After leaving the scrimmage at Stanford, Kupchak and his team wore down expressions of disappointment.

"Why did I even bother showing up here? What I saw was an unremarkable guard, not even showing any initiative. He spent a full twenty minutes running aimlessly back and forth. He let that guy in number 23 take control of all the possessions. As a point guard, he has zero autonomy. How can I believe he can partner well with Kobe Bryant? He can't even control his college teammates, how will he get along with Bryant?"

Kupchak turned around, his fury directed at the head of the scouting department, "Don't ever recommend players like this to me again. I'm telling you, our next target is Jordan Farmer! Do you understand?"

As Kupchak said this, everyone fell into an icy silence. Even though they all wanted to explain that the Bruce Li in the scrimmage just now wasn't the usual Bruce Li, the general manager had already reached his limit. What more could they say? Off to Jordan Farmer it is.

Well, Jordan Farmer looks pretty good, doesn't he? He has already led UCLA into the Round of 32.

According to the schedule, if Stanford defeats Kansas in the next game, and UCLA defeats Kentucky, they will face off in a life-or-death battle for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.

However, judging by the current situation, UCLA defeating Kentucky is highly likely, but Stanford's chances against Kansas are slim!

Despite not having an NBA draft pick for three consecutive years, the University of Kansas still maintains a strong overall team. Additionally, this season, two potential rookies have emerged: small forward Brandon Rush and point guard Mario Chalmers, both considered players with a chance at the NBA.

This season, freshman Brandon Rush has taken on the small forward position, averaging 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, with a three-point shooting percentage of 47.2%. He made it to the first team of the Big 12 conference and was named the preseason MVP of the Big 12 conference. Mario Chalmers is even more impressive, not only scoring the second-highest average of 12.2 points per game on the team, but also contributing 3.3 assists per game, totaling 97 steals for the season. He and Marcus Dove shared the title of Oklahoma's Best Defensive Player, making it to the third team and the first defensive team of the Big-12 conference. With 97 steals in a single season, he broke the school record for the University of Kansas.

And this highly acclaimed point guard, Mario Chalmers, made it clear to the media yesterday, "I know that many NBA scouts, television media, and even those Hollywood television stations are all paying attention to this game. I'm happy to receive so much attention, and I'm already prepared to defeat Bruce. It's time to let the entire United States audience know my name."

This freshman is very candid.

In fact, there are countless people within the University of Kansas who hold this belief. They see this as a good opportunity for display, and they all feel that Bruce is not worthy of his current fame: they are fully capable of replacing him.

For Li Zhen, this is undoubtedly a huge challenge.

As Scott said, the stage and lights are already set for Bruce Li. If he continues to perform miracles, his fame and influence will rise to another level. But if he messes up the performance, or if someone else outshines him, all his previous efforts will be in vain.

This is a game without a way out.

However, Coach McHaney forcefully altered the script.

TJ Walton's efforts in training camp caused immense damage, and everyone was in a state where they couldn't play smoothly, especially Li Zhen, who couldn't even get his hands on the ball, let alone organize.

The other players were also voicing their grievances.

They all looked to Li Zhen, who was waiting for Coach Jamie Lin. He hoped Coach Jamie Lin would get involved, and he even wanted to facilitate a three-way conversation to make Coach Jamie Lin the team's chief assistant coach and correct the current flawed tactics.

However, when the training ended, he received news from another assistant coach: Coach Jaimie Lin had been reassigned by Head Coach McHaney to edit the video footage of the Kansas game.

This was a complete letdown.

Editing game footage was usually a task assigned to the lowest-ranking assistant coach, someone who didn't even have the qualifications to guide players in training camp.

Li Zhen was furious.

He went to look for Coach McHaney, only to find out that he had already left. He then tried to call Jaimin, but there was no answer... It could be imagined that this diligent guy must still be diligently editing videos, conscientiously completing his work.

But... why should we let someone else ruin the miracle we worked so hard to create?

Li Zhen was not accepting this.

Unable to confront Coach McHani in person, he temporarily vented his frustration on the gym equipment.

He was sweating profusely, even forgetting his fatigue.

At some point, a familiar voice echoed in his head: "Congratulations on earning 10 energy points through your diligent and dedicated training, and... your angry emotions have activated something special."

Positive energy resonated in his mind.

"What special thing?" Li Zhen wondered in his head.

"The muscle memory after that crazy training in his senior year," the positive energy's voice chimed in, "that guy, though off the court he was a mess, he was also extremely obsessed. In his junior year, he suffered unfair treatment. Coach Clifton Herring of Emsley A. Laney High School announced that he was being thrown into the second team because although he had outstanding ball skills, his defense was mediocre, his shooting was just satisfactory, and he was only 5'11'' tall."

"After that, he woke up at six every morning to train, six hours a day. Unconsciously, it was on one of those stormy days that he absorbed me. Then he became a devilish 'avenger,' turning all attacks and imagined hurts into fuel to make himself soar. Fueled by anger, he quickly became the star of the second team, leading them to victory and becoming the idol of  Emsley A. Laney High School. A year later, his height skyrocketed..."

Li Zhen had read about Jordan's story in various biographies.

So, Li Zhen interrupted him, "What help can the memory after the crazy training give me?"

"More accurately, you've gained the muscle memory of Jordan in his senior year, but your current physical strength isn't enough to fully utilize it. However, one thing is for sure, in the current low-intensity state of NCAA games, your shooting will improve a lot. Your current shooting ability is really terrible."

Uh...

Li Zhen understood.

Just then, Jaimie Lin's voice came from the gym door, "Hey, Bruce. I heard you were looking for me, and I also have something to discuss with you. I studied Mario Chalmers of Kansas carefully last night, and I found many details of his games..."

Li Zhen turned around, and Jaimin approached with two huge dark circles under his eyes.

He must have pulled an all-nighter again last night.

This made Li Zhen's heart tighten suddenly.

He felt intensely frustrated again: why should someone so talented and hardworking be thrown into the dimly lit editing room like this?