others.
This is a very normal logic. Who would want to expose their tactics to the opponent before the game?
Even if the opponent is not strong, no one will give the opponent a chance to upset.
Lin Ying and Durant didn't care much about it. Instead, Kansas gave up half the court, and they were finally able to adapt to the venue.
The two were basically just practicing shooting.
When Durant was shooting, Lin Ying was picking up the ball and feeding it to him, and when Lin Ying was shooting, Durant was doing the same thing.
But what’s interesting is that when they were shooting, they attracted the attention of the Kansas coach.
It’s not their fault, because they are indeed more accurate in shooting.
In particular, when they shoot three-pointers, they follow the NBA three-point line.
Here we have to mention the NCAA competition venue, which has two three-point lines.
One is used by the NCAA itself, with a distance of 6.32 meters, which is shorter than the FIBA ​​three-point line.
The other one is the FIBA ​​three-point line, which is 6.75 meters away and is used for reference.
Then Lin Ying and Durant trained nearly 1 meter away from the NCAA line!
This is the NCAA league after all, and most players still train according to the NCAA three-point line.
Seeing two people shooting from the NBA three-point line, and shooting quite accurately, any normal person would be curious.
After practicing for more than half an hour, Kansas withdrew first.
Lin Ying and Durant practiced for another half an hour and then sat on the sidelines to rest.
"Do you think we have been exposed in advance?"
Durant said after taking a sip of water, which he drank when he came out of the visiting team's locker room.
Most college NCAA teams have major lineup changes every year, and unlike the NBA, which has less media attention, the teams don't know each other that well.
Especially some newcomers, they can often play the role of surprise soldiers.
Durant is the core of the team. Whether he is a new player or not, he will be the focus of study.
But Lin Ying is different. Although his playing time is increasing, he is still just a rotation player now, and the opponents may not pay attention to him.
But just now, Kansas must have known that he can shoot three-pointers.
"That's not necessarily a bad thing."
Lin Ying thought for a moment and said.
He can't always be a surprise soldier.
Especially if he becomes a starter one day in the future, he will be targeted even in the NCAA.
Moreover, his purpose of practicing spot three-pointers is not really to make a certain number of three-pointers.
Even in the small ball era of the future, there are few games that are won by big men shooting three-pointers.
The greater role of shooting ability in the interior is to create space on the offensive end.
Although he has not systematically studied basketball tactics, as a time traveler, he is still clear about the development of basketball.
Players are becoming more versatile, big players are equipped with three-pointers, and more and more attention is paid to the space on the court.
So even if Kansas knew that he could shoot three-pointers and the opposing center defended against him specifically, it might not be a bad thing.