Y13 [EN]: Chapter 10

Y13-10

00010 NCAA Opener =========================================================================

“Our opponent is the University of California, San Diego, UC San Diego. A perfect first non-conference opponent.”

At Fisher’s words, the players listened intently, their expressions tense.

“We’ve trained hard and done well. Don’t be nervous; just show what you’ve shown in practice.”

The players responded with a short but firm ‘Yes,’ satisfying Fisher. As the players headed onto the court to warm up, Coach Fisher quietly called Youngjae over.

“Today, you’ll be starting as a guard with D.J.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Initially, focus on scoring, appearing like a typical ‘shooting guard’.”

Youngjae was slightly doubtful, but he nodded without saying anything, figuring Fisher wouldn’t give such instructions without a reason.

“Off-the-ball movement is important to disrupt the opponent’s defense, so be active. Try direct drives and isolations, too.”

“Understood.”

Fisher watched Youngjae calmly reply and head onto the court, lost in thought.

‘UC San Diego uses a three-guard system. Their strengths are early offense and penetration, but…’

Fisher smiled, seeing the fiercely determined Gay and the surprisingly improved Youngjae. It would be very difficult to break through those two to drive and shoot.

[Finally, the long journey to March Madness [the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament] has begun. Today is a non-conference game between San Diego State University (San Diego State) and the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego). Non-conference games aren’t part of the regular season, but they’re a good opportunity to scout other teams’ strengths by playing against teams from other conferences. These results also affect the ranking points that influence national tournament seeding.]

[Compared to San Diego State University, the University of California is considered weaker, but they have recently transformed into an aggressive basketball team using their extended shooting range due to their three-guard system. We can’t let our guard down.]

[On the other hand, San Diego State University boasts top-tier defensive stats among the 330 Division 1 universities thanks to Steve Fisher’s brilliant defensive tactics. Can they maintain their solid defense this season?]

[The role of the freshmen seems important. Most of the key players from last season have graduated or gone pro, so the overall depth is considered much weaker. The only consolation is that the current core is mostly juniors, so their teamwork is good, and there are expectations that the freshmen will step up.]

[Among the freshmen are Kawhi Leonard, Alec Williams, and, unusually, an Asian player, Youngjae Yoon. Malcolm Thomas, a junior transfer from another school, is also on the team.]

[Kawhi Leonard led Martin Luther King High School to a 30-3 record with Tony Snell. He was named 2009 California Mr. Basketball and ranked 48th nationally by Rivals.com. Alec Williams doesn’t have many records, but he has the advantage of being able to play various positions off the bench since high school. But… Youngjae Yoon is a bit ambiguous. He played as a starting guard in high school, but his physical condition wasn’t great. He has good BQ [basketball IQ] and potential as a point guard, but his shooting isn’t great. However, he’s starting today’s game with D.J. Gay, ahead of the upperclassmen. We’ll have to see.]

While the commentators were giving their enthusiastic commentary, the gym at San Diego State University was divided in half, one side filled with students and fans cheering for the home team, San Diego State University, and the other side filled with fans cheering for the University of California, all looking excited.

[Here are the starting members. For San Diego State University, the Aztecs will have center Brian Carwell, forwards Kawhi Leonard and Malcolm Thomas, and guards D.J. Gay and Youngjae Yoon. The University of California, San Diego, will have center Christian Hatch, forward Scott Griesmann, and guards Jordan Lawley, Kasey Ryan, and Jay Way.]

As the players took their positions on the court, the crowd and cheerleaders held their breath, focusing on the ball in the referee’s hand.

Whoosh-

Woaaaaah!!

[The game begins. Brian Carwell wins the jump ball. Pass to D.J. Gay.]

Youngjae began to move around, stirring up the defense to show the off-the-ball movement and shooting guard skills that Fisher had asked for. The player sticking to Youngjae was Jordan Lawley, known as the player with the most shots and best success rate at UC San Diego.

D.J. Gay noticed that the opposing team was also playing man-to-man defense. Seeing the opponents sticking to their respective positions, Gay nodded to himself.

Man-to-man defense was a defensive tactic they had practiced to death. If individual abilities are similar, there is no simpler and more effective defensive method than man-to-man. However, depending on how you attack man-to-man, it can be easily broken, or it can be an impenetrable tactic.

Gay was also instructed by Fisher to ‘Lead the offense by rotating the ball, using various routes to the outside and inside.’ Gay dribbled the ball at the top of the key, then cut around Leonard, who came up from the high post to set a screen. As he drove off the pick, both Gay’s defender and Leonard’s defender were stuck on Leonard, and Jordan Lawley, who had been guarding the perimeter to help, stuck to Gay as he drove.

