Life as NBA Rookie (SlamDunk System)

As the game wound down, the UConn Huskies showed incredible discipline. They patiently worked the shot clock, always finding the best-positioned teammate just before the buzzer. In the stands, as UConn players held the ball, the Wake Forest fans gave it their all. They screamed, booed, and made all sorts of crazy noises, trying to rattle the Huskies.

But none of it worked. With two minutes left in the second half, UConn still held a six-point lead. And to make matters worse, it was their ball.

Yet, just like the players on the court, the fans refused to give up. On Wake Forest's half of the court, as Gordon brought the ball up, the fans started counting down repeatedly, trying to break his rhythm. But Gordon remained calm, controlling the ball, and then made his move with about seven seconds left on the shot clock.

Gray, who'd been guarding Gordon all night, stuck to him like glue. With the referees seemingly letting them play, Gray's desperate tug on Gordon's jersey disrupted his rhythm just before he could make a move. Coach Calhoun on the sideline was jumping up and down, livid.

Was that a foul by Gray? If it was, then what about all those tough battles, the physical plays between Villanova, Armstrong, and Okafor against Zack earlier in the game? Were those fouls too? The refs clearly didn't want to be the story of the night. So, in the final moments of the game, as long as it wasn't a malicious foul or an overtly aggressive one, they weren't going to blow the whistle.

*CLANG!*

On the court, Gordon, with his rhythm broken, couldn't seal the win for UConn with his isolation play. Meanwhile, under the basket, in the fierce boxing match for position against Okafor and Armstrong, Zack, running on fumes, showed astonishing willpower. As the ball bounced off the rim, amidst the relentless struggle with Okafor and Armstrong, Zack stretched out an arm, like he was reaching for the moon, and secured that crucial rebound for Wake Forest!

In that moment, Demon Deacons fans saw a glimmer of hope. But seconds later, as Paul, forced into a rushed three-pointer to save time, clanked it off the iron, a collective groan echoed through the stands. Was this it for Wake Forest?

From the sideline, Rachel Carlisle, who'd been watching Zack all night, suddenly yelled, "Get ready for the pass, Ronnie!"

Honestly, with how loud the arena was, Ronnie Evans probably couldn't hear Rachel screaming at him. But at the exact moment Paul's three missed, Evans, who was also locked onto Zack, had already anticipated the play.

It was Zack again! Relying purely on instinct, he crashed towards where the ball was heading. In this possession, with confused UConn players looking on, he tipped the ball back to his teammate, Evans! Yes, it was pure instinct. Because Zack, who always prided himself on his luck, hadn't triggered his "I Am Hanamichi Sakuragi" badge in that moment. Wobbling on his feet, he simply relied on his gut feeling and intuition to save that offensive rebound for Wake Forest.

And, more importantly, the chance to beat UConn.

On the perimeter, Evans finally sank that damn three-pointer!

91 to 88.

"If Wake Forest can get a stop on this next possession, they'll have a chance to tie the game before regulation ends," Mike Breen, wiping sweat from his brow in the commentary booth, couldn't ignore the suffocating tension gripping the entire arena.

In the stands, fans screamed "Defense! Defense!" As the decibel levels in the arena soared, Gordon, under immense pressure, had lost his earlier composure. Facing Gray's relentless, almost-stabbing defense, Gordon nearly committed a backcourt violation. On the sideline, Jim Calhoun was breaking out in a cold sweat.

Seeing this, Tariq Brown, a senior, took charge and called for the ball from Gordon. For Wake Forest, this seemed like good news. Brown wasn't known for his offense during his four years in college. But just as UConn's shot clock was running down, and fans were already imagining who Wake Forest would go to for their next possession, young Riv took his eyes off another dangerous UConn threat: Rashad Anderson.

At the perfect time, Anderson appeared in the perfect spot. And then... *swish*. Three-pointer, nothing but net.

"That could very well be the game-winning shot. Rashad Anderson, with 54 seconds left in the game, answers Wake Forest with an 'Answer Ball'," Mike Breen lamented in the commentary booth, feeling the Demon Deacons' hopes fading.

On the Wake Forest bench, after glancing at the scoreboard, Coach Prosser immediately called their last timeout and drew up a quick-hitter play. During the timeout, everyone was comforting a distraught Riv. "Don't dwell on the mistake yet, the game isn't over," Zack said, patting the lanky freshman on the shoulder.

After the timeout, Wake Forest's ball. To prevent a quick three, Calhoun only kept Okafor in the paint. It turned out to be a good decision. After the inbound pass, the Huskies successfully countered the Demon Deacons' quick-strike play.

"Wake Forest needs to be mindful of the clock!" Mike Breen warned from the commentary booth.

On the court, seeing his teammates' offense stalling, Zack decisively abandoned the idea of passing to a teammate on the same side and instinctively drifted to the perimeter. At the top of the key, Paul noticed Zack's movement. On the other side, Gordon, knowing they only had one big man inside, quickly rushed out from the baseline towards Zack.

Logically, Gordon made what he thought was the right decision. But in rushing to Zack, he also left Evans, who had been lurking there, wide open. On the court, Zack, receiving the pass from Paul, made no adjustments and immediately swung the ball to Evans. And Evans, carrying the hot hand from his last shot, again nailed that crucial three-pointer for Wake Forest with 35 seconds left on the clock!

94 to 91.

