"The defense was very critical this time, and the opposing Clinch and Teddes. Young is likely to make a shot at the last minute of the round, and Gerrard and David must not let the opponent have an easy shot...... "The old coach K, who didn't have much tactics in the whole game, finally talked about the key points and strategies of this defense for the players in the last moments of the game......

Sure enough, after the timeout came back, Georgia Tech used the non-stop passing on the outside to control the pace of the game, and with 3 seconds left on the offensive time, small forward Young suddenly pulled from the outside of the box to the outside, and immediately outside the three-point line after receiving a pass from Krinch. McClure kept his coach's instructions in mind and didn't let up for a moment on his opponent's defense, successfully interfering with Young's shot with his arms raised high. After the ball smashed into the basket, it was successfully picked up by Boygin.

With 25 seconds left and the visitors still two points behind.

Sun Yi, who was in control of the ball, looked at the remaining time and considered what way to move back to the disadvantage for the team. Pointers? Well, today's feel is not very good, I'm afraid I can't grasp it......

The Blue Devils' No. 8, who chose to break through, did not completely get rid of Critanton's defense this time. Sun Yi, who was blocked from the offensive line, simply began to hit the opponent with his back at a distance of about 15 yards from the basket.

Due to the small difference in strength between the two, the Chinese player, who arched a few times without much effect, had to do a feint of shaking his shoulders from side to side, and the opponent was still not fooled. Well, idol, please give me strength!

With six seconds left in the game, the Blues' No. 8 used a basketball god's signature move, a turnaround and step-back jumper, to pull off the all-important offense.

Sun Yi, who jumped high, naturally parted his legs in the air. When the body came to the highest point, the hands that were gripping the ball did not rush to shoot. Using his strong waist and abdominal strength, he stayed in the air for a while longer, waiting for Critanton, who was desperately jumping up and disturbing, and his body began to fall. The Chinese player, who has completely adjusted his center of gravity, finally threw the red ball in his hand!

Scold! Probably because of the decline in physical fitness, the arc of this ball is not very high, but it still rubs the back half of the hoop into the net!

79 draws! Duke University, playing away, tied the score with five seconds left in the game.

In desperation, Coach Hewitt had to use the last timeout to set up a five-second offensive time strategy.

Sun Yi, who returned to the bench, was almost ripped off by his excited teammates with broken hair on his head! But he didn't mind at all, because they were blue devils who would never give up.

"The focus is still the same as last time defending, and we must not relax. If you are scored by the opponent, you will not even have a chance to fight back......" Coach K tried his best to control his excited tone, because he was afraid that his emotions would make the players relax.

After the timeout, Georgia Tech served on the backcourt sideline. After Sun Yi received Clinch's serve from Critanton, he began to lead the defense on the court according to the coach's instructions.

The home team's core players, who did not play well in this game, stumbled and dribbled the ball through the half court under the close defense of the opponent. Teddys with a three-point shot. Young immediately pulled to the outside to pick up his teammates.

While all the Blue Devils players focused their attention on Young, Crinch, who had just served the ball in the backcourt, ran silently to the top of the arc!

Not good! "Gerald, come up." When Sun Yi saw the opponent who was 1.91 meters tall suddenly appeared in his field of vision, he hurriedly beckoned his teammate Henderson to step forward to defend.

It's a pity that it's still a step slow!

Klinch, who felt very good in this game, received a pass from his teammates, and was more than one step away from the three-point line, and fired directly from a distance. The ball kept spinning, and at the moment of the end of the game, it plunged into the net!

Lore! Lore! The entire Alexander Memorial Arena was boiling in an instant. Georgia Tech fans, roaring wildly, they are like beasts, venting their excitement to the fullest!

All the members of the Hornets pressed Clinch, who had made the final shot, under them like a roof on top of each other, and they kept slapping the head of the goal-scorer with their hands......

And many of the Blues' players sit feebly on the pitch, staring blankly at the victors who are celebrating in front of them.

Lost? Did you really lose? Sun Yi, with his hands on his hips, looked blankly at the crazy scene around him, and seemed to be a little incredulous that the first defeat in his college career had come so soon......

