What is it like for a weak interior to face the formidable White Beast, Griffin?
It's simple: after a simple off-ball screen, Griffin easily receives the ball at the elbow.
Facing the role player's defense, he takes a step with a back-to-the-basket dribble, a gentle bump, and the defender is immediately out of position.
A simple layup, 2 points easily scored.
Kayce could tell that Griffin didn't exert much effort on this play, but talent truly allows one to do as he pleases.
UCLA's offense was perimeter-oriented. Collison took the ball and signaled a play.
A simple Spain pick-and-roll. After the role player's screen, Li Ze popped out. At this moment, Griffin's attention was a bit unfocused.
Collison immediately seized the opportunity, making a direct pass to the role player who had an opening under the basket. However, Griffin reacted quickly and delivered a block.
His explosiveness was truly astonishing! He still managed to defend the ball despite being out of position.
Kayce immediately called his teammates to get back on defense, facing Oklahoma University's fast break.
UCLA's defensive rotation was still a bit slow, and they conceded another 2 points.
With a poor start, Coach Ben began to remind the players to focus.
Kayce signaled to Collison for another simple Spain pick-and-roll.
This time, with the role player's off-ball screen in the paint, Kayce quickly received the ball and, taking advantage of the defender's delayed positioning, broke through with a quick step.
With the opposing interior player coming over to help, Kayce successfully fed the role player in the paint for an easy 2 points.
Oklahoma University's current strategy was simple: screen, give the ball to Griffin.
Facing help defense, they'd swing the ball for an outside shot. If it went in, great. If not, they'd grab the offensive rebound and prevent UCLA from initiating a transition offense.
Facing this simple strategy, Kayce was a bit helpless; sometimes, he just couldn't hold his own on the boards!
They had been playing for almost 8 minutes now, with the score at 24-16. It wasn't that the opponent's shooting percentage was high, but rather that they were getting dominated on rebounds.
They couldn't get their fast breaks going, and in half-court sets, Holiday's shooting was terrible at the start, missing several outside three-pointers.
Only Collison's opportunistic plays and Kayce's tough mid-range jumpers prevented the lead from widening.
Otherwise, it would have been a complete rout, and Coach Ben would have been humiliated.
While Collison was shooting free throws, Kayce patted Holiday, "Force the opposing guard to his left hand, reduce his opportunities to dribble with his right."
Holiday nodded. Actually, Coach Ben had already explained this.
But Kayce guessed that Holiday was a bit lost at the moment and had already thrown aside some of the pre-game instructions!
Sure enough, in this possession, facing Holiday's pressure, the role player guard's pass was off-target. Kayce seized the opportunity and directly stole the cross-court pass.
He strode forward for a fast break, finishing with a one-handed tomahawk dunk!
"Woah!" The onlookers on the sidelines and the hype squad on the bench cheered. Exciting dunks always get the blood pumping.
Kayce calmly gave Holiday a thumbs-up, signaling that it was an excellent defensive play. A big shot has to show off.
Perhaps Kayce's dunk excited Griffin. First, he aggressively stole the ball from a role player on defense.
Then, on offense, after a simple screen, he ignored the interior role player in front of him, took off directly, and slammed the ball into the hoop.
"Bang!" Watching this spectacular dunk, the hype squad on the sidelines went wild with strange shouts.
Griffin was also very excited, pounding his chest and roaring.
Coach Ben gave Kayce a knowing look, and Kayce understood that he wanted him to be more aggressive.
He signaled to Collison again, and after dribbling past half-court, he started directing traffic.
Holiday's form was also slowly improving. With his strong body, he successfully set a back screen, creating an opportunity for Kayce beyond the three-point line.
He cut out, caught the ball, and shot immediately. Perfect rhythm, beautiful shooting form.
"Swish!" Nothing but net, 3 points easily scored.
The 'Broke Man's Jordan' was not an empty title. Kayce had been honing his shooting for five years in the Dream Space.
This current Jordan-like shooting form was the result of Kayce's continuous training and adjustments; it was the most suitable shooting motion for him.
"Handsome and accurate, my enhanced beverage wasn't for nothing!" Kayce appeared calm but was secretly pleased.
Coach Ben signaled the players to intensify their defense. Only two minutes were left in the first half. There were no timeouts in the scrimmage, so both sides played at a fast pace.
Kayce successfully established his position, faced the role player's defense, drove with a shoulder bump, pulled the ball back, and with a sudden stop-and-go, successfully shook off the defender and hit a mid-range shot.
This was Kayce's advantage: excellent height and wingspan.
Facing a shorter defender, he didn't need fancy moves; a simple stop-and-go was enough to shake off the defense.
As Kayce increased his aggressiveness, UCLA's defensive pressure also intensified.
In the final minutes of the first half, they successfully narrowed the gap to 48-45. Both sides would rest for 10 minutes before resuming the second half.
Scrimmages were like this; neither side played with full defensive effort, focusing mainly on tactical adjustments.
After the second half began, both sides started to commit more turnovers. Both Coach Bens also started to constantly demand that players execute their tactics from the sidelines, and eventually, both sides frequently missed shots.
Holiday's form improved, making three three-pointers in the second half, while Collison turned into a little brickhouse, bricking several shots.
Kayce finished with 8-of-14 shooting, 2-of-4 from three, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, for 22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 turnover—a decent performance.
Although they lost the game 72-66, Coach Ben was still quite satisfied.
Kayce's physical condition was better than last year, and his shooting stability was even more outstanding. Perhaps he had a chance in the first round.
Oklahoma University was also quite satisfied, as they had been treated well with good food and drink.
Playing such a scrimmage before the game also helped them identify some issues, and most importantly, Griffin's form was truly excellent.
Griffin barely broke a sweat, finishing with 14-of-22 shooting, 6-of-8 from the free-throw line, for 34 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 turnovers. No one could stop him!
After a round of commercial compliments, everyone happily decided to party together.
Due to age restrictions, Kayce and his teammates couldn't openly go to nightclubs to party.
However, as a local celebrity, with the support of his money, a party surrounded by beautiful women officially kicked off on a Los Angeles night.
As long as you had money, the venue and people were not an issue. The hype squad was even directly on site. After partying, they would leave directly, not worrying about cleanup or anything.
Griffin, with a flushed face, hugged a hot white girl and shouted, "Kayce, you're my brother for life!"
Kayce however, did not completely indulge. He had high standards for women and still looked down on these groupies.
The revelry continued deep into the night, and the young people's party finally ended.
On March 15th, UCLA embarked on their journey to Houston. Kayce looked at the sky from the plane.
"March Madness, huh? It's truly exciting."