If they could get another stop, Wake Forest still had a chance to tie the game before the final buzzer. At this point, looking at a visibly exhausted Zack, Jim Calhoun made a bold decision. He didn't want Zack to get any more rest from a timeout. Even if this decision might drag UConn into overtime, Calhoun didn't care. Based on Wake Forest's roster depth, Calhoun firmly believed the Demon Deacons were running on fumes.

At the America West Arena, Brown dribbled the ball past half-court, enduring the jeers of the crowd. As a veteran, Brown faithfully carried out his coach's instructions from the sideline: run down the entire shot clock, even if it meant a 30-second violation. Since Wake Forest had no timeouts left to draw up a play, Calhoun didn't mind leaving them five seconds for a final possession. This was the future legendary UConn coach, Jim Calhoun, a head coach who could keep a clear head even in moments like these.

But... what Calhoun didn't, couldn't, possibly account for... was the usually steady Brown getting stripped by Chris Paul during his time-wasting dribble!

On the court, a sudden roar erupted as Chris Paul snatched hope, seizing the only light in the darkness for Wake Forest! Almost simultaneously with Paul's steal, Gray raced across half-court without stopping. Trailing him were the UConn players, sprinting back on defense. But no matter how fast UConn's transition defense was, could it be faster than Paul's pass?

Gray, stopping just beyond the three-point line in the frontcourt, caught Paul's pass. After a slight adjustment to his rhythm, he put up the shot. Would this three-pointer tie the game for Wake Forest? Carrying the hopes of countless fans, everyone held their breath as the ball soared towards the rim.

*CLANG!*

"Get the rebound!" Coach Calhoun, his heart nearly stopping, yelled desperately at his players on the court the moment Gray's three-pointer bounced off the iron. Hearing him, Okafor, who had already sprinted back to the basket, immediately sealed off the entire three-second area.

However, Gray's three-pointer bounced off the rim and turned into a long rebound. Seeing this, Okafor quickly turned, silently praying that a teammate would be near where the long rebound landed. But in the instant Okafor turned, he couldn't believe it... Zack was there again, in that damn spot!

It was instinct and intuition, yet again. Zack, who had been unlucky tonight, hadn't triggered his precognitive ability on either of these crucial offensive rebounds. But he just kept fighting, time and again, bringing Wake Forest back into contention against UConn! Throughout the entire second half, he was like a towering pillar, standing firm in the Demon Deacons' paint.

On the court, after securing another critical rebound for Wake Forest, Zack, with just a glance, noticed Ronnie Evans standing wide open. The guy who was ready to shoot a three, and had just hit two crucial ones. In that moment, Zack had no time to hesitate.

And on the right wing, at a 45-degree angle, Evans, waiting for Zack's pass, saw countless images flash through his mind like a kaleidoscope. Evans had an indescribable love for basketball since he was a kid. Many people around him always said he lacked ambition. But in Evans' eyes, those people simply didn't understand what he was pursuing. Maybe, his whole life, he wouldn't be able to make it to the NBA like those prodigies. But wasn't basketball a game you could play as long as you loved it?

Unlike many of his peers, Evans never liked Michael Jordan as a child. In his view, the so-called "Basketball God" was simply too far removed from him. All along, Evans' favorite player had been Kenny Smith. The unsung hero who repeatedly played the role of "Mr. Clutch" in the Houston Rockets' "Never Underestimate the Heart of a Champion" story.

Now, gently supporting the ball with his left hand, Evans, the little guy for Wake Forest... shot that three-pointer, a shot that could change history, with everyone watching.

Only...

*CLANG!*

The next second, as the sound of the ball hitting the rim echoed, Evans' dream instantly shattered, returning him to reality.

Even though Zack, dragging his exhausted body, once again snatched that offensive rebound for Wake Forest.

Even though the Wake Forest fans in the stands, clutching their heads and weeping, had profoundly felt the cruelty of fate.

Even though...

But reality doesn't have that many "even thoughs."

At the America West Arena, as Evans' game-tying three clanked off the rim, the final buzzer sounded, and the UConn Huskies advanced as planned. Meanwhile, Wake Forest's March Madness journey for the year came to an abrupt end.

That night, the fairy tale didn't come true. But for the big names who witnessed the game, they began to stir. These influential figures, who had long stayed behind the scenes, could no longer suppress their hunger for new talent after this March Madness.

Pulitzer Prize winner, *New York Times* columnist Ira Berkow, wrote in his article to be published the next day: "Tonight, Connecticut conquered Wake Forest. But Zack, with his defense and rebounds throughout the second half, conquered the world." Through this year's March Madness, Ira Berkow had confirmed one fact: a rising star, sharing the same nationality as Yao Ming, was emerging in American college basketball with astonishing, almost unimaginable speed.

Some say he's like Andrei Kirilenko. Some say he's like Larry Bird. Some say he's like Charles Barkley. And some say he's cut from the same cloth as Tim Duncan. But in Ira Berkow's opinion, Zack is like no one else. "He's the most unique player in American college basketball in recent years."

Meanwhile, Nike executive Lynn Merritt, who was responsible for recruiting LeBron James back in the day, keenly spotted the unlimited business opportunities in Zack. In 2004, due to misjudging the Chinese market behind Yao Ming, Nike, which had successfully partnered with Yao Ming a year before he entered the NBA, could only watch as Yao Ming signed with Reebok. For Nike's top brass, that misstep in judgment had become a thorn in their side.

"Now, we have the perfect opportunity to pull out that thorn," Merritt thought, clenching his fist.

This world is never short of talent. What's missing is the foresight to discover that talent, and the wisdom to market and present it to the world. Perhaps that sounds harsh, but in the NBA, it's the truth.

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