Zhao Xiu sighed again, looking at the energetic young Blackie in front of him. Who would have thought that this short-haired young turtle in front of him would one day become the NBA's super triple-double king, the totem of the Thunder, a superstar who single-handedly lowered the historical standing of Oscar Robertson?
He put his arm around his shoulder and affectionately called out,
"Russ, shall we continue tonight?" The two exchanged winks, reaching some sort of agreement.
In the more than ten days since Wei Shao Ye returned from his holiday, the two roommates had already become "inseparable" good friends. As for why...
Reborn into this life, Zhao Xiu's love for basketball became even more obsessive. At the same time, receiving the "Injury Immunity" badge allowed Zhao Xiu to train hard and relentlessly without any reservations.
Coupled with Westbrook, who was already a sophomore, also being a training fanatic, the two hit it off immediately.
Every day after school training in the afternoon, the two energetic basketball fanatics would coincidentally do extra training on the court. From the first day they met in the dorms and then again on the court that night, to now, a mere glance was enough to know they would continue their "great battle" that evening. Their friendship quickly warmed up; not to say they talked about everything, but they were already at the level of close buddies, arm in arm.
After finishing training, the three went to the cafeteria to eat. Why three people? Because Westbrook's girlfriend, Nina Earl, was also there.
Nina met Westbrook when he entered UCLA in 2006. The two had been together for two years since they met. Zhao Xiu, knowing history, also knew that the two would marry later and remain very happy, but currently, Nina had a very strong opinion of Zhao Xiu.
Nina was the top scorer for the UCLA women's basketball team. Ever since Westbrook and Nina got together, the two often trained together, or Nina would feed the ball to Westbrook.
But ever since Zhao Xiu appeared and "stole her love," her training partner was naturally replaced by Ah Xiu. Even the straightforward Westbrook would say things like, "I think Zhao Xiu is more suitable for me, and you can rest more, aren't you happy?"
The three went to the cafeteria to get food. After Nina met the two, she subtly rolled her eyes at Zhao Xiu and went to chat with Westbrook. Who knew that as they talked, by the time they sat down to eat, Westbrook excitedly shared,
"Zhao Xiu was amazing today! I feel like his three-pointer has become even more accurate in the past two weeks. Today, he made 50 consecutive three-pointers!"
"Just average, just fifty. I was just afraid of delaying everyone's time. Otherwise, if I kept shooting, I'd probably keep making them even if others were hungry."
At this, Zhao Xiu received eye rolls from both of them.
After dinner, the two returned to the dorms to rest for a while. Only half an hour after dinner, Zhao Xiu couldn't sit still anymore. From the bustling world of his previous life to now, Apple had only released its first generation phone in 2007. At this time, communication was still 2G technology. Forget surfing the internet; even typing was a hassle. Nokia was still the most trendy device, and there were no entertainment options.
The two packed their gear and headed to the luxurious UCLA Austin Pavilion. As members of the school team, they could use the gym to train at any time. In the evening, the two would start with basic skills training, then proceed with their specialized training. Zhao Xiu would focus on three-point shooting and defensive fundamentals.
The first time he started training, Zhao Xiu discovered that whenever he began a relevant training session, a browser-like loading progress bar would appear above his system directory. For example, when performing three-point shooting training, the system would read the three-point training, place the goal at the top, and then display a very long progress bar. Initially, Zhao Xiu didn't understand the purpose of this progress bar, until one day, after a training session of 1000 three-pointers, he noticed the progress bar seemed to have increased a bit. After careful observation and verification, Zhao Xiu confirmed that whenever he performed relevant training, there would be a continuous increase, and when the progress bar was full, his ability value would increase by one point.
After confirming this, his training became even more frantic. Zhao Xiu wished he could become a "gym rat," living in the gym every day.
So, from two months ago until now, Zhao Xiu dedicated all his extra time to training, including three-point shooting and defensive fundamentals. By now, his three-point rating had increased to 88. His perimeter defense also made significant progress.
Next to him, Westbrook would do one thousand mid-range shots with each hand every night. This was a habit he formed this summer after going up against Kobe Bryant, who happened to be training there.
After being regrettably eliminated by the Suns in the first round this summer, Kobe coincidentally visited the UCLA Austin Pavilion. Some college students, including Westbrook, were allowed to participate in games.
Facing such a top superstar, Westbrook was unlike other timid college students; he was completely unafraid of Kobe and directly matched up against him. Although he was predictably crushed by Kobe, Westbrook received high praise from Kobe.
"You'll be good, because you came right at me."
Westbrook was greatly encouraged, adding 1000 mid-range shots from the left and 1000 from the right after his daily training, which was incredibly intense.
Wei Shao Ye originally thought he was the only one doing extra training, but he didn't expect his newly joined teammate to be just like him, doing extra training every night without cutting corners.
From then on, the two coincidentally met at the Austin Pavilion every evening to train. From 9-11 PM every night, after completing their respective shooting or fundamental training, they would begin their "two-person world."
"Come on, Russ, you can't beat me tonight."
