News of Syracuse University's 89-68 away victory over Georgetown University spread like wildfire, with numerous media outlets reporting on it.
Although the media focused on the superstar genius Carmeron Anthony's incredible NCAA debut stats of 29 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks, on the Syracuse and Georgetown University campuses, the name Little Sheep Su Xi was on the rise.
This was because Little Sheep Su Xi had taken down Horror Rod in the game.
To be honest, Su Xi hadn't liked the nickname much before.
But after the game, a blonde girl rushed over, hugged his leg, and looked up at him from a very alluring angle, shouting, "Little Sheep Su Xi!"
In that moment, he felt... 'Maybe it's not such a bad nickname after all.'
'It's actually pretty manly.'
Moreover, the Georgetown University students were surprisingly honorable; they kept their word. The boy who had posted on the campus BBS, saying he would kneel and kiss Su Xi's toes if he scored 10 points, actually pushed aside the blonde girl hugging Su Xi's leg after the game and kissed his basketball shoes.
This scene was captured by many university students, who then posted it on both schools' BBS forums.
Combined with the photo of Su Xi knocking down Horror Rod during the game and the buzz from the earlier posts on the Georgetown University BBS, the interaction between the two schools made Little Sheep Su Xi the biggest winner of this game.
Many Syracuse University students flocked to that thread on the Georgetown forum to leave comments, and they reposted it on their own forums.
And then there was that photo of his shoe being kissed...
When Su Xi returned to campus, he received a flood of flowers and even more sexy photos... with contact information written on the back.
Now, many girls from both universities wanted to date Little Sheep Su Xi... He had a cute nickname, handsome looks, and incredible strength. Most importantly, he was a top student. He fulfilled every female fantasy about men.
Huang Xiaoman felt a strong sense of crisis.
However, after returning to campus, Su Xi still spent every day holed up in the gym. He didn't participate in any social activities, even though every party claimed they could get Little Sheep Su Xi to attend... because using his name would attract more girls.
Su Xi's personal routine didn't change, but he could feel that the attitudes of many people around him had. He was treated with greater respect.
He began to enjoy certain privileges.
Most of the faces he saw were smiling ones. Even Josh Peis, who had previously been hostile, started handing him towels.
This perfectly proved a certain truth: when you become strong, everyone around you seems to be a good person.
Su Xi didn't let this get to his head. He continued to train as hard as ever.
This made Jim see him in a new light. He said to his two assistant coaches on more than one occasion, "Jack will become the soul of our team. I saw his potential from the very beginning, even when he was a nobody last year. Cameron's talent is astonishing, but he'll be leaving soon. McNamara has great skills, but he doesn't work as hard as Jack, and he doesn't have that same tough, unyielding presence on the court."
His words were met with widespread agreement.
The Big East Conference games continued.
But the schedule was relatively light.
Carmeron Anthony, McNamara, Su Xi, and Hakeem continued to evolve during the games. Their chemistry improved rapidly, and they became the Big East Conference's golden quartet.
They kept on winning. Although the Big East League was packed with strong teams, nothing could stop their momentum.
Carmeron Anthony scored around 25 points in almost every game. Hakeem was the second-leading scorer, averaging 15 points per game. McNamara's scoring was similar to Hakeem's, but he sometimes handled playmaking duties because Su Xi needed a rest. Su Xi often had to guard the opponent's main offensive threat.
Su Xi gradually became a solid starting point guard, though he kept a low profile compared to his three flashy teammates.
On offense, he faithfully executed the head coach's tactical plans. He had a strong body, outstanding explosiveness, and extremely strong dribbling skills. This allowed him to take the ball anywhere on the court and distribute it to his teammates according to the play... which usually meant an isolation play for Carmeron Anthony.
On defense, he would proactively take on tough assignments. He was an active switch defender and would even go up against the opposing team's center.
Jim sometimes didn't understand why Jack pushed himself so hard.
But without a doubt, Su Xi's actions moved his teammates. The team's fighting spirit improved rapidly because of him.
This was the 'adrenaline gene' that Jim Boham had been looking for.
Before March arrived, Syracuse University had achieved a record of 26 wins and 3 losses. They finished first in the Big East Conference, automatically securing a spot in the final 64 of the NCAA Division I tournament.
The NCAA's 64-team field is divided into four regions based on the universities' locations: East, South, Midwest, and West.
Each region has 16 teams, seeded from 1 to 16 based on various factors like regular-season record and strength of their conference. The first-round matchups are the #1 seed versus the #16 seed, the #2 seed versus the #15 seed, and so on.
On February 26th, the final rankings were released.
Despite being the top team in the Big East Conference, Syracuse University was only listed as a #3 seed.
The #1 seed in the 64-team East region was the top team from the Big 12 Conference, the University of Oklahoma. The #2 seed was the top team from the ACC Alliance, Wake Forest University...
It's worth mentioning that Syracuse University's first-round opponent, the #14 seed, was Manhattan College, also from New York. They were the champions of the MAAC Alliance, but upon entering the national championship, they were only ranked 14th in the East region.
Another interesting fact was that although both teams were from New York, the NCAA, in the interest of fairness, scheduled their game—along with that of another pair of opponents—at the Boston TD Garden Arena in Massachusetts, the home of the Celtics.
Before heading to Boston, Su Xi had a lot of things to take care of.
He had to do an interview with the American Cable Network, deal with the pestering of Carmeron Anthony's prospective agent, and handle a scout named Terry who kept trying to talk to him.
The reason Su Xi had to do the interview with the American Cable Network was that the network had broadcast a Syracuse University game. They had originally been there for Antonio, but in that game against the University of Virginia, Su Xi's performance was quite good.
Furthermore, he was of Asian descent, so he received a lot of attention after the game was televised. This was thanks to Yao Ming's increasingly impressive performance in the NBA, which was creating a powerful wave of interest in China.
Another reason was that Carmeron Anthony wanted to do the interview together with Su Xi.
The Syracuse University athletic committee took this interview very seriously. They rented suits for the two players so they would look good on camera.
Su Xi looked even more handsome in a suit, like an elite from Wall Street.
Cameron, on the other hand, looked a bit out of place. He preferred baggy clothes and white sneakers, and he wore the suit with a kind of street hip-hop vibe.
Before the official interview, Terry ambushed Su Xi in the hallway outside the restroom. He told Su Xi a shocking piece of news: "An NBA team has taken an interest in you. The person who's interested is a man with real power, and a former NBA superstar. You should listen to me now."
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I've skipped over the Big East Conference tournament without going into detail because the protagonist didn't 'level up' during that process; he was just accumulating experience. I'm also not writing too much about the slice-of-life aspects of college for the same reason—no leveling-up elements. Next, I'll focus on writing about the more exciting national championship.
Trust me, the plot I have in store is great. I've prepared an absolutely thrilling and fresh basketball story for everyone.
Also, an announcement. From now until July 1st, I will guarantee two chapters a day. However, for every 30 monthly tickets I receive (current count is 48), I will release an extra chapter. Let's get both the author's and the readers' motivation up!
Finally, please don't 'stockpile' chapters. I just found out that the current system on Qidian is completely different from before. If you stockpile, the book will die. This is because all recommendations are based on the number of 'followers reading the latest chapter'. If that number is low, the novel will never get another official recommendation. And then... game over.
Even though you all curse me out sometimes, you must still like the stories I write, right?...
I'm begging you.
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