‘That’s right.’

Gay passed to the open spot left by Jordan Lawley. The pass was slightly off, but Gay trusted him. A freshman he was annoyed with but couldn’t help but acknowledge his skill. Youngjae, who had moved to the wing, caught the pass and immediately jumped up.

Spot-up three.

That one moment when Jordan Lawley came to help again. That one moment became a fatal dagger.

Swish-

Woaaaaah!!

Young Jae Yoon. 3 Points!

[Ah, it was a spot-up 3-point shot without any wasted motion, even though it was an open look. He shot it as soon as he received the pass, and it was perfectly balanced! Moreover, as soon as Jordan Lawley went to help, he changed his position, and no one was in the path of the pass. Truly excellent positioning!]

[If you look closely at this situation, you can’t help but praise D.J. Gay and Kawhi Leonard. D.J. Gay cuts to the left after receiving Kawhi Leonard’s amazing screen, right? Then Jordan Lawley, who was guarding Yoon, comes in to help. For a moment, three defenders were stuck on D.J. Gay and Kawhi Leonard. Here, the timing of the help on Yoon was late, and an open 3-pointer was immediately shot!]

[Yoon, really amazing. A clean shot! He shoots confidently, unlike a player whose shooting was considered a weakness.]

[Jay Way. Slowly advancing. It seems like he’s trying to control the tempo after Yoon’s unexpected 3-pointer, right?]

[Momentum is a very important factor in basketball. Yoon, whose shooting was considered a weakness, scored a perfect clean 3-pointer, so they’re going to counterattack carefully.]

The University of California fans started chanting to encourage their players, signaling the start of the game. Jay Way leaned his shoulder into Gay, who was smaller than him, and began to overpower him with force. Gay was gradually pushed back. Jay Way reached the high post and saw Scott Griesmann preparing to set a screen to his right, slightly away from Gay, and suddenly passed the ball…

Thwack!

Woaaaaah!!

Youngjae’s sharp steal at a time when they needed to build momentum. And Youngjae and Leonard rushing fiercely to the opponent’s court. Youngjae let out a weak grunt as he saw Leonard running towards the empty basket as if it were no man’s land.

The ball went accurately into Leonard’s big hands. As soon as Leonard caught the ball, he kicked off the floor with all his might and lifted his body. With no one under the basket, Leonard raised both arms without hesitation.

KWA-THOOM!!

[SPLASH!!]

A heavy two-handed dunk. Leonard, who hung on the rim with both hands for a moment, admiring the view below, landed on the court and quickly retreated.

[Heh heh, Yoon. Was he really a player with so little information?! A fantastic steal and an overpass reminiscent of an alley-oop [a play in basketball where one player throws the ball near the basket and a teammate jumps, catches the ball in mid-air, and dunks it before landing]! Truly amazing!]

[Kawhi Leonard’s two-handed slam dunk was also amazing! It feels powerful!]

The commentators spared no praise for Youngjae’s steal, but from the team’s perspective, it wasn’t a completely satisfactory play. Attempting a steal by breaking the team defense and leaving a player open could give the opponent a chance if it went wrong. However, Youngjae, who had experience as a point guard in the NBA, was confident in his steal and took a gamble, succeeding because he thought he needed to seize the momentum.

If Jay Way had been a player with better vision, Youngjae would have been the one who suffered. Of course, Youngjae was confident that Jay Way wasn’t that good of a player.

“Hoo-”

After that, Youngjae focused entirely on team defense. Youngjae’s defensive ability, which had been heavily focused on offense, was beyond imagination. He stopped dribble drives and didn’t allow easy shots. He denied to the end to induce tough shots and followed his matchup opponent, avoiding screens with amazing side steps.

Youngjae himself rejected being a half-baked guard who only knew how to attack, so the effort he had put into defense began to show its true value. Moreover, his size wasn’t bad either. If he was around 6-1 before, Youngjae was already over 6-3 now. Encouragingly, Youngjae was still growing taller. As a result, the opposing shooting guard, Jordan Lawley, was at a disadvantage in both size and skill, so his shooting percentage was bound to be poor.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

★Thank you to those who gave pre-orders, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

Hallow/// Haha, I’ll do my best to write.

Mirror of Truth/// I’ll try to work on it over the weekend ㅠ.ㅠ

Oldest/// So that you can read it more enjoyably……ㄷㄷㄷ