You must know that in his entire high school career, in nearly 100 official games, Sun Yi has only lost one game. Moreover, it was lost in the season when Coach Boehli strictly controlled his playing time.

"Woo ......" A sad choking sound suddenly sounded beside him. I saw Henderson, sitting on the floor, covering his face with his hands, tears overflowing from his fingers disobediently.

Belch! It turned out that I really lost, the Blue Devils lost to the opponent. A heart-piercing pain suddenly came from his chest. Sun Yi rubbed his aching chest with his hand, and forced the sadness in his heart to go to his teammates who needed more comfort.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault, it's all my fault......" Henderson, who was hugged by his friend, kept muttering this sentence in his own mouth.

Looking at the sad appearance of his teammates, Sun Yi really couldn't give birth to any hint of blame. Every teammate did their best, and who can I blame?

After a routine greeting with the home team's coach Hewitt, Coach K and members of the Blue Devils' coaching staff pulled up the sad players who were still sitting on the field......

From the locker room to the bus to the airport, although the legendary coach of Duke did not say a word, his gaze at each player was so soft, without the slightest negative expression of frustration and disappointment.

"Mike, do you think it's worth it? Actually, we would have had a chance to equalise. In the business class of the flight to Durham, Coach Collinson, who had been relatively quiet for the game, couldn't help but ask his old partner.

"Is it worth it? I'm not sure now, it's up to the little ones to perform. Coach K smiled freely, pointed in the direction behind him, and said.

……

The Duke Blues' first defeat of the season came somewhat abruptly and reasonably. After all, this is a team that is rebuilding. Compared with those teams dominated by junior and senior players, there is still a lack of tacit understanding and stability.

Sure enough, North Carolina, which is also in the midst of a rebuild, lost 88-94 to Virginia Tech on the road two days later. The two sworn enemies invariably ushered in their first defeat of the season.

Although the defeat to Georgia Tech caused the Duke Blue Devils players to suffer physically and mentally, these lads turned the unwillingness and anger hidden in their hearts into sweat in training. In particular, Sun Yi, a proud Chinese player, soaked in the training gym until the early hours of the morning every day, and then dragged his tired body and his friend Thomas to their apartment step by step......

After the defeat, the atmosphere in the training for the Blue Devils was at an all-time high. Even Henderson, who is not very active in training, after the lessons of the last game, now follows Sun Yi to practice defense after the team's training every day.

The next few opponents of the Blue Devils are not strong, and they are just used to restore morale and confidence.

On January 14, he challenged the Duke Blue Devils of the University of Miami away, and took the resentment of losing to Georgia Tech on his opponent at home. 95 to 65, a 35-point victory.

On January 18, they scored 25 points at home against Wake Forest, 70-45.

On January 20, at the home of the underdog North Carolina State University, they once again beat their opponents 85-56.

On January 25, the Duke Blues relied on Sun Yi's countdown layup at Cameron Arena to defeat the powerful Clemson University 72-71.

Three days later, they also defeated Boston College on the Devil's home court. In this game, Sun Yi, who felt quite well, and the opponent's top scorer Jaled. Dudley jumped to a three-pointer. In the end, the No. 8 player of the Blue Devils who shot 7 of 9 three-pointers scored 42 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in the game, leading the team to a 94-80 victory.

In this wave of five consecutive wins, the No. 8 player of the Blue Devils averaged 28 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists per game. He was named the best player in the ACC league for two consecutive weeks, and even broke the league's single-game scoring record for freshmen.

This series of wonderful performances also allowed Sun Yi to establish the absolute core status of the team. McRoberts, who has a strong sense of honor in the team, is even more willing to give the Chinese player a start.

In the world of competitive sports, it doesn't matter what color you have, what your last name is. In the end, it is still up to strength to speak.

On Feb. 1, the Duke Blues, who were on a five-game winning streak, suffered their second loss of the season at the University of Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena.

This time, the two teams staged a passionate battle in front of more than 8,000 home fans. In particular, the scene of Sun Yi fighting Virginia's golden backcourt Reynolds and Singletree was widely circulated by fans at the University of Virginia.

