Chapter 17: The Road To 880
This season’s Big 12 league is hailed as the most competitive league, not because the region has a behemoth like Kansas University, but because the entire region, aside from Kansas University, has many strong schools with balanced strength.
Therefore, almost every round of games is as intense as March Madness.
After defeating Texas A&M University, before Texas Tech University could catch its breath, they had to face their second championship game, with the opponent being the Kansas State Wildcats.
Although the Wildcats don’t have a national top player like A.C. Law like Texas A&M University does, their team core Cartier Martin（Cartier Martin SG） is undoubtedly a first-class player.
In a sense, he is another “similarly built” challenger Xu Ling encounters in this championship. Both are 6-foot-7 scoring guards with excellent builds at the college level, but their technical characteristics and playing styles are completely different.
As usual, Knight said to Xu Ling before the game: “Since you have a way to shut down A.C. Law, you have a way to deal with Cartier Martin. I don’t care what method you use, I only look at the outcome!”
“Isn’t this a bit unreasonable?” Xu Ling asked.
Knight raised an eyebrow: “Aren’t you trying to become the college Jordan? What’s this little challenge? If this is all your ambition, how will you face Kevin Durant next week?”
He really made a good point, making Xu Ling want to slap himself while also wanting to imitate Knight’s signature move of not passing the ball—locking the throats of everyone he doesn’t like—but on second thought, forget it; he had no need to get upset with an old man ready to retire at any time.
Moreover, Xu Ling thought this arrangement was beneficial for him.
Clearly, he possesses the basic qualities to become an excellent defender; it’s just that in his previous life his talent was too poor, so even hard work was in vain. Successfully limiting A.C. Law greatly boosted his confidence, and he desired to face opponents of different styles.
Unlike A.C. Law, Cartier Martin reminded Xu Ling of one person—Chris Middleton. Of course, limited to the college level.
Similarly outstanding build, similarly skilled at off-ball movement, similarly poor at dribbling, similarly with a creepy open-shot shooting percentage.
Once upon a time, Middleton’s outstanding performance in the playoffs against the Celtics made modern Celtics fans feel like 80s Celtics fans with PTSD from Andrew Toney, respectfully calling him “that man,” and Cartier was no slouch in college basketball either.
In some possessions, Xu Ling’s hesitation in fighting through screens resulted in him being harshly punished by Cartier’s shooting.
Having witnessed the opponent’s accuracy, Xu Ling decided to use tight on-ball defense against him.
Facing high-intensity tight defense, Cartier Martin’s OCD-style offensive habits were exposed.
He really didn’t like being stuck so tightly, and in the Big 12 league, few players could bring that boundary-less tight defense like Xu Ling.
This feeling made Martin momentarily think he was playing March Madness, with the opponent being Florida University’s Corey Brewer.
This illusion made Martin feel ridiculous. Who was Brewer? The number one 3D in college basketball, one of Florida’s championship cores. What gave this TTU rookie the right?
He thought this way, and then his shooting percentage plummeted.
“Eli’s defense is getting better and better!” Pat Knight said in surprise. “He can come up with different strategies against different styles of opponents; his defensive maturity doesn’t seem like a freshman’s at all!”
TTU’s coaching staff couldn’t understand why a player who played center in a pond-like high school league in Hong Kong, China would have such a solid perimeter offense and defense foundation. Unable to understand, they ultimately attributed it to the pond league’s level being too low, preventing him from showcasing his strength.
“His current offense still relies heavily on shooting percentage, but that won’t be a fatal flaw in college basketball.” Knight seriously analyzed Xu Ling’s current offense and defense structure. “His physique is very strong, his speed is fast, his athleticism is elite-level; all this constitutes his defensive aggressiveness. No one outside knows which media is hyping it, but saying his defense is like Horry is nonsense! This guy’s defense is like that bastard Gary Payton! They’re cut from the same mold!”
Little Knight humbly asked for advice: “Is it because of Eli’s defensive intensity?”
“No, Pat, what are you thinking?” Knight rarely joked about Xu Ling. “Of course it’s because of that damn mouth of his!”
If Xu Ling knew his all-out defense earned slander from the old man, he might get discouraged.
But heaven knows, he really didn’t trash talk Cartier Martin tonight.
He wasn’t the type to spray trash talk for no reason.
In this regard, he was passive.
He played along with whatever style the opponent liked.
In other words, Martin’s quiet playing style spared him from additional mental pain after competitive frustration.
In the second half, as Xu Ling realized Martin only had absolute confidence in catch-and-shoot off open looks, his defense became even more targeted.
Martin’s efficiency dropped sharply; he went 0-for-5 in the second half, allowing TTU to capitalize on fast breaks, and the situation completely collapsed.