"Come on, you're dreaming, Xiu. If you score 10 points in tonight's 21-point one-on-one, you win."
Their gazes met, as if sparks were flying. But unexpectedly, facing the current Westbrook, Zhao Xiu didn't seem to be at a disadvantage.
Although the 92kg Zhao Xiu looked very slender, his exceptionally long wingspan and large hands—these innate physical talents—still made it not very easy for Westbrook to play. Moreover, while the sophomore Westbrook was making rapid progress, he was only just beginning his transformation.
Freshman Westbrook was considered a defensive specialist. Although coach Ben Holland had high expectations for Westbrook, freshman Westbrook was not allowed to shoot on the court, only to drive to the basket.
Freshman Westbrook averaged only 3.4 points, basically playing the entire year as a backup for Darren Collison.
That's right, freshman Wei Shao Ye basically had no playing time at UCLA, only serving as a backup for Darren Collison. As for Darren Collison, Zhao Xiu's impression from his previous life wasn't very deep; he only remembered him as the starting point guard during the Indiana Pacers' 'Five Tigers' era.
But he had a stable starting role in the NBA for a period, and even made it to the Eastern Conference Finals with the undrafted, pre-blogging General Jordan.
Any player who has stably stayed in the NBA for many years must have been a dominant force in the NCAA. Because of Collison's presence, the sophomore Westbrook was still firmly on the bench as a "towel waver." Both of them shared the goal of becoming starters in the new academic year.
Sophomore Westbrook's offensive technical characteristics were still very singular. Although he occasionally made some mid-range shots, they were still very unstable. His quick drives to the left and right, and even his left-side drives, he was accustomed to finishing with his right hand. Therefore, Zhao Xiu, who had figured out Westbrook's offensive "three-move arsenal," had a good handle on defending Wei Shao Ye.
Moreover, this kind of forward physique with height and long arms continued to put pressure on Westbrook even into the late stages of his career. Even at Westbrook's peak, if one could keep up with his supercar-like speed, they could still impose a fair amount of limitation.
And now, Zhao Xiu's offense was also a very simple "three-move arsenal." Having positioned himself as a "3D" player, Zhao Xiu had only two training goals for his NCAA season.
That was to maximize his three-point shooting and defense, and worry about other things once he could play. Therefore, his offense would only be a "two-threat" from the three-point line. Due to his excellent three-point shooting, Zhao Xiu defined his new season as catch-and-shoot and dribble-drive.
Due to his large physique, the simple "two-threat" also became very threatening.
As the two played their final one-on-one game, the score was 19-19, with Westbrook on offense. Zhao Xiu had lost more than he won. Both knew this was the last one-on-one of the day, and the competitive duo coincidentally began to increase the intensity.
Westbrook held the ball at the top of the arc. Knowing Westbrook didn't have three-point range, Zhao Xiu directly stepped back one pace and began friendly banter.
"Give up, Russell, you have no shot. Come in and get a big block from me, then go home tonight and not be able to sleep."
He deliberately stepped back to give Westbrook the three-pointer, while also intently watching Wei Shao Ye's drive, ready to slide step and defend.
"Xiu, you just wait. I'm going to finish these last two points with a dunk in your face, making you..."
At this point, Westbrook suddenly drove to the right with a quick step, almost parallel to Zhao Xiu like a sports car accelerating.
Just as Zhao Xiu immediately turned to chase and block, Westbrook suddenly stopped short and pulled up for a shot.
"Damn!"
"F***!"
Both shouted simultaneously.
"Clang!"
The sound of the iron rim echoed. Zhao Xiu shouted because he had lost his defensive position and could barely interfere, while Westbrook shouted because he knew he had missed as soon as he released the ball.
"Opportunity was given to certain people, and if you don't seize it, you will be punished."
"No, no, no, Xiu, you didn't interfere with me at all. You completely lost your defensive position. I shook you off."
Zhao Xiu caught the ball at the three-point line, holding it single-handedly behind his back. Ever since inheriting these 23-centimeter large hands, Zhao Xiu, who loved this "Jordan move set" the most, wished he could hold the ball single-handedly every day. He switched to holding the ball with both hands, facing Wei Shao Ye head-on, his mouth never stopping.
"No, no, no, Russ, you made an offensive choice you're not good at. My defense was already successful."
He raised both hands, making a shooting motion. Forced by the huge three-point threat, Wei Shao Ye had to step forward to defend. Observing his right foot was forward, allowing him to drive right, Zhao Xiu suddenly lowered the ball, stepped out with his right foot, keeping his left foot as an axis. Wei Shao Ye immediately retreated to the left, preparing to defend the drive. At this moment, Zhao Xiu suddenly gathered the ball, faking a shot.
Wei Shao Ye immediately lunged forward, but it was still a fake. Zhao Xiu took a step, drove right, and with three big steps, dunked with his right hand, giving Wei Shao Ye no chance for a chase-down block.
After dunking, he immediately turned to Westbrook and said, "Russ, I won the last game!!"