Y13 [EN]: Chapter 19

00019 NCAA National Tournament

Fisher’s words continued.

“Maryland only has one center: Jordan Williams, 6-foot-10. He’s a freshman. That’s why Brian Carwell, at 6-foot-11, will start this game and exclusively guard Jordan Williams.”

You might think that a one-inch difference isn’t significant, but Jordan Williams was one of Maryland’s hottest rebounders. Therefore, Fisher judged that Brian Carwell, a traditional center, would be much better at rebounding than Malcolm Thomas, who is 6-foot-9.

“D.J. will exclusively defend Eric Hayes. Gravis Vasquez will guard him when attacking. Gravis Vasquez is a point guard who is good at both offense and defense, so it won’t be easy to gain momentum against him. Besides, there’s a big height difference, so when defending, try to guard Eric Hayes or Sean Mosley instead of Gravis Vasquez.”

D.J. nodded and began to think hard about how to unravel the attack when facing Gravis Vasquez, how to use his teammates, and so on.

“Billy White will exclusively defend Sean Mosley in both offense and defense. However, if he needs to switch with D.J., he will defend Eric Hayes. White, don’t feel like you have to lock down the defense tightly. Instead, focus on denying shots and trying not to allow clean looks as much as possible. I’m not asking you to block every shot. You have the offensive power to control the game, so make Sean Mosley chase you.”

Billy White quietly nodded, clenching his fists tightly at Fisher’s words of trust in his offensive power. Billy White was also feeling tension, a strange excitement, and pressure about the match against Maryland.

“Lastly… Young.”

“Yes.”

“Gravis Vasquez will be your defensive assignment. His 6-foot-6 physique may be burdensome, but your top priority is to block his passes and disrupt his playmaking ability. And when attacking, I don’t know how the opponent will come out, but you’re likely to face Eric Hayes, who is in the same position. If Gravis Vasquez sticks to you, use pick plays, using screens from Billy White or Kawhi Leonard near the top and sides. D.J. should take advantage of that moment to force Gravis Vasquez to guard you.”

Youngjae nodded at Fisher’s instructions.

“Lastly, in the Maryland game, your role is ‘freeroll’.”

‘Freeroll?’ Youngjae couldn’t hide his surprise at Fisher’s words that he would give him autonomy.

“C-Coach, what is freeroll…”

“You don’t have to overthink ‘freeroll.’ You just need to observe the team’s combination and play by understanding your role. I think you haven’t played selfishly; you’ve worked hard to understand the team’s chemistry and team play, and you’ve actually done well. You’ve played various positions from point guard to shooting guard to small forward, and you’ve shown consistent performance without major ups and downs.

“Maryland’s Gary Williams is criticized a lot, but he is recognized for his tactical ability. If I give you a certain, defined role, Gary Williams will try to control you accordingly. That’s why I’m giving you a freeroll, so Gary Williams can’t figure you out, to give him complete confusion. That’s your biggest role. I believe you can do it.”

Youngjae could only swallow hard. Freeroll. And the opponent is Gravis Vasquez. He may not be completely mature yet, but he is a talent among talents who was drafted 28th overall in the first round of the NBA draft, unlike himself, who was undrafted. The current himself is different from the past, but he still had a harsh evaluation of himself.

“Lastly, Kawhi Leonard, you will face Landon Milbourne. He is a player who has the advantages of both a small forward and a power forward. He can rebound, has some power, and his skills are decent, so his shooting range is good and his mid-range shot is accurate. So always pay attention to spot-up shooting or pull-up shooting, and make sure to handle defensive rebounds in rebound competitions.”

Leonard nodded at Fisher’s words. But while all the players were focused on Fisher, Youngjae lowered his head, seemingly deaf, and looked at his palms.

‘Sweat…’

At first, the pressure and burden of freeroll, and the fact that Youngjae had only played under a system in the NBA where roles were thoroughly assigned, put a lot of pressure on him. But even so, Youngjae expected it. He wondered how well he would do, whether his past actions would just end in the NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] and if he went to the NBA again, he would wander around the bottom without changing and disappear… or…

‘Whether to pioneer a new path.’

That was a question that could only be answered by facing Gravis Vasquez. With each of their own thoughts, expectations, and tensions, the Aztecs squeezed out the remaining time and did everything they could.

And March 18, 2010.

Spokane Arena was already crowded with over 10,000 fans. Especially since the ACC [Atlantic Coast Conference] champion and the Mountain West champion were facing off in the round of 64, CBS and 2K Sports also raised expectations by bringing in professional reporters, commentators, and casters, along with various pre-game events.

