After finishing the greetings with the opponents, Zeng Xingyang, Booker, Towns, Koulistan, and others were surrounded by reporters.
As the draft time approached, Calipari encouraged players to engage with these media outlets.
The relevant responses and strategies had been practiced many times at school.
"Zeng, you scored the highest for the team, does that mean you are the best player on the team?"
"Zeng, will you participate in this year’s NBA draft?"
"Do you have a favorite NBA team? If you enter the draft, which team would you like to be selected by?"
"Can you give some advice for Asian players playing in the NCAA?"
"Click click click!!"
The reporters quickly thrust their microphones towards Zeng Xingyang.
The influence of March Madness each year is unprecedented.
The media is developing, and the speed of dissemination is increasing, making fans pay more attention to such events.
Zeng Xingyang even saw some Chinese reporters on-site, indicating that media at home has begun to notice this event.
Zeng Xingyang answered the reporters’ questions moderately.
Zeng Xingyang’s personality isn’t that striking; he doesn’t want to attract too much attention before he’s fully matured.
He also doesn’t lack exposure now.
If there’s excessive exposure and promotion of personality, although it may attract a lot of attention, most of it would be malicious, which does not help much with the NBA draft.
NBA teams would prefer to observe the players’ actual capabilities rather than their big mouths.
Zeng Xingyang has passed the stage of needing outrageous remarks to boost his fame.
Now, he just needs to perform steadily on the court, allowing NBA teams to fully understand his current abilities, and then join a team that suits his development—that’s enough.
After eliminating the University of Arizona, the University of Kentucky faced its next opponent.
UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles.
This is also a prestigious basketball school that has produced many NBA superstar players.
Current stars like Westbrook and Kevin Love are famous players from UCLA.
This match was arranged in a third-party stadium closer to Los Angeles, which made it seem like the University of Kentucky was playing an away game.
The University of Kentucky once appealed to the NCAA committee, but it was to no avail, as tickets had already been sold.
The majority of the audience in the stadium were UCLA Keep reading on NovelHub - where stories come alive!
ESPN also featured huge posters of matchups.
Karl-Anthony Towns VS Kevin Rooney
Devin Booker VS Norman Powell
This match was very popular; besides the high-ranking star confrontations, many fans and media who hadn’t seen Zeng Xingyang play were curious about the level of this emerging Chinese guard.
The crucial three-pointer in the last game boosted Zeng Xingyang’s fame once again.
This Asian in the NCAA stood out remarkably.
After the last game, Zeng Xingyang’s draft rank surged to the top of the second round, with some websites even predicting he’d be picked at the end of the first round.
This is astonishing for a Chinese guard.
A small number of fans at home also noticed tonight’s game, found links, and posted them on forums.
However, most fans still don’t know Zeng Xingyang.
Compared to the NCAA, domestic fans are more interested in the NBA; they prefer discussing Kobe, James, Curry, Durant...
Lakers GM Kupchek came to watch the game in person.
Kupchek recently had many worries.
Since Kobe’s severe injury, the team has been in a period of confusion.
The Lakers are now unclear whether to rebuild or continue assembling around Kobe.
Kobe’s capabilities have declined to the point where he’s no longer able to be the leading player of a team.
But a strong-willed Kobe wouldn’t admit this, insisting he still wants to compete for a championship.
Kupchek has tried recruiting star players, but they are unwilling to come because of Kobe’s presence.
After all, with Kobe’s fame, it’s hard for those stars to be the leader, and they are unwilling to be a second fiddle.
Meanwhile, the team management is constantly in-fighting, changing coaches frequently, and in total chaos.
Various factors have made their performance this year rank at the bottom, going for the top draft pick.
Even though this year’s exact pick position is not certain, Kupchek knows that the Lakers’ position will likely be in the top three.
The new players in the Lakers are plentiful but are incapable, with mediocre talent, and can’t be cultivated effectively.
