Wayne scored the winning goal against North Carolina in front of Jordan.
This became a major event that shocked the entire American basketball world.
Making a buzzer-beater in a March Madness tournament is eye-catching enough.
What's more, Wayne's buzzer-beater also involved the factor of Michael Jordan.
For a time, Wayne's fame spread all over the United States. Almost every sports TV station was broadcasting the scene of Wayne's buzzer-beater and Jordan's dull expression.
The day after the game, even many NBA stars talked about Wayne's goal that changed the entire top four situation.
"It's definitely not luck that he can hit three consecutive three-pointers at critical moments. He is a young man who can make a difference at critical moments, and I am looking forward to his performance in the NBA."
Kobe Bryant, wearing sunglasses, nodded repeatedly. He naturally admired players who could make key shots.
"What? Here comes another Chinese giant? He can shoot three-pointers? Uncle Shaq is already tired enough to deal with Yao, and now there's a stronger one?" O'Neal was acting funny as usual. In this season when he and Kobe were in a mess, Shaq rarely smiled.
"He didn't beat Michael Jordan himself, so what's there to brag about? Facing a player who was much shorter than him, he let him score so many points. Do you think he performed well?
A truly top player would never let a game be played to the point where the winner had to rely on a buzzer beater to decide the outcome! "
The Roaring Lord of Motor City is different from others. When everyone was praising Wayne, he didn't say anything good.
The playoffs were about to start, and Wayne actually made a buzzer-beater.
It’s so bad!
But to be honest, Rasheed Wallace never expected that Wayne would be so popular this season.
And he actually led the team to the final four.
Wallace remembered that when he first looked up Wayne's information, Wayne was just a substitute at Ohio State University and was not even ranked in the mock draft.
But how long has it been since Wayne became known throughout the United States?
Wallace was very depressed. If he continued to make such a fuss, the rumor that he lost to Wayne would spread throughout the United States...
Just think about it, with media reporters conducting in-depth investigations into Wayne, can this matter be kept hidden?
Rasheed Wallace's face was full of black lines.
But this is also a good thing. Judging from the current market conditions, Wayne's entry into the NBA is almost a foregone conclusion.
His former team, the Trail Blazers, are very interested in Wayne.
In this way, Wallace can personally break this rumor on the NBA court!
"Come to the NBA soon, kid. The older brothers here are very gentle and will take good care of you." Wallace said to himself and clenched his fists.
Of course, after Wayne made the buzzer-beater, the reporters would naturally not let Chairman Yao go.
"Xiao Wei, he is very popular recently, everyone is talking about him. Not only in the United States, as far as I know, he is also very popular in China now.
If I keep going like this, I will soon become the second most famous basketball ."
When facing an interview with Chinese reporters, Yao Ming made a joke.
"So what do you think of Wayne's future in the NBA? Will he play with the national team in this summer's Olympics?"
"Wayne has two years of NCAA basketball background, so he should be able to adapt to the NBA quickly, faster than any of us. So, his performance in the NBA is worth looking forward to.
As for the Olympics, the training list has already been confirmed, and we have been training together for a long time, so it may be difficult to change it. "
Yao Ming casually evaded the second question.
There are only a few places for the Olympics, and the Chinese players themselves cherish the opportunity to play in the Olympics.
This is unlike American players, who are too lazy to go even when invited.
Now a stranger suddenly shows up and asks the players originally selected for the national team to give up their positions. Who would be willing to do that?
Therefore, Wayne should not have much chance in Athens in 2004.
But Yao Ming couldn't help but wonder, in 2008 in Beijing, at home, would Wayne help the national team go further?
Yes, strictly speaking, Wayne is not even a professional player yet.
But how much Wayne can grow in the next four years is really a matter of speculation.
In short, Wayne's fame in America is no less than any NBA player.
His buzzer beater and Jordan's dull gaze were what all basketball fans talked about during this period.
It was also because there were no such things as emoticons in that era, otherwise Jordan's emoticons would have been popular.
David Stern was very happy to see Wayne's soaring popularity.
Jordan is truly the most commercially successful player in NBA history.
Even after retiring, he did not forget to give the league a boost.
This is simply a god-like assist!
If Jordan hadn't been there yesterday, Wayne's buzzer-beater would never have had such a sensational effect.
If this isn’t divine assistance, then what is?
Jordan's fame has increased Wayne's popularity several times!
The next day, Wayne frantically searched for reports about yesterday's game. He didn't want to see the media's praise for him, but was looking for whether Jordan had talked about him in public!
Thankfully, the old rogue didn't seem to be praising him in front of reporters.
If Jordan started to curse him, Wayne really wouldn't know what to do.
As long as the old rogue said: "I am optimistic about Wayne."
No team would dare to choose Wayne.
Wayne’s basketball career is probably coming to an end.
"Thank you, Great God, for not killing me..." Wayne held the newspaper and sat down on the wooden floor of the training hall in shock.
Come to think of it... we actually made it to the final four this season!
