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Chapter 43: The Arrogant Challenger (New book, please collect monthly tickets and recommend tickets!)

Qin Yue, Qin Yue, and Qin Yue again.

As the star player of the University of Utah, "White Duncan" has been recognized in the MWC league this season and has made great progress in all aspects.

Andrew Bogut doesn't understand
Why is it that now whenever people talk about college basketball, they can only think of Qin Yue's name.

This feeling is like.
It was as if he was the only one who could play basketball in the NCAA.

"He just had a good game."

At this moment, recalling the praise the world had given him at the Athens Olympics, Bogut thought indignantly.

In Bogut's opinion, his strength has been tested in the Olympics, and he also delivered an outstanding performance of 25 points and 18 rebounds in the opening game for the University of Utah.
But unlike what he expected, not only did he not get the praise he deserved, but in some media reviews, he even became the target of media criticism.

“Andrew Bogut from Utah?
Of course, he is a great inside player. He is young, has good height and wingspan, and has excellent feel for the basket and can even pass the ball.
But with Qin, the correct answer that cannot possibly go wrong, Andrew is destined to be the backup answer." - ESPN "2005 Draft Trends and Predictions"

Alternative answer?
"He's just a damn cleaning bug. Why can he make me an alternative answer?"

This is different from Duncan who was low-key and pragmatic after entering the league.
Bogut, the "White Duncan", has always been known for his arrogance and arrogance.

In 2005, after being selected by the Bucks, Bogut publicly expressed his disdain for his fellow senior Longley through the media because he was compared with Longley.

Then, when asked what he thought of Duncan, a famous predecessor, Bogut also revealed a sense of arrogance in his words.

Because according to his description, Duncan seemed to be just that.

In November, Qin Yue, who had just secured the top spot for next year's draft pick with a spectacular appearance, welcomed his first public challenger.

"This year, we have a challenge game against Wake Forest. I will use my performance in that game to tell the world how stupid their views of me are. In addition, I will tear off the mask of the prospective No. 1 pick in that game and show you who is the best player in college basketball this year." (Note ①)

Through the media, Bogut officially handed over his declaration of war to Qin Yue on November 11 of that year.

In this regard, Qin Yue, who had wanted to punch Bogut when he heard his name, turned to Paul and said after receiving the challenge letter: "Why do I feel that he and I are not going to play basketball, but a boxing match?"

Hearing this, Paul, who knows Bogut a little, said: "But how can he tear off your mask?
He's a center and you're a power forward. Even though you're both inside players, Utah can't let him guard you, right?"

Paul knew very well that with the agility and speed that Qin Yue had shown on the court,
What is most despairing for the entire NCAA right now is that all of Wake Forest's opponents are having a headache over who to send to face Qin Yue in the game.

Andrew Bogut?
Can he keep up with Qin Yue in the game and stop Qin Yue from shooting from the outside?

At this moment, Qin Yue patted Paul on the shoulder and said, "The challenge match between us and them will be held on December 12th, right?
Don't worry, he won't have to come to me, I will ask Coach Skip to play center in that game."

Seeing this, Paul said in surprise: "You want to face him head-on?"

Qin Yue nodded and said, "Otherwise, how can we make him accept defeat with a clear conscience?"

……

Ever since he challenged Qin Yue, Bogut has focused all his attention on the challenge that will be held in December.

In order to help Bogut win the battle between him and Qin Yue in that game
Utah University head coach Ray Giacoletti also carefully designed a set of tactics for his favorite student.

According to Giacoletti's idea, he will arrange Bryant-Markson to face Qin Yue on defense.

Maxon, a junior this year, is 6-foot-7.

Although he weighs only 90 kilograms, he is always active and brave on the court.

In Giacoletti's opinion, if Qin Yue tried to break through Maxson's defense on the court, Bogut could sit in the inside and teach Qin Yue a lesson by assisting in defense.

As for the offense, Giacoletti was even prepared to arrange Tim Drisdom, Marc Jackson, and Jonas Langvad to play together. (Note ②)

These three players all have certain shooting abilities from the outside, and can create space for Bogut.

In Giacoleti's eyes, as long as Bogut enters the low post, Wake Forest's starting center Ellis will not be able to pose a threat to him at all.

"Wake Forest's overall strength is indeed stronger than ours, but as long as Andrew can win the battle between him and Qin, we will still be the winner in the end."

That day, as he watched his players methodically practice the tactics he had carefully formulated for Bogut, Giacoleti thought to himself.

Unlike the University of Utah, which focused all its attention on Qin Yue,
Before the challenge in December, Qin Yue was not affected at all. After one killing show after another, he and Paul successfully brought Wake Forest to the top of the United States again.

Although the NCAA Division I has many leagues
But in order to let people better understand who is the best team, every year the NCAA will compile a fair and objective strength list based on the difficulty of each team's schedule and the level of its opponents.

Last year, Wake Forest once ranked first in the United States because of its winning streak at the beginning of the regular season.

But compared with last year
Wake Forest, which ranked first in the United States this year, not only deserves the title in the eyes of the world, but Qin Yue also played in the extremely difficult schedule of Wake Forest.
于球队已经战罢的8场比赛里交出了场均27.5分、13.0个篮板、5.5次助攻、3.0记封盖和1.5次抢断的优异答卷。

How to describe this valuable transcript?
You only need to compare the test paper that Duncan, who was in the same ACC league, submitted in his senior year to know how good Qin Yue's performance this year is.

