บท 23: Let Me Do It!
Swish!
Bang!
Li Zhen stepped up to the free-throw line to take the technical foul shots, making one out of two. The sudden increase in the size of his palm greatly improved his ball control, agility, and layup skills. However, it was a significant disruption to his shooting touch, and he would need to readjust.
Fortunately, after missing the second free throw, Stanford still retained possession.
Li Zhen received the ball at the three-point arc, and as he dribbled, he could clearly feel his body becoming more agile.
On one hand, he was pleased with this development, but on the other hand, he was frustrated. Just a four-point increase in agility made such a noticeable difference?
Brooks came forward once again.
But as he approached, Li Zhen quickly shifted to the left. When Brooks lunged to the left to defend, Li Zhen agilely spun and left Brooks's defense behind. While the move took Brooks by surprise and his defense was already weak, the four-point increase in agility had an immediate impact.
After shaking off Brooks, he swiftly entered the paint.
Oregon's newly-substituted power forward, Tinsley, hurriedly moved into position. This towering figure, who had caused quite a stir on the Stanford campus, was an extremely sluggish forward.
So, just as Li Zhen came to a sudden stop in front of him, Tinsley's body couldn't help but sway.
And when Li Zhen quickly executed a crossover from left to right, Tinsley stumbled and fell hard to the ground due to the uneven force on his ankles as he tried to chase.
The awkward fall of Tinsley once again ignited the crowd, producing the loudest roar of the entire game.
Amidst the deafening cheers, Li Zhen easily made the layup.
The arena's announcer immediately shouted out the name of the biggest hero of the Stanford team in this game: Bruce...
Before he could finish his sentence, over six thousand spectators in the arena responded in unison: Li!!!!!!!
This kind of reception was reserved for superstar players.
At that moment, when Time Warner's camera captured this superstar, there was a noticeable shy smile on his face.
"That's the way Chinese people are by nature. They're always shy and introspective when faced with overwhelming praise," Kareem said. "But when they're called upon to step up, an unimaginable energy bursts forth from within them. My teacher once told me about the theory of 'water.' I believe Bruce Li on the court is this type of player. He can be as calm and gentle as water, but he can also suddenly erupt, pouring down like a deluge!" (T/N: Hmmmmmm.)
As Kareem spoke, he seemed to be getting a bit carried away.
He was now talking about personal charisma.
Johnny Watson, who was sitting beside him, couldn't help but sigh. Weren't they here to promote Oregon? How did it suddenly turn into a lavish praise session for Bruce Li?
So... did Nike put all that sponsorship money into Bruce Li?
He was feeling quite frustrated.
Meanwhile, Brooks was becoming equally frustrated.
Back on the court, he suddenly found it difficult to easily bypass Li Zhen's defense as he had before. This guy seemed to have had a sudden revelation. While Brooks still felt that keeping up with him was a struggle, his lateral movement speed had noticeably increased... and this made Brooks quite unhappy.
He ultimately resorted to a forced jump shot.
Bang!
The basketball hit the rim.
Fortunately, Malik Hairston rushed into the paint and, overpowering Frank Benson, put the ball in.
After scoring, Hairston turned to Brooks and said, "Next, I'll guard him."
With time running out, and the team's key inside player, Leunen, being ejected, both Hairston and Coach Altman agreed that they couldn't continue like this. Hairston took the initiative to request a switch in defense, determined to shut down Li Zhen from the source.
Hairston's defensive abilities were indeed superior to Brooks'.
He also had the edge in physical confrontations.
But the unfortunate thing was: Li Zhen never engaged him in a direct confrontation. The moment he received the ball in the frontcourt, he quickly signaled Scott to set a pick.
When facing a bigger opponent, the strategy was just one word: Drive.
Oregon's defense in the paint saw a drastic decline after the absence of Leunen. Although Skinner, the center, was holding the fort in the restricted area, Li Zhen wasn't solely focused on scoring. He was able to assist the team through passes, benefiting players like Thompson, who had swapped with Brooks on defense. Scott also made several drives into the paint off Li Zhen's passes.
