Chapter 21: Vastly Different Sorrows
Editor: Atlas Studios
Team Ridley had thought that their victory was certain. But the game had started with an atrocious 8 - 0. What now?
They started to panic…
Gregg Downer's old friend, the head coach of Ridley High School, Fernandes, felt that he must have offended someone to deserve such bad luck…
The communication technologies of the 1990s were not fully developed yet, resulting in a delay in information for the majority of the population.
As far as Fernandes could remember, Team Ridley hadn't had such a difficult time playing against Team Lower Merion the year before.
"That Asian. Where did Old Man Gregg recruit him from?" Fernandes asked, puzzled.
As of this moment, Team Ridley was at a clear disadvantage. Hence, Fernandes requested a timeout.
"Anyone know who the Asian is?" Fernandes asked. He immediately regretted asking it, feeling like a fool…
How could his students possibly know if he himself had no idea?
The point guard, Goodman, hesitantly raised his hand and said, "Coach, his name is Su. A former Nefaria student, recently transferred to Lower Merion. I heard that he and Kobe are good friends. They often go to school and go home together."
Fernandes was speechless.
Ahem…
Although Fernandes felt embarrassed to ask, he gathered his courage and did it anyway, for the sake of his team. "How do you know?"
"I have a cousin at Lower Merion High School. He said that Su and Kobe competed to see who would score higher in a previous friendly match," Goodman answered.
"What?!"
It dawned on Fernandes that he had just gotten a piece of crucial information!
Compete with Kobe?
There was such a genius here in Pennsylvania?
Fernandes shot Gregg a jealous look and uttered a swear word silently.
"Fine. We must re-evaluate our opponents.
"Now, same rule, target Kobe!" Fernandes said.
The Team Ridley members nodded. "Understood!"
Fernandes was satisfied. Well trained, his team had taken the hint at once.
He looked at Gregg bitterly and said with a sneer, "You have two prodigies, and I…"
Sigh!
"I want to coach prodigies too!
"Why?! Why are six consecutive championships not enough to attract any prodigies to Ridley High?"
….
The game resumed. After the timeout, Williamson was now willing to pass the ball to others.
The Team Ridley center, Larson, was physically advantaged. Within the free throw lane, he shoved aside David Lasman effortlessly and scored with a hook shot.
"Not bad. Solid basic skills," Su Feng said, eying Larson.
"It's almost invincible for a high school team to have a strong center like him. No wonder Kobe lost last year," Su Feng thought.
Now it was Lower Merion's turn to attack. The ball holder, Schwartz, immediately noticed the change in the defensive strategy Team Ridley was adopting!
That's—!
Schwartz would never forget it!
It was the match-up zone defense strategy that their team couldn't counter the year before!
In the previous season, Team Lower Merion had gained an upper hand in the first half of their match with Gudelj High School. But in the next half, Team Gudelj changed their defense tactics, which made it hard for Team Lower Merion to attack.
How could that match ever slip Schwartz's mind?!
In that game, Kobe scored 15 shots out of 45 attempts. In addition to the free throws and three-pointers, he scored a whopping 40 points in total. But in the end, Team Lower Merion lost with a difference of 15 points!
It was also after that game that poor Gay Stewart made that casual remark, which had unfortunately brought him the death stare from Kobe…
Schwartz panicked.
Not an experienced player, he flustered in the face of the match-up zone defense.
H… How?!
….
Needless to say, it was an ingenious idea to use this defensive tactic.
On the one hand, with one person defending against Kobe, it significantly lowered Kobe's chances of attacking from outside the three-point arc. On the other hand, the man-to-man defense allowed Larson to block Kobe's offense with his height.
In the previous match, Team Lower Merion didn't have enough shooters, which had limited Kobe's performance. In the end, they could only rely on Kobe's field goal percentage.
"Excellent strategy.
"Unlucky of them to have met me!"
Su Feng grinned. He quickly gestured to Schwartz and Lasman.
Match-up zone defense?
That was a perfect opportunity for Su Feng!
The main difference between high school or college basketball players and NBA professionals was that a bunch of kids could never fully master advanced strategies, including the match-up zone defense.
Although Su Feng had not been able to perform it perfectly well by himself, he could see the loopholes in his opponents' defense.
The Ridley players on the wing were clearly lacking in speed. Therefore, with a little speed-up, together with Kobe's help, Su Feng had created an opening for shots.
The utility man, Schwartz, felt as if he'd been a living legend tonight!
"Am I a genius ball passer?"
When Su Feng appeared at the opening, Schwartz passed the ball to him without any hesitation.
Su Feng caught the ball immediately.
Swoosh!
The ball went through the hoop! Su Feng felt sorry that the goal couldn't give him any Brick Shot Points, but that was fine. After the match, he could play with Kobe for a while longer and earn as many points as he wanted!