It's a bit unbelievable.
The Final Four is the equivalent of reaching the conference finals in the NBA.
At this time, the game has already attracted a lot of attention. The ratings of ordinary NBA games cannot be compared with those of the Final Four.
We are only two games away from the championship...
Really want!
The Cowboys' next opponent is the famous Duke Blue Devils.
"Old K" Krzyzewski is ready to face the dark horse.
In terms of fame, Ohio State University and Duke are not in the same league at all.
As a player, Luol Dunn is also predicted to be a rookie selected in the top ten.
But to be honest, after experiencing these few games, Wayne is full of confidence about the next game or even the final.
He made a buzzer beater in front of Jordan and became a college star that the whole United States was paying attention to...
Wayne did something that he would never have dared to imagine half a year ago, but he was still not satisfied.
Which year has the NCAA not produced a killer buzzer beater? Which year has the NCAA not produced a star who has become famous all over the United States?
But after entering the NBA, how many people can maintain this momentum?
Most of them fall as fast as meteors.
So, Wayne is not complacent yet.
In the NCAA, his journey is not over yet.
And for the NBA, he hasn't even reached the starting point!
If I can win the championship and get the MOP in the semi-finals... my draft pick should also go up a bit.
Currently, Wayne's mock draft is in the 15-30 range, just one step away from the lottery!
While Wayne was looking forward to his future, a tall man without eyebrows at the University of Connecticut was extremely worried about his future.
"This..." Looking at the newspapers full of news about Wayne, Villanueva became withdrawn.
Really, what you fear is bound to come true!
Yesterday, when Villanueva heard on the court that the Cowboys were trailing by 8 points in the last minute and a half, he was still worried that North Carolina would capsize.
Then they really fell into trouble.
Now, Wayne is getting closer and closer to Villanueva.
As we all know, getting beaten in the NCAA tournament will have a big impact on the draft ranking.
Unless you are considered a top prospect, getting beaten up will leave a very bad impression on NBA teams.
Villanueva knew what he was doing and he knew it would be difficult for him to compete with Wayne.
Even Sean May lost to Wayne, let alone him!
Wayne is now only Duke away from the finals.
Fortunately, the Cowboys' next opponent is Duke.
Because Duke University happened to have a high school teammate of Villanueva on its team.
"Luol, do your best in the semi-finals! We must meet in the finals!" Villanueva then called Luol Deng, who was the last hope to prevent Wayne from entering the finals.
When Luol Deng came to the United States at the age of 14, he attended Blair Academy in New Jersey.
Coincidentally, Villanueva is also a member of this school.
They worked closely together in high school, were selected to the All-American team, and had a very happy high school life.
After graduating from high school, the two teenagers made a promise: "We must each make a name for ourselves in college and meet in the finals."
Unexpectedly, they had the opportunity to achieve this goal in their first year!
"Of course I will take care of him, Charlie. Don't worry, your opponent in the finals can only be me! Only I can defeat you personally and win the championship! Hahahahaha!"
At this time, Luo Er Deng Zhonger was full of energy and very confident.
As a freshman, Luol Deng was able to reach the final four in his first year in college. He really had a smooth journey.
This fostered his strong self-confidence.
Villanueva couldn't help but feel a little worried .
Is this guy too optimistic?
Just like he was worried about North Carolina yesterday.
※※※
After the March Madness tournament entered the final four, it was the climax .
However, what many people don’t know is that the climax of March Madness actually doesn’t start until April.
I don’t know if it was to create a sense of ceremony, but they deliberately separated the final four matches from the previous ones.
There are a full six days of rest between the Elite Eight and the Final Four.
The semi-finals will officially begin on April 1, and the much-anticipated finals will take place on April 3.
The NBA playoffs will begin shortly after March Madness.
It can be said that from March to summer, American basketball fans are extremely happy.
Reggie Miller is also looking forward to the playoffs because winning the championship is a dream he has been pursuing for many years.
And this year, the powerful Pacers have a good chance of completing his mission.
However, today's game made Miller very depressed.
Because at the critical moment, their three-point shooting was really poor.
"Miller was watched closely, and the ball was handed to Artest. Ron Artest missed the three-pointer again, and he missed the last chance! The Pacers' four-game winning streak is about to be ruined by the Milwaukee Bucks!"
The Bucks took a timeout and they had a 6-point lead in the final 35 seconds.
If Artest had made the three-pointer just now, there would still be a chance of winning the game.
But unfortunately, there are no ifs on the basketball court.
After the game was suspended, Artest kicked the technical table in dissatisfaction.
Reggie Miller looked up at the Pacers' three-point shooting percentage today, 5 of 17, which was quite touching.
Although the Pacers are a team that wins by defense, sometimes they just have to rely on three-pointers.
Miller sighed.
Losing a regular season game doesn’t matter, but if this happens in the playoffs, can this team still only rely on itself?
He just hopes that something like this doesn't happen in the playoffs.