Zack, Zack, still Zack.
Andrew Bogut, the star player for the University of Utah, had been recognized as "White Duncan" this season for his significant improvements in all aspects within the MWC conference. He just couldn't understand why people only thought of Zack's name when discussing college basketball.
It was as if...
As if he were the only one who could play basketball in the NCAA.
"He only played one good game."
At this moment, recalling the praise he had received during the Athens Olympics, Bogut thought resentfully.
In Bogut's opinion, his ability had clearly been tested in the Olympics, and he had delivered an excellent stat line of 25 points and 18 rebounds in the University of Utah's opening game. However, contrary to what he expected, not only did he not receive the praise he deserved, but in some media evaluations, he even became the target of being used to elevate one person by putting down another.
"Andrew Bogut of the University of Utah? Of course, he's a great big man. He's young, has good height and wingspan, excellent feel around the basket, and can even pass the ball..." "But with Zack, who is undoubtedly the correct answer, Andrew is destined to be just a backup option." — ESPN, "2005 Draft Prospects and Predictions."
A backup option?
"He's just a damn freshie, why should he make me a backup option?"
Unlike the low-key and pragmatic Duncan after entering the league, Bogut, this "White Duncan," had always presented himself as arrogant and conceited.
In 2005, after being drafted by the Bucks, Bogut immediately expressed his disdain for his fellow countryman and predecessor, Luc Longley, through the media when he was compared to him.
Then, when asked about his thoughts on the renowned veteran Duncan, Bogut's words also revealed his arrogance, as if Duncan was nothing special in his description.
In November, Zack, who had already secured the top pick for next year with a brilliant debut, received his first public challenger.
"This year, we have a challenge game against Wake Forest. I'll use my performance in that game to show the world how foolish their views of me are. And in that game, I will personally tear off the mask of that presumptive top pick and show you who the best player in college basketball is this year." (Note ①)
Through the media, Bogut officially sent his challenge to Zack on November 15th of that year.
Upon hearing Bogut's name, Zack already felt like punching him. After receiving the challenge, he turned to Paul and said, "I feel like he's not challenging me to a basketball game, but a boxing match."
Hearing this, Paul, who knew a little about Bogut, said, "But how can he tear off your mask? He's a center, you're a power forward. Even though you're both big men, the University of Utah can't possibly have him guard you, right?"
Paul knew very well that given Zack's agility and speed displayed on the court, what was currently most despairing for the entire NCAA was that all of Wake Forest's opponents were racking their brains trying to figure out who should guard Zack in the game.
Andrew Bogut?
Could he keep up with Zack's pace in the game and stop Zack from shooting from the perimeter?
At this moment, Zack patted Paul's shoulder and said, "Our challenge game against them is on December 5th, right? Don't worry, he doesn't need to come find me. I'll ask Coach Skip to let me play center in that game."
Seeing this, Paul asked in surprise, "You're going to face him head-on?"
Zack nodded and said, "Otherwise... how can I make him lose convincingly?"
Ever since he sent his challenge to Zack, Bogut had focused all his attention on the upcoming challenge game in December.
To help Bogut win the war against Zack in that game, the University of Utah's head coach, Ray Giacoletti, also meticulously designed a set of tactics for his beloved protégé.
According to Giacoletti's plan, he would assign Bryant Markson to guard Zack on defense.
Markson, a junior this year, was 6 feet 7 inches tall.
Although he only weighed 90 kilograms, he was always active and fiercely competitive on the court.
In Giacoletti's view, if Zack tried to break through Markson's defense on the court, Bogut could perfectly sit in the paint and teach Zack a lesson through help defense.
As for offense, Giacoletti even planned to have Tim Drisdom, Marc Jackson, and Jonas Langvad play together. (Note ②)
These three had decent shooting ability from the perimeter and could effectively create space for Bogut.
In Giacoletti's eyes, as long as Bogut entered the low post, Wake Forest's starting center, Eric Williams, would be no match for him.
"Wake Forest's overall strength is indeed stronger than ours, but as long as Andrew can win his battle against Zack... then we will still be the ultimate victors."
That day, watching his players calmly practice the tactics he had carefully devised for Bogut, Giacoletti thought to himself.
However, unlike the University of Utah, which had focused all its attention on Zack, Zack, who remained completely unaffected, had already successfully led Wake Forest to the No. 1 ranking in the nation again with Paul after a series of dominant performances before the December challenge game.
Although NCAA Division I has numerous conferences, to help people better understand who the best team is, the NCAA annually ranks teams based on schedule difficulty and opponent quality to produce a fair and objective power ranking.
Last year, Wake Forest also briefly topped the national rankings due to a winning streak in the early stages of the regular season.
But compared to last year...
This year, Wake Forest's ascent to the No. 1 spot was not only well-deserved in the eyes of the world, but Zack also delivered an outstanding performance in the team's already-played 8 games amidst Wake Forest's extremely difficult schedule, averaging 27.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 3.0 blocks, and 1.5 steals.
How to describe this impressive stat line?
You only need to compare it to Duncan's senior year performance in the same ACC conference to understand how excellent Zack's performance this year has been.
