Amazing starter!

Time is fast, and it has been a month since the NCAA kicked off in the blink of an eye.

Durant and Lin Ying's defensive ability have improved rapidly.

As Springman said, defensive skills and physical talent determine the defensive ceiling.

They are learning skills. If they are talented, the most important thing in defensive talent is their wingspan, which is exactly what they all possess.

　　 And the interesting thing is that since Durant started practicing defense, one of the things he must do after each game is to ask Springman how his defense is, even on the night when he scored 30+.

Springman is sometimes dumbfounded by him.

But this is exactly what Durant's character is. Barnes criticized him for not being able to defend well, so he just studied defense.

On this day, the University of Texas will host the Iowa State University Cyclone team at home.

Barnes announced in the training class that DJ Augustine and Lin Yinghui would be the starters in the game!

After his announcement, his teammates congratulated Lin Ying and Augustine.

In the past month, the University of Texas played a total of 8 games, with a record of 4 wins and 4 losses.

　　 Counting the 1 wins and 2 losses at the start of the game, their subsequent record is 3 wins and 2 losses.

After gradually adapting to the intensity of college games, the freshmen of the University of Texas began to show their talents gradually, and the team record has improved.

In addition to Durant's visible defensive progress, Lin Ying and Augustine also performed very well.

Lin Ying is steadily improving, getting more and more playing time, and his performance is getting better and better.

And Augustine's scalpel breakthrough and precise three-pointers, as well as his excellent ability to break points, have also begun to show their fullness.

However, the performance of the University of Texas so far can only be considered fair.

Because the Big 12 itself is not a major league, winning the championship is almost the only way to enter the crazy three.

And in accordance with the rules, the Big12 team only played 22 games in the official regular season. One third of the season has passed after 8 games.

Now their record is ranked 7th in the Big12 league.

If they can't improve their rankings in the following games, they are likely to encounter Kansas early in the playoffs.

Once out early, let alone winning, the chance of getting a wild card is very slim.

This is also the reason that Barnes adjusted the starter earlier than expected, and it adjusted the two players at once.

Every game after that will be critical for the University of Texas.

Let's talk about the timing of Barnes' choice.

The Iowa State University Cyclone gets its name from an NFL game in the 1950s.

At that time, Iowa State was violently whirlwind, and the team also washed their opponents 36-0 in the game that night, so the Whirlwind team got its name.

From this history, you know that football is the strongest sport at this college.

Basketball is much weaker in comparison.

In one sentence, this ancestor is even poorer than Texas Tech in the opener.

The only thing that can be found is Jeff Hornacek, whose future daughter is more famous than his father.

　　 Up to now, Hornacek still maintains the Tornado's eight records, which also proves the mediocrity of this college.

Even in Lin Ying's memory, this college will never be an All-Star in the future.

Even now, Iowa State University has only one impression of a point guard named Mike Taylor, a rookie at the end of the second round.

So the choice of Barnes is reasonable.

There was no class on the day of the match, and Lin Ying and Durant spent the whole day in the training hall.

Even the security guards at the door have become accustomed to them, and sometimes they will give them the keys to let them open the door in advance.

"It's the first time. Are you nervous?"

After training, the two of them directly leaned against the wall and sat on the ground to rest. Durant turned his head to look at Lin Ying while wiping his sweat.

Lin Ying nodded.

Although his overall performance in the previous games was excellent, the starting and substitutes were not the same.

The biggest difference is that opponents are likely to study him before the game, which will give him a lot less space to work with.

"It's okay, just play a few more games."

Durant hit Lin Ying's shoulder as he said, "This has become a habitual movement between him and Lin Ying."

But he is also telling the truth. In the first game, he played as a power forward, and he was almost a non-stick on his first shot.

But now, his performance on the court is already considered more than capable.

"And with you, it will be much easier for me to score."

Durant said, and laughed.

Although Randy Williams, who started it all, is good, his passing vision and ability are too poor.

But Lin Ying is different. In addition to his personal ability, no one can compare the tacit understanding between their training ground and high school.

"Then you can help me make a triple-double."

Lin Ying took the words.

