Chapter 10: Please Remember, I’m Not Ttu’s Michael Jordan
Marquette University’s formation was disrupted.
Wesley Matthews isn’t the team’s arrowhead, but his importance is second only to Dominique James.
Because once the game escalates from this invitational tournament’s small skirmishes to March Madness-level high-stakes matches, Matthews is the player most likely to gain an edge over those top college players in immediate combat power and physical strength.
Last night they analyzed Texas Tech University’s roster, and the coaching staff basically concluded that without Jarrius Jackson, TTU is a toothless tiger—lock down No. 1, and the others are no threat.
And the task of locking down No. 1 naturally falls to Wesley Matthews.
But after the opening possessions, while Matthews’ task couldn’t be called a complete success, it was at least a serious setback.
Marquette University’s head coach Tom Crean never imagined that TTU, which seemed to have no successors, had dug up real gold from overseas.
But Matthews can’t get blown up.
If Matthews on the wing gets blown up by the opponent, it would have a huge impact on the team’s morale.
After weighing it over and over, Crean stood on the sideline and said to the other sophomore guard the team relies on heavily, Jerel McNeal: “J-Mac, No. 1 is yours for now!”
On the other side, Bob Knight was no longer pacing like a lion patrolling his territory as he did in his younger days.
He had seen enough big scenes.
“Coach, the opponent switched defenders!”
Knight’s capable assistant coach Chris Beard shouted a reminder.
“I saw it.” Knight didn’t even change his expression. “It won’t make any difference.”
If that bastard freshman was really as outstanding as he thought, this switch—which didn’t even qualify as a tactical adjustment—couldn’t possibly affect him.
Besides, No. 22 who switched over didn’t look like he could restrict Xu Ling no matter how you sliced it.
Knight was right.
Compared to Matthews, McNeal wasn’t as sturdy; he was a standard college-level standout shooting guard, 193 cm in height, with shooting and driving both on point, but compared to Marquette University’s other two backcourt giants, he leaned more toward a secondary attacker role.
Fast breaks, catch-and-shoot, weak-side drives to the basket—these were his specialties.
However, after switching onto Xu Ling, he went silent on the court.
Xu Ling was the best off-ball defender Knight had seen since coming to TTU, but the problem was his defensive skills weren’t standout, and his defensive awareness needed improvement, yet he had an inexplicable experience like a senior veteran.
His game-reading ability left the other players on the court in the dust.
On top of that, he had freakish focus.
Knight, who had been staring at Xu Ling all day, also discovered this guy’s freakish trait—once on the court, his eyes could stay locked on the floor the entire time.
McNeal fizzled out.
When Xu Ling realized the opponent lacked strong independent offensive ability—or rather, the will for it—he began using his talent to extend his defensive influence to other spots.
And on offense, Xu Ling iso’d McNeal one-on-one, either scoring directly or drawing defense for assists to teammates, creating a suffocating presence single-handedly.
At halftime, Texas Tech University, seen as the underdog without their captain, led by 8 points at 44-36.
Xu Ling came off the court, and Knight was standing on the sideline, looking like he was there to greet him.
However, Knight said nothing and just tossed him the towel from his hand.
Xu Ling took the towel to wipe his sweat and asked, “Coach, don’t you have anything to say?”
Knight didn’t say the harsh words Xu Ling expected.
He didn’t.
“You played a Michael Jordan-style half. I have nothing to say.”
Xu Ling’s face showed shock; he really didn’t expect Knight to say that.
“Don’t celebrate too early!” Knight immediately tightened his face. “If you screw up the second half, no one will remember what you did in the first.”
Xu Ling had no objection to that.
Back in the locker room, Knight showed the court sharpness of a veteran coach. But his first words stunned all the players.
“Good job.” Knight’s voice was still gruff, but those simple four words from him were the highest level of praise.
He then reverted to his usual sternness, slamming the tactical board hard with the marker: “But don’t celebrate too early! Our opponents like inside-outside combo offense, but tonight their outside shooting was awful like the basket had a lid on it! Wesley Matthews, Dominique James, and that No. 22 we TTU ‘custom-developed’ into a Michael Jordan—all blown up, 3-for-16 from outside!”
“Second half, we stick with zone defense, like hungry wolves guarding a sheep pen! As long as they keep missing shots, let them shoot! I want you to lock down the paint, not an inch of space for them! Got it?”
Xu Ling listened while feeling a tiny bit of regret.
