Y13 [EN]: Chapter 16

Y13-16 NCAA Opener

=========================================================================

Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl.

Home to San Diego State University’s Aztecs, it was a large gym capable of holding up to 5,000 people. As always, it was packed with about 4,500 spectators enjoying the NCAA Division 1 game.

Until recently, the Aztecs’ basketball team mainly played a tough, defense-oriented game, so the average attendance often didn’t reach 4,000. However, this season, the Aztecs’ average attendance was a whopping 4,721, an increase of over 1,000 people compared to last year. The Aztecs’ momentum could only be described as formidable.

Pomona-Pitzer, though not a powerhouse, had been perplexing opponents with various tactics, proving themselves to be a bit of a dark horse team, employing a small lineup to play fast basketball.

“Fast break! Fast break!”

Pomona-Pitzer fans chanted “Fast Break” to boost their players’ morale, but their fast breaks rarely succeeded. They were supposed to play a small, fast game, but they were having a terrible time because bigger, faster players were disrupting their offensive flow.

Adam Chaimowitz, the team’s scorer, was fed up with the player standing in front of him. He wanted to punch him in the face because the opponent was playing basketball in such a frustrating way.

[Adam Chaimowitz has the ball again.]

[Five minutes into the second half, Adam Chaimowitz is shooting 2/9. That’s terrible. At this rate, the point difference will only widen.]

The score at the end of the first half was 44 to 25. Pomona-Pitzer was struggling so badly that it was fair to say they were being crushed. Justin Sexton and Sean Stephen were holding their own as twin towers against the Aztecs’ Thomas, Cawell, and Leonard in rebounding, but they simply couldn’t score.

David Reese, the ball-handler and point guard, could break through Gay’s initial defense to some extent when trying to develop an attack. However, the attack would fall apart whenever he tried to pass the ball to Chaimowitz, the team’s scorer. There could be several reasons for this, but the biggest one was Youngjae.

If he used a pick play to get past Gay by going over Justin Sexton, Youngjae would somehow come to help and block him. At the same time, Gay would switch and block Chaimowitz. As if programmed, they nullified the pick play with seamless switching and help defense.

1:1 isolation.

2:1 passing.

Step-back jumper after a backstep.

Pull-up jumper after running sideways after a screen.

No matter what he did, Youngjae didn’t allow a single clean shot. If he tried isolation, Youngjae, who had been in the NBA, was not going to be fooled by the dribbling of an NCAA player, especially not one in the top 3. If he tried to pass, Youngjae read the passing lanes so well that he would reach out his hand. But he didn’t attempt reckless steals. It would have been better if he had rushed forward to steal, but he stood his ground and only stole passes that he could easily reach, so he couldn’t pass freely.

Did Youngjae just let them shoot backsteps, spot-ups, and pull-ups? No. He thoroughly forced them to take difficult, contested shots. Shooting tough shots with a defender on you already has a low success rate, but tough shots forced by the opponent are even worse.

In the end, the only options Reese had were to pass the ball to the taller Justin Sexton, or to pass to Chaimowitz the moment Youngjae and Gay switched, so that Chaimowitz could quickly get past Gay.

“Hoo…”

But what was even more frightening was when Youngjae was on offense. He knew instinctively that something big would happen when Youngjae had the ball, but he couldn’t stop it.

Even now, he was more concerned about Youngjae, who was lingering on the right side of the three-point line, than Gay, who was facing him at the top of the key. That said it all.

[The Aztecs’ offense is truly fierce, isn’t it?]

[Yes, and at the center of it is Youngjae Yoon, whose chemistry with D.J. Gay is amazing. Now, if you look here…]

Youngjae runs straight from the right side to the basket. Naturally, Chaimowitz, who was marking Youngjae, had to enter the crowded paint [the area close to the basket]. Even if he stepped back slightly to see where Youngjae would come out and try to follow him, Youngjae’s off-ball movement was so good that he got out of the congested area much faster than expected, so he had no choice but to move with him.

