Su Xi ruthlessly punished Rod with his strength, giving him a taste of 'a little Chinese shock'.
Scout Terry witnessed the entire exchange, especially the part where Su Xi stopped and talked trash while towering over Rod.
Although the move drew some boos from the arena,
he was all smiles. He wrote: 'Extremely resilient under pressure. Mental attributes are maxed out.'
In his mind, Su Xi had already surpassed Rod as a borderline NBA prospect.
Meanwhile, on the bench, Assistant Coach Haywood's jaw dropped in disbelief. 'Horror Rod, the guy we projected as unstoppable, was just taken down by Little Sheep Su Xi?'
The original starting guard, Josh Peis, was just as incredulous. 'What just happened? How is this possible? Little Sheep Su Xi sent Horror Rod tumbling?'
The replay made it crystal clear.
As Su Xi brought the ball past half-court, Tinsley moved in to defend.
Su Xi turned sideways and began to force his way in... THUMP! THUMP!
After two bumps, the fragile Tinsley couldn't stop him and gave way. Su Xi physically overpowered Tinsley's defense, forcing his way to the free-throw line. This play wasn't in the tactical playbook.
But Coach Jim, arms crossed, watched with great interest. He couldn't care less about sticking to the playbook.
'As long as it makes Georgetown suffer, it's fine by me!'
Su Xi's overpowering drive deep into the paint threw Georgetown's defense into chaos.
He then quickly kicked the ball out to the perimeter, where Hakeem caught it and sank an easy jumper.
Hakeem had a solid mid-range and long-range shot.
"Hey, Jack, you remind me of LeBron James. He barges into the paint with the ball just like that, like he's going bowling," Cameron Anthony said, walking over to high-five Su Xi.
Su Xi didn't say anything, just smiled faintly.
Next, he sought out Horror Rod again.
When Rod got the ball again, he was inwardly fearful of Su Xi's strength. But he still had to redeem himself. If he was seen being too scared to even take the ball in front of all these fans, his popularity with the girls at school would plummet.
Besides, there were tons of scouts in the arena. Every public game affected his draft stock, even if he was already just a fringe prospect.
This time, he didn't try to post up; he attacked face-up.
Like most exceptionally strong players, Rod didn't have a long wingspan, so his dribbling was average—barely adequate even at the NCAA level. This was why, at best, he was projected to be a fringe NBA player.
Su Xi squared up against Rod.
Rod tried a testy fake.
For Su Xi, who regularly played against Cameron Anthony, the fake was so obvious that he was almost stunned. 'Are you serious?'
Rod thought he had faked Su Xi out.
He quickly crossed over, but the moment he did, Su Xi had already used his elite explosiveness to slide over, instantly locking him down.
Rod quickly turned sideways, habitually trying to solve the problem with strength rather than skill.
But he was up against Su Xi. While their raw strength was comparable, Su Xi had a 'super strength talent' and greater explosiveness. Therefore... he had Rod's number.
Rod crashed into a brick wall again. He had no choice but to hastily pick up his dribble.
The instant Rod gathered the ball, Su Xi's hands dove in. Four hands locked onto the ball, and Su Xi gave a vicious yank forward... unleashing his top-tier NCAA-level explosiveness and power... and ripped the ball right out of Rod's arms.
The Georgetown arena erupted. They never dreamed that the handsome young man possessed such incredible strength, ripping the ball directly from the arms of Horror Rod!
In that instant, Georgetown's world came crashing down.
Su Xi, ball in hand, shot Rod a disdainful look.
Horror Rod's pride was shattered. He had been completely crushed in his greatest area of strength by some unknown pretty boy.
He hung his head.
Su Xi took off, passing the ball to Cameron Anthony. In the frontcourt, Anthony showed off his classic, methodical footwork, faked out his defender, and finished with a reverse dunk in the paint—a perfect showcase of his talent and skill.
But despite the play... all eyes were on Su Xi.
Coach Jim pumped his fist on the sideline.
Assistant Vincent and Smart Fitness Trainer leaped to their feet, screaming for Su Xi.
