69novels Chapter 11 Lian Dao's Pre-Season Debut
Chapter 11 Lian Dao's Pre-Season Debut
The preseason is about to begin, and USC's first game will be against UC Irvine's Anteaters.
The University of California, Irvine (UCI) belongs to the Big Western Conference and finished fifth in the conference last season. Historically, the school has never reached the NCAA Tournament (March Madness) and has never produced an NBA star. The majority of the team's players are juniors and seniors with average talent.
For the University of Southern California, facing such an opponent in the season opener is more of an opportunity to train the team and adjust the roster.
The game was held at the USC Galen Center basketball court—not at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as some might assume. Many associate USC with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum because the latter has historical significance, having hosted two Olympic Games. However, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is an open-air stadium and not suitable for indoor basketball.
The University of Southern California has its own dedicated basketball arena—the Galen Center. Although smaller than Memorial Stadium, the Galen Center can accommodate between 9,000 and 18,000 spectators, making it a standard basketball arena.
The starting lineup for the opening game was: Marcus Simmons, DeMar DeRozan, Dwight Lewis, Taj Gibson, and Keith Wilkinson. DeRozan started at shooting guard, and Gibson started at power forward.
This was an away game, and the stadium entrance was packed with spectators. The atmosphere was electric, with whistles and cheers echoing throughout, comparable to that of a top-tier league match.
Even before the game started, the air was filled with excitement. After the game began, the cheers and shouts of the fans were deafening, echoing throughout the entire stadium.
This is the allure of basketball culture—even at the beginning of the season, its intensity is exhilarating. During "March Madness," the excitement even surpasses that of professional leagues. On the day of the NCAA Championship Game, all professional teams pause their games to pay homage to the importance of college basketball.
For Lian Dao, this was his first time experiencing the atmosphere of a basketball arena since his rebirth. He was incredibly excited to once again feel the vibrant basketball atmosphere of NCAA games.
The NCAA league is underway, and Rookie Mission 2 has been released:
They won the Pacific Ten Conference regional championship.
Beat your opponent in the divisional competition and earn their game jersey (the opponent must be a future or current NBA player).
reward:
Randomly increase the potential of one talent attribute to 94.
Qualified for the jersey talent lottery.
Hearing the system notification again after more than two months, he immediately focused on checking the task.
Task one seems feasible—it's a shared goal for Liandao and the team. However, Task two is much more challenging: defeating the opponent requires not only winning the game but also surpassing them statistically, and the opponent is a future or current NBA player.
"Hey, Sickle, what's wrong? A little nervous? Don't be nervous, bro, you can do it!" DeRozan said, patting Lian Dao on the shoulder to comfort him, and the two stood side by side.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just really excited," Lian Dao replied, shifting his attention from the system interface and following DeRozan toward the bench.
The game began with Wilkinson winning the jump ball and passing it to DeRozan, who quickly drove to the basket and finished with a powerful dunk. On the defensive end, Gibson delivered a crucial block, and Simmons then passed the ball to Lewis, who easily scored a layup.
The audience was stunned—was this really a top 15 team in the country? They showed amazing strength from the very beginning!
This counter-attack set the tone for the entire game. Although the opposing coach made tactical adjustments after the timeout, the gap in strength between the two teams remained obvious.
Although their opponents were able to score, USC's lead continued to widen. Despite the Anteaters' experienced defense, USC's relentless, aggressive play eventually broke their defense. This game highlighted an obvious truth: against a superior opponent, experience often proves ineffective.
The University of Southern California defeated the Anteaters by a margin of more than 30 points.
In NCAA games, each team has 35 seconds on each possession, and the game lasts 40 minutes, divided into two 20-minute halves. This slower pace usually results in lower scoring. Few teams score more than 70 points, and most teams hover between 50 and 60 points.
Ultimately, the University of Southern California won the season opener 85-52.
四位球员得分上双，其他人也贡献良多。德罗赞以24分领衔全队，同时贡献3个篮板和4次助攻。吉布森同样表现出色，得到21分、12个篮板和4次盖帽。
Lian Dao came off the bench for Lewis and played 15 minutes, putting on a bright performance. He made 4 of 5 three-pointers, scoring 12 points and 6 assists, although he did not grab any rebounds or blocks.
The team's outstanding performance in the first game boosted everyone's confidence and laid a good foundation for the following games.
In their first four preseason games, USC faced relatively weaker opponents, giving them the opportunity to experiment with different lineups. Lian Dao averaged 15 minutes per game in those four games, scoring 8.4 points, grabbing 2 rebounds, dishing out 5.4 assists, and blocking 2.3 shots.
In their fifth preseason game, the University of Southern California faced their arch-rivals, the Missouri Tigers.
The University of Missouri started strong with a suffocating 2-3 zone defense that overwhelmed the University of Southern California (USC). DeRozan was blocked twice by the USC power forward, and USC's outside shooters were ice-cold. To break through this defense, accurate outside shooting was essential, but USC's shooting percentage was less than ideal, forcing them to refocus on defense to stem the Missouri's relentless offensive surge.
However, their defensive efforts failed to contain Missouri's leading scorer, DeMarre Carroll. At halftime, USC trailed 25-42 by 17 points.
Despite the superior overall strength of the University of Southern California, their complacency after four consecutive wins proved to be their fatal weakness. Their offense was fragmented and their defense lacked focus, allowing the University of Missouri to completely control the game in the first half.
In the locker room, Tim was furious and delivered a passionate speech.
"Your defense is worse than an old lady sweeping the street! Lewis, are you sleepwalking?"
Tim then turned to the whiteboard and said to Liandry, "Scythe, you're in the second half. I need you to do two things: shut down their scorer and then score for us. Got it?"
"Understood, Coach. That guy can't handle me," Lian Dao replied confidently. He was eager to make a difference, and his spirits lifted.
Lian Dao's eyes gleamed with determination and fighting spirit, ready to turn the tide of the battle.
During the timeout, the two commentators in the commentary booth kept the audience entertained by analyzing the game situation.
"Currently, the Missouri Tigers are leading, and the USC Troy haven't found their rhythm yet. They seem to be struggling to break through the opponent's zone defense, and their outside shooting is ice cold," Smith commented, closely monitoring the game.
"They rely too much on individual offense, but no one steps up to organize the offense. This style of play might work against teams with weak defenses, but it will cause problems against teams with a solid defensive system like the University of Missouri," Haskell nodded in agreement.
"Defensively, USC had a hard time containing Missouri forward DeMarre Carroll. He was extremely efficient, scoring 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, along with 4 rebounds and 2 blocks," Smith further analyzed, pointing out defensive weaknesses.
"I'm curious to see what adjustments Coach Tim will make at halftime to turn things around. It'll be interesting," Haskell pondered, anticipating a change in the team's strategy.
"The game is restarting. Let's see how the two coaches adjust." Smith sat up straight as the players prepared to return to the field.
"The University of Missouri's roster hasn't changed much, but the University of Southern California has replaced their starting small forward Lewis with Asian player Lian Dao." Haskell noticed the substitution.
"I remember player number 1 from the last game. His three-point shooting and passing abilities are excellent. It seems Coach Tim hopes to use his shooting ability to break through the opponent's zone defense." Smith glanced at Lian Dao's game stats.
"Yes, his dribbling is also very smooth. His high school coach mentioned that he is good at dribbling, three-pointers, and passing, although physical confrontation is not his strong point," Haskell added.
"It seems this kid might surprise us," Smith said with a smile.
"Well, hopefully this young prodigy can ignite a counterattack from USC," Haskell concluded optimistically.