Looking back, Oregon's two superstars were indeed rare talents. Despite Brooks' attempts to incite him to go into isolation mode, Brooks still occasionally scored through individual efforts in the final minutes of the game.
So, even though Stanford had a six-point lead with three minutes left in the game due to their efficient teamwork, Oregon quickly regained their momentum. They exploited Stanford's vulnerability of not having a ball-dominant attacker, gradually closing the gap.
With 21 seconds left in the game, Brooks, with Hairston's screen, made an incredibly difficult three-pointer from beyond the arc.
78-77.
Oregon took a one-point lead, plunging the entire arena into a deathly silence.
However, in the broadcast booth, Watson was ecstatically shouting "Long live Brooks!"
"The great Aaron Brooks has saved the University of Oregon! Now they're in the lead. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, they're likely to maintain it. Stanford's lineup deficiencies are glaring. They lack a ball-dominant attacker. Though their point guard, No. 10, is an excellent playmaker, his scoring ability is questionable. And his physical condition is clearly deteriorating. There's no suspense. Oregon will secure this victory and stride toward the Tournament. They will become the most legendary team in the Pacific Division this season. After experiencing the absence of two key players and failing to win a single game from mid-December to late January last year, they've made an incredible comeback to make it into the championship!" Watson was extremely excited, more so than Oregon's bench.
Meanwhile, Kareem was pursing his lips slightly. He glanced at Li Zhen's stats for the night: 15 points, 18 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers—a splendid performance.
He thought to himself, "If only there could be a game-winning shot. That would be perfect."
At the same time, Stanford's bench was eerily quiet.
They were facing the final offensive play—the kind of play that only a superstar could make.
But now, the problem was that Stanford didn't have a superstar.
While Bruce had ball-handling skills, his offensive capabilities were very limited, and he was on the verge of exhaustion.
Other players might have shooting ability, but their ball-handling skills were suspect. If the ball got stolen, it would be disastrous.
Most importantly, whoever took the final shot would be the one to blame if it failed.
Everyone knew the emotions of Stanford's fans. Having been so heavily stimulated before the game, they couldn't possibly accept this defeat at home. If the game-winning attempt failed, the pressure from the entire campus would instantly come crashing down on them.
So, everyone looked at each other in silence, maintaining the highest level of quietness, waiting for Coach Jamie Lin's decision.
"Let me do it."
Li Zhen, who had been sitting on the bench with his head down for a long time, suddenly lifted his head, his eyes incredibly determined.
He looked at Coach Jamie Lin, who was clearly filled with doubt and concern, and said in a 'forceful' tone, "I am the biggest contributor to this game. It's because of me that the game has come down to the final seconds. It's only right for me to execute the final play!"
Jamie Lin knew that Li Zhen wasn't a domineering person. He was probably saying this to give everyone a way out.
However, due to his personal interests, he really didn't want Li Zhen to take the final shot. Based on Li Zhen's performance in the past two games, he could easily secure a spot on the Stanford team for the next season. But if he missed this last shot, there might be complications.
After all, the roles of team hero, team contributor, and team culprit produced vastly different outcomes. If the game-winning attempt succeeded, he would be a hero, and staying on the team would be a certainty. But the probability was truly too small. If he didn't take the shot, he would still be a team contributor, just as he claimed to have brought the game to the final seconds. He wouldn't face harsh criticism, and people would even praise him for his spectacular moments. The hope of staying would be very high. However, if the game-winning attempt failed, the blindly angry students would forget his previous contributions and vent their anger on him, deeming him a culprit. At that point, trying to get Coach McHaney to retract what he said in public would be extremely difficult.
Yet, Li Zhen's gaze was so resolute. It even reminded Jamie Lin of an ancient poem, "The wind howls, the Yellow River is cold, heroes once gone, do not return."
In the end, after much deliberation, Coach Jamie Lin nodded.
Alright.
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