Winston-Salem, on the boulevard of Wake Forest University, Qiao Hai rode his bicycle and carried Han Xue behind him, galloping towards the basketball hall of Wake Forest University.

"Hurry up, hurry up, the game is about to start!"

Wake Forest's basketball arena is already full, and since March Madness, the NCAA has become so hot that even Facebook is full of discussions about the NCAA and all kinds of predictions.

Qiao Hai arrived at the arena, found his front seat, and pulled Han Xue to sit down.

His appearance naturally attracted the attention of many people at the scene, and Brad Stevens also nodded to Qiao Hai, which was regarded as a hello.

The game has already begun, on the side of Wake Forest, the trio of McConley, Li Ao and Greg Oden, plus two role players who can shoot from a distance, the overall team building idea is very similar to Qiao Hai's Grizzlies back then.

And at the University of Texas, Qiao Hai also found two familiar faces.

LaMarcus Aldridge on the inside, and P.J. Tucker on the outside.

Qiao Hai brought some information with him, and he flipped through Aldridge's scouting profile, which read: "An offensive interior player with extremely strong scoring ability and excellent athleticism, if he runs this year, the predicted pick will definitely be in the top five." ”

Qiao Hai found Tucker's scouting information again: "Heavy outside, excellent defensive ability, but only 1.93 meters tall, not an advantage in guarding, and weighs as much as 111 kilograms, heavier than many forwards, so he may have a position problem, his weight is not suitable for the second position, and his height is not qualified for the third position, predicting the second round in the middle of the second round." ”

Qiao Hai touched his chin and watched the game for a while.

Tucker's defensive ability is indeed strong, but scouts generally believe that Tucker is overweight and not very tall, and it is likely that he is not suitable for the NBA.

Qiao Hai felt that his height could be compensated for by hard work, and Tucker, who later returned to the NBA, gradually gained recognition by relying on hard work.

And Qiao Hai, who was now hoarding flanks, suddenly found Tucker, and he naturally set his sights on Tucker.

Marking Tucker's scouting report, he continued to watch the battle between the top seed and the No. 16 seed as the match went on for five or six minutes.

The game is very intense, especially the defense, both teams are very systematic joint defense, it can be said that the superstar can't solve the opponent, can only rely on the continuous cooperation of the outside.

And in this regard, of course, is the strength of Wake Forest.

Brad Stevens started to follow Qiao Hai from Vancouver until last year, so many years of study, it is not a joke, in terms of defense, Brad Stevens originally had his own ideas, and in terms of offense, Stevens obviously learned a lot from Qiao Hai.

Wake Forest's offensive coordination is very smooth, basically McConley and Oden's high coordination, constantly outside cover and blocking, looking for good opportunities to attack.

The game quickly ended at half-time, with Wake Forest taking an 11-point lead.

Then in the second half, the Wake Forest team increased their defensive intensity, Oden protected the frame, Li Ao misplaced and stared at Aldridge, and the difference was suddenly stretched to 17 points.

In the end, Wake Forest defeated the University of Texas with a score of 78-59 and won the first victory of March Madness, without an upset!

……

At the end of the game, there were people on the sidelines, and it was lively like the scene at the end of an NBA playoffs.

The two talked, and soon talked about Greg Oden.

"By the way, Joe, one of the last questions you asked me, I've already asked Greg, and he said he hasn't figured out whether he wants to end the NBA draft this season."

Joe Hai knew that Stevens was talking about Oden.

He immediately frowned when he heard that Oden hadn't thought about it yet, Oden was definitely a key link in Qiao Hai's plan, and if the Bobcats wanted to win the championship, they had to get an inside line similar to Oden.

The reason is that the small-ball era has not yet fully arrived, and Qiao Hai has no confidence in succeeding in this small-ball lineup of the Bobcats, especially when he wants to face a shark O'Neal at the end of his peak, a Warcraft Howard who is gradually moving towards the peak, and a peak-enhanced version of the little giant Yao Ming.

These three centers will be the three mountains in front of the Bobcats, and the Bobcats' small-ball lineup this season is still dangerous against these three centers.

Against the sharks and young monsters at the end of the game, the Bobcat's win rate is still very large, but against the enhanced version of Yao Ming, who is now at his peak, Qiao Hai himself is not very optimistic about the Bobcat.

Therefore, he felt that he had to find an interior core that could survive in the small ball and contribute a strong interior to make up for the last link of the Bobcats' lineup.

Then with a flawless small-ball lineup, break down this last center era.

And Greg Oden is Qiao Hai's number one target.

"However, if Wake Forest can win the championship this season, he will definitely choose to go straight to the NBA." Brad Stevens spoke again.

Qiao Hai's eyes lit up, there was still a chance.

"Come on, Brad, I hope you can lead the team to the championship." Qiao Hai patted Brad Stevens on the shoulder and smiled.

……

Joe Hai returned to Charlotte from Winston-Salem, and after a six-game away run, they had a three-game home schedule.

In three games, the Bobcats first defeated the Heat 115-106, then the Warriors 114-101, and finally the Knicks 116-104.

Then came another wave of home-and-away fixtures, with the Bobcats beating the Wizards twice in a row at home and then continuing to beat the Magic at home.

Immediately after, the Bobcats ushered in a wave of fixtures that would determine the final standings in the East - a home game against the Pistons on March 18, and a second away game against the Pistons on March 20.

……

For the March 18 home game, Time Warner Center was full again.

"The 53-15 Bobcats vs. the 51-16 Pistons, this game will be the top battle in the East!"

"The two teams will play two games and if the Pistons can win two in a row, then they will close the gap to the Bobcats."

"After two consecutive wins, the difference between wins will be only 0.5, as long as the Pistons continue to win in the future, they can rely on the absolute advantage of each other's records, overtake the Bobcats, and grab the first place in the East."

In TNT's commentary seat, McBrin explained the importance of the game in detail, and then the game began.

Johi still has a regular starting lineup, with point guard Chris Paul, shooting guard Michael Reed, small forward Andre Iguodala, power forward Josh Smith and center Kendrick Perkins.

On the Pistons' side, the starting five are point guard Steve Francis, scoring guard Richard Hamilton, small forward James Posey, power forward Rasheed Wallace and center Ben Wallace.