Where the noise did not reach

It seems we gave too much for Chapter 6 (thanks to @紫夜长情 for the generous donation).

Knight's facial muscles suddenly stiffened, like Michael Corleone in *The Godfather*—his expression also froze instantly upon learning that his wife had voluntarily had an abortion rather than a miscarriage. His lips twitched nervously twice, all his anger compressed into a cold stillness in an instant. His lips twitched again, as if he wanted to laugh, or perhaps some more dangerous emotion was struggling within him.

Then, he said slowly and very calmly:
“Get out.”

"Get out of my training facility now, right now!"

Xu Ling stood still, but assistant coach Pat Knight quickly walked over, put a hand on his shoulder, and whispered, "Let's go, don't make things worse."

"Did I make things turn out this way?" Xu Ling asked loudly, as if afraid Knight wouldn't hear him.

Then, he was taken away by Little Neal.

All the way to the outside of the stadium.

"Am I fired?" Xu Ling asked. "What do I do now?"

Knight sighed with lingering fear: "No, you weren't fired. The coach just asked you to leave; he didn't mean to fire you."

"So I can still participate in the regional championships?" Xu Ling wanted to know for sure.

"Yes."

"And what about Allen?" Xu Ling pressed. "Was he expelled?"

“Listen, Eli,” Knight said in a low voice. “Over the past forty years, countless people have been kicked out of the gym by my father. Almost every player who has played under him has experienced this—being kicked out for a bad performance one day and coming back the next day as if nothing happened. The old guard at Indiana has a golden rule: when the coach is yelling at you, you’d better let it go in one ear and out the other. People often can’t control what they say or do when they’re angry.”

Xu Ling stared intently at Knight's face; he was serious.

During this time, he did a lot of research on Bob Knight. As far as he knew, Bob Knight was his father's most prized son and had played for him in the 90s. His most "famous" incident during that period was being caught on camera being kicked by his father off the court during a game.

As a son, he experienced everything that Knight's players had to go through.

Xu Ling still couldn't accept this explanation.

What does it mean to "not even be able to control himself"? If someone who has been teaching for over forty years doesn't even have self-control, then he really should retire.

This kind of mad tyrant should have been swept into the dustbin of history along with his old era, shouldn't he?
The next day, Xu Ling participated in the team's training as usual.

Alan Voskull also appeared.

Bob Knight seemed to have forgotten about yesterday, stating before practice that today's task was just a warm-up, and the team would travel to their home court in the afternoon to play a game against Shanton Houston State University from the Southland Conference.

Although this is not a Big 12 conference tournament, it is still included in the regular win-loss statistics. That is to say, the statistics and results of this game will be included in the player data and coaching staff profiles.

Knight then announced the 12-man roster for tonight.

Xu Ling was among them.

“Our opponents tonight aren’t strong,” Knight said, highlighting a few key points. “We’re playing at home, so you could say this is a ‘buyout game’ (1). I’m not just looking for a win, but a spectacular one. If you mess up the game, you’re in big trouble!”

Afterwards, the group disbanded, and the players began their individual training sessions.

Knight called Voskull to his side and whispered a few words to him. Voskull nodded repeatedly. Finally, Knight patted his head like a loving father.

"What did the coach say?" Xu Ling asked as Voskull approached.

“He said, ‘Alan, I hate getting angry at you like I did yesterday, I really hate it,’” Voskull mimicked vividly. “He also said, ‘It’s because sometimes I feel like I want you to be a great player more than you do. It breaks my heart. Because you’ll never be a great player unless you want to be. You have the ability. But I can teach you from now until the end of the world, direct you, scold you, and you won’t improve unless you want it as much as I do. Yesterday, I knew you didn’t want it as much as I did. Somehow, I had to convince you to feel that way. I don’t know if it’s the right way, but that’s how I do it.’”

As Xu Ling listened to this thick bowl of chicken soup, a mixture of "for your own good" and "self-pity," she sneered inwardly.

This process looks familiar: first, extreme humiliation destroys your self-confidence, then they personally rebuild a "belief" for you that you need to depend on. It's not much different from Pan Hong training dogs.

Xu Ling wanted to believe that Knight felt a little remorse for his actions yesterday, but he knew very well that this was probably a necessary part of the PUA process—the sweet treat after a slap. As long as a little "fatherly love" was shown, the person who was slapped would be grateful and even reflect on their actions.

"You seem to have accepted his statement?" Xu Ling asked jokingly.

“That’s Bob Knight!” Worsley exclaimed excitedly. “He said I could be a great player!”

Looking at Voskull's excited expression, as if he had been sold out and was still helping to count the money, Xu Ling was momentarily at a loss as to whether he was suffering from late-stage Stockholm syndrome or whether his own awareness was simply too low.

At 4 p.m., the Texas Tech Red Raiders men's basketball team took a shuttle bus to their home arena, United Spirit Arena.

Their opponents, the Sandon Houston State Bruins, have arrived at the scene.

