Chapter 821: 348. The Spring and Autumn Dream Awakened by a Slap
Felton heard Hill’s words and agreed: “I feel the sa as Grant, the gap in strength between the two teams is too big. Curry wants to turn the ga around unless he doubles his score in the second half.”
Zhang Yang made a smacking sound in agreent; indeed, given the current situation, his predicted outco was similar to that of his two teammates. He couldn’t see any possibility of the Davidson Wildcats staging a coback.
At halfti, Curry had 14 points and 3 assists, which was already excellent, yet the Davidson Wildcats were still trailing the Gonzaga Bulldog Team by 9 points. To turn the ga around, Curry really needed to double his points from the first half.
But this is March Madness, scoring 10 points is not bad, scoring 15 points is considered excellent, and scoring 20 points could give a team a chance to win. Even soone as strong as Durant only scored ‘just’ 27 points in his first March Madness ga.
Curry is likely to score more than Durant in his March Madness debut, but even if he scores higher than Durant and gets 30 points, the Davidson Wildcats will still find it hard to win.
Although the Gonzaga Bulldog Team isn’t exactly a championship-level team with high presence, they are at least in the upper half of their group. A few high school players ranked in the top 100 nationwide didn’t perform well in college, but they were still in the top 100 nationally.
Zhang Yang’s mind began to wander.
The most dazzling ti of Curry’s college career was undoubtedly his sophomore season. By his junior season, his skills were definitely stronger, but the team performance wasn’t as excellent as during his sophomore year.
As Hill said, the other mbers of the Davidson Wildcats could provide Curry with very little support; even winning one ga in March Madness would be considered an upset.
When Curry led his team into March Madness for the first ti, there was a possibility that the opponents underestimated him, didn’t know him, and were upset by him all the way. But after he impressed everyone once with an upset, the next ti he enters March Madness, the opponents will certainly not underestimate him. Pulling off an upset will be difficult.
In the future, those self-dia bloggers hyping up Curry’s college performance will only talk about his sophomore year, not his junior year.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yang felt sothing was wrong. If Curry hadn’t pulled off an upset in his sophomore year and got eliminated in the first round, then when he led his team back into March Madness in his junior year, opponents wouldn’t pay so much attention to him. There might still be a chance of underestimating him, and Curry might take off in his junior season. But there’s another possibility: Curry might not make it to March Madness in his junior year.
That would be quite sothing. If Curry didn’t take off in his sophomore year and failed to make it to March Madness in his junior year, how low would his draft position drop? Out of the lottery? Late first round?
Zhang Yang’s eyes lit up; if that really happened, he would have to find a way to get Jordan to acquire a slightly higher draft pick and snag Curry.
Teaching Curry to shoot three-pointers? Just thinking about it feels great!
However, without the ‘breeding strategy’ of the logo man, without that high-pressure growth environnt, could Curry have developed to his full potential?
There might be other training thods, but at least Zhang Yang couldn’t think of any thod more suitable for Curry than the ‘breeding strategy,’ especially since that approach has already ‘proven’ to be successful.
Just the thought of missing out on such an era-defining opponent who turned traditional basketball upside down fills Zhang Yang with regret.
But if Curry really falls outside the lottery, not snatching him would feel like a missed opportunity…
…
Zhang Yang daydread for a while until the two teams’ players returned to the court. He snapped back to reality and set his gaze on Curry, who looked even more youthful than in the NBA.
Curry felt Zhang Yang’s gaze and clenched his fists.
He was confident that Zhang Yang ca today specifically for him; there was no one else on the court capable of attracting this local superstar to watch the ga. He interpreted Zhang Yang’s complex look as disappointnt…
Soon, the second half of the ga began, and Curry started his performance, hitting three three-pointers in a row.
In the subsequent ti, Curry hit three more three-pointers, going a perfect 6-for-6 from beyond the arc in the second half!
Adding the two three-pointers from the first half, he went 8-for-10 from three-point range in the entire ga (a historical fact)!
While hitting those last three three-pointers, he also made one mid-range shot, three layups, and went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line!
Felton’s judgnt was spot on; for Curry to lead the Davidson Wildcats to rally, he indeed needed to double his points from the first half in the second half.
Throughout the second half, Curry shot 10-for-15, including 6-for-6 from three-point range, and went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, racking up 30 points along with 3 assists, leading the Davidson Wildcats to a 46-33 performance in the second half.
Including the first half’s 10-for-5 shooting, with two three-pointers out of four attempts, and two free throws made from two attempts, Curry played 36 minutes in total, scoring 44 points along with 6 assists, leading the Davidson Wildcats to an 82-78 coback victory over the Gonzaga Bulldog Team, upsetting their way to the Round of 32!
Stunned!
Zhang Yang and others were astonished by Curry’s 30-point performance in the second half!
Stephen- The Face-slapping King- Curry, from the first eting with Zhang Yang, delivered a stinging slap to several of Zhang Yang’s teammates.
Zhang Yang’s daydream was also slapped awake with that one.
No wonder old Nelson insisted on having the team snatch Curry following his performance in this year’s March Madness; with this shooting talent, who wouldn’t be amazed?
Hill sighed: “No wonder Jack, you had such high hopes for this kid. He’s amazing, and he’ll undoubtedly make a na for himself in the NBA!”
Zhang Yang: “Mm, he didn’t let down.”
Okafor: “…”
Felton: “Jack, is he entering the draft this year? ’09? Or ’10? Draft him! Have Michael draft him!”
Zhang Yang: “With our record, we won’t be able to draft him, forget it.”
Felton: “Oh… right, he can at least make it into the lottery, like you and Bryant. It’s really a pity.”
Zhang Yang: “It’s not a pity; in the future, we’ll have a very interesting opponent. Alright, let’s go back. If we don’t leave now, it will get dark.”
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