no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 50 Azan Doesn't Cry
74 to 43, 69 to 58, after adjusting their mentality, Arizona State University defeated the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Texas A&M University, and successfully advanced to the sweet 16.

The impact of DeRozan's absence on the Devil's offensive end is obvious, and they have not scored more than 80 points in two games.

But they didn't allow their opponents to score more than 60 points in both games.

In these two games, Harden scored 26 points in the first game and Xu Yong scored 25 points in the second game. The two completed a "relay match" on the offensive end.

And they gave the opponent an absolute sense of oppression on the defensive end.

They fulfilled their previous rhetoric in the locker room and let the team win until DeRozan returns.

After reaching the Sweet Sixteen and ending the first stage of the game, they returned directly to Tempe.

Just as they were returning to school on the bus, at the gate of the arena, there was already a person with a bag on his back, and a dusty crowd was waiting for them.

The team members saw him before getting out of the car, and then there was a burst of restlessness.

As soon as the bus door opened, the team members cheered and rushed towards it.

DeRozan lived up to their trust and came back!
DeRozan was also very moved after seeing the reaction of the players. The apology that was supposed to be blurted out turned into a fist bump and hug in the end.

Xu Yong was at the back of the team, and he only stepped forward after DeRozan and Harden hugged tightly.

He was going to bump a fist with DeRozan, but he didn't expect DeRozan to stretch out his hands towards him.

Seeing this, he immediately opened his arms.

DeRozan patted him on the shoulder and said thanks.

While taking care of his mother, he did not stop paying attention to the team, and the transmission of information during this attention process came from text messages between him and Harden.

Harden said everything that happened after DeRozan left in a text message, and DeRozan's eyes were red at the time.

For a person who is in the dark and needs to push through the dark clouds to find the light, Xu Yong's approach is like a beam of sunlight penetrating the clouds from top to bottom, very bright and warm.

"How is your mother?" Xu Yong asked with concern after the two hugged.

"It has improved a lot, but it is still in the hospital, and my aunt is taking care of her." DeRozan replied.

"It's good that someone will take care of you. Now that you're back, you can rest assured that everything will be fine." Psychologically, Xu Yong is an adult after all, and he knows how to comfort others.

"I originally wanted to stay there, but my mother said she didn't want me to leave regrets because of her, so..." DeRozan said later, his voice choked up unconsciously.

It was a difficult decision for him to leave when his mother needed him most.

Seeing this, Xu Yong reached out and patted DeRozan on the shoulder.

Azan doesn't cry, you have us now, and Lori in the future.

Although the world is dark, there will always be someone who will light up for you.

……

DeRozan's return is the best booster for the Devils. The enthusiasm of the players in training is full, and the familiar Devils team is back.

After two days of rest, the second stage of the tournament started immediately.

Arizona State University faced its old rival, the University of Memphis, at the University of Phoenix Stadium, which can accommodate more than 6 people.

Originally, at the championship, the number of fans watching the game was basically half and half, but this night, more than two-thirds of the fans on the scene were all Arizona fans!
Is this fair?

very fair!
Although it is not as exaggerated as the bid to host an international competition, the venue for this competition was determined before the start of the NCAA season. After all, there is still a lot of preparation to be used as a tournament venue.

So the root cause of this result is that Arizona State University played too well this season.

If they don't play well, they can't be the top seed; if they don't play well, they can't make it to the top 16 without a core scorer.

Therefore, you need to be hard on your own to forge iron, and the strong will have their own blessings.

In the second stage, scouts are naturally indispensable, and this time there are many scouts from lottery teams.

In addition to Harden Xu Yong, there is also Tyreke Evans from the University of Memphis.

After making his debut against the Devils in the Invitational Opener, Evans' season has been out of control.

As a freshman, he averaged 51.4 points, 17.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 3.9 steals per game with a shooting percentage of 2.1%. He led the team to a total record of 33 wins and 4 losses, including 16 wins and 0 losses in league games. defeat.

They could have gotten a better seed if it weren't for the fact that they're in a weaker league.

With this performance, Evans basically booked a top five pick in the 2009 NBA draft in advance.

And at this time, the University of Memphis has experienced a season run-in, and it is much stronger than in the invitational game.

DeRozan just returned, and Sandek didn't arrange for him to start.

Under the leadership of Harden and Xu Yong, the two teams played back and forth.

Then after 9 minutes, DeRozan and Xu Yong, who was replaced in advance, made their appearance together.

What greeted them was overwhelming cheers.

There is no impenetrable wall in the world, not to mention that stories like DeRozan are also worthy of publicity, and they have already appeared in the Arizona Sports Weekly before that.

So after seeing DeRozan's deeds, they were naturally moved to see DeRozan come back.

DeRozan also showed a strong desire to attack as soon as he came up.

He knows that not only the tens of thousands of fans in front of him will watch his game, but also his parents who will definitely wait in front of the TV.

His desire to attack quickly converted into scoring.

DeRozan's peripheral shooting is unstable, but his mid-range and breakthrough ability is still very strong.

Seeing that he is in good shape and strong desire, Xu Yong is also working hard to play for him.

After Harden came back, Harden was doing the same thing.

DeRozan also proved that he is a serious pie eater, the kind without vomiting.

And DeRozan's performance has also become the key for the Devils to open the score and even win the game.

In the end, the Devils defeated the University of Memphis 72 to 60 at the "home court" and successfully advanced to the Elite 8.

DeRozan scored a team-high 24 points. At the moment of the final whistle, the audience applauded thunderously. He squatted on the ground and covered his face with his hands, unable to restrain himself.

Xu Yong walked up to DeRozan at this time and reached out to pat him on the back.

Harden also came over, and the two reached out to pull DeRozan up.

At this time DeRozan's eyes were red, and he had really cried.

But these were not tears of sorrow, but tears of happiness.

His performance in this game means a lot to him.

Because of his parents, the financial pressure on his family was enormous.

For him, the only way he can help his family is to become an NBA player, so he has long decided to run for the draft after his freshman year.

He did make the first round, and things are looking good.

However, after the absence of the first stage of the championship, other rookies performed well and rose in the rankings, and he stayed in the same place and naturally fell in the rankings.

But tonight, a redemptive battle is being fought.

He is now glad that he followed his mother's words and chose to come to Tempe and the Devils.

Because here are his best teammates, best friends.

　Showing cuteness and rolling around asking for tickets~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)