Durant's smile stopped suddenly, and he looked at Lin Ying in a daze.

Lin Ying was a little weirded out by him and touched the corner of her mouth.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Durant smiled and said nothing.

Lin Ying is becoming more and more different from when he was in high school.

....

There are only about two hours left before the start of the game.

After a short rest, Lin Ying and Durant simply ate something and went to the basketball gym.

The home stadium for the University of Texas game is called the Frank Irving Special Event Center, which can accommodate up to 16,755 people to watch the game.

This is not a special case for the University of Texas. The competition venues used by the first-level league teams are basically at this level.

This is also an important reason why many people say that NCAA games are comparable to NBA games.

When they arrived, it was still about an hour before the game started, but the fans were already there.

Two to three thousand Iowa State University fans also came to the scene, and they sat in the area directly opposite the basket.

Although it was not the first home game, when they scored in the stadium, adrenaline was secreted uncontrollably with the atmosphere of the scene.

It's not that they are young; well, they are actually still young!

But with the atmosphere of the scene, everyone will be excited, not to mention that they are the ones who are going to play.

"Patience, care, determination, defend your home court!"

After the warm-up, Barnes shouted loudly.

His voice is loud and full of breath, and the players feel trembling when they hear it.

"Longhorn Bull!"

The players folded their hands together, then pressed down together to shout the team slogan.

Next, is the opening ceremony!

Something different from the NBA is that when the NCAA opening ceremony was introduced, the entire team was introduced, and the first five were the last to appear.

The visiting team was first, and the lights were on when the visiting team was on.

After the home team, the lights on the stage were dimmed, and only the home team used the chasing lights at halftime.

The players came out one after another, and finally the five tigers started.

"1 meter 80, from New Orleans Missouri Tower High School, DJ-Augustin!"

When the first name was pronounced, although the home fans were a little surprised, they still cheered for the first time.

"2 meters 01, from Montrose Christian School in Washington, Linying!"

Then, when Lin Ying's name came out, the home fans were surprised more, but the cheers were also louder!

With his tough defense and unique playing style, coupled with his unique skin color, Lin Ying already has many fans in Austin!

Augustine, James, Durant, Lin Ying, and Wendell.

When the University of Texas starting lineup came out, the coaching staff at Iowa State University was surprised.

As mentioned earlier, the NCAA is not like the NBA. There is not so much attention from the media and reporters. This adjustment is something Iowa State University did not know before the game.

Moreover, Lin Ying's previous worries proved to be hesitant because the head coach there turned to ask the assistant coach next to him for his information.

Augustine's start seems to be a natural fit. Although he is not as talented as Durant, he is also a five-star high school student and was also selected for the McDonald's High School All-Star Game.

He played on the bench before, and Barnes made a gradual process out of prudent consideration.

But Lin Ying's high school rating is only three stars, which is one star less than Westbrook.

This is also the reason why Augustine's attitude towards Lin Ying didn't catch a cold when he first arrived on the team.

Although the basketball system in the United States is perfect, it is the same as the imperial examination in ancient China. To advance to the next step, you must be the best of your peers.

A three-star high school student is obviously not qualified yet.

But at this stage, this is not a bad thing for Lin Ying.

Because at least he won't be targeted tonight!

After the players are introduced, the head coaches on both sides will follow.

Iowa State University's head coach, Lin Ying, didn't know him, but on the assistant coach's side, he found a familiar face.

Fred Hoiberg,

Lin Ying also had a lot of information related to Hoiberg in her mind.

He retired from the NBA in 2006, became the head coach of Iowa State University in 2010, became the head coach of the NBA Bulls in 2015 and briefly coached Derrick Rose. He was fired in 2018.

The timeline is just right.

After the opening ceremony, the head coaches on both sides completed the final tactical deployment, and the starters all appeared one after another.

Lin Ying took a deep breath before entering the field.

Durant bumped his shoulder when he saw it.

With her eyes facing each other, Lin Ying nodded.

A jump ball between Wendell and the opposing center forward

Along with the cheers of the home fans, Wendell jumped up and dialed the ball back to the half. Augustine controlled the ball, and the University of Texas got the chance to attack the ball first!

