Chapter 34: Sweet Sixteen
John Wooden, the ultimate winner of the NCAA, once said: “Failure is not an instant thing; failure is a subconscious collective behavior.”
Duke University’s tightly strung bowstring snapped from the second half onward.
They tried hard and struggled, but the final return was an increasingly fierce fast break from their opponent.
At such times, it’s a test of endurance and will, but these two things aren’t like innate talent; they’re more like a temporary mental strength, especially will—how strong can human will be, and how much terrible situation can it endure? If you’ve heard how people with steel wills are so tenacious, you’ll naturally know that some people’s will can’t withstand challenges at all.
This year’s Duke happened to be just such a team.
The true nature of Josh McRoberts, once the USA’s top high school player, was fully exposed in his freshman season, and even if he cashed in a bit of talent in his sophomore season, scouts wouldn’t view him as a future star anymore.
With Duke’s core players collapsing, Texas Tech quickly pulled the lead to 21 points.
At the worst moment, they trailed by 25 points. Mike Krzyzewski had enough of the slaughter, so he subbed out all the starters, signaling abandonment of the season, but the result was even more ironic.
Duke’s lineup was stuffed with top-100 high school players from various levels in the United States; they were all once stars of hope. But when a bunch of big fish from different ponds cram into the same pool, it turns into a shura field: those with higher talent and immediate combat power enter the rotation, while those who fall behind become bench players with almost no future. Their abilities are still there—if they went to a less competitive school, they might become the team’s core. Coming on in this already-decided game instead let them play relaxed, getting better and better; in the last five minutes, the lead was cut to 16 points. The Blue Devils saw a glimmer of light in the darkness.
Then, Knight gave the underperforming bench players the hairdryer treatment while subbing Xu Ling back onto the court after his rest. Xu Ling’s first possession back was an unreasonable isolation play on the outside: continuous dribbling, change of direction, jab step, then his signature shake left, right step-back three-point shot.
“Swish!”
Xu Ling’s points thus reached 30. The arena camera cut to Coach K, who helplessly said to the person beside him: “That kid is the real deal!” At this point, Duke’s last breath was also choked off.
86 to 68, full game over. Texas Tech Red Raiders defeated Duke Blue Devils by 18 points, tying the program’s best record in two years and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. Xu Ling finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
On his performance, Xu Ling was very nonchalant. “I just did what Coach Knight asked me to do.”
“What did Coach Knight ask you to do?”
Xu Ling smiled: “I can’t say.”
“We noticed you talked to Coach K multiple times on the court. Can you tell us what you said?”
Xu Ling kept smiling: “I can’t say.”
“Alright, Eli, looks like you have a lot of secrets!” The blonde reporter winked flirtatiously. “But you have to tell me this: why do you never interact with fans on the court? As one of the most popular players in college games, that’s unusual.”
For the sake of her large chest, Xu Ling didn’t mind sharing a secret: “This fully shows that players and fans are from two different worlds.”
“Oh, why do you say that?” the reporter said innocently. “We all need sleep and food; we absolutely live in the same world.”
Xu Ling explained: “But they don’t understand—my way of communicating with them is through my performance on the court—constantly becoming stronger and better.” This was the first time he explained to the outside world why he seemed so “cold” on the court, and it was just the beginning—in the years to come, he would repeat this answer over and over, facing millions of similar questions.
Then came tonight’s opponent. Apparently, Mike Krzyzewski, whom Xu Ling had disrespected face-to-face on the court, didn’t hold the young man’s rudeness against him. For whatever reason, Coach K hyped Xu Ling to the skies: “In my view, Eli’s performance has surpassed 2003 Carmelo Anthony; he’s shouldering more responsibility on a team with even less depth. I don’t think I’ve seen a better freshman.”
So, reporters also wanted to know what Xu Ling had said to him on the court. Krzyzewski’s answer was identical to Xu Ling’s: “That’s a secret.” Always skilled at dealing with media, he smiled and said, “I have the right to keep it.”
Bob Knight was asked more questions, but his answers were always evasive.
Especially about Mike Krzyzewski—the media wanted to know their relationship; he said it was fine. The media wanted to know if beating Duke to reach the Sweet Sixteen felt special; he thought there was no difference.
Finally, the media had enough: since you won’t share your secrets, say something you can.
“Coach, among all the great college players you’ve encountered in your career, where does Eli rank?”
This seemed like a thorn that would remind Knight of how he missed coaching Larry Bird back then. But it would also make him nostalgic, because he had indeed coached many outstanding players worth remembering.
Knight pondered slightly, then said words that would later be repeatedly applied to Xu Ling: “Quin Buckner invented basketball, Randy Wittman（Randy Wittman） perfected basketball, Steve Alford（Steve Alford） interpreted basketball, Damon Bailey（Damon Bailey） redefined basketball—and Eli, he is the future of basketball.”
Some rejoice, some sorrow.
While Xu Ling led the team to sweep Duke and advance to the next round, many future stars had already played their last college game. Among them was Kevin Durant, who carried even higher expectations than Xu Ling.
