At six o'clock in the morning of 2007, the sun in the sky in Ames City had not yet appeared. An Jie, excited and nervous, found that he could not sleep no matter what, so he had to put on his clothes and go to the bathroom to wash.

An Jie kept reminding himself that this was just a regular regular season in the college basketball league. He finally calmed down, but he thought of the basketball court with tens of thousands of people at night, the game in the spotlight, reporters, basketball commentators, scouts, cheerleaders. An Jie's excited and nervous feeling filled his whole body. He had never experienced such a big scene. In the past, sitting a few girls next to the wild court in China was the biggest concern that An Jie had ever received.

Anjie's father is also an old basketball fan. He is also very excited to be able to play in NCAA. But there is very little consultation on NCAA in China, let alone news about unpopular teams like Iowa State University. So in recent days, he has called Anjie more and more, asking about the team's situation and preparation status. In China, he can't see his son's game, so he can only pray in his heart that this kid will be successful today.

..

"How about this blue one?" Ricard tidied up his tie in front of the mirror and asked his wife for his opinion.

"You look great, my dear, don't worry, you're dressed very well."

"NCAA Division League is like dreaming."

"The good show is still behind. You will lead the team to win, and I will shout for your team in the audience." Page hugged his husband from behind. "What? Devil coach George Ricard is also nervous?"

"Kansas State University is not a soft persimmon, if we lose the ball in the first game then next..."

Before Ricard could finish speaking, Peggy gently placed his index finger on Ricard's mouth.

"Okay, wait until the afternoon to go to the locker room to tell your players. Now, you have to relax and go out and enjoy the breakfast I prepared for you."

"Huh, you're right." Ricard took a deep breath and temporarily threw the game behind his head. He has been studying Kansas State University for several days, and maybe it's not a bad thing to relax his mind for the time being.

Ricard walked to the dining table and sat down, as usual, eating breakfast while looking at the newspaper. Today's sports section is very lively, and the NCAA basketball league is about to start, and the newspaper is full of commentators' expectations and predictions for various universities and players. After searching for a long time, Ricard found out about Yi's comments about Iowa State University.

"When I got the roster of Iowa State, I couldn't match the names on the roster with the players. I haven't heard of other names on the roster except Mike Taylor who just transferred, including their new head coach George Ricard. Can you imagine what a team that doesn't have enough NCAA game experience from players to coaches will be like? But this is Iowa State. They have been in the Crazy March knockout season many years ago. They won't be in a good situation this season, so we should focus more on other teams in the Big 12."

With a very short review, this commentator can be said to have not taken Iowa State seriously at all. What is there to say about the bottom team of Yi? Only local fans are following them.

"Hmph, you will soon get to know the people on our roster." Ricard threw the newspaper to Yi with disdain and started to eat breakfast intently.

Since today is the home court of Iowa State University, the basketball court was already very lively before the game began. Although their team has poor record in recent years, this cannot stop the enthusiasm of the fans. They are in groups, holding banners with cheering slogans and various signs, and many people even wear red home jerseys on the team, and the atmosphere is very fanatical.

In addition to fans, reporters holding "long guns and short cannons" also surrounded the gymnasium. But most of these reporters did not come to the home team, and their reason for coming here was because of the visiting team Kansas State University.

In addition to Derek Rose of the University of Memphis and OJ Mayo of the University of Southern California, another No. 1 candidate for the draft is Michael Beasley of Kansas State University.

Like Ross, Beasley has become a highly-watched sports star since high school. He achieved a terrifying record of 38 wins and 5 losses in his four years in high school, and he can play 2OYO's excellent average data every year in high school. In the 2O7 McDonald's All-American High School Star Game, he scored 23 points and was named the Most Valuable Player on the spot and won the Adidas Classic MVP Award. Not only that, he was selected as the third team of the All-American Team in his third year of high school, and was selected as the second team of the All-American Team in his fourth year of high school. Such a famous basketball genius in high school is destined to be the focus of media attention. No one has any hope for the results and processes of the game. Poor Iowa State University is just a foil for Beasley to kill all the people in the eyes of the media.

The players of the Tornado team entered the basketball court after lunch, where they were warming up and psychological adjustments. Even though the basketball court has not been opened to the public yet, the noise outside has made the players on the court feel a little uneasy.

"Michael Beasley, I've only watched him on TV before, but I'll face this damn genius after a while. God, this is crazy." The person who spoke was Anthony Ben, the small forward of the Tornado team, who is very athletic.

"Yes, but after the game, people will start discussing Anthony Ben's violent slash." Morris joked with his teammates, which was also a kind of encouragement to his teammates.