Josh Peis and Duanni locked eyes, their gazes filled with utter disbelief and shock.
Not even four minutes into the game, Su Xi had already displayed his astonishing ability.
It wasn't just Scout Terry; other scouts in the arena were furiously typing evaluations of Su Xi into their databases.
Now, people were starting to believe that Su Xi might just have what it takes to reach the NBA.
Most of them remained conservative in their assessment, however. They figured his strength was an advantage in the NCAA, but would be merely average in the NBA.
Only Coach Terry gave Su Xi a star rating. He gave him a 'C', which designated a player with at least an eighty percent chance of being drafted in the second round of the NBA draft. He believed Su Xi could get even stronger, since he hadn't even bulked up yet, and Terry had also noted his impressive explosiveness.
Meanwhile, Su Xi walked over to Rod.
Seeing that Rod was looking defeated, he couldn't help but offer some "encouragement." "You've got to pull yourself together. Are you really going to get down on yourself after getting stripped twice? Do you think you're worthy of all these fans who support you?"
"I hope you come back stronger from this."
Su Xi's gaze was full of encouragement. He was being completely sincere. 'I really hope Rod can toughen up, maybe I can squeeze a little more potential out of him. My super strength talent hasn't leveled up in a while.'
But the more sincere Su Xi appeared, the more terrified Rod became. 'I can't figure this guy out at all,' he thought. 'Why is he so nice one moment and so vicious the next? What the hell does he want?'
He wasn't Horror Rod anymore. He was Terrified Rod.
Tinsley passed him the ball, but when Su Xi approached with a big smile on his face, Rod immediately passed it away.
Su Xi spread his hands in a questioning gesture. 'Why? Why have you lost your nerve?'
The gesture was interpreted as the ultimate humiliation.
Many Georgetown fans on the sidelines felt it was an injustice to Rod and hoped he would completely destroy Su Xi.
But Rod didn't respond.
From that moment on, he became invisible on the court. Having been crushed in his area of greatest pride, he lost all his confidence. He also completely lost his chance of making it to the NBA. In their reports, scouts labeled him as 'soft', and many even deleted his file.
The home fans began to boo him, too.
People couldn't accept such a coward as the leader of the iron-blooded Hoyas.
He was benched in the second half, and his career had hit its Waterloo.
Syracuse University cruised to victory. They were up by 15 at halftime and continued to widen the gap in the second half. The game was only competitive for the first five minutes; the remaining thirty-five were a highlight reel for Anthony, McNamara, Hakeem, and Su Xi…
Although Su Xi's performance was unflashy—he finished the game with only 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals…
…when he stepped back onto the court near the end of the game...
…the Georgetown fans had turned.
These college students channeled their frustration with the home team into support for Su Xi. They started chanting, "Lil-Goat! Lil-Goat! Lil-Goat!"
It was a direct call-back to the start of the game.
At the start, it had been a taunt, a joke.
Now, it was a self-deprecating admission of defeat, a sign of their genuine admiration for Su Xi.
This game would completely change the trajectory of Su Xi's destiny, though he himself hadn't realized it yet.
But some could already feel the changing of the tides.
Josh Peis was one of them.
Near the end of the game, he complained to Assistant Coach Haywood, "These Georgetown fans are ridiculous. It's just one game, do they have to act like that? You agree that Little Sheep Su Xi is nothing special, right, Coach?"
Josh Peis had a good relationship with Assistant Coach Haywood. Haywood had recruited him, and he assumed the coach would always have his back.
But this time, Assistant Coach Haywood gave him a stern warning. "Josh Peis, I expect you to show some respect for our starting guard!"
Josh Peis froze, stunned into a long silence.
He finally understood why Duanni and Craig had stopped joining him in bad-mouthing Su Xi during the second half.
Because the light skiff had already sailed past a thousand mountains.
Su Xi had used this game to prove his worth. He had become an indispensable part of Syracuse University.
He was no longer someone Josh Peis could even dream of challenging.
This is competitive sports. Strength is the only thing that matters.
…