University of Texas, led by Durant, reached the March Madness championship second round, facing USC led by isolation king Nick Young. Then, it became a game about who was better and greater, but not tonight, not on this night of regret in college.
Durant finished with an empty 30 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks—highest scorer, but against USC where all five starters scored in double figures, he fell short. The Longhorns lost by 15 points, ending their March Madness run.
Durant became the first of the “Big Three” to prepare for the 2007 NBA draft.
This kid carrying the Bible looked dejected; he seemed like he’d have nightmares about not getting 50 points in this game. If he had gotten 50, the Longhorns would have advanced—why couldn’t he?
“I’m not thinking about the future right now,” Durant said somberly. “I let down my teammates’ trust; I wasn’t my best self. This game will stay in my mind for a long time.”
How long? Two or three months? Until an NBA multimillion rookie contract pulls him from the nightmares? No one knows. But one thing is sure: he won’t come back for a second season.
Durant’s elimination is somewhat unfavorable to him.
It means he no longer has chances to showcase himself in real games, while Xu Ling, always compared to him, still has games to play.
Moreover, Xu Ling’s current performance is clearly better than Durant’s.
Though Durant averaged 28 points and 8 rebounds over two March Madness games, Xu Ling wins in all-around play—his March Madness averages were 28 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, like a single-core superstar.
Xu Ling’s influence on the game is more comprehensive, more efficient, and moreover, TTU’s talent is clearly inferior to University of Texas.
But that said, when it comes to talent, that’s management’s favorite in the NBA. Durant’s talent isn’t once-in-a-decade, but in the past ten years, considering only freshmen or younger for the draft, fewer than three people could top him on talent alone.
So, on talent, Durant overflows. That’s also why Xu Ling, despite superstar performances, is only a probable top-five rather than locked top-five. He has talent too, but it’s elite-level for the draft, while this class has a few monster-level ones— the NBA loves that explosive potential beauty.
In the locker room, the Red Raiders players were still celebrating.
After all, they tied the school’s best record. Sweet Sixteen—a achievement that powerhouses like Duke and North Carolina wouldn’t bat an eye at—is Texas Tech University’s historical peak.
Even if they stop here days later, they’ll be sports heroes immortalized in school history; this resume is enough for a pass to find a job locally in Lubbock.
But is that enough? Knight walked in heavily, closed the locker room door tight, and said: “Another outstanding game, kids. You can celebrate, but no parties, don’t get too excited, because when you wake up tomorrow, you have to realize we still have four games to win!”
“J.J., your second-half performance was worthy of the captain title!”
“D.D（Dora）, you need to know the real challenge hasn’t come yet, but you were outstanding tonight.”
Knight praised everyone who deserved it, finally his gaze landing on Xu Ling. Xu Ling was sure he was hallucinating, because the current Knight looked like a kind old man. Even his way of speaking was: “Eli,” he said sincerely, “I hate losing my temper at you, I really hate it, but I really want you to know I’m grateful for everything you bring. Without you, none of this. You played the best basketball game I’ve ever seen tonight; you buried Duke, but it’s not enough—there are four teams’ asses waiting for you to kick. We keep fighting; we still need your strength. Sweet Sixteen is just the start; we’re creating new TTU history!”
Xu Ling swore, as a “super senior,” he would never enjoy any chicken soup for the soul, but if it’s Bob Knight doing it, that’s different! Xu Ling wanted to say some corny words to thank Knight. Then, those sweet nothings reached his lips and turned into: “You’re not saying this just because I kicked Duke University’s ass hard, right?”
Knight tried hard to maintain his kindly demeanor, but the demon inside was about to take over again; he grinned stiffly: “Damn it, Eli, don’t piss me off at a time like this!”
So the teammates cheered excitedly. The locker room atmosphere became joyful again.
Knight looked at these happy college kids, filled with emotion.
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Report from CCV-5
“Good evening, viewers. Welcome to《 Sports News》. First, a story from the United States NCAA men’s basketball championship. Beijing time this morning, Texas Tech University, led by Xu Ling from Hong Kong, China, defeated traditional powerhouse Duke University 86-68 in the championship second round, successfully advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.
“In this game, Xu Ling from China was extremely outstanding, finishing with a comprehensive stat line of 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Facing the powerhouse Duke University from the ACC league, Xu Ling showed extreme dominance on both offense and defense. In the second half, it was Xu Ling’s consecutive key three-pointers that helped the team expand the lead to over 20 points, ultimately sealing the victory.
“The 19-year-old Xu Ling is from Hong Kong, China, stands at 2.01 meters, and plays small forward. He joined Texas Tech University as an international student last year and has become the team’s absolute core this season. After the game, Duke University head coach Coach K praised Xu Ling as one of the best freshmen he’s seen.
“This victory propelled Texas Tech University to the NCAA championship Sweet Sixteen, the best result in the school’s men’s basketball history. Xu Ling’s outstanding performance has already drawn high attention from NBA scouts.
“That’s all for this sports news. Next, other sports updates.”
