The Best Point Guard-Chapter 40 - 38: "I Must Be Better to Little Sheep Su Xi

Chapter 40: Chapter 38: "I Must Be Better to Little Sheep Su Xi

Layden and Donnie let out a sigh of relief after James Dolan left. "The boss is a bit childish. Good thing he usually forgets what he says. Last season he was even talking about trading Yao Ming."

"Yes, he’s impulsive, but he also forgets things easily. He’ll forget all about this soon enough. This Little Sheep Su Xi will disappear from the media in a couple of days."

The two of them shared their thoughts.

They understood James Dolan very well. As long as you pretended to obey him, flattered him, and goaded him a little, you could get by just fine.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t still be in their high-paying positions, getting paid for doing nothing, despite such terrible results.

Su Xi was sitting there quietly, listening to Jim Boham’s tactical instructions. He probably never would have dreamed that the owner of the Knicks had just ’made the call’ to select him with a lottery pick.

No one would believe it if they heard. 2003 was projected to be a super draft year, with many exceptionally brilliant talents entering. The value of a lottery pick would be the highest it had been since the turn of the century.

Su Xi’s performance in the NCAA could only be described as unremarkable. Besides his defense, his stats on paper had nothing to boast about. Using a lottery pick on him was like something out of a fairy tale.

But James Dolan had always been someone who marched to the beat of his own drum.

If he really set his mind to it, no one could stop him.

’Isn’t it just spending money for fun? Picking a bust is much less harmful than the team’s huge pile of garbage contracts.’

"Josh, you’re going in. We need to open things up on the perimeter. With McNamara out with an injury, we need more firepower on the outside." Jim Boham drew up a play on his clipboard.

His desire to win this game had been rekindled.

Su Xi’s defense had allowed them to mount a desperate comeback.

Jim encouraged Su Xi to further tighten his defense and even told him that in their zone defense system, he could position himself wherever he wanted.

This meant he had anointed Su Xi as the team’s defensive core.

No one had any objections to this.

Su Xi furrowed his brow, thinking about something else. ’The team needs more offense on the perimeter?’

...

Auburn University’s head coach, Robert Ellis, was an experienced, old-school academic coach with a rich resume. He became the head coach of Cumberland College back in ’72, leading them to a 78-12 record. In the future, a super-luxurious, modern arena there would even be named after him. He also had outstanding achievements at the University of Alabama, helping the team avoid relegation and make it to the national tournament. At Clemson University, he led the team to set historic records. He came to Auburn University in 1999 and led them to an SEC conference championship in his very first season, making a historic run to the Sweet Sixteen. And now, this year, they had reached the Sweet Sixteen once again.

They were full of ambition, ready to achieve their best result in history and advance to the Elite Eight.

But now, Coach Ellis had run into a problem.

Su Xi’s appearance on the court had shattered his dream.

His point guard, Levin, told him, "This guy’s defensive instincts are incredibly sharp."

His leading scorer, Daniels, told him, "Don’t underestimate his energy. He looks humble, but in reality, he wants to rip apart any attacker."

His powerhouse big man, Kilingsworth, told him, "He’s a beast. He has the strength of a tiger."

Putting all this together, he came to a clear conclusion: this kid who had openly challenged all the geniuses in the nation on the American Cable Network and CBS really had a few tricks up his sleeve.

"We’re not going to go head-to-head with him. On offense, stay as far away from him as possible. On defense, stay away from him too. As far as I know, any role player who’s strong on defense lacks scoring ability. His stats per game are also very low."

This is what Robert Ellis told his players.

Everyone nodded and prepared to follow the plan.

TWEET!

The whistle blew, and the game resumed.

Su Xi once again met Levin at the top of the arc, ready for his agility, but Levin didn’t force it and chose to pass. He handed it off to Daniels, who easily punished Josh Peis, sinking a mid-range shot.

"Great job, boys! That’s how you play!" Robert Ellis shouted excitedly from the sidelines, cheering for his players.

On the other end, Su Xi executed Jim Boham’s play.

He ran a pick-and-roll with Anthony, then passed to Josh Peis... This was the same play Su Xi, Anthony, and McNamara had run before.