When Lin Ying fell to the top of the arc, Augustine advanced to the front court and handed the ball to him.

After Barnes adopted Springman's suggestion to let Lin Ying start, he made it clear that he was at the core of his tactics.

The game over the past month has proved that Lin Ying with the ball is more threatening.

So now I am thinking about what Abrams said. Although Barnes has a bad temper, he is indeed a good coach who knows people and makes good use of them.

Lin Ying holds the ball in the arc and observes the running positions of his teammates on the field.

There is a big difference between playing the starting line and playing the bench.

When he played on the bench, he was more of the initiator of the pick-and-roll tactics on the court and a tool to open up space.

But to start, he is more about connecting and organizing teams.

Because this is the first time starting, Lin Ying and this group of starting players have not been training for a long time, so it depends more on his personal performance at this time.

His "cpu" started to burn again.

The running positions of the teammates on the field and the defenses of the opponents have become a series of data invisibly.

Soon, he came to a conclusion and fixed his eyes on Augustine.

Iowa State University's opening defense is man-to-man, and the defensive focus is on Durant.

Augustine had already shot to the bottom corner with the help of James.

Iowa State University's defensive rotation is much worse than Kansas's, and the people who change defenses are obviously slower.

Lin Ying passed the ball for the first time.

That position, such an opportunity, Augustine's grasp of at least 50%!

The ball was passed to Augustine like a cannonball.

Like the three-pointer, the pass can also be trained. Thousands of pass exercises can continuously improve the accuracy of the pass.

Lin Ying's current passing ability is still a B in his own rating. Excellent is not considered good, but passing this kind of ball is more than enough.

Augustine reacted quickly, raising his hand after catching the ball and shooting without giving his opponent a chance to defend.

"When!"

It was a pity that the ball hit the edge of the basket and bounced out.

His three-pointer didn't make it.

As soon as he played, his hands were still a bit cold.

Iowa State University immediately launched a defensive counterattack after protecting the defensive rebound.

After receiving the ball, Tyler accelerated past James' defense and quickly attacked the frontcourt to make a layup.

"boom!"

I was directly chased by James on the nail board!

Texas University countered the fast break, but Iowa State University retired in a timely manner, and the fast break did not turn into position.

Augustine and Wendell scored after a pick-and-roll.

Augustine's pass was a bit low, and Wendell failed to hold the ball and get out of bounds.

Then, Iowa State still failed to score the ball in a wave of positions...

The two teams played for more than a minute at the beginning, and there were no points on the court!

The University of Texas has a new lineup running in, while the Iowa State side is limited in strength, and the two sides are a bit of a peck at each other!

Iowa State is not in a hurry, but the University of Texas at home is starting to be a little anxious.

The fans on the sidelines were agitated. Obviously, there was a gap between the team's opening performance and their expectations!

Barnes moved around unconsciously at this time.

He greatly adjusted the starting lineup, and he was also under tremendous pressure as the head coach.

On the field, Augustine made a sudden score, knowing that it was not an easy game to play, and then gave the ball to Lin Ying.

Lin Ying continued to hold the ball at the top of the arc.

At this time, the Iowa State fans behind the rim began to roar.

Although this era is not a big man without outside play, like this season, the most famous one is Ryan Anderson of the University of California, Berkeley.

With close to a 40% outside shooting percentage, Anderson has averaged 17+ points per game in the past month and is the star of Berkeley.

However, the stars of this style of play are not liked by the fans of this era. Generally, they are labeled as "soft."

Nowitzki of the NBA is the most typical example.

Not to mention Lin Ying's skin tone.

He shot from just outside the three-point line this time!

Withdrawn people generally have a tendency to have low self-esteem and care about others' opinions.

The reaction of Iowa State University fans gave him a strong urge to prove himself.

Of course, there is no problem with this choice on the court.

As I said earlier, Iowa State University doesn't know Lin Ying, and the person who guards him is at least two meters away from him.

This is basically a big vacancy.

After shooting the ball, Lin Ying's heart accelerated uncontrollably, and the "pop" sound of impact seemed to blast in her ears.

Although this is not the first time he has taken a three-pointer in an official game, he hasn't missed a three-pointer.