"Don't forget that basketball is a team sport. Michael Beasley is just a personal one. Unfortunately, as his opponent, we are just a team." Mike Taylor also encouraged these little brothers who have no experience in playing games.

Two hours before the start of the game, the Kansas State University bus finally drove into the Iowa State University campus. Their arrival immediately caused a sensation among the media who had been waiting for a long time, and reporters carried cameras to surround the bus.

The members of Kansas State University were also flattered. They had never seen such a big formation before. Only Michael Beasley, the protagonist who was hunting by the reporters, looked out the window with a cold face and disagreed. He was used to this kind of scene in high school and would no longer make a fuss about these reporters who flocked to him.

As soon as the driver stopped the car, the reporters surrounded the Kansas State University bus. After the Kansas State University team members squeezed out the road, Michael Beasley got off the car. As soon as he got off the bus, countless microphones reached in front of him.

"Michael, how many points do you think you can score in Game 1 NCAA?"

"Derick Ross and you, who do you think is better between you two?"

"We all know your record in high school, with yi38 wins and 5 losses. Now that we are in the first game of our college career, can you bring you a victory to the team?"

Michael Beasley finally stopped and wanted to answer the question raised by the reporter just now.

"We came to Ames City not only to win games, but also to win beauty. I only lost at most two games in high school. When I was in college, I will still maintain this tradition well." Still as arrogant as ever, Beasley brought his uncut eyes to let people in the United States know their ambitions. Michael Beasley is here to college, and nBa's scouts will watch it carefully!

The noise outside the locker room was getting louder, which meant that fans and opposing players were starting to enter. Ricard cleared his throat and wanted to make sure the players could hear what he was saying.

"Okay! The time for you guys to dream of! After fighting well, more than 10,000 people outside will worship you like heroes. If you are beaten by your opponent and have no power to fight back, then you and I will be drowned by the saliva outside! You choose your own choice, which kind of people you want to be?"

"We want to be heroes!" Almost everyone answered in unison.

"Very good! I knew you guys are not a good deal. Now, I'll go out for the final warm-up for me and have my muscles and bones activated! If anyone fails to do the technical movements on the field later, don't blame me for the heavy training task I've come back!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the players of the Tornado team got up and left the locker room. When Ricard yelled like this, they were not nervous at all, and all that was left was excitement.

After walking out of the player passage and reaching the basketball court, the audience had already sat a few times in the stands. Since Ricardo insisted on closed training, the fans were the first time they saw players representing their team. This sense of mystery made them even warmly welcome.

"Did you see that big Asian man? He is the center of our team! That guy is also my roommate. When he first came to the United States, he followed me on the field!" In the stands, Anjie's roommate Jason began to take advantage of the topic again. His words did attract the attention of several girls, but their purpose was just to get Anjie's phone number through him.

The other side of the court, Kansas State players also stepped on the wooden floor. They came to warm up two hours before the game started. Kansas State coach Rick Chris didn't want to waste too much energy in this game. In his eyes, it was more like a preseason training game. What did Iowa State fight him? We have Michael, and they didn't even have a player who could name it.

During the warm-up period, more and more fans entered the venue, and the atmosphere became more and more fanatical. This was not enough. The mascot of the Iowa State University Tornado team, Yi, was only called "scratch" and rushed into the gymnasium. He led the hot girls of the cheerleaders to perform various performances, and also directly sent jerseys and small gifts to mobilize the enthusiasm of the fans. The reporters made flash films on cameras, and the fans sang and danced in the stands. To be honest, the NCAA game was quite professional from scale to level. Before the game began, Anjie was already infected by this atmosphere. His adrenaline soared, and every joint in his body was ready to move.

Half an hour before the start of the game, Ricard called everyone back to the locker room, and he was going to make the final arrangement. The players were extremely excited, and they all jumped toward the player passage, and the fans stretched out countless hands to high-fives with them.

The cheerleader girl's charming eyes, the disdain revealed in the eyes of opponents, the fans in the stands shouted that the venue seemed so complicated, and people were staring at their own movements everywhere. In any case, when they came back again half an hour later, the cruel battle would begin.

When he returned to the locker room and closed the door, the players suddenly felt that their ears were much quieter. Ricard looked at the young men who were ready to whip their hands below and couldn't help but smile. He was worried that these young men were too nervous and prepared to relieve stress from them. Now it seems that he was over-concerned. His players were not only not nervous but also full of energy, which was exactly what he wanted to see.

"Okay guys! You know without saying anything else, Michael Beasley must get our grand hospitality!" Ricard picked up the marker and drew a big circle on Beasley's name.

"He is an all-around forward, and he can play at the same time as the third and fourth positions. You can't let him go! Even if he breaks through very well, you can't let him go, so I'll stick him tightly. You must know that this guy's shooting is not a blocker, so you can't give him a chance to take action easily. Don't worry, if you break through by him, Morris behind you will help you block him." As he said, Ricard turned his gaze to Morris.