Perhaps because of the home game, these two small defenders across the ACC league have a very good hand. The two not only used tacit cooperation to repeatedly enter the interior of the Blue Devils, but also teamed up to shoot 12 three-pointers.

And Sun Yi faced this kind of fast and flexible small guard, and the speed advantage that he was usually proud of was gone. Although he scored a new personal high of 45 points in this game, his defensive performance was much worse than before.

In the end, the University of Virginia, which was playing at home, defeated the visiting Duke University 112-108 in overtime. Although Chinese player Sun Yi scored a triple-double of 45 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, he also let Reynolds, who was opposite him, score 38 points. It can be said that for the first time in his college basketball career, he tasted the taste of mutual explosion. However, his performance in this game once again broke the ACC league record, becoming the only player to score 45 points and also have a triple-double.

Although the team lost, it had the experience of losing to Georgia Tech before. The Duke Blues players are not as frustrated as they were last time, as they understand that this is just a regular season game in the league and that there are more and more important games to come.

On Feb. 4, facing two seniors Tony. Douglas and Al. Thornton's Florida State University, the Duke Blue Devils at home ushered in a tough battle.

The shortcomings of the team's small forward position have been punished once again. Able-bodied Al. Thornton was able to pick up the points with ease, whether he faced McClure or Henderson. If it weren't for captain McRoberts scoring eight points in a row at critical moments, I am afraid that the Blue Devils' devil's home stadium would have fallen for the first time this season. In the end, Duke narrowly defeated the visitors 72-69. After a crazy performance in the last game, Sun Yi's performance in this game has dropped somewhat. He played 34 minutes and scored 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

The average Chinese player seems to be preparing for the match against their arch-rival North Carolina in three days......

In the table tennis hall next to the Duke Blue Devils' training gym, Sun Yi and Henderson were staring at the basket of 10 ping-pong balls in Thomas's hand.

Wow......! With a flip of Thomas's wrist, the ping-pong balls in the basket rolled down. The two guys who were engrossed in it, the moment the ball bounced off the table, the hands that the two had been waiting for for a long time reached out like lightning.

In less than 2 seconds, the 10 yellow balls were grabbed by the four big hands waving in the air.

"Haha! Gerald, can you go faster, I might as well practice on my own. Sun Yi played with the 7 intact table tennis balls next to him, and complained to his friend with a bored face.

"Don't be so complacent, okay, I've only been practicing for a long time, you have to give me time, understand?" Henderson, who is unwilling to admit defeat, can only find some objective reasons to refute the other party......

"Looks like you're doing well!" Coach Collinson's voice interrupted the two children who were teasing each other. "Sun, are you able to catch all the ping-pong balls intact now?"

After getting the guy's confirmed reply, the old man slapped appreciatively. "yes, it looks like you've got your hand speed started."

What the? This is just the beginning, is there a mistake! In order to practice this ghost game, how many times have I been awakened by arm cramps when I went to sleep at night.

Seemingly understanding the criticism in the Chinese guy's heart, Coach Collinson smiled and said, "Hehe! Don't believe it. Ask Steve how many he can catch at most. If I'm not mistaken, 18. ”

Hiss! The three Blue Devils players didn't expect Coach Woy to have such terrifying hand speed when he was young.

"It's okay, you can practice slowly when it comes to hand speed. Now that Sun has met my basic requirements, let's move on to the advanced defensive lessons. Gerald and Thomas, you should listen too, it won't take much time. ”

"Tell me, what's the most important thing about defense?" Coach Collinson, who was casually leaning on the table, asked the Blue Devils players who were gathered around him.

After a moment of thought, "I think it's a judgment, right?" The first person to answer turned out to be Thomas, the team's substitute.

"That's right, you're right." The old man patted each other's shoulders appreciatively and turned to the thoughtful Sun Yi and Henderson. So how do you make an accurate judgment? This requires you to watch, listen and think more during the game. Sun, do you remember the block that blocked the opponent's No. 30 shot in the game against Davidson College earlier in the season? If you have time, go through the back and forth of that defense in your head, in fact, you have already touched the threshold of the defensive master. ”

With that, the old man turned away without stopping, leaving behind three young men with thoughtful expressions......