Y13 [EN]: Chapter 228

Y13-228 2011-12 All-Star Weekend

– One of the most anticipated matchups in this year’s Rising Stars Challenge is between Kyrie Irving and Youngjae Yoon. Let’s take a look at the video. –

Kyrie Irving, the phenomenal point guard prospect selected as the first overall pick in the 2011 draft. Despite playing only 11 games in his freshman year of college due to injury, he received overwhelming praise, and he was demonstrating his skills in the pros without holding back. At the time of the draft, he was recognized for his potential as a pure point guard with a wide vision and good passing ability, but in the pros, he was active as a skillful scoring point guard.

– However, he is no match for Youngjae Yoon. Irving is hard-pressed to gain an advantage even when compared to Youngjae Yoon’s rookie season last year. Although he lacks the flashiness of Kyrie Irving, he is a versatile player who can do everything well. Yoon has already been selected for this year’s All-Star game, while Irving is still far from it. Among the players participating in this Rising Stars Challenge, Blake Griffin and Youngjae Yoon are already in a different league from the other players. It’s a daunting challenge for the first-year players to compete against them. –

After that, Youngjae’s appearance began to be shown on TV. Youngjae focused on Kyrie Irving’s movements, but when his own game scenes came on, he seemed embarrassed and fidgeted with Emily’s hair and stroked her waist.

“Why? You were watching it well.”

“I’m embarrassed to see myself like that. It’s not like it’s practice or training, or a scene where I’m not playing well.”

“Aww~ What’s there to be embarrassed about? Okay, then let’s turn on Conan.”

Emily said, turning on the Conan show with the remote control.

“Is Yoon scared of players like Kyrie Irving?”

“No. Those kinds of players are easier for me. Skillful players are perfect for me. The tough ones are the tank-like players.”

“Tank-like? Oh, you mean players like LeBron James or Russell Westbrook?”

Youngjae looked at Emily, impressed. “Oh~ you’ve become a complete expert now?” he said, ruffling her hair. Emily pulled away, saying, “I’m not a kid!”

“Oh, it’s already 11 o’clock. I should go to bed.”

Youngjae said that and got up to turn off the lights in the room. Emily thought she could finally go to sleep and rested her head on the pillow. Thinking it was nice and quiet, Emily was suddenly surprised to see Youngjae coming over to her instead of next to her, and putting his forehead against hers. Her heart was pounding, and when she met Youngjae’s eyes right in front of her, Emily couldn’t help but swallow hard.

“Yoon…”

“Should we just sleep?”

…

A moment of silence. Youngjae also looked at Emily with a very nervous expression and gently placed his right hand on Emily’s shoulder.

“You can call me a wolf if you want. It’s not like I’ve been waiting for you just for this, Emily…”

“Umm…”

But Youngjae couldn’t say anything more. Emily, who was lying below, wrapped her hands around Youngjae’s neck and gently pressed her lips to his.

February 24th. Orlando Amway Center.

Youngjae was very happy to be standing here preparing for the game for the second year in a row. It wasn’t like last year when he was enjoying the festival for the first time; standing on the court as one of the main characters of the festival for the second time was really thrilling.

Youngjae swayed his body with the players next to him as he watched the audience enjoy the event. Famous singers and commentators came out to sing and commentate. In particular, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, whom he had seen last year, got along surprisingly well with each other and enjoyed the festival.

“Finally! The highlight of today! The BBVA RISING STARS CHALLENGE will begin!”

The audience encouraged the players with enthusiastic cheers, and the players raised their hands and waved to the audience in response.

“Let’s have a brief interview with the coaches of each team, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley. O’Neal? How do you see today’s game?”

“Of course, I think Team Shaq will win overwhelmingly in terms of both flashiness and skill. Starting with Blake Griffin and Kyrie Irving’s one-two punch… the rest of the players are also solid without any weaknesses. It’s hard to lose even if we wanted to.”

Barkley listened silently to Shaquille O’Neal’s words without changing his expression at Shaquille O’Neal’s confident tone, and shrugged his shoulders slightly when the microphone came to him.

“O’Neal still seems to be dreaming. It’s not something to be proud of, but to tell the truth, Team Shaq’s balance is uneven. On the other hand, when I was picking Team Chuck’s players, I kept thinking about that – how good the balance is. John Wall, Youngjae Yoon, Paul George, Derrick Williams, DeMarcus Cousins. How perfect is that from the 1 to 5 positions? If you put these players on one team, I think they can pioneer a dynasty.”

