"Freshman Phenomenon Shines in Semifinals, Scores 38 Points to Lead Team to Victory."
"Zeng Xingyang’s 9 Three-Pointers Help Team Complete Major Comeback, University of Kentucky Secures Finals Ticket."
"Clutch Three-Pointer Strikes, Zeng Xingyang Shows His Big-Game Mentality."
"From Being Projected at 25th to Lottery Pick, This Game Significantly Boosts Zeng Xingyang’s Draft Stock."
"The Best 3-and-D Player in NCAA This Season, Multiple NBA Teams Interested."
"After Yi Jianlian, Another Chinese Player May Become a Lottery Pick!"
At this time, on major sports forums back home, a series of articles written by foreign media about Zeng Xingyang were pinned to the top.
Since making it to the Sweet Sixteen, Zeng Xingyang’s popularity back home has been consistently increasing.
More and more ordinary fans are aware that this year China might have a guard who could be drafted by the NBA.
These fans are eagerly looking forward to seeing another Chinese player on the NBA stage.
No matter which team Zeng Xingyang joins, that team will quickly become a popular team back home.
There are many comments on the discussion threads about Zeng Xingyang.
"I watched the Final Four, and it completely changed my impression of Zeng Xingyang. I used to think he was just a role player, but now I think he might be another Ray Allen."
"Those three-pointers were just unbelievable, shooting with such accuracy, and his defense is strong. He’ll have no problem adapting to NBA-level intensity."
"Scoring 38 points in the NCAA Final Four, that’s the strongest player we have from back home."
"Zeng Xingyang’s style is very American, maintaining stability even in high-intensity situations."
"I’ve been following him. His draft position in American scouts’ rankings is rising steadily."
"I hope it’s not just a short-lived phenomenon."
"Could it be that the college competition is too weak, allowing him to score so many points?"
"The NCAA Final Four teams are strong enough to crush any domestic club, and you call them weak?"
"Let’s not overhype him for now; otherwise, if he flops, it’ll be embarrassing. Yi Jianlian was the 6th pick but still couldn’t secure a foothold in the NBA."
Most fans back home have never watched Zeng Xingyang play, so they don’t have a clear idea of how strong he really is.
More people are just viewing it based on previous impressions of Chinese guards.
At eight o’clock the next morning.
Zeng Xingyang, having woken up early, went to knock on Booker’s dorm room door.
Booker opened the door, and Zeng Xingyang walked in and said, "Let’s go train; we can wash up when we get back."
Booker, still sleepy, complained, "Zeng, are you crazy? We only got back at 1 a.m. last night."
Zeng Xingyang replied, "Kobe Bryant used to get up to train at 4 a.m., and now it’s 8 a.m. Seven hours is plenty of time for recovery."
Hearing the power of Kobe’s example, Booker stopped grumbling.
In a previous interview, Kobe specifically praised the University of Kentucky’s Booker, saying Booker had potential to become an excellent shooting guard, which made Booker very happy.
Booker also wants to grow into another Kobe; that’s his goal.
The two then went to find Towns, who followed them to the training gym, grumbling all the way, to start the early training.
Towns and Booker have such personalities; if Zeng Xingyang didn’t go to get them and went to train alone, they might not be as disciplined and could come late. But if Zeng Xingyang went to find them, they would also follow.
Zeng Xingyang worked hard, and they weren’t exactly lazy.
Koulistan and Lyles weren’t ; they would sleep until naturally waking up, then arrive just in time for training. Their passion for basketball wasn’t as high as the three.
Last night’s game also served as a wake-up call for the trio—they couldn’t let the finals end in such a passive way.
Losing the finals would truly be a major regret in life.
Towns and Booker could feel how much Zeng Xingyang valued the finals.
How could he not care?
The University of Kentucky’s opponent in the finals is Duke University.
That was, in the previous life, this year’s NCAA championship team!
Duke University’s talent isn’t much different from that of the University of Kentucky.
Grayson Allen, a top-tier shooter alongside Durant and Booker at the Phoenix Suns, for a time ranked high in NBA three-point shooting rate.
Quinn Cook, who won a championship with the Warriors, spent a long period roaming the NBA. He was praised as a lower-tier Curry due to his precise shooting.
Tyus Jones, a traditional point guard with maturity beyond his years, makes very few mistakes on the court. His jump shot in pick-and-roll situations is lethal; his downside is lacking elite speed and explosiveness typical of top point guards, he was the main point guard for the Suns before Zeng Xingyang’s crossover.
Jahlil Okafor, a top pick contender, NCAA’s elite big man, with solid fundamental skills on both offense and defense. This season, Okafor averaged 30.1 minutes per game with 17.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.4 blocks—stats more impressive than Towns.
Justice Winslow, a future mainstay for the Heat’s rotation, is a small forward with superior athletic ability. His excellent speed and explosiveness make him an eye-catching player on the court, playing strong on both offense and defense. In the NCAA tournament, Winslow averaged 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds.
Shemy Ojeleye, a power forward type of 3-and-D player, occupied a rotation spot with the Celtics for some time in the future.
Duke University has a lineup that can be described as luxurious; most of the selected players can become rotation players in NBA teams.
Zeng Xingyang is familiar with these players’ names, having watched many of their games.
Although these players aren’t as high profile as Towns and Booker, their presence sufficiently indicates their team’s comprehensive strength surpasses any team the University of Kentucky has faced before.
If the University of Wisconsin couldn’t compare to Kentucky’s players, then Duke University could certainly set up a major showdown with Kentucky.
Booker VS Grayson Allen/Jones.
Koulistan VS Ojeleye.
Lyles/Zeng Xingyang VS Winslow/Cook.
Both teams’ starters are at NBA level.
The NCAA’s two most luxurious teams are no less than this.
This final is destined to attract more attention than ever.
Zeng Xingyang is also eager to defeat such an opponent, in which case his draft stock may rise further.
Lottery is already high, but who doesn’t want to keep progressing?
After finishing training, Zeng Xingyang went to the campus dining hall for a meal with Booker and Towns, checking his phone along the way.
Phones are also smartphones now, though lagging behind the advanced ones when he traveled back from the future, but sufficient for browsing social platforms.
Zeng Xingyang not only registered on Weibo but also Twitter.
The population base back home is vast, but Zeng Xingyang isn’t very famous yet; however, his Twitter follower count is growing fast, mainly due to his exceptional performance during the knockouts.
But as more fans pay attention, the variety of private messages increases as well.
After last night’s explosive 38 points, messages came from AV actresses, lonely housewives who like Kentucky, cheerleaders from neighboring universities, and Wildcats fans with 36D figures.
These people sent him private messages with explosive image content, implying various things.
Zeng Xingyang directly ignored these messages.