It seems like the Lakers’ scouts don’t have a sharp eye.
This time, he wanted to see if he could find a suitable and reliable cornerstone player in college.
If there’s a reliable cornerstone player, Kupchek can confidently convince the owner to completely rebuild.
Watching, Kupchek turned his attention to Zeng Xingyang.
This Chinese player seemed quite popular.
But the playing style!
The Lakers don’t need 3D right now; they need a player who can aggressively attack.
Soon, Kupchek redirected his focus toward Towns and Booker.
Compared to Zeng Xingyang, they seemed more suitable for the Lakers.
Besides Kupchek, scouts from about 20 other NBA teams were also present.
They all had their own favored players, and Zeng Xingyang was also a subject of attention for many of them.
Players from both sides entered the court in advance and began to enter the arena.
When the UCLA players appeared, there was a huge cheer from the audience.
Zeng Xingyang glanced over the faces of the UCLA players, recalling that in the NBA, only Rooney and Powell made a name for themselves.
Rooney, with the Warriors, won several championships alongside the Splash Brothers and was a competent rotation player, while Powell, after George left and during days of load management rest, became a key figure for the Clippers; his partnership with Harden on the perimeter was quite fierce.
Soon, the starting players of both teams remained on the court.
University of Kentucky: Tyler Ulis, Booker, Zeng Xingyang, Koulistan, Towns.
Calipari made decisive changes, no longer letting Lyles start but having Zeng Xingyang in the starting lineup.
This was a decision by Calipari after the last game, as it made more sense for Zeng Xingyang to team up with Booker and Towns, making the team’s offense smoother.
UCLA: Bryce Alford (191CM, 84KG), Isaac Hamilton (193CM, 81KG), Norman Powell (193CM, 98KG), Kevin Rooney (206CM, 101KG), Thomas Welsh (213CM, 116KG).
Although only Powell and Rooney in the UCLA lineup have NBA prospects, this does not prevent them from being a strong team; they have good coordination and robust defense.
Zeng Xingyang matched up against Norman Powell,
Powell looked quite cocky, not interested in trash-talking, but his eyes showed a strong desire to take down Zeng Xingyang.
Powell didn’t just look at Zeng Xingyang; he also glanced at Lyles on the bench.
He intended to crush both matchups.
With the referee throwing the ball into the air, Towns and Thomas leaped up.
Towns tipped the ball to Tyler Ulis.
Towns moved to position inside, Zeng Xingyang was positioning on the left to create space.
Towns had many offensive tools, making him quite effective in the NCAA most of the time, but UCLA’s center wasn’t easy to defeat either.
Although technically inferior to Towns, he wasn’t disadvantaged physically.
After receiving the ball, Towns attempted a charge that didn’t succeed, as he was double-teamed by Rooney in the middle.
Rooney’s footwork was unexpectedly quick, which took Towns by surprise. Towns saw Zeng Xingyang’s position, intending to pass, but in the rush, the ball was deflected slightly.
The basketball was controlled by Isaac.
"Turnover, University of Kentucky’s first offensive round ended in a turnover, Karl-Anthony Towns’ pass was a bit slow."
The commentator shouted swiftly, and UCLA’s players launched a counterattack.
In the passing process, the ball quickly reached Powell’s hands.
Powell, now a senior, played with a very mature technical style; he represented UCLA in 36 games this season, averaging 34.6 minutes per game, obtaining 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.8 steals.
He became UCLA’s leading scorer, winning the first-team all-conference honor three times in the Pac-12 and earning Pac-12 Player of the Week honors three times during the season.
His offensive firepower made him UCLA’s leading scorer, winning the Pac-12 First Team accolades by the end of the season.
His drive was to take down and outplay Zeng Xingyang on the court.
With this, the match was set to be a thrilling showdown, as fans and scouts anticipated the talents of these young players fighting for their shot at the NBA. The crowd only intensified the atmosphere, eagerly waiting for some epic play to unfold.