2 - 11!
Around the court, many students had begun to cheer for Su Feng. They chanted, "Su, Su, Su!"
Mmm… Su Feng suddenly felt that something was slightly off.
Sitting on the substitute bench, Gregg felt relieved that he had been right about thinking highly of Su Feng.
In some sense, Su Feng's joining had created more room for Kobe to unleash his true potential!
Moreover, Su Feng was a talented defensive player. Gregg hadn't realized that Su Feng was capable of performing advanced strategies that few players of that time could do.
In fact, Su Feng's role in the team was crucial to any future NBA teams. He was a three-pointer defensive player!
The ball didn't have to be in his hands most of the time, yet he could score whenever the chance arose. At the same time, he could defend his team's basket well. No one would complain once they had tried using this tactic!
As for Team Ridley, Fernandes was at his wits' end…
The situation had gone out of his control.
Under the immense pressure from Kobe and Su Feng, it had become difficult for Team Ridley to even pass the ball smoothly outside the three-point arc.
When Goodman was about to lob the ball over his head to Larson, who was inside the free throw lane, Kobe suddenly stepped into his way from the side!
What a magnificent move!
Kobe blocked the ball and hurled it towards Su Feng in the blink of an eye.
Su Feng caught it nicely and accomplished the second slam dunk in his life!
"I need to practice jumping…
"This slam dunk is not cool enough!" Su Feng thought.
2 - 13. Team Lower Merion was already ahead by more than 10 points in the first half of the first period of the game.
11 points…
Team Ridley was getting increasingly frustrated.
"I don't believe it! Keep your eyes on Kobe! We can win!"
Fernandes clenched his fists. He didn't believe that Su Feng could be a more frightening opponent than Kobe, though Su Feng was undoubtedly a strong player indeed.
Fernandes was right about that.
But sometimes…
Three-pointer defensive players could be extremely annoying.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Clang! Swoosh! Clang!
….
"Alright, Su. You and Kobe can take a rest now. It's time for the substitute players to gain some game experience," Gregg said when there was 6 minutes 27 seconds left till the end of the fourth period.
As of this moment, the score was 46 - 72…
Team Lower Merion was ahead by 26 points!
What an unexpected development! They had completely destroyed the state champions of the previous years.
More importantly, Su Feng had clearly shaken all of the basketball scouts and reporters present.
He had scored a whopping 39 points before he was substituted in the fourth period!
He had scored 16 out of 23 shots, including six three-pointers out of nine attempts and a successful free throw attempt…
Su Feng's field goal percentage was stellar!
Despite his excellent performance, Su Feng looked desolate when he sat down on the substitute bench.
His teammates, who had wanted to congratulate him, were deterred by his sad expression.
Meanwhile, Kobe had fallen into deep thought, looking concerned…
The other members of Team Lower Merion were utterly confused.
"My goodness!"
"We are ahead of the defending champion by 26 points!"
"Although it's just a friendly match, shouldn't we all be happy and celebrating?"
"Why are you looking so sad? Were you expecting to do even better? Are you crazy??"
Actually, they had misunderstood Su Feng.
He was sad because…
What should he do with such accurate shooting?
"Each brick shot in a high school match is only worth 300 Brick Shot Points. But that's still 300 points!
"How do I live if my field goal percentage is so high for all the matches this season?" Su Feng thought, disheartened.
They had misunderstood Kobe too.
Kobe was sad because he had only scored 14 points before he had been substituted!
Moreover, he had missed 11 times out of his 16 shots! The remaining 4 points were from free throws!
"Match-up zone defense is so annoying!
"Besides, I'm running out of breakthrough tactics.
"Su has been able to counter my offensive moves too when we were playing one-on-one.
"My opponents are getting familiar with my moves.
"I must do something about this. Otherwise, what can I do when I encounter defensive players like Su after I join the NBA?" Kobe thought, worried.
Also sitting at the substitute bench, Schwartz was overjoyed that he had obtained 14 assists in the match. But when he saw the two MVPs deep in thought, this utility man had no other choice but to sit at the side quietly, holding back his excitement.
When everyone on the Lower Merion substitute bench was suffering from this silent torment…
Luckily, Kobe broke the silence first.
He walked to Su Feng and sat by his side. Actually, he felt heartened to see Su Feng's concerned face…
"Good. That's my friend. Su must be thinking that there's nothing to get cocky about in winning this game.
"The state championship is in our hands with a good and calm support like him!" Kobe thought cheerfully.
Kobe patted Su Feng's shoulder and said, "Su, I'll bring you to a wonderful place this weekend."
Su Feng was confused.
"Huh? Where are we going this time?
"Are we going to do THAT…?"
….
-- Gift
received