But this ball is still very important to him!

When he decided to train three-pointers and pass in high school, he had already defined himself as a space insider.

If he can't make a three-pointer, then his "space" is impossible to talk about.

Speaking smaller, this is just a ball.

But going bigger, this determines the way the University of Texas opens the game!

The crazy training showed its meaning at this time. Lin Ying's shot was almost perfect in terms of strength and angle.

After the ball was shot, it drew a beautiful parabola with backspin in the air.

This ball can be scored just by looking at it!

"Wait!"

There was a crisp sound.

Lin Ying hit the first sports goal on the field tonight!

And it's a three-pointer!

The roar of Iowa State University fans was instantly overwhelmed by the louder cheers of Texas University fans.

The decibel level is high, like a fighter sonic boom, and the shocked person's eardrum hurts.

NCAA atmosphere! ambiance at home!!

Lin Ying also clenched her fist unconsciously.

Durant even ran to Lin Ying and shouted excitedly.

He looks more excited than Lin Ying.

This three-pointer broke the scoring shortage on the field, which is really exciting!

In Iowa State University's offense, Taylor used the center's pick and roll to break through to the basket.

Judging from the two consecutive offenses in the opening game, due to limited talent, Iowa State University basically played the ball in Taylor's hands.

But Taylor's abilities are really outstanding. His immediate combat power and experience can be ranked at the bottom of the first-class level in the NCAA.

Right now, he's passed Wendell with a breakthrough change, a nice low layup.

"boom!"

But his ball was chased by the nail board again!

This time the person who blocked the shot was not James, but Lin Ying!

Lin Ying had already returned to defense in advance when Tyler broke through, and then used Wendell's body to cover and kill a surprise!

This ball can come out, as it was shown in the opening. Iowa State University has too little knowledge of Lin Ying!

Anyone who has watched the University of Texas game video knows that Lin Ying moves frequently on the defensive end, so he must pay attention to one hand.

I felt sorry for Tyler, the big 12-star guard, and was rewarded by James Lin Ying with two top hats in the opening game.

Lin Ying picked up the defensive rebound after nailing the board, turned around, and passed the ball to Augustine.

Augustine has already crossed the three-point line.

He played on the bench with Lin Ying before, and a good understanding has been established after playing for a month.

The ball was given, he accelerated to throw away the opposing defender, rushed to the frontcourt for a fast break layup and scored.

5 – 0!

The University of Texas takes the lead in the offensive!

The cheers of the University of Texas fans at the scene were also one after another.

The team's progress can also be seen!

In Iowa State University's offense, Taylor finally learned to be smart after being risked twice. This time he chose a mid-range shot after the screen.

This time he also finally found a chance to show his scoring ability; the ball wiped the basket and fell into the net bag.

Iowa State also broke the scoring drought.

Right-handed ball exchangeLin Ying continues to hold the ball at the top of the arc.

After he hit the three-pointer, Iowa State University knew that he had three-point ability, which would make the defending power forward have already followed the three-point line.

Then, the sense of space on the court came out, just like in the previous scene in Kansas.

A very important point. Although the NCAA court is not as big as the NBA, if there are inside players who are pulled outside, their protection of the basket will be significantly weaker.

Unless there is a dominant center that can radiate the entire basket, opponents can't defend against an air cut.

That's the truth.

Wendell stuck the opposing center forward, and Durant came out from under the cover of James.

His running position contained most of the defenders, and James then cut back to the basket from the other side, where no one was watching.

Lin Ying received the pass directly to the basket!

James showed his top physical fitness. He was led into the air by the ball. The moment he caught the ball in the air, his head was level with the basket.

"Wham!"

A one-handed empty catch to catch the ball, and then a one-handed change to both hands, the ball was smashed into the basket!

To apply the classic commentary to a certain rain in the future:

This ball is bursting at the seams!

The Frank Irwin Center was completely ignited!

Even on the bench, Barnes couldn't help but get up excitedly and punch his fist.

Although the team didn't play very well at the beginning, their performance in the past few rounds completely exceeded his expectations!

It feels like they only used the opening rounds to complete the new lineup!