When he came out of the congested area to the top of the key, Gay and Leonard started to move. When Leonard set a screen at the top, Gay went to the right, and Youngjae went back into the paint from the left side of the top. David Reese and Sean Stephen were momentarily tied up by Leonard’s screen, and Chaimowitz was on Youngjae, but Gay was completely unhindered.

‘…’

Gay thought. Should he pass the ball to Leonard, who was coming in behind him?

Should he pass the ball to Youngjae, who was also driving in?

Or to Billy White, who was looking for an opening in the mid-range?

Or should he drive in and shoot himself, or pass to Malcolm Thomas if the center came out to hedge his shot?

‘Heh heh.’

Gay was just glad that he could briefly enjoy the happy dilemma of having so many choices.

Whoosh-

The patterns had to be mixed up and unpredictable. And he was the point guard, the director who had to orchestrate the game and create the best possible scenario for scoring. Once he realized this, Gay’s skills improved. Thanks to Youngjae, who shared the burden of ball-handling, the defense against him became more relaxed, and his movements opened up easy passing lanes for him.

[D.J. Gay drives! David Reese, caught by Leonard’s screen, can’t keep up?!]

[He’s open! Center Justin Sexton moves to block him!]

[Leonard is following behind, and Youngjae Yoon is moving outside the three-point line! Billy White is also constantly moving in the mid-range to shake off the defense, and Malcolm Thomas is boxing out behind Justin Sexton!]

Gay took a step, glanced at Justin Sexton, who had come out to hedge, and then passed the ball behind his back to Malcolm Thomas. It was an awkward but plausible behind-the-back pass.

[Behind-the-back pass! Malcolm Thomas catches the ball!]

[Oh, no! Is it slipping out of his hands?!]

Thomas was upset that he couldn’t catch this amazing pass properly, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. Justin Sexton had already turned to face him, following the ball. If he couldn’t dominate in the height battle, there was no need to force a shot and lower his success rate. If he didn’t have an open chance, he could pass the ball to a teammate who would take care of it for sure.

Swish!!

[Malcolm Thomas, without hesitation, to Youngjae Yoon!]

[Oh, Youngjae Yoon! When did he get to the three-point line?! Adam Chaimowitz, trying to catch up, but it’s too late!!]

It wasn’t Chaimowitz’s fault. No one would have expected Thomas to pass the ball to Youngjae without hesitation in that situation. In fact, he had received an amazing pass, and even though he fumbled a bit, he could still have taken the shot. If he got a foul, that would be great, and if the basket went in and he got a foul, he could go for a three-point play with a basket count.

But he looked for an even more successful offensive route and passed the ball? Frankly, you couldn’t make that play without a certain level of basketball IQ. And of course, you had to have teammates you could trust.

[Youngjae Yoon attempts a three-pointer!]

Swish!

[Bang!!! Bullseye!]

In darts, hitting the center is called a ‘bullseye’. In basketball, the term ‘bullseye’ is often used when a shot goes in cleanly, and Youngjae’s three-pointer was a clean shot accurate enough to be called a bullseye.

[The Aztecs! It’s like their teamwork is alive and breathing!]

[If you look at the offensive development, none of the five players were idle, right? All five contributed to this one attack. To break down the man-to-man defense and create the best offensive route! Coach Steve Fisher has created a truly great team!]

[Moreover, Youngjae Yoon already has 23 points with 10 minutes left! Plus 6 assists, 5 rebounds! 3 steals and 1 block! This record came in just 20 minutes of play! Youngjae Yoon! There was a reason why he was called a wannabe perfect!]

With 5 minutes left, Coach Steve Fisher called a timeout after watching Youngjae block Chaimowitz’s isolation drive with his whole body and grab the defensive rebound after catching the ball that was rolling off the rim.

Fisher unconsciously glanced up at the scoreboard. 85 to 44, with 5 minutes left.