“David, let’s sit here.”

David, who claimed to be Youngjae’s fan and gave him ankle supports and a letter as a gift, kept looking at the ticket in his small hands and smiled brightly.

“David, are you that happy?”

“Yeah! Mom and Dad came too, and it’s nice to watch basketball together.”

David, who had just turned 11, showed the ticket to his parents and shouted excitedly.

“Look here! Yoon is drawn on the ticket!”

The back of the ticket had the logos of 2K Sports and CBS Sports, and the front had a cool photo of Maryland’s Gravis Vasquez and the Aztecs’ Yoon Youngjae glaring at each other.

As David and his parents sat in the audience, Youngjae finished his own time in the locker room and slowly went up to the court. Youngjae was trying to gradually reduce his own time because he thought that his habit could cause inconvenience to his teammates, considering the travel time and other game times in the pros.

One hour to 30 minutes, 30 minutes to 20 minutes. Now it’s 10 minutes. Youngjae, who had reduced his time like that, went up to the court and started warming up. After the event, Youngjae shot and judged for himself how his shooting felt today.

Swish-

Kyaaaa!!!!

It wasn’t bad. Most of the mid-range shots went in cleanly, and even the 3-pointers weren’t clean, but if he threw 10, they all went into the rim.

‘If the defense sticks…’

The success rate would be even lower, but Youngjae felt that this was enough in a no-mark state. Right before the start of the game, Fisher briefly explained the tactics he had told the players again and clapped his hands!

“March Madness will change you. It will develop you further. Survive and win. Then I think it will definitely be a valuable asset to you.”

“Yes!”

As the players who had made up their minds lined up in their respective positions, the audience became quiet as if they had stopped breathing for a moment.

Swish-

Wow!!!

[Hello, the great journey of March Madness has begun. Today is the first game of the Midwest Region, Maryland vs. San Diego State University Aztecs. The jump ball was won by the Aztecs’ Brian Carwell.]

[Brian Carwell was the Aztecs’ starting center until last year. However, during the 09-10 season, he was pushed out of the competition with Malcolm Thomas due to an ankle injury. He’s a traditional center who is rough, but uses his 6-foot-11 height and properly bulked-up physique. Perhaps Maryland’s Jordan Williams is better at rebounding and inside shots than Malcolm Thomas, so they brought out the Brian Carwell card.]

The ball that bounced off Carwell’s hand was quickly picked up by Gay, and he quickly ran towards the opponent’s goal.

‘As expected.’

Gay recalled Fisher’s instructions again. In a meeting with Fisher, he had heard, ‘Gravis Vasquez is also a point guard. Coach Gary Williams will also analyze our team and try to control you. But he also knows that Yoon can’t be stopped unless it’s Vasquez’s size. So maybe he’ll try to control you with Eric Hayes, who is relatively small.’ Gay asked Fisher, ‘Then how can I bring Gravis Vasquez to my defense?’

“The answer is…”

Whizz-

There was only one answer: to demonstrate that Eric Hayes couldn’t control D.J. Gay.

“?!”

Gay, who was reaching out as if to pass, grabbed the ball with one hand without letting go and pulled it back towards his body. Eric Hayes was in a situation where his center of gravity was twisted to the right to interfere with the pass route for a moment.

[D.J. Gay’s fantastic fake motion!]

[He stretched out his hand as if to pass the ball with one hand, but the ball was in D.J.’s hand. D.J. is breaking through!]

After passing Hayes, Gay quickly ran towards the rim from the top. Maryland also had a plan in case Eric Hayes was broken through, with Gravis Vasquez sticking to Billy White and the relatively small Sean Mosley sticking to Youngjae, guarding against Youngjae’s possible shooting. In Gay’s case, Landon Milbourne, who was exclusively guarding Kawhi Leonard, came out for help defense and hedged, blocking Gay’s possible layup. Although Jordan Williams had to take on both Kawhi Leonard and Brian Carwell, who were constantly looking for opportunities in the low post under the goal, this was the best way for now, and Maryland skillfully carried out the tactic.

[Look! Did you see Maryland’s momentary tactical movement?! Gay is breaking through, but it doesn’t look easy!]

Landon Milbourne came to help and slowed Gay’s speed for a moment. If it was the original Gay, he would have struggled in this situation and turned over, but the current Gay was not the old Gay.

“Ugh!”