"Don't worry, coach, I will make up for the seat in time." Morris patted his chest.

"Anjie! Don't you like blocking the most? Today your chance is here! The opponent's fourth and fifth positions are not good at shooting, so if they want to score, they have to get close to the basket. So you just keep the basket to the end, and today the whole basket is your territory! No matter whether their center and power forward are pulled out, no matter whether your outside teammates are broken or not, you don't have to follow you. I want you to cruise near the three-second zone to ensure the safety of the basket. If Beasley breaks through Ben and Morris at the same time, it's great, let him taste your big hat! I want you to play area defense personally, and you will defend me whoever is near the three-second zone."

"No problem!" An Jie made an "ok" gesture.

"Morris and Angel should actively stay in the position on the offense! Don't worry, Mike Taylor will deliver the basketball accurately to you. If Beasley is the strongest point of Kansas State University, then the inside is their weakness! I want you two to continue to create damage and continue to put pressure on the opponent's inside players. Everyone else is like that, actively breaking through and making their already weak inside players more passive. Don't rush to play slowly. If the pace is too fast, it will give Michael Beasley the space to swing. We play with them with nimbly and patiently conduct it. But this does not mean that you can be lazy when attacking, run actively, and take the pick-and-roll without the ball as we usually train, and we can always find gaps."

"Ricard, it's almost done." Old Moore pointed to his watch and reminded the Ricardian players that it's time to play.

"Okay guys! The outside media and opponents all think that we will lose in this game. We are the foil for Michael Beasley's No. 1 pick in the NBa team. But they were wrong! They don't know what kind of people we are in the Yi group of the Tornado team, which is exactly our advantage. No one has understood and studied us, so we will catch our opponent off guard. Underestimate us, they will pay the price for it! Now, go on the court and let the media and opponent know whose home court this is!" Ricard threw the marker pen to the ground, mobilizing the players' emotions to the highest point.

"Roar!" The group of young men roared out of the locker room. Anjie clenched his fists and his forehead was covered in sweat. At this moment, the stands were all sitting there. Seventh of the people in the small town of Ames were sitting here, and the noise was several times louder than when he just warmed up.

"Let's go guys, let's get on!" Ricard gave the order like a general. His players were like brave soldiers, rushed out of the player's passage and came to the basketball court.

"Let's welcome, Iowa State University Tornado!" The live broadcaster dragged the name of the Tornado for a long time, and the cheers on the spot finally arrived. Since it was the first game of the season and the home team fans were also very unfamiliar with their players, the live broadcaster received instructions to introduce the players one by one.

Suddenly, all the lights on the scene were turned off, and only a few spotlights shone the players of the Tornado team. Now, the focus of the whole game is on a few of them.

"Let me introduce the players and welcome our point guard, No. yi, Mike Taylor."

"Play as the shooting guard, No. 5 Tony Cruze."

"Small forward, No. 3 Anthony Ben!"

"Our monster inside! Andrew Morris, No. 32, Damanniu!"

The broadcaster introduced the first four players in order, and it was Anjie's turn next. At this moment, he looked at the cheering audience and was covered in goose bumps. It was not because Anjie felt nervous or stage frightened, but he was just deeply shocked by the atmosphere.

"Next, the center, from the distant China, Yao Ming of the Tornado Team, Dongfang Gaota, No. 2 Anjie!" The broadcaster misunderstood and read Anjie's name. Although the pronunciation was inaccurate, he shouted with great momentum.

Anjie waved to the audience, then went up to fight with his teammates. The players from the Kansas State University Wildcats opposite could only watch their opponents quietly accept the welcome from the audience, but they were left alone. They were all very upset and planned to steal the limelight back in the next game.

After all the Tornado players were introduced, the lights in the gymnasium lighted up again, and the Wildcats' center was already standing in the center circle and ready to jump the ball. An Jie hammered his chest and encouraged himself, and walked towards the center circle according to the referee's instructions.

All the players were already standing according to their positions, and the referee blew the whistle to indicate that the players of the two teams were ready. Then, he picked up the basketball and lifted it to a position parallel to his head.

He looked at Angel and Wildcats center Scott Martins, and gave them a slight nod, then he threw the ball high into the air.

Attached: Iowa State University Tornado official player list

Center: Anjie, Byrne Asakin

Power forwards: Andrew Morris, Walter Sharp, Ant George, Meeks Washington

Small forward: Anthony Ben, CJ Fords, Darnell Harding

Scoring guards: Tony Cruz, Chris Roberts, Nathan Thorton
Chapter completed!