Fisher couldn’t hide his pleased smile, and the corners of his mouth turned up pleasantly. It was a near double-score, a perfect victory rarely seen in basketball.

Fisher was already planning for the next game, substituting all five players.

In the end, the game ended 90 to 50. San Diego State University’s Aztecs won by a large margin of 40 points and were able to continue their winning streak. After the game, the Aztecs’ fans watched the interview with the Man of the Match (MOM) of today’s game and chanted MVP!

MVP!

MVP!

The MVP chant echoed through the gym. And the star was being interviewed by an NCAA caster [commentator].

“Hello, this is Micah Dilot of CBS Sports. I will be interviewing Youngjae Yoon, who played 25 minutes in the Pomona-Pitzer game and recorded 26 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block. Yoon? Nice to meet you.”

Youngjae nodded at Dilot’s friendly greeting and shook hands with him.

“I’m Yoon, number 13 for the Aztecs.”

Youngjae spoke to Dilot in fluent English as a reply to his greeting, and Dilot talked to Youngjae about the game.

“Another great performance today. But your playing time is less than that of most aces. And you don’t focus on individual plays. Do you have any thoughts on this?”

“Basketball is a team sport, and I’m a member of the team. If the team can win even if I have less playing time, I’m satisfied with that. It’s not like I can’t play, it’s just a little less, but I think I’m getting enough playing time. The reason I do fewer individual plays is because a team play has a higher probability of scoring. In the end, the team that has efficient offense and defense wins.”
.
.
.
“Ah, why does Yoon wear number 13? Is there a reason?”

Youngjae was initially unhappy with the number 13. Because when he first entered, that is, when he was being recruited in high school, he was assigned the number 13. Although he is Asian, the number 13 does not have a good image in the West.

In fact, he wanted to change the number 13, but as Youngjae played, he began to grow fond of the number 13. The meaning of the number 13 can also be interpreted in the opposite way.

“The number 13 can be thought of as an unlucky number. But Steve Nash, one of my role models who is playing in the NBA, wore number 13 to overcome the unluckiness and to strengthen his mindset even more, and I didn’t bother to change number 13 in order to remind myself of the mindset of always wanting to overcome.”

Dilot didn’t bother to interrupt Youngjae, and Youngjae wiped his forehead and shrugged with his unique playful expression.

“And should I say that I’m threatening the other team by showing them number 13? And my last name is Yoon, Y, right? Just like Chris Paul is called CP3, I tried it and it was Y13. If you just look at the pronunciation, you can call it why 13… Why number 13? I didn’t mind number 13 because I thought, ‘Why is that guy my matchup?’ It’s a successful game for me if it’s a disaster for the opponent.”

“Haha! If you think about it that way, Yoon’s Y13 can be a disaster for the opposing guard. This has been Micah Dilot of CBS. Thank you for the interview. Y13.”

Youngjae shook hands with Dilot once again, returned to his teammates, and was able to fully feel the MVP chant as he high-fived them.

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

★Thank you to those who gave advance subscriptions, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

Representative players who wear number 13 are Steve Nash and Paul George. Nash, also known as Seung-sang in Korea, is a back-to-back MVP (2 years in a row). He retired recently, but he was one of the most sensational players of the 21st century. He was the ace of Phoenix’s run-and-gun (run and shoot, complete the attack within 7 seconds) tactics, which challenged the sports proposition that offense brings in the audience and defense brings in the victory. There are many fans who entered the NBA after watching this player.

Paul George is the ace of Indiana, and although he ended his season due to injury this season, he was called one of the four kings of SF [Small Forward] along with LeBron, Carmelo, and Durant due to his performance last year. He has a scoring ability of 20 points through high-level jumpers, and has stable, tenacious, and calm defensive power.

Thank you, Hallau, Linias, and Reedben///!

Thank you for your advance subscriptions, recommendations, comments, and ratings!!