Standing pretty old

Chapter 20 Rushing to Sweet Sixteen
"The Western Conference Finals at the San Jose Coliseum? What the hell is this place?"

"It's the third largest city in California! Are you so ignorant?"

"Damn it, I've never been out of Los Angeles in my life!"

"If I remember correctly, across the river is the home of the Golden State Warriors—the Oracle Center! In 96, Oracle was rebuilt, and the Golden State Warriors even played here!"

"Why not just give us Staples? I just want Kobe Bryant to watch me play!"

"And then have a great night with Cayden Cross, right? Man, I just want to say, if there's such a good thing, take me!"

……

"Quiet!" Seeing that the topic of discussion kept going off track, Ben Holland finally said to stop his little brown bears, "The game needs to be played one by one. If you can't make it to the Western Conference Finals, all of the above are nothing but It's just a boring dream!"

With a whistle, the boring training started again, Kobe and Kroos are not important at all!The important thing is that in WINORGOHOME, no one wants to lose a game before the finals. Losing a game means the end of the season.

……

On March 3th, US time, March Madness finally started.

West, Sacramento, No. 2 seed UCLA vs. No. 15 seed Weber State University, this is a battle without suspense.Ruan Erniu was still efficient, and Afflalo's state also recovered quickly, but David Patten, the core of Weber State University, lost himself, 80:42, this was a bloody massacre.

However, this is not the headline of the day, but it cannot belong to UCLA after all, because on the same day, the famous basketball school Duke University was killed, Virginia Commonwealth University completed the upset with a lore, Eric Maynor Become famous with one goal, so that the No. 6 seed Duke University, which also belongs to the West Division, has an early vacation.

You know, in UCLA's pre-judgment, the Duke Blue Devils are the first candidate for the opponent in the Western Conference semifinals. Unexpectedly, the opponent could not even squeeze in the top 32.

March Madness is really crazy enough!Ruan Erniu secretly thought of this.

How strong is the team?Player talent gap?In a game where winning or losing is determined, too many unpredictable things will happen.Just look at the helpless look on the old coach K's face after the game, it is clear that no matter how famous the team is, it will capsize in an unknown game!

Ben Holland has repeatedly warned his players: "So, we must not relax in the slightest. Otherwise, Duke's today is our tomorrow!"

Of course, in addition to big names like Duke, there are also some players who are temporarily unknown and bid farewell to the NCAA in the 06-07 season.For example, the No. 13 seed Davidson Wildcats in the Midwest lost to the No. 4 Maryland Terrapins. The Wildcats had a baby-faced Stephen Curry who scored 30 points, but in the last 5:51 of the game, the Wildcats scored 21 points. Among them, he failed to score any sports games and left the field with 5 fouls 3 seconds before the end.However, what people talk more about is that his father was once the best [-]-point shooter in the NBA-Dell Curry.

Well, someday in the future, maybe this is a match worth remembering.

His eyes shifted back to the West District where the big upset happened.

UCLA bid farewell to Duke with a distant look, and their next opponent is the Indiana State University Mountaineers.This is also a team with a strong defense, and their inner core DJ* White will be the first challenge Ruan Erniu will face in March Madness!
Coach Ben Holland said to the players around him while playing the opponent's video: "Tell me, what are your own thoughts?"

Afflalo and Darren Collison naturally expressed strong confidence, saying that they would do their best to win their opponents.

Ruan Erniu thought for a while and said, "I haven't fought against White before, so I will know who is stronger and who is weaker!"

Westbrook said dissatisfiedly: "Hey, Kraft, you are too humble. That guy is not your opponent at all, just look at the statistics!"

Ruan Erniu said with a smile: "If you just look at statistics, I should beat everyone in the entire NCAA except Kevin Durant. But if we meet Florida's frontcourt trident in the future, who can guarantee it?" We must be the winners?"

As soon as these words came out, even Sieb, who was always full of self-confidence, couldn't speak big words!This team, which won the NCAA championship last season, has become the biggest favorite to win the championship since the beginning of the season.If Oden and Durant represent the future, then the Florida Gators dominate the present.

"However, we don't have to worry. Even Duke was eliminated. Maybe they were eliminated before we met Florida? So, let's win the Mountaineers first! I dare not say Better than DJ* White, but I firmly believe that UCLA's overall strength must be better than Indiana! So, get rid of them and advance to the Sweet 16!"

"Sweet 16!"

"Sweet 16!"

……

When exactly?Before he knew it, Kraft Ruan, a man from the Celestial Dynasty, had become one of the leaders of UCLA!Ben Holland looked at the scene in front of him with some emotion. The world of geniuses is really unimaginable. The little guy introduced by his cousin actually firmly occupied the starting position in his freshman year, and won the approval of his teammates with his own strength. Approved!

US time, March 3, Sacramento.

Before the UCLA game against Indiana State University, some news media captured Kings stars Mike Bibby and Brad Miller, and the influence of "March Madness" was fermenting.

In a game that no one can afford to lose, the two sides started the iron show from the first half.These two teams have left a glorious history in the NCAA (UCLA has won 11 championships, Indiana State has won 5 times), everyone wants to reproduce yesterday's glory, and no one wants to fall here!

Once the outside shot cannot be opened, it is of course necessary to find a breakthrough opportunity from the inside!

DJ* White, the leading scorer in the Big Ten, took the lead. Although he did not gain the slightest matchup advantage over Ruan Erniu, he showed extraordinary explosive power when facing the slow-moving Mata in a misplaced position. , after easily throwing off the opponent, he completed the attack with a dunk.

DJ* White would not have thought that this was one of the few highlights of his entire game.In the next game, Ruan Erniu fully demonstrated his NCAA first double-double machine demeanor.Mid-range shots, hooks, drop shots, and dunks, Ruan Erniu firmly suppressed DJ* White in a head-to-head contest.

Although the defensive intensity of the game was very strong, although Afflalo lost himself again, although Roderick Wilmont and Lance Steinmüller of the Mountain People scored consecutive 3 points.However, under the strong performance of Ruan Erniu and the key contribution of Darren Collison, UCLA finally defeated the opponent 64:49 and reached the Sweet 16 with its head held high.

Brad Miller in the stands also accepted a short interview with the TV station after the game. He said that UCLA's No. 44 Chinese player definitely has the strength to enter the NBA, and his performance is phenomenal.

The low-key Mike Bibby did not accept interviews. Even in that Kings team, he was still very low-key.

How was the Kings back then?Well that's a good question!

Divac, Webber, Peja, and Christie in the collection will tell you what is truly gorgeous, and these are not all. Some things will always live in the minds of old fans, and they will settle with the years...

(End of this chapter)