In his senior year at Wake Forest, Duncan averaged 20.8 points, 14.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.3 blocks per game. Of course, Duncan didn't have Paul by his side.

In addition, compared with Duncan, Qin Yue's scoring method also determines that his scoring efficiency on the court will be higher, and it will be easier to get high scores.
But, you have to know that since the answer sheet Qin Yue handed in was also in the ACC League, which is called the hell of difficulty in American college basketball,
Then after the first month of the new season, how could the world not be crazy about Qin Yue's performance?
"This year's 'Qin storm' from college basketball has obviously affected the NBA.
In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks seem to have become more determined to tank.

In the West, the New Orleans Hornets, Utah Jazz, and Portland Trail Blazers are currently experiencing losing streaks that show no signs of ending.

But then again, are the Lakers really not interested in Qin at all?
According to Shelly Smith, the Lakers are having a terrible season. Kobe's jerseys, which have always been popular, have fallen out of the top 50 in the league this month. (Note ③)

Rudy Garcidueñas said Kobe was trying to isolate him from the outside world recently.

There is no doubt that this is Kobe's darkest moment and the biggest crisis the Lakers have faced since the breakup of 'OK'.

So Mitch Kupchak, you really don't plan to go to Wake Forest?" - ESPN's "The Qin Storm Is Sweeping College Basketball" special.

In August 2004, although at the pretrial hearing on the Eagle County incident
The Eagle County incident took a major turn because a pair of underwear with DNA from three men appeared as evidence (the evidence proved that the victim had had intimate interactions with other men before coming into contact with Kobe).

But even so.
Even though the plaintiff later filed a civil lawsuit against Kobe because he was unwilling to testify in court, the prosecution subsequently dropped the criminal charges against Kobe.

But as the famous reporter Scoop Jackson revealed when he interviewed Kobe:
At that time, he had nothing but basketball.

After all, just this past summer, the Lakers had just experienced the termination of Phil Jackson's contract and the trade of O'Neal.

Although in public, Jerry Buss has always claimed that these were independent decisions and had nothing to do with Kobe.

However, as the biggest beneficiary behind the Lakers turmoil, Lakers fans at the time had every reason to believe that it was Kobe who caused all this to happen. (Note ④)

As a result, with various pressures coming from all directions, even Kobe had to admit in an interview in the future that that period almost overwhelmed him.

And it was even worse than expected before the start of the 04/05 season.
In addition to continuing to put pressure on Kobe, the media will even target Kobe's wife Vanessa.

In February 2005, due to the death of Kobe's grandfather, the Los Angeles Times will conduct an in-depth investigation into the private lives of Kobe and his wife through an article written by Sean Hubley.

In the report, Vanessa was described as a woman with a mean personality, who liked to settle everything with money, was vain, and was only with Kobe for money.

"She was so obsessed with the role of 'Mrs. Bryant' that, according to her former friends, when she first started dating Kobe, she brought a photo of Kobe playing with her dog to school and showed it to everyone, trying to tell everyone that she was Kobe's girlfriend.

In addition, before she married Kobe, she came home excitedly one day and told her family that Kobe decided not to sign a prenuptial agreement with her because he loved her too much.
Judging from the above signs, this 'Mrs. Bryant' is the Yoko Ono of the new era. " (Note ⑤)

This is some of the criticism Kobe and Vanessa will receive next.

Yes, these reports from the media would eventually turn into swords and cause Vanessa, who was pregnant at the time, to have a miscarriage.

As ESPN said, Kobe has reached the darkest moment of his life.

But this day
Kupchak suddenly became interested in ESPN's report.

Because he had just had a private meeting with Jerry West not long ago, he knew very well what kind of player Qin Yue was.

Although at the moment, under the leadership of Rudy Tomjanovich, the Lakers' record looks good.
But for Kupchak, who knows how bad Kobe's current situation is,
He knew very well that if he wanted to bring about a true revival of the Lakers, he had to do something.

“From what we’ve seen from him in the past, he’s a selfless player who is willing to sacrifice for the team.

On the court, he can sit in the low post and back up, or he can create space to shoot.

And he can also initiate offense like a guard.

Even on the defensive end, he is still an extremely reliable defensive player.
Plus even Jerry can praise him despite his Asian face."

At this moment, when the information about Qin Yue came into my mind
Kupchak immediately turned his attention to that day:
——September 12.

That day, Wake Forest will host the University of Utah at home.

Qin Yue will wait for the challenge from Andrew Bogut in that game.

……

Note ①: The foreshadowing of the fight with Bogut is buried in Chapter 38. The original text is "Next, Wake Forest will have a challenge game with the MWC League." Again, Aqiao really didn't intend to make any chapters watery. After all, without these foreshadowings, many plots would become very abrupt.

Note ②: The Mark Jackson here is not the Mark Jackson of the NBA. Historically, the Mark Jackson of the University of Utah averaged 04 points per game in the MWC league in the 05/10.7 season and had a 45.5% three-point shooting percentage.

Note 3: Kobe's jersey sales here come from "The Real Kobe" written by Roland Lazenby and the media reports of that year.

Note ④: The Lakers fans at that time refer to the local fans in Los Angeles at that time.

Note ⑤: Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s second wife, will not be explained in detail here. Interested readers can find out for themselves.

PS: I’m begging for collection, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets for my new book!

(End of this chapter)