Chapter 16: The Beginning of Strength
Many NBA arenas have less than 70 percent attendance.
But at Duke University, the stadium was basically full, especially against North Carolina today.
The whole school was dispatched, and the Cameron Arena was already full of Blue Devils fans, and the crazy Duke fans painted their bodies all blue, making the arena a sea of blue.
Many times, fans who can't get tickets also flock to the big square outside the stadium to watch the big screen.
Many fans also flocked to the tavern and school canteen to watch the game.
But before that, they were all around the bus in North Carolina.
When Roy Williams led the University of North Carolina Tar Heel Team off the bus, they were surrounded by passionate Blue Devils fans.
Countless Blue Devils fans held up signs and shouted insults at North Carolina players.
"Hey, stupid donkey. Do you remember last season, when we swept us? This season Jack is stronger, and you can't win! Victory is ours for the Blue Devils! ”
"I advise you to surrender obediently. We promise we won't laugh at you! ”
"A bunch of stinky bitches in North Carolina, you're going to be coming home crying today!"
……
Probably accustomed to it, the North Carolina players walked quickly into the stadium under the escort of security guards.
There's no shortage of news about the Duke vs. University of North Carolina match.
The players were warming up, but the head coach of North Carolina was surrounded by a group of reporters.
Six or seven microphones were pointed at Williams, "Coach Williams, Duke swept you guys last season. You also have a high opinion of Jack, calling the opponent the best NCAA point guard. This season, Jack is even stronger. Do you have the confidence to win? ”
Facing the reporters who were watching him, Williams said with a straight face, "
"Although Jack is stronger. But we are absolutely confident that we can defeat our opponents, and the victory belongs to us in North Carolina! ”
As head coach of North Carolina, Williams has firmly expressed confidence in winning the game.
As for what he thinks in his heart, as for himself, it is clear.
After interviewing North Carolina, these reporters saw that the Duke players were coming, and they immediately surrounded the old K.
Lao K also said confidently in the face of reporters, "We were able to sweep our opponents last season, and I believe we can continue to sweep them this season!" ”
When the Duke Blue Devils players ran out of the tunnel, the Blue Devils fans erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
Zhang Zifeng is undoubtedly the most popular player on the Duke Blue Devils, although he is Chinese, but this does not hinder the fans here to love Zhang Zifeng.
The most common thing in the stadium is Zhang Zifeng's No. 14 jersey.
When Zhang Zifeng was the last to run out of the players' tunnel, the Blue Devils fans cheered for him, which was also quite shocking.
The thunderous cheers almost lifted the entire arena.
With Duke's winning streak, Zhang Zifeng's influence among international students in the United States is also huge.
Not only the international students at Duke Middle School, but also many international students from other universities came to watch the game live.
When I heard Zhang Zifeng on the pitch, the Blue Devils fans shouted to him. They couldn't help but sigh a little, "I never thought that a Chinese could be treated so grandly in an American university, it's unbelievable, it's crazy!" ”
Several friends next to him nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid that not many NBA superstars have this kind of treatment!"
Tonight, as the TV station that broadcasts the game live.
ESPN sent three major commentators. Brin, Van Gundy, and Jackson all sat on the table next to the technical too far of Cameron Arena.
Brin sat down in the middle and said, "Welcome to ESPN, where you're seeing the Duke Blues at home against the North Carolina Tar Heels!" I'm sure everyone is aware of the feud between Duke and North Carolina, which swept through last season under the leadership of Parker and Jack. Can Jack lead the team alone to beat North Carolina this season? Let's wait and see! ”
Van Gundy said: "The Duke Blues were upset in last season's tournament and this season they brought in high school striker Okafor and are clearly aiming to win the title this season! ”
Jackson also continued, "But North Carolina is not bad, North Carolina was swept by Duke last season, and this season in order to deal with Jack, they specially recruited small forward Justin Jackson, this guy is tall and has long arms, and can play and defend multiple positions." Kennedy Meeks was also recruited. I believe they will never want to repeat the mistakes of last season! ”
……
The game is about to begin, and the players of both teams stand in the middle circle of the court.
After experiencing the bloody battle against North Carolina last season, Zhang Zifeng's mentality against North Carolina again is already very stable.
He stood calmly on the pitch waiting for kick-off, but Okafor's body in front of him was a little tense.
Apparently, the freshman was visibly nervous about North Carolina when he heard the warnings from Jefferson, Plumlee and others before the game.
Zhang Zifeng said softly, "Don't be nervous, just fight as usual, I will cover you if there is something." Last season, those bastards were taught a hard lesson by me! ”
Hearing Zhang Zifeng say that he would cover himself, thinking about his performance against North Carolina last season, Okafor relaxed a lot. "Hmm!"
North Carolina starters: Point Guard: Marcus Page, Shooting Guard: Rodney Pavis, Small Forward: Justin Jackson, Power Forward: Bryce Johnson, Center: Kennedy Meeks.
Duke starts: Cook, Zhang, Winslow, Jefferson, Okafor.
As the referee blew the whistle, the game officially began.
Okafor and Meeks leapt high in an instant to fight for the ball.
In the next second, the ball was scrambled by Okafor, and the ball flew towards Duke's backcourt.
"Okafor won the opening jump ball for the Duke Blues and the game is on!"
Zhang Zifeng ran to the backcourt to pick up the ball, dribbled with his left hand, and signaled his teammates to run forward with his right hand.
Just after half-time, Pavez came running. Seeing his old rival, Zhang Zifeng smiled and said, "Hey, buddy." It's you again, you haven't learned enough lessons last season, and now you're being masochistic again! ”
The tragic lesson of last season is fresh in the minds of Pavis. If he could, he wouldn't want to deal with this bastard at all.
But it can't be helped, who told him to play the position of shooting guard. Even if you are not very reluctant, you can only match it.
Anyway, he made up his mind before the game that he would never pay attention to this bastard during the game.
Seeing that the other party did not react, Zhang Zifeng continued to talk to himself. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not targeting you, I'm saying that you guys are all rubbish in North Carolina. Really, you have to admit it! ”
I had made up my mind to ignore each other, but I heard this bastard say that North Carolina is all rubbish.
Pavis couldn't help but retort, "You're fucking garbage, you Duke are all garbage, idiots......"
While Pavis was thinking about the vocabulary and scolding the street, Okafor came up to do the pick-and-roll.
Zhang Zifeng took the opportunity to cut diagonally into the inside line, but Pavis was blocked and couldn't keep up.
Meeks made up for the defense, Zhang Zifeng didn't have any hesitation, jumped up, and threw the ball up with one hand!
Okafor, who followed up after the pick-and-roll, jumped high and grabbed the flying blue ball.
Pavis, who was more than 20 centimeters shorter, couldn't give Okafor a little interference, and Okafor smashed the ball into the basket hard!
It's been a long time since he's dunked so happily, and Okafor blows down his chest like an orangutan.
Van Gundy couldn't help but shout when he saw it: "A beautiful pick-and-roll coordination + air relay!" The cooperation between Zhang Zifeng and Okafor is so wonderful, they remind me of the big dream and the glider back then. ”