"Defend! Defend!"
This dunk ignited the emotions of the University of Texas fans on the sidelines.
Amid the cheers, the players from the University of Texas fought hard to defend against a wave of attacks from the University of Kansas.
Then, there was a lightning-fast attack.
Augustine flashed to the frontcourt like a Hot Wheels player and scored the ball on a fast break against Robinson's defense.
And that’s not all.
Kansas's offensive wave caused a foul, and Robinson made one of two free throws.
Looking back, the University of Texas continued to play the triangle offense.
This time it was Wendell who received the second pass from Augustine and scored a layup under the basket!
9 to 5!
You may not believe it, but the University of Texas, which was beaten to the ground in the last opening, is now on par with Kansas!
No, it’s to gain the upper hand!!
The cheers from the University of Texas fans on the sidelines can’t stop!
They are excited!
They have seen the team’s efforts and progress over the past two months!
It feels like sowing a seed in the spring and harvesting a pair of peaches in the fall!
"Charles, it seems they are better than you thought."
Kenny Smith said with a smile.
There was a hint of appreciation in his laughter.
The University of Texas's performance is worthy of his previous evaluation, as it has mastered the triangle offense to this extent in just two months.
Barkley didn't say anything, but stroked his chin with a puzzled look on his face.
The triangle tactics of the University of Texas were indeed somewhat beyond his expectations.
There is not only this effect, but also this method.
This was different from the Bulls and Lakers teams he remembered.
The feeling those two teams gave him was just as he said before, that is, to give the ball to Jordan or O'Neal and Kobe to play one-on-one.
But Durant hasn't scored a single point for the University of Texas so far!
They scored 9 points, 5 from Augustine, 2 from James, and 2 from Wendell.
If I hadn’t watched the game, I would have thought it was a game against Princeton!
But it’s not his fault.
Because his understanding of the triangle offense is exactly the same as Lin Ying's understanding after watching the Lakers and Bulls videos.
This involves the issue of the version of the triangle offense.
Both use the triangle offense tactics, but old Winter uses version 1.0 and Phil Jackson uses version 2.0.
When Barkley was playing in the NCAA, Old Winter had already gone to the NBA, and he had only seen version 2.0 of the triangle tactics in the NBA.
There are significant differences between the two versions.
As for why there are two versions, it is not an update or upgrade, but simply because of the different usage environments.
The biggest difference between the NCAA and the NBA is player dominance.
No matter how strong a player is in the NCAA, his dominance cannot reach the same level as in the NBA due to his age and playing experience, and his positional advantage will naturally not be as obvious as in the NBA.
Therefore, version 2.0 emphasizes creating singles opportunities for core players, which will significantly increase the success rate of offensive rounds.
The 1.0 version focuses more on positional advantages.
The result is that the tactical endpoint of version 1.0 is not the core of the team like version 2.0, but could be anyone.
This is also why Barkley had the Princeton illusion.
Princeton emphasizes sharing the ball, and whoever has the opportunity should take the shot.
In this respect the two tactics are somewhat similar.
What? Didn't Durant score more points?
That’s because the previous opponents were not strong, and the University of Texas’s “low-post singles” was enough to deal with them.
In that tactic, Durant was the offensive terminator.
Self frowned at this time.
Just because Barkley hasn’t seen it doesn’t mean he hasn’t seen it.
In fact, when he was an assistant coach, he played against Kansas State led by Old Winter many times.
He feels more like Kenny Smith now.
How did these guys master the triangle offense to this level in just two months?
As they were talking, the University of Texas launched another beautiful triangle attack, and this time it was Lin Ying who finished it.
After attracting Kansas' defensive attention on both the strong side and the weak side, Lin Ying, who had the ball, had an opportunity.
Because they were wary of his passing, Kansas focused more on cutting off his passing routes to the point that they ignored the fact that he could shoot three-pointers.
Lin Ying naturally would not miss such an opportunity. He had already taken a three-pointer before Self stood up to remind him.
Shooting depends on practice. With the increase in training volume, his confidence is even higher than the last time they played!
“Swish!”
A crisp sound.
The three-pointer went through the net!
12 to 7!
The University of Texas widened the score to 5 points!
The cheers of the University of Texas fans rang out again.
The score is getting wider, they are going to win!
Some fans even had a feeling in their hearts: Kansas is just so-so!
After two missed attacks on the court, Self reached out and called a timeout.
His face turned livid.
The last time they met, the Texas University substitutes almost defeated them, but now in the second meeting, they suppressed them from the start.
Let’s put aside the outcome of tonight’s game. At this rate, they might be eliminated by the University of Texas in the league playoffs?
If that were the case, his Kansas career would be over!
"Do you remember that child?"
On the commentary side, Smith suddenly spoke.
"who?"
"Lin, the Chinese player. If I remember correctly, that kid's name is this. I asked you to watch his game last time."
Kenny Smith looked toward the Texas bench as he spoke.
He didn't notice Lin Ying at the beginning of the game, but he couldn't help but pay attention to her at this point in the game.
Because Lin Ying’s presence is too strong.
There is more to a basketball court than just scoring, especially for professional basketball commentators like them.
“He played it smart.”
Barkley paused and then gave an assessment.
Kenny Smith had asked him to go to the University of Texas game, but he didn't end up going.
There are so many explanations, and they have said more than the average person. If you do every one of them, you will be exhausted to death.
However, after watching Lin Ying play live tonight, his feelings were still very intuitive.
Several beautiful passes and the three-pointer just now were indeed impressive.
Of course, this is the only impression he has so far.
The basketball system in the United States is sound, and its model is very similar to China's college entrance examination. A large number of people will be eliminated at every stage.
However, the final selection is several times more cruel than the college entrance examination.