Shaquille O’Neal interrupted Barkley’s theory of balance, saying, “That boring guy.” but he almost incurred Barkley’s wrath. Shaquille O’Neal stood his ground without backing down.

“Let’s play the game!”

“I’ve been waiting for this! Come out to the court right now!”

“Wow~ the atmosphere is heating up! Then let’s start right away! The Rising Stars Challenge!”

At the same time as the host’s shout, the camera moved to where the commentators were. Kevin Harlan, who can be said to be the mainstay of TNT, and Chris Webber and Reggie Miller were sitting there.

[Welcome to the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge! We will broadcast live on TNT. Kevin Harlan will be the announcer, and Chris Webber and Reggie Miller will be the commentators.]

[Nice to see you, Kevin. I think this is one of the most anticipated games. Starting this year, the name has been changed to the Rising Stars Challenge, and the team composition method has also been changed, so Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley will each lead a team and play the game. What’s unique is that the game will be played for a total of 40 minutes, with 20 minutes each in the 1st and 2nd quarters, like in the NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association], not the NBA rules! However, the court and judging rules remain the same as the NBA rules.]

As all the players from both teams came onto the court, Kevin Harlan began to talk about the starting lineups of both teams with his skillful hosting skills.

[Here are the starting lineups for each team. Team Shaq starts with Kyrie Irving, followed by Brandon Knight, Landry Fields, Blake Griffin, and finally Greg Monroe.]

[Shaquille O’Neal confidently predicted victory, but the balance is a bit disappointing. Monroe is the only center, but he is not a rim protector, and Griffin, Thompson, and Morris are forwards who can’t defend. In addition, even though they picked Kyrie Irving, it’s a bit disappointing that they picked Ricky Rubio, Kemba Walker, and Norris Cole. They picked as many as 4 point guards, and Brandon Knight is the only one who can play shooting guard.]

[But the All-Star game doesn’t require that much defense. Everyone is playing softly and enjoying the game, so I don’t think it’s that big of a disadvantage. The Rising Stars Challenge usually sees scores around 130-150 points, so they don’t defend each other to the death.]

Chris Webber added a word to Reggie Miller’s comment. Kevin Harlan continued the momentum and began to introduce Team Chuck’s starting lineup as well.

[In comparison, Team Chuck starts with John Wall, followed by Youngjae Yoon, Paul George, Derrick Williams, and finally DeMarcus Cousins.]

[Team Chuck is definitely superior in terms of balance. John Wall is having a hard time playing in Washington. That’s why he was picked as late as 6th. That means he was rated lower than Irving or Rubio, but I think Wall will be fired up. Youngjae Yoon is an ace-level player on both teams along with Griffin, and Paul George, Williams, and Cousins are also players with a good balance of offense and defense. However, the disadvantage is that Kawhi Leonard notified them that he would not be participating due to an injury on the day, so they will be playing with 9 players, which is one less, and there is no center to support Cousins. Tiago Splitter was there, but Derrick Favors was selected as a replacement player the day before yesterday due to an injury.]

When Chris Webber’s explanation was over, the players took their positions on the court, and DeMarcus Cousins and Greg Monroe looked at each other and prepared for the jump ball.

Beeeep!!

[The game starts with a jump ball! Team Chuck takes the jump ball as expected.]

The game started with DeMarcus Cousins’ jump ball, and the audience erupted. In particular, Emily, who was watching the scene from the audience seats, was wearing a blue T-shirt with the Mavericks’ logo of a foal, so it was clear to anyone that she was a Dallas fan, and she was watching the game with a keen expression.

[It’s been about 2 minutes and it’s already 0 to 8. Team Shaq’s coach Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t look too good, does he?]

[That’s right. It seems that the combination of Kyrie Irving and Brandon Knight, who were ambitiously picked, looks weak compared to the opposing John Wall and Youngjae Yoon. Wall and Yoon are such good defensive players, and they are defending particularly hard, perhaps because of their pride?]

Although it was a game to show a flashy and enjoyable performance without injuries, the players whose strength was defense could not give up defense. It was just that they weren’t playing as tough as in an official game. In addition, Wall was working even harder because of his pride battle with Irving.

“Hey, Wall. Shoot as much as you want.”

“Oh~ is that the nicest thing I’ve heard today? Then pass as much as you want.”

Whizz-

John Wall and Youngjae were so relaxed that they were even joking during the game, showing perfect teamwork, but Irving and Knight, who were facing them, had no idea how to stop them. Wall and Youngjae were close to each other and were rivals who diligently analyzed each other’s game videos, so they worked so well together that it seemed like they were on the same team.

