Chapter Twenty-Five You Madman

  (This book ranked last week, congratulations, and it's less than 10 votes away from the recommended list, thank you for your support, thanks)

  On Saturday, February 24, 1996, at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, the Demon Deacons hosted Duke University for the second time in a week, this time in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

  The final whistle sounded, 110-60, Vicksburg won a big victory over Duke University by 50 points. Many fans who were looking forward to another classic showdown were disappointed.

  "It's almost unbelievable, where did the Duke University that was four days ago go? Where did the Duke University that could comprehensively suppress the Virginia Tech outside line go? This is one of the most humiliating defeats in Duke University history. The game was full of mistakes and they were at a loss when facing Virginia Tech's high-pressure defense, becoming fragile and unable to withstand it. It's hard to imagine that four days ago they pushed Virginia Tech to the brink."

  The News & Record of North Carolina has been unsparing in its criticism of Duke, one of the few papers to pick against Wake Forest this year. The Blue Devils' controversial loss last week only added to their glee. They had picked