The opposing team looked very energetic. As a team from a weaker region, they were paid to play here, and the result of the game would not affect their ranking in the league championship. They could make money, play against strong teams, and there would be no negative impact. Where else could you find such a good deal?
On the other hand, for a school like TTU, which comes from the Power 5, losing the game would be a huge blow.

The saying "Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose" perfectly describes the current Bruins team.

Although TTU is stronger and plays at home, an upset is not impossible.

The team's key player, Jarius Jackson, is catching up on his studies and has not yet met the academic requirements, so he is unable to play.

TTU suffered its worst season under Knight, not only being thrashed in the Big 12 league, but also experiencing a disastrous transfer wave after the season ended because freshmen couldn't stand Knight's coaching style.

In their first game of the new season, their strongest player was absent, and the veteran players had little potential left to tap. Although they had seven freshmen, none of them were among the top 100 high school players in the nation.

No matter how you look at it, they seem destined to continue their downward spiral.

Xu Ling chose his number from his previous life—number 1. However, TTU's number 1 player was not selected for the starting lineup.

Knight seemed to have no faith in the freshmen's abilities and sent out the second and third-year students directly.

This arrangement seemed the safest, but it didn't work well.

Because these players were used to playing alongside Jarius Jackson, the pressure had to be shared with the others when the captain wasn't around. Martin Zeno, who considered himself Jackson's successor, performed poorly under the death stare of the coaching staff.

Their opponents, on the other hand, had absolutely no psychological burden. Ryan Bright SF, captain of the Sundon Houston State University team, scored 9 points with a combination of drives and shots, leading his team to a 14-7 start.

Knight took on the initiative and directed the operation, perhaps even overdoing it.

He had almost every TTU starter try to match up against Bright to see who would be most effective, but it didn't work. Instead, the opponent got more and more comfortable.

"Eli!"

Knight shouted out the name of number 1.

Xu Ling quickly got up and ran to Knight's side.

"Keep an eye on that damn number 23!" Knight yelled. "Don't let him shoot, he's on fire right now!"

In just a short while, Xu Ling came on and replaced Martin Zeno, who had disrupted the rhythm of the game.

The Bears' captain, Bright, looks like a typical redneck white man. His bloodline is absolutely pure, and his fair skin contrasts sharply with his neck and cheeks, which are flushed from excessive exercise.

"You spent tens of thousands of dollars to invite us to play, just to embarrass yourselves on home turf?"

"Brett said provocatively."

Xu Ling didn't respond, but ran to the frontcourt, received the ball from his teammate, and pointed to the bottom corner.

His gesture misled the opponent's judgment, and just as the Bears' defensive formation changed, he made a direct pass to Daryl Dorra under the basket.

Dora turned and laid the ball in, scoring easily.

Xu Ling looked back at Bright and said calmly, "The coach thinks you need some confidence to finish the game. It seems we've given you too much."

"What did you say?!!!"

Bright's redneck looked even redder.

Without a doubt, even in the Power 5 division, Bright would be considered an excellent player.

He is 196 cm tall, strong enough, and technically well-rounded, making him a top player in the Division I league with no obvious weaknesses—but his talent is like poorly written code, which tightly limits his potential.

Xu Ling's defense still has many weaknesses, but he is good at deliberately exposing weaknesses to his opponents and then using his super long wingspan to disrupt their offensive rhythm.

Just when Bright thought he had made a good run and was about to receive a pass from his teammate, Xu Ling suddenly burst into full speed, instantly eliminating the difference in their positions and reaching out to disrupt the pass.

"Brilliant prediction!" Little Knight almost jumped up.

Xu Ling caught up with the out-of-control ball and immediately launched a counterattack. Bright clung to him tightly, but was shaken off by a sudden stop in the attacking third.

Bright's eyes widened as Xu Ling stopped two meters beyond the standard three-point line and took a shot.
"An unbelievable fast break and a long-range three-pointer!"

The commentator on site was shouting.

"Hit!"

"Elijah Xu, a first-year student from TTU!"

The cheers from the United Spirit Gymnasium surged onto the court like a tidal wave. Fans who had never seen Xu Ling play before were now cheering wildly for him.

But Xu Ling turned a blind eye to these off-field matters.

A long-lost electric current surged through my veins.
Xu Ling ran happily on the court, and soon, he made another steal.

Several Bears players went to block his fast break, but could only watch as he passed the ball to an open teammate for an easy counterattack.

In just two minutes, the score was tied at 14-14, and the difference was erased.

Bright was bent over, panting heavily, not from exhaustion, but from shock. Where did this TTU No. 1 come from?
The Bears called a timeout.

Just as Bright was about to leave the field, he bumped into Xu Ling head-on.

"Your pass was good just now, I mean the one you passed to me."

Xu Ling said this.

(1) Buyout games (or guarantee games) are a common scheduling arrangement in NCAA sports. Power 5 schools pay a fee to lower-level schools to invite them to play on their home court, usually to secure early-season victories and boost team confidence.

(2) Power 5 schools refer to the five most prestigious and influential sports leagues in the NCAA Division I league in the United States.

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(End of this chapter)