“Passing, huh.”

Youngjae stood still at the top with Knight in front of him. When he glanced at the basket, Cousins, who met Youngjae’s eyes, made an interesting expression and slowly moved, then shook off Greg Monroe and ran forward.

Whoosh!

[Youngjae Yoon! Alley-oop pass straight from the top! DeMarcus Cousins jumps up without giving Greg Monroe a chance to react!]

Kwaaang!!!

“Ooh!!”

[WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SLAM!]

[Team Chuck continues to build the momentum! Youngjae Yoon TO DeMarcus Cousins’ alley-oop play is a masterpiece!]

Griffin looked at John Wall, Youngjae, and Cousins, and then shook his head from side to side with a look of dismay.

“Take it easy on days like this.”

Griffin said to Youngjae as he crossed over to the opponent’s court, and Youngjae smiled as he looked at Griffin.

“No.”

Shaquille O’Neal brought in Ricky Rubio instead of Brandon Knight to change the flow of the game. Youngjae suddenly faced Rubio, and John Wall joked, “Should I switch with you?”

“Just block Kyrie Irving well. You seem to be more fired up when you block Irving.”

“Huh! Fired up my foot.”

John Wall said as if he was dumbfounded, but he didn’t say anything else. Blake Griffin passed the ball to Ricky Rubio from the sideline, and Rubio, with Youngjae in front of him, slowly started to pick up speed on the right wing.

Two Thumps!!

A series of movements in which he dribbles the ball with his right hand, then suddenly rushes forward and turns the ball held in his right hand behind his back and transfers it to his left hand. Youngjae was inwardly surprised by Rubio’s bold breakthrough, but compared to Derrick Rose or Chris Paul, whom he had faced before, it was a clearly visible movement.

[Oh! Rubio!!!]

[Is he showing off those dribbling skills?! Youngjae Yoon, it looks like he’s being *뚫리는* [penetrated] by Rubio as is…]

Tapt!

…

Woo,

Waaaaah!!!

[STEAL!!! Y13 FOR STEAL!!!]

[Haha! Should we call it cruel? He didn’t get *뚫린*, he let himself get *뚫린* [penetrated]! Youngjae Yoon puts his hand in and steals the ball at the moment he turns the ball behind him! As soon as he grabs the ball, he runs forward!]

Youngjae ran towards the opponent’s rim at an incredible speed. John Wall, who was not inferior to anyone in terms of speed, was also running alongside Youngjae, and in front of them, only Kyrie Irving was making a firm expression to defend, lowering his stance at the top.

Two Thumps!

[Ooh!! He uses the same skill as Ricky Rubio! Youngjae Yoon!!]

Irving made a *큭!* sound and reached out with his left hand, not his right hand, to steal the ball. If he turned the ball behind him, it would be transferred from his right hand to his left hand, and he was going to steal it at that moment.

Whizz-

“What?!”

[Wow! Wow!! Youngjae Yoon is not just using Ricky Rubio’s skill as is, but showing a more advanced version of it!! He pretends to turn the ball in his right hand behind his back to make it look like he’s going to transfer it to his left hand, but then he brings the ball back to his right hand, making Irving’s steal attempt embarrassing!]

============================ Author’s Afterword ============================

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

★Thank you to 야호86 and 배틀로얄 for the sponsorship coupons!!

＠I’m sorry. I didn’t have time to write yesterday because I had to organize the books I borrowed to prepare for the graduation exam. I’m late, but please understand. Enjoy reading ^^

성주성표동생들님/// Kobe doesn’t seem to recognize himself yet. It’s even more unfortunate because he spent his prime like that.

울트라10님///There are so many cases where they go straight up as soon as they receive it this season. In addition, the number of passes has decreased sharply because they leave the reading to other guards. There are almost no kick-out passes because they can’t break through…

은신설야님, -DarkANGEL-님, 파이넨시아님, misscherry님, 이동석동님, 사라질영혼님, 오마리온님/// Thank you for your comments!!

흙곰12님, ㅎ0ㅎ님/// Hmm, only this much is cut… I’m thinking about whether to do that from the next work ㅋㅋ It’s a bit difficult to write about real people.

Luscinia님/// We don’t understand everything either, we just laugh at the scene. It’s just a collection of scenes that are too absurd ㅋㅋ

야베스님/// That’s right ㅋㅋ. I’ll have to try to create a stronger effect next time.

goimosp님, 파란가오리님/// It’s been a while since she appeared. Emily will always want to emphasize that she is older and *연상* [older] ㅋㅋ