But... SMACK!

Daniels slapped the ball out of Josh Peis’s hands and out of bounds.

Josh Peis was a shooter, but a shooter with a slow release. McNamara often joked with him: "Your aiming motion takes longer than my foreplay."

It was an embarrassing assessment.

After the successful block, Daniels was ecstatic. He pounded his chest and roared at Josh Peis.

Josh Peis hung his head like a child who had done something wrong.

Su Xi glanced at him but ultimately said nothing.

Su Xi had long known that Josh Peis was a weak person. ’Someone who fawns over the strong and bullies the weak could never be truly strong themselves.’

He just didn’t expect him to be this much of a coward.

Carmeron Anthony inbounded the ball from the sideline.

After Su Xi received the ball, Auburn University set up a targeted defense. They swarmed Carmeron Anthony early, making it impossible for Su Xi to pass him the ball.

Levin, who was guarding Su Xi, gave him a step of space, looking as if he were actively avoiding him.

Seeing this, Su Xi felt a little frustrated.

Just then, a fan from the sidelines shouted, "Take them down, Jack Su!"

This encouraged Su Xi.

Since he couldn’t pass to Anthony or Josh Peis, Su Xi decided to go it alone.

’If you’re going to avoid me, then I’ll just have to come to you.’

Su Xi dribbled and drove straight for the paint.

Su Xi wasn’t fast, but his ball-handling was extremely skilled, and he was powerful... He knocked Levin back half a step at the free-throw line, then barreled straight into the restricted area.

Auburn University’s center, Robinson, hurried over to help on defense. Su Xi jumped, colliding with him with immense power and explosive force, and Robinson was overpowered.

Su Xi smoothly laid the ball into the basket with his left hand.

He scored an easy 2 points.

On the sideline, Auburn University’s head coach, Robert Ellis, was aghast. ’This kid can actually play offense? His ball-handling is so skilled! That was a tank-like drive to clear the path!’

He hadn’t expected this at all.

Jim Boham hadn’t expected it either.

Jim Boham had always thought of Su Xi as a defensive player with above-average playmaking skills. His career-high was only 11 points, and he had never shown off his scoring techniques.

But after seeing that last play, he suddenly felt that if Su Xi wanted to score, averaging 15 points a game would be no problem at all. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Jack, you need to drive more often!"

Carmeron Anthony said to Su Xi on the way back down the court, "Your ability to break down the defense is obviously so strong. Why didn’t you do it more before?"

Su Xi thought seriously for two seconds and said, "I like being passive. Besides, sharpening the axe doesn’t slow down the woodcutting. Defense is to set up a better offense."

This answer made Carmeron Anthony’s brain short-circuit. ’What kind of reason is that? Who likes being passive on the basketball court? How can defense lead to offense? I only like to attack.’

Soon, he had an epiphany. He understood. ’Jack is sacrificing himself to help me become the scoring champion! He’s selflessly shared all the ball-handling duties with me while he buries his head in the dirty work. He’s too good to me. He’s truly a noble person, a man who has risen above vulgar interests.’

Anthony secretly swore to himself, ’When I make it big in the future, I have to be even better to Little Sheep Su Xi. I’ll at least buy him a sports car.’

If Su Xi knew what Anthony was thinking, his brain would probably short-circuit too.

Because he really did like being passive. Only by passively defending could he let his opponent’s talent guide the accelerated fusion of his own super-talents.

Besides, before this, Su Xi’s talent fusion hadn’t reached this level, so his offense would inevitably sputter.

Now, Su Xi’s super explosiveness talent was 86% fused, which was already top-tier in the NCAA. His super strength talent was 89% fused; among a group of college students who hadn’t fully developed, he could do whatever he wanted. No one in the backcourt could stop him, and not many centers could contend with him. His super flexibility talent had reached 80%, which added a lot of variety to the rhythm of his movements. Add to that his master-level ball-handling skills...

For him, scoring in the paint was like inserting a bank card into an ATM and entering the PIN...

Although in the NBA, this simple and brutal style of play would get him "taught a lesson," in the NCAA, only a few teams could limit him.

Auburn University was not one of them.

...