Because every year there are at least tens of thousands of players who reach draft age, but only 60 of them are finally selected by the NBA.
Plus there are a large number of overseas players now.
To say that the difficulty is like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge is an understatement.
Lin Ying’s current performance has nothing to do with the NBA.
As they were talking, the timeout had expired and players from both teams returned to the court.
There were no adjustments to the lineup on either side.
However, if you look closely at the players' expressions on the court, you will find that the expressions of the Kansas players are somewhat solemn.
They probably didn't feel good about this past suspension.
After the timeout, Kansas attacked first.
At this time, it was no longer Chalmers who had the ball, but Robinson who organized it.
The obvious change compared to before the timeout is that Kansas has more off-ball running, more passes, and a slower pace.
As a result, the University of Texas defense began to have a hard time keeping up.
The NCAA has 35 seconds per offense , which is a full 11 seconds longer than the NBA.
More time means more possibilities and greater difficulty in defense.
Moreover, at a slower pace, the University of Kansas's high tactical quality was fully demonstrated.
A lot of back-running and cutting, that kind of execution is really something that the current University of Texas can't compare to.
Taking advantage of a slow off-ball switch by the University of Texas, Wright received a pass from Robinson at the baseline and finished with a two-handed dunk.
This ball immediately excited the Kansas fans at the scene.
Especially some old fans' faces turned red.
They will not lose to a bunch of rookies from the University of Texas!
That is the pride in the bones of the top teams!
When returning to the defensive end, the University of Kansas continued to show their changes.
The University of Texas still played beautifully in its triangle offense, but this time they were unable to create good scoring opportunities on either the strong side or the weak side.
It’s not that the defensive ability of the Kansas players has suddenly become stronger, but that their defensive focus has increased and their execution has also become stronger!
To give a very simple example, using the same tactics as in the previous round, James would have been facing an open blue line when he cut in to receive the ball.
But this time when he cut in again, the Kansas team that double-teamed Durant had already retreated back to the basket!
The result was that James' finishing ability was not good enough, his shot was interfered with, and the University of Texas' offense was unsuccessful.
And this wasn't just a matter of one possession; Kansas played like this for the rest of the quarter.
Lin Ying's passes were still beautiful, and the University of Texas' triangle tactics were also fine, but the players were always interfered when they shot.
And Kansas is getting more and more excited.
Later in the game, the University of Texas used a tactical strategy. It was clear that there was a chance for the ball one second ago, but by the time the person with the chance received the ball, the chance was gone!
This also caused the University of Texas' offense to fall into a quagmire, and its leading advantage was eroded, then tied, and then overtaken.
After the first half, the score was 33 to 27.
Kansas in turn leads the University of Texas by 6 points!
This first half made everyone realize the true strength of this NCAA powerhouse.
Otherwise, how do you think they rubbed against the University of Texas which had the Trident last year!
Although none of Daniel Gibson, PJ Tucker and LaMarcus Aldridge's talents can compare to Durant, they are three people after all!
And they were not freshmen like Durant and Lin Ying at that time!
After the first quarter, the game entered halftime.
The players on both sides walked back to the locker room from the player tunnel to rest.
The University of Texas players could not hide their disappointment on their faces.
Just as Barnes said before the game, they have worked twice as hard over the past two months for today's game.
But now they still can't beat Kansas!
What a desperate feeling this is.
Lin Ying was also a little confused.
Not to mention their individual efforts, just by mastering the triangle tactics in two months, they have achieved something that ordinary people cannot do.
According to his analysis, they already have a chance to challenge Kansas or even beat it.
But the reality before us is so cruel.
When they returned to the locker room, Barnes and Springman went to discuss the playing method for the second quarter. After the players sat down, no one spoke.
The usually bustling locker room was unusually quiet.
"Are you playing 123, 123, 123?"
Just then, there was a knock on the locker room door, followed by a hearty laugh and a familiar face.
The person who came was PJ Tucker .
This joke caused laughter among the old players, and the solemn atmosphere in the locker room became a little relaxed.
"Randy, they are stronger than last year."
Tucker said, looking at Williams with a smile.
"Brandon isn't on yet."
Williams nodded, stood up, shook hands with Tucker and bumped shoulders with him, then said with a little helplessness.
As a veteran of the team, he knows too well the strength of this Kansas team.
This is also the reason why Barnes encouraged the freshmen and immediately introduced Kansas to them.
That's a preventive measure in advance.
As I said before, defeating the strong with the weak and defeating the strong with the weak are very exciting things in competitive sports.
But most of the time, those are just plots in novels or movies.
When you play against a truly strong player, you will most likely understand why he is so strong, just like in the second half of the first half tonight.
"But I don't think there's no chance tonight."
But Tucker's words were a little different from what he thought.
"In fact, your performance scared me a little."
Tucker continued.
He changed the subject quickly, and the team members' attention was drawn to him.
Lin Ying also looked up.
His previous knowledge of Tucker was limited to the few games and media coverage he had seen before.
The king of shoes, the tough guy, this should be the impression most people have of Tucker.
But now it seems that Tucker should still be the locker room leader of the University of Texas.
"You played better tonight than we did in the finals against them before, Randy. You should have felt it, right?"
Tucker glanced at Williams again as he said this.
Williams nodded again.
Although this team is less experienced than last year's, they are more talented, and the triangle offense is indeed a big plus for them.
Facing the stronger University of Kansas, they were only 6 points behind at halftime, which was something their team couldn't do last year.
“I think there’s a chance in the second half.”
Tucker repeated what he had just said.
And this time, after he finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Durant.
“That’s largely up to you, Kevin.
You have the best talent of anybody here, but you haven't shown it yet, have you?