A few days ago he trash-talked about becoming the college Jordan, but didn’t expect everyone to remember it so well, turning it into a meme.
But that regret vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold excitement.
He needed this attention, needed someone like Wesley Matthews to compete with him on the court because of his words. It was like the best touchstone, testing most authentically what height he was really at now.
And now, the test result couldn’t be clearer—the NBA door had blasted open in front of him.
All he had to do was walk in upright, in the most high-profile way.
At halftime rest, Marquette University adjusted—sending Wesley Matthews back to guard Xu Ling.
This decision had a touch of irony. In the first half, Xu Ling not only dominated Matthews head-to-head but proved to the whole arena who the real star was with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.
But interestingly, once that was confirmed, Matthews and his teammates shed their mental baggage. When a person accepts they’re outmatched, the rest of the game gets simple—they now just had to stop the TTU Jordan in the No. 1 jersey at all costs.
And Xu Ling got offensive freedom for the first time tonight.
At the start of the second half, Knight told him: “I don’t care what you do, as long as you get the ball in the basket, do whatever!”
Getting a stubborn old-timer to drop his control and give a player freedom wasn’t easy.
Xu Ling seized the hard-won freedom and right away hit an unreasonable drifting jump shot over Matthews.
Then Matthews’ low-post iso against Xu Ling got disrupted.
If Marquette University had still held a sliver of hope—that Matthews got torched in the first half just due to mindset, and normally could match up—now they double-teamed Xu Ling just like other teams.
But Xu Ling found the open teammate like a veteran.
Allen Voskuhl hit a three-pointer.
The high-pressure double team was dismantled by Xu Ling with a snap, and on the way back, he smilingly asked the opponent: “Maybe you could try triple-teaming?”
“That damn TTU Jordan!”
Wesley Matthews kept his cool, but their sophomore core Dominique James lost it.
Because he was the one double-teaming Xu Ling this time.
Being dismissed like that, this Big East-renowned sophomore guard irrationally drove to the basket but got blocked front-on by TTU’s senior big man Daryl Dora.
Martin Zeno grabbed the floor ball and pushed forward quickly, swinging it to Xu Ling on the left.
Xu Ling charged the basket, bulldozed Matthews like a wild bull, body rising right after, and slammed a explosive dunk on the rim.
“Thank your coach for me.” Xu Ling’s tone was absolutely gentle and friendly. “I like guarding players with poor defense. Makes me feel like I’m still in training.”
“Damn it!” James roared at Matthews. “Wesley, how long are you gonna let that TTU bastard run wild?”
But if James was blaming himself, Matthews’ mindset would be different.
Who was the scrub whose drive got blocked leading to a fast break? So hard to guess!
Seeing this, Xu Ling mused: Do all the guys named James like to pass the buck?
Marquette University’s chaos naturally didn’t escape the coaching staffs’ eyes.
Tom Crean was really starting to get anxious now.
Losing this invitational finals didn’t matter, but if James and Matthews developed a rift because of it, that would be a big problem.
Knight stared dead at the court, dissatisfied: “Does that bastard not know how to shut up?”
Little Knight tried to smooth things: “This might not have anything to do with Eli.”
“I saw him open his mouth!” Knight glared at his son. “You think that kid says anything nice?”
Little Knight could only bitter laugh; actually, inside TTU, they didn’t feel Xu Ling’s trash talk much.
Ironically, the one who knew the power of Xu Ling’s mouth best was Knight himself.
Because he was the easiest to trigger Xu Ling’s “I disagree with every word you say, so I must refute you” passive.
Marquette University couldn’t even build momentum before Xu Ling ruthlessly snuffed it out.
Dominique James, the core point guard who should control the rhythm, completely lost control and even argued with teammates. Meanwhile, Texas Tech ran like a precision machine under Xu Ling’s command, and with 10 minutes left, the 20-point lead sealed the outcome of this “50,000-dollar battle.”
But this was far more than an invitational win—when the Marquette players blankly watched that freshman in the No. 1 jersey, more scouts in the crowd vaguely realized: this night might be the season turning point for both teams.
“Snap!”
Another clean steal!
Xu Ling streaked across halfcourt like lightning, completed his third fast-break slam dunk under Matthews’ gaze. After landing, he slowly passed the stunned defender:
“Correcting your pre-game statement.” Xu Ling’s voice was soft enough for only two to hear. “I’m not TTU’s Jordan.”
“I’m the Jordan who’s here to rewrite college basketball history.”
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