Hansen's successive three-pointers at the start of the game nearly brought the audience to climax, and the morale of Barry University's side was also completely driven up.
By the end of the first half, they only trailed Davis College by 2 points with a score of 26 to 28.
Hansen alone scored 4 three-pointers, earning the highest score of the game with 14 points.
However, as the game moved into the second half, the situation on the court changed radically.
Davidson College quickly widened the score gap.
This fundamental change came from Curry.
In the first half, Curry was focusing on playmaking, trying to transition into playing the point guard position, but his performance was like dancing in shackles.
But in the second half, he switched directly into scoring mode.
No one from Barry University could defend against him.
To limit him, Tois had no choice but to mobilize the team's defensive resources to double-team him.
As a result, Barry University, which was already at a disadvantage in one-on-one matchups, completely collapsed defensively.
On the contrary, Curry used his offensive threat to create many opportunities for his teammates under the double team.
The score on the court quickly widened, and with 5 minutes left in the second half, Davis had extended the lead to more than 15 points.
Davis College also began to substitute their main players around this time.
However, Barry University didn't give up, and Hansen led his teammates to persist until the last second, eventually losing to their opponents with a final score of 51 to 58.
After the game's statistics were tallied, Curry had scored 22 points with 10 assists; Hansen cut down the highest score of the game with 28 points; Rondo had 10 points and 6 assists.
After the game ended, Hansen followed Tois to attend the post-game press conference.
"Stephen Curry destroyed our defense; he is definitely capable of playing in the NBA," Tois said candidly in front of the journalists.
The journalists scrambled to record their comments, as this was exactly what they wanted to hear before the game.
Coming from Tois, it was all the more credible since he was no ordinary person—he was a former NBA All-Star player and before coming to Barry University, he was also the head coach of the NBA Kings.
Then, they quickly turned their attention to Hansen.
If Tois had been won over by Curry, then what about Hansen...
"Han, you ultimately lost the game. Do you have anything you'd like to say?" asked one journalist, cutting to the chase, while the other journalists also looked at Hansen in unison.
Watching the expectant eyes below, Hansen moved the microphone closer to himself:
"It's disappointing that the team narrowly lost..."
He barely began speaking when the journalists nearly lost it, thinking, how could he say such a thing? How could he say that with a straight face?
Hansen cleared his throat, then continued:
"But my stats prove what I said before the game—I produced better numbers than Stephen Curry; I am the better shooter."
At this, the room immediately became noisy.
But Hansen remained placid.
Look at you all, as if you've never seen the world. If only we had plus-minus ratings in this era, I'd show you my stats!
It was around this time that Hansen noticed the rate of increase of the system's [Anti-Fan Value] accelerated.
Does the [Anti-Fan Value] not only relate to the number of people but also the degree of negativity?
But my high profile stance before the game still resulted in slow growth, does this mean there is a threshold level of negativity?
"But 10 of your points came during garbage time!" one bold journalist challenged.
The journalists stopped their murmuring and once again turned their gaze towards Hansen.
It was an undeniable fact, and they wanted to see how Hansen would wriggle out of this one.
"I need to correct something," Hansen suddenly sat up straight, his expression becoming extremely serious,
"There's no such thing as 'garbage time' in a basketball game; everything is possible until the final whistle blows. Thıs text ıs hosted at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾※𝙣𝙚𝙩
If you give up just because the team is significantly behind, then where would all the great comebacks in basketball come from? Why would the NBA use 'Where Amazing Happens' as a slogan?"
The journalists below were stunned.
Not just them, even Tois beside Hansen was shocked.
How could Hansen say such a thing without blushing or skipping a beat!
But, you couldn't say that Hansen was wrong.
No matter the reason, Barry University indeed managed to narrow the score in the final moments.
If they had just a bit more time, they... of course, they couldn't have turned the game around!
The reporters, although unable to contest Hansen's theoretically superior stance, had reached their limit with his tirades in their hearts.
The stereotype of Asians had always been one of humility and politeness, but Hansen was shamelessly brazen.
Hansen wore a smile on his face.
His judgment had been validated, and now his "hater meter" soared as if on a highway.
After the press conference, Hansen headed to the gym for extra practice.
Losing to Davis College tonight was expected; the gap in strength between the two teams was evident.
But it was also true that Davidson College didn't play well tonight. Apart from Curry's performance, several of Davidson's main senior players from last season had graduated, and the overall strength of the team had slipped from last season.
The reason they managed to widen the gap in the second half was due to Curry's offensive adjustments, as well as changes to the team's defensive strategy.
They fiercely double-teamed Hansen in the second half.
This was a form of respect from the opponents, but it also highlighted his deficiency in passing ability.
Sometimes he thought of the pass, but his hands couldn't keep up.
Fortunately, passing, like other fundamentals, can be practiced.
Standing with both feet planted, ball in hand, facing the wall, and combining dribbling moves—he knew this was the most universal and effective method.
Dribble left, pass to the wall;
Crossover, between the legs, pass to the wall;
Crossover, behind the back, pass to the wall;
Crossover, between the legs, behind the back, pass to the wall;
During a rest between sets, Hansen realized that Tois had arrived at the gym at some point.
Tois smiled, gesturing for Hansen to sit and chat.
"You've changed a lot," Tois said, turning to Hansen.
Although he was new, he had done quite a bit of work since arriving, including taking over from the previous coach.
As the only four-star high school player on the team, Hansen naturally became the focus of his attention.
The overflowing confidence Hansen displayed on and off the court didn't match the reserved "Hansen" his predecessor had described.
"Coach, if I don't change, then there's really no chance for me to make it into the NBA," Hansen replied quickly.
Tois was taken aback for a moment, then nodded, smiling.
But soon, he grew serious and looked at Hansen intently:
"Do you really believe you can make it to the NBA?"
This was a soul-searching question.
The last player to make it into the NBA from a non-First-tier Alliance was Devin George, but that was back in 1999.
Since the expansion of the First-tier Alliance, no player from the second or third tiers had made it into the NBA.
Moreover, Hansen was already a junior.
For a second-tier league junior, the NBA seemed a world away.
"Of course, I firmly believe I can do it!" Hansen's tone was unwavering,
"If not this year, then next year! And if not next year, then I'll continue to push for it as a free agent!"
He spoke from the heart, for this was also his dream in a past life.
In his past life, his height was the limit; this time around, he had the height, he had the physical talent, and there was no reason for him to give up.
It didn't matter whether he had a system or not; the existence of the system only made him more certain of this.
"Good, I'll support you all the way!" Perhaps infected by the confidence emanating from Hansen, Tois felt his own spirits lift, and he patted Hansen firmly on the shoulder.
"Keep practicing; I won't disturb you," Tois said, before standing up to leave.
"Thank you, Coach!" Hansen didn't expect Tois to come all this way just to encourage him, and he felt deeply grateful.
Tois smiled, nodded, signaled to Hansen, and then left the gym.
However, after stepping out of the gym, he stopped, turned around, and peeked through the crack of the door at Hansen, who had already resumed training.
Last season, he was the head coach of the NBA's Kings, but was devastatingly fired after just one season.
After that, he repeatedly faced rejection in NBA interviews and couldn't even secure a coaching role at an NCAA First-tier Alliance team. Reluctantly, he had ended up in the second-tier league.
This cliff-like coaching career, even more tragic than Hansen's experiences, could be considered a death sentence.
But if, and he meant if, Hansen really could make it to the NBA, perhaps this coach-pupil legend could bring him back to life.