"Snoopy is shouting to rally his teammates! Twenty-one seconds left on the clock, and UCLA still holds the lead!"
Earl Johnson said from the commentator's booth, "They have to stop this possession."
Kenny Smith added bluntly, "Russell Westbrook's jump shot just kicked UCLA from the gates of heaven straight into the gates of hell. If they can't tighten up on defense now, he'll bear the biggest responsibility for this loss. His poor shot selection just killed all the positives he showed before."
"At this very moment, Snoopy is the first UCLA player to wake up, shouting to fire up his teammates. I like this kid; he's changing my preconceived notion of Wall Street elites," Charles Barkley praised Snoopy.
At courtside, Coach Ben Howland stepped near midcourt and yelled, "Double team! Double team Derrick Rose!"
That was when Snoopy couldn't hold it anymore. "No! Don't double team! Zone! Stay in the zone defense, we can't let them hit another outside shot!"
He roared with all his might.
In this critical moment, the normally mild and refined Snoopy broke his decorum and openly defied the coach's command with a raw, hoarse shout.
Ben Howland was stunned. He never imagined that Snoopy would voice direct opposition at such a moment.
And at this very moment, he understood his own players even less.
Because Westbrook, Brian Wright, Luc Mbah a Moute, and Kevin Love had already spread out into a zone defense. Faced with two contradictory voices, they chose to follow Snoopy.
In just a month and a half, Snoopy had quietly earned their trust through the little things in daily life, even though he had never done anything particularly heroic.
But trust never arrives with noise, it grows in silence.
Ben Howland covered his forehead with his hand, feeling a deep sense of loss. In the last possession, Westbrook had gone rogue out of blind confidence. Now Snoopy was defying his orders out of the same blind confidence, and yet the team had chosen to follow him.
"Have i failed as a coach?"
For the first time, Ben Howland truly doubted himself.
He looked at the zone formation on the court, his eyes full of pessimism.
Derrick Rose, one of the best slashers in the country, was a perfect weapon to break the zone. Howland could understand Snoopy's eagerness to redeem himself, just as he understood Westbrook's fearless jumper moments ago. That kind of fire was what young players should have. But in a moment like this, how could passion turn into recklessness?
As he despaired, Mitch Kupchak, sitting not far away, frowned. He'd heard Snoopy's voice too, this was the first time all night he'd doubted Snoopy. He asked Kobe Bryant, "Isn't he showing a bit too much of that lone-hero attitude?"
"Not at all," Kobe shook his head. It was the first time he truly acknowledged Snoopy. "I admire him. He knows Derrick Rose is going to attack, yet he still dares to shoulder the last line of defense. That's courage beyond the ordinary. And the fact that he can make the whole team follow his call instead of the coach's, that's impressive. I couldn't do that."
Kobe Bryant was completely sincere.
Tex Winter smiled faintly. "If Phil were here, he'd say, this kid is a beast hidden beneath the iceberg. At the most crucial moment, he bares his fangs, either he crushes the enemy's throat, or he drags the whole mountain of life down into hell with him."
"So…?" Kupchak raised a brow, clearly caring about Phil Jackson's opinion.
"Phil would love him," Winter said after a pause. "Don't forget, Phil's favorite ride has always been a wild, heavy motorcycle."
That finally made Kupchak exhale in relief.
Time ticked away.
With nine seconds left, Derrick Rose suddenly accelerated, one vicious crossover shook off Westbrook's defense, and as Brian Wright stepped up to help, Rose sliced into the arc.
As he crossed inside the three-point line, Joey Dorsey suddenly stepped up to a spot just inside the free-throw line.
Snoopy followed, taking two steps forward.
Seeing that movement, Coach Calipari flashed a victorious smile.
Ben Howland, however, shook his head. He knew his season was over.
Snoopy's footwork had never been great, and now he was moving up? He was basically handing Rose an open runway to the rim.
In a flash, the future No. 1 pick used Dorsey's screen to shred through Luc Mbah a Moute's rotation. Now, only the basket, and Snoopy from the side, stood before him.
Without hesitation, Rose gathered the ball, took his explosive first step, then the second. As expected, Snoopy was left behind again, just like before.
So Rose went all in.
He palmed the ball in one hand, rising high, ready to hammer down the most emphatic dunk of his college career.
Nothing could be more fitting than sealing a trip to the national finals with a thunderous slam.
But just as he rose to his peak, he felt a sudden gust of fierce wind at his back.
Before he could sense the chill, a shadow engulfed his head.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the bald referee under the rim, his mouth wide open in astonishment.
Not good!
Rose realized instantly.
He tried to pull the ball back,
PAK!
A thunderous slap exploded above him. His arm went numb, his grip vanished, and BANG! the ball rocketed off the backboard like a cannon shell.
As Rose landed, the buzzer blared.
Game over.
The atmosphere in Staples Center erupted. Every fan jumped to their feet. After waves of chaotic screaming and roaring, the chants unified into one roaring tide:
"SNOOPY! SNOOPY! SNOOPY!"
Derrick Rose turned around and looked at Snoopy Snoopy, who was nearly his height. He smiled faintly.
"Game over."
His tone was calm, like judgment from the underworld.
Derrick Rose's college career was finished.
Originally, he would have been the MVP of the night. That dunk would have been on every highlight reel, Top 5 Plays, ESPN headlines, TNT features. His takeoff, glide, and finish would've been immortalized on magazine covers, SLAM, Basketball World, Sports Illustrated, forever remembered as legend.
But Snoopy's block erased all of it.
He became the stone that shattered the crown before it could be placed on the prince's head.
Derrick Rose couldn't stay graceful, he turned and walked away.
And Snoopy? He raised both arms high, basking in the roars of over twenty thousand fans chanting in unison.
At this moment, he was the King of Staples.