While Gay was taking a hesi-step [hesitation step, a dribbling move] for a moment, Leonard, who had suddenly popped out to the high post, came out with a screen, and Landon Milbourne was blocked by Leonard as he tried to follow Gay, and he couldn’t help but be shocked.

[Kawhi Leonard’s fantastic screen!!]

[DJ goes over Kawhi Leonard’s screen as it is! Jordan Williams has no choice but to come out and hedge!]

As Williams emptied the rim, Gay smiled as if he had been waiting for it, and slowly pushed the ball out to the sideline near the rim where no one was.

“Hot!”

Youngjae, who ran towards the rim with a cut-in, suddenly received Gay’s pass and jumped towards the rim. But Maryland’s Sean Mosley is also a promising guard prospect. He persistently followed Youngjae and raised his body together, stretching out his hand to steal Youngjae’s ball…

Whoosh-

However, Youngjae broke down his layup posture himself and floated the ball as if scooping a spoon from bottom to top. At the moment when the ball, which was soaring past the rim, was about to fall, Carwell, who was left alone under the rim, shouted like a monster and jumped with all his might.

Kwaaaang!!!!

[Brian Carwell! Alley-oop two-hander!!!]

[It’s amazing! A power slam that slams down as if to break the rim!]

[The Aztecs are showing their class even with just one play! Maryland can’t ignore them just because they’re the champions of the Mid-Major Conference! The attack derived from D.J. Gay is truly amazing! Breakthrough, screen, cut-in, and a two-handed power slam following a scoop alley-oop pass! The five Aztecs moved like machines for this one dunk?! How can you stop such an organized attack!!]

Inducing mismatches and forcing the opponent to defend. A truly organized attack that ‘controls’ the enemy’s defense. That was the ultimate attack that the Aztecs had prepared.

MVP!

Carwell, who took his hand off the rim and landed, shouted and ran to Youngjae with his right arm raised. Youngjae also raised his right hand and bent his elbow at a 90-degree angle, crossing his arm with Carwell and sharing his joy by crossing his shoulders with a high-five. The Aztecs’ bench was also in chaos, waving towels and shouting, stirring up the excitement of the audience.

The Aztecs fans shouted MVP chants at the top of their lungs towards Youngjae, who was named the best player in the Mountain West Conference, and Youngjae showed his back number to the opposing fans as if to repay them.

Y 13!

Why 13!

[Ah! The Aztecs’ fans are shouting Y 13 chants towards Youngjae Yoon, who showed off a fantastic scoop alley-oop pass!]

[Youngjae Yoon said in an interview that he attached the number 13 on his back and his last name Y to say why number 13 is my opponent, and that it will be the curse of number 13 to the opponent. Haha! I really think that will happen!]

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

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

I will briefly explain the height of each position in the NBA.

Usually, the average for number 1 (point guard) is 6-2 (188cm). Gravis Vasquez is 6-6 (198cm), so he is a super tall point guard. Instead, he has the disadvantage of being seriously slow.

The average for number 2 (shooting guard) is 6-5 (196cm). These days, the preference for tall 3&D [three and defense] shooters is increasing, so the average height is increasing.

The average for number 3 (small forward) is approximately 6-8 (203cm). It is also the position with the widest height distribution. It ranges from 6-5 (196cm) to 6-10 (208cm). There is a saying that Kevin Durant is 6-11 (211cm), but it is not certain.

The average for number 4 (power forward) is 6-10 (208cm).

The average for number 5 (center) is 6-11 (211cm).

If it is smaller than average, it is usually called undersized, and if it is larger, it is called tall (oversized).

Ex) Undersized power forward, tall shooting guard, etc.

Baekye/// Thank you

Bangtoe/// Hehe, my 2K15 favorite is the Clippers. Minnesota is also a good team. It’s a shame that the overall is a bit low because it’s full of prospects. + The two people who are active as signatures occasionally enjoy 2k one-on-one. Hehe. The older brother who wrote the review today picks the Clippers, and I pick the team close to randomness.

Nambal/// It’s for the minimum probability. Because it is a regression, it takes time to grow.

dio2n/// As an NBA fan, thank you for your interest in the NBA.

anwkdk/// Basically, Asians are inferior to blacks and whites due to the amount of muscle bundles and the difference in arm length, so they have no choice but to be far inferior to blacks, whether small or large…

Therefore, even if I added some correction, I think I should have at least the average height of the same position. If it is too tall, I think it may be dull as you said.

Thank you for your advance reservations, recommendations, and comments!!!