Although Xu Ling didn’t score much tonight, his defense was too eye-catching. In 31 minutes, he recorded 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal. Notably, all 3 blocks were swatted on Martin.
In the end, Texas Tech University crushed the Wildcats by 34 points, securing victory in their second championship game.
At the end of the game, Cartier Martin said unwillingly: “Our scout report had major flaws; they didn’t tell me you were a damn defensive monster!”
Xu Ling responded: “Maybe you should blame your teammates; their screen quality was too low.”
Martin glanced at Xu Ling’s physique—this build, these muscles, it looked ridiculously jacked. Was this the strength a freshman could have? With this physique, how many college bigs could realistically box him out? Greg Oden? Noah? Was there a third?
“Nothing to say, we had no chance at all!” Martin sincerely hoped never to match up against an opponent like Xu Ling again.
Xu Ling shook his hand and walked away.
This game might not elevate Xu Ling’s draft prospects as significantly as the first, but his consistent highlights have made every Texas Tech University game a must-watch for NBA scouts.
Interestingly, on ESPN’s draft site, there’s a dynamic Top 100 2007 draft ranking that changes based on the actual performances of players on the list.
After the first two games, Xu Ling’s ranking rose from 29th to 10th.
This also means that when ESPN updates its draft projection next time, Xu Ling will enter the lottery.
Moreover, due to Xu Ling’s outstanding defensive performance, his draft template has changed from Glenn Rice to Ron Harper.
Regarding this trivia, Xu Ling wasn’t happy and even wanted to ask who they were.
The victory in the second championship game was even more significant for Bob Knight.
This brought his career win total to 879, tying Dean Smith for the most wins in NCAA history.
Since Bob Knight is still coaching with no signs of stopping his winning streak—the next game could be a historic milestone. At that time, he will officially surpass everyone to become the winningest coach in college basketball history. That will be Knight’s coronation—he might not loudly proclaim himself the GOAT, but rest assured, he thinks so; and in countless future interviews, he won’t forget to casually step on John Wooden.
Why? Simple.
In Knight’s view, he won these games in a truly competitive era—not in a mini-championship with only about twenty teams automatically sending UCLA to the national finals; his opponents weren’t obscure small-school teams, but nationwide powerhouses, four-star and five-star recruiting battles, pressure cookers under media scrutiny.
Moreover, he didn’t rely on Los Angeles black-gold sponsors or “alleged just friends” money-laundering businessmen. He didn’t use cash, cars, and empty checks to trade for a room full of future NBA number 1 draft picks. His players were forged through training and discipline, not hoarded from some underground “player market.”
In Knight’s mind, Wooden’s championships came with asterisks. To him, Wooden never won a “real” championship by his definition—always remember, real title. Those trophies were gold-plated, but in his eyes, just shinier tin foil.
If you asked Xu Ling to evaluate, he would say the old man Knight was right, but even if one of your gold medals counts as three in Wooden’s era, that’s still 10 > 9. Plus, while your recruiting record is spotless, Wooden was an immaculate white lotus in terms of character, rhetoric, and accusations from various undignified behaviors.
So, is this really a big controversy?
A few days later, facing the weaker Baylor University in the Big 12 league, Xu Ling dropped 32 points, leading the team to suppress the opponent from start to finish for a three-game win streak—this also gave Knight his 880th career win, officially surpassing all college coaches to stand alone at the top of history.
While Knight downplayed it as “just numbers,” Xu Ling was asked similar questions.
He smiled, skipping the canned “honored to play for him” lines.
“I think this victory makes Coach Knight the greatest coach in history,” Xu Ling emphasized. “He is better than John Wooden.”
At that moment, Knight’s old friends should have set up cameras—this iron-blooded coach who claimed “never to have known what blushing is” turned red from his granite jaw to his ear tips like a college kid caught cheating. Finally, all the embarrassment erupted in a roar: “What the hell are you talking about?!”
Unexpectedly, Xu Ling looked at him disappointedly: “Coach, don’t you think so?”
This freshman’s face was full of silent provocation, as if saying: “Admit it, you are the GOAT.”
A familiar shiver crawled up Knight’s spine, hot like that disastrous night in 1985 when his chair slid across Purdue University gymnasium floor. For decades, he had restrained himself—until now. Facing Xu Ling’s angelic innocent eyes and devilish blunt trap, he suddenly realized: the reporters’ microphones were aimed at him.
“Damn right!” Knight grabbed the microphone, glaring fiercely at Xu Ling. “I am the greatest coach of all time!!!”
From this day on, Texas Tech University not only has a freshman claiming to become the “college Jordan,” but also a head coach who shamelessly declared himself the best in history in public.
