"The NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, highly anticipated by fans, is set to begin its first game today!"
"The Oklahoma Sooners will host the Kentucky Wildcats!"
Oklahoma Sooners campus basketball arena.
The very first game of the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight will be played at this esteemed university!
Before the game even began, the analyst on the sidelines for TNT Television was already building anticipation: "The Oklahoma Sooners feature the most outstanding player in this year's NCAA Tournament, and perhaps in NCAA history!"
"Their star core, Trae Young, is almost universally projected as a top-three draft pick by the media!"
What was the "New York Mayor," Trae Young, like before entering the NBA?
In truth, even before stepping onto the dazzling stage of the NBA, Young was a superstar-in-waiting, poised to explode.
His freshman season was like running with a cheat code, entering a mode of relentless, explosive chart-topping performance.
Throughout the season, Young's total score of 811 points surpassed his idol, Kevin Durant, making him the sole leader on the NCAA freshman scoring record list.
That season, he averaged 27.4 points and 8.7 assists, becoming the first player in NCAA Division I history to claim both the scoring title and assist title in a single season.
Furthermore, in the game against Northwestern State University, he delivered 22 assists, tying the NCAA single-game assist record.
And this was only Trae Young's freshman season!
"Trae!"
"Trae!"
"Trae!"
The arena was already a deafening cacophony.
Fans in the stands, wearing the Oklahoma Sooners' iconic crimson and cream jerseys, loudly chanted Trae Young's name:
"Trae Young, show those hicks what a three-pointer is!!"
"Three-pointer! We want to see a three-pointer!!"
"Woohoo! He's here! It's Trae Young's super long-range three-pointer!!"
Oklahoma Sooners supporters passionately cheered for their team's core player, who was launching shots randomly on the warm-up half-court.
Following the fans' gaze, Jinwoo immediately spotted the young man wearing the Oklahoma Sooners No. 11 jersey.
This super rookie, who had just won the NCAA Player of the Year and the Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year awards.
He was soaking up the cheers of the entire crowd, showcasing his exquisite shooting skills again and again.
* Super long-range three-pointer from two meters beyond the arc.
* Drifting three-pointer!
* Quick three-point release!
Trae Young completed all of this as effortlessly as if it were a given.
Perhaps it wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as the league's superstar, Stephen Curry, but he already possessed the flavor of Curry's game.
"Tch, I thought he was something amazing!"
"Exactly, aren't those just a few ordinary three-pointers?"
"We're already a bit tired of shots like Trae Young's!"
The Kentucky Wildcats, almost completely ignored by all the fans in the arena, walked to their warm-up half-court.
Jarred Vanderbilt (Vanderbilt) immediately approached Jinwoo:
"Jinwoo, show these critics on the court what real long-range shooting is!"
Just as the Kentucky Wildcats' players noted.
Since Jinwoo gave up his "many years of professional" towel-waving performance and participated in team practice these past few days, the offensive shooting display of this genius from Korea had utterly sickened them with how easy he made it look.
These few moves by Trae Young were just what Jinwoo had already mastered and moved beyond!
It was time to open the eyes of these unsophisticated Oklahoma Sooners fans!
"SGA, give me the ball!"
Jinwoo had the exact same idea.
Lazily taking off his warm-up jacket, he walked to the mid-court line and received a pass from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA).
He dribbled the ball twice in place to get a feel, then pulled up directly from the logo.
* Jump!
* Raise arm!
* Flick wrist!
* Shoot!
The entire sequence of movements was fluid, as smooth as melted chocolate!
"Swish!"
The net in the Oklahoma Sooners campus basketball arena made a perfectly crisp swishing sound.
"WTF!!"
The Oklahoma Sooners supporters present were shocked by everything that had just happened.
A player from Korea can actually hit a Logo Shot with that ease?
"I… I didn't see that correctly, did I?"
"Is this actually something that kid can consistently do?"
"Isn't that guy the famous towel-waver of the University of Kentucky? I even saw his hype videos online!"
The fans in the arena were completely dumbfounded.
Trae Young's super long-range three-pointers were certainly full of entertainment value and very exciting to watch.
But then, the Kentucky Wildcats' very first shot in warm-ups was a Logo Shot—from much further out?
Isn't this guy purely here to crash the party?
"Hahahahaha… Look at how speechless those fans on the sidelines are!"
Alexander cheered: "Feeling good, feeling good! No matter how accurate Trae Young is, he can't consistently shoot from the logo, can he?!"
Unlike the stunned fans in the arena.
On the Kentucky Wildcats' side, Alexander and Vanderbilt quickly recovered from their brief bewilderment.
To be honest, even they didn't expect Jinwoo's Logo Shot to be a direct hit.
But after all, they were teammates.
For this kind of performance, feeling good was all that mattered!
However, Coach Calipari still verbally criticized Jinwoo's provocative action.
This was the opponent's territory, after all, and crashing the party right from the start really wasn't the way to go!
"No, no, no! Coach Calipari, I just love it when Jinwoo does that!"
John Wall, who had suffered an injury and had to prematurely end his season, also came to support his alma mater. He praised Jinwoo's actions online: "Don't hold back in the game, give these critics a taste of their own medicine!"
"Hold back?"
Jinwoo responded to John Wall: "A game where not winning by double digits means losing, how could I possibly hold back?"
"Crushing them and advancing to the Final Four is the only acceptable outcome!"
John Wall nodded approvingly at Jinwoo.
He genuinely liked this confident junior.
This kind of 'just do it, then think about the consequences' personality—it was exactly like his own competitive fire!
The court is a battlefield!
Who the hell would give you a chance to hesitate or waste time?
Under this single-elimination format, striking hard is the main theme!
"It seems that Korean rookie on the other side really has some skill!"
On the opposite bench, the Oklahoma Sooners Head Coach Lon Kruger (using the actual coach name for improved accuracy) deeply looked at Jinwoo, who was surrounded by his teammates: "Trae, if you want to enter the NBA draft this year, then you should understand the immense importance of this game to you!"
"I don't want you to fall short of the Final Four, and I certainly don't want to see you get overshadowed by an unknown player!"
"Don't worry, Coach, we won't lose!"
Trae Young confidently patted his chest: "Although that kid on the other side gave us a warning shot during the pre-game warm-up!"
"The game isn't decided by who shoots from further away!"
If it really was decided by who shot from further away, then Young would definitely have already won against the opponent.
But even if he hit a Logo Shot in the game, what good would it do?
It only counts for three points, right?
What's more... Trae Young's gaze shifted to the stands on the sidelines.
He looked at the "elementary school student" wearing a baseball cap sitting in the corner—Stephen Curry.
His idol had finally come to watch his game today.
There was simply no way Trae Young could lose!