It was to ensure that Connecticut’s defense could be tightly constrained near the three-second area.
Qin Yue was very clear that compared to the star-studded Kang University, Wake Forest was undoubtedly the weaker team in the match.
In this situation, if Wake Forest wanted to win, they couldn’t rely on defense, but had to focus on offense.
Especially considering the characteristic of having many outside shooters in this Wake Forest team.
Admittedly, with this style of play, Qin Yue’s stats on paper would certainly not look good.
But this was the only way Qin Yue could think of to win.
"The way Qin decided to play tonight, was it what you asked of him?" Victor asked curiously.
Shaking his head, Prose said, "Actually, what I told him before the game was that he should play like Larry Bird in this match, attempting to launch an attack from the perimeter.
That way, not only could he leverage his advantage of having a certain range to generate good stats.
But also ingeniously dismantle the intricate web Connecticut had set up for him during the game."
After pondering for a moment, Victor said, "But Skip, you and I both know... Qin’s shooting is currently not stable."
Nodding in agreement, Prose said, "So, based on his own judgment of the game, relying on his own reading of the match, he chose a more difficult path, but one that was most beneficial to the team."
"Statistics can’t reflect the help he provided to the team on the court tonight," Victor said.
But Prose shook his head and said, "But statistics can boost his draft ranking."
At this moment, Victor, momentarily speechless, sighed deeply and said, "He has a great character just like Tim Duncan."
Great character, huh?
But Victor, do you know that this is exactly what I am worried about.
Prose was well aware that though it was only a few short years since Duncan graduated from college, with the development of the internet, people would inevitably focus solely on players’ stats in the future, rather than the on-court value that couldn’t be quantified.
Even the watered-down stats.
In Prose’s eyes, this era was becoming more and more utilitarian.
Therefore, even from the beginning, knowing which path Qin Yue chose would be more beneficial to the team, out of selfishness, he still hoped Qin Yue would choose the easier path.
After all, even if Qin Yue chose the most correct path, against tonight’s Connecticut, he could only increase Wake Forest’s slim chance of defeating Connecticut.
As Qin Yue’s mentor, Prose was more sober than anyone.
Admittedly, leading Wake Forest to defeat Connecticut could become a highlight in his future coaching career...
But compared to Qin Yue’s future, what counted for an old man’s achievements?
On the Devil’s Deacon Team’s bench, after glancing at the remaining time in the first half, Prose turned and called up Jamal Rive and Ronnie Evans.
Holding a tactical board, Prose said to Rive and Evans, "Jamal, I need you to move on both sides, you have to use your movements to create space for our shooters.
Ronnie, I only have one request for you tonight..."
After pausing, Prose kicked Evans and said, "Make that damn three-point shot for me!"
In the first half, with about 9 minutes left, both Wake Forest and Connecticut requested substitutions.
On Wake Forest’s side, Rive replaced the Beast Ellis.
Evans came on for Monk.
As for Connecticut...
No matter how you look at it, it seems they’re showing off their strength.
On the court, the fresh troops Boone replaced Armstrong.
Anderson came back on replacing Villanueva.
Williams took over for Brown.
They could always maintain three to four future NBA players on the court.
Even though Paul had previously narrowed the gap for Wake Forest with four three-pointers, it couldn’t shake Connecticut’s absolute advantage in this match.
Because compared to Wake Forest, where every scoring opportunity required Paul to rack his brains and Qin Yue to go all out...
Connecticut’s offense tonight was as easy as eating and drinking.
At Meixi Arena, after the substitutions, Connecticut had possession.
Okafor was seen cutting into the inside with the ball and assisted Boone for a two-pointer under Qin Yue’s interference.
Coming back, during the Devil’s Deacon Team’s offense, Qin Yue desperately took an offensive rebound and quickly passed the ball to Evans.
But the latter couldn’t make that damn three-point shot.
On the court, with a clang, the inside guarded by Okafor and Boone did not give Qin Yue another chance for an offensive rebound.
Meanwhile, Gordon, who received the ball in transition, dribbled past Gray and hit an unreasonable three-pointer.
At this moment, the supporters of the Devil’s Deacon Team all felt varying degrees of despair.
Because the gap, which Paul had painstakingly closed, was once again expanded to double digits by Connecticut in an instant.
"Connecticut has already shown their championship form tonight," Mike Breen, who was commentating this game, said.
At the end of the first half, 54 to 41.
Connecticut entered the second half with a 13-point lead.
In the first half, Qin Yue only managed to score 4 points through one fast break and two free throws, along with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block.
Although just looking at the points, it seems Qin Yue didn’t help the team much.