In his senior year, Duncan averaged 20.8 points, 14.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 3.3 blocks at Wake Forest.
Admittedly, Duncan didn't have Paul by his side back then.
Additionally, compared to Duncan, Zack's scoring methods also meant higher scoring efficiency and easier high scores on the court. But... you have to understand, since Zack's performance also came in the ACC conference, which is known as "hell difficulty" in American college basketball...
How could the world not be excited by Zack's performance after the first month of the new season?
"This 'Zack storm' brewing in college basketball this year has clearly already affected the NBA. In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks seem to have solidified their determination to tank."
"In the West, the New Orleans Hornets, Utah Jazz, and Portland Trail Blazers' losing streaks currently show no signs of ending."
"But then again, is it possible the Lakers aren't at all tempted by Zack? According to Sheryl Smith, the Lakers are having a terrible season. Kobe's jersey, which usually sells like hotcakes, has fallen out of the top 50 in the league this month. (Note ③)"
"Rudy Garciduenas said Kobe has been trying to isolate himself from the outside world lately."
"Without a doubt, this is Kobe's darkest hour, and also the Lakers' biggest crisis since the 'OK' breakup."
"So, Mitch Kupchak, are you really not planning to go to Wake Forest to take a look?" — ESPN's "Zack Storm Sweeps College Basketball" Special Program.
In August 2004, although at the pretrial hearing for the Eagle County case, a pair of underwear containing DNA from three males appeared as evidence (proving that the victim had intimate interactions with other men before interacting with Kobe), leading to a huge turning point in the Eagle County case.
But even so...
Even though the plaintiff later chose to file a civil lawsuit against Kobe instead of testifying in court, leading prosecutors to drop the criminal charges against Kobe.
But as renowned reporter Scoop Jackson revealed in an interview with Kobe, Kobe himself stated that at that time, he had nothing but basketball.
After all, just last summer, the Lakers had just terminated their contract with Phil Jackson and traded Shaquille O'Neal.
Although in public, Jerry Buss always claimed that these were independent decisions and had nothing to do with Kobe.
But as the biggest beneficiary behind this Lakers turmoil, Lakers fans at the time had every reason to believe that Kobe was responsible for all of this. (Note ④)
As a result, with pressure coming from all directions, even Kobe had to admit in future interviews that that period almost crushed him.
And worse than anticipated before the 04/05 season began...
The media would continue to pressure Kobe and even target his wife, Vanessa.
In February 2005, due to the death of Kobe's grandfather, The Los Angeles Times would publish an article by Shaun Hottabli that would deeply expose the private lives of Kobe and his wife.
In the report, Vanessa was described as a harsh person who liked to solve everything with money, was vain, and was only with Kobe for money.
"She is deeply entrenched in the role of 'Mrs. Bryant' and unable to extricate herself. According to her former friends, as soon as she started dating Kobe, she brought a photo of Kobe playing with her puppy to school to show off, trying to tell everyone that she was Kobe's girlfriend."
"Additionally, before she married Kobe, she excitedly came home one day and told her family that because Kobe loved her so much, he decided not to sign a prenuptial agreement with her... From all these signs, this 'Mrs. Bryant' is clearly the Yoko Ono of the new era." (Note ⑤)
These were some of the verbal attacks Kobe and Vanessa would endure.
Yes, these media reports would eventually turn into swords, leading to a miscarriage for Vanessa, who was pregnant at the time.
As ESPN said, Kobe had truly entered the darkest hour of his life.
But this day...
Kupchak suddenly became interested in ESPN's report.
Because he had recently met privately with Jerry West, he knew exactly what kind of player Zack was.
Although the Lakers' record under Rudy Tomjanovich currently looked decent...
For Kupchak, who knew how bad Kobe's current situation was...
He knew that to truly revive the Lakers, he had to do something.
"From his past reports, he is a selfless player who is willing to make sacrifices for the team."
"On the court, he can post up in the low block and shoot from beyond the arc."
"And he can initiate offense like a guard."
"Even on defense, he is an incredibly reliable defensive stalwart... Plus, even Jerry can't help but lavish praise on him, despite his Asian features..."
At this moment, as information about Zack flooded his mind...
Kupchak immediately set his sights on that date:
—December 5th.
On that day, Wake Forest would host the University of Utah.
Zack would await Andrew Bogut's challenge in that game.
Note ①: The foreshadowing for the match with Bogut was laid in Chapter 38, where the original text was "Wake Forest still has a challenge game against the MWC conference coming up." Again, I assure you, I'm not intentionally padding any chapter; without these setups, many plot points would feel very abrupt.
Note ②: Marc Jackson here is not the NBA's Marc Jackson. Historically, this Marc Jackson from the University of Utah averaged 10.7 points and shot 45.5% from three-point range in the MWC conference during the 04/05 season.
Note ③: Kobe's jersey sales here are based on Roland Lazenby's "Michael Jordan: The Life" and media revelations from that year.
Note ④: "Lakers fans at the time" here refers to local fans in Los Angeles.
Note ⑤: Yoko Ono, John Lennon's second wife. I won't go into too much detail about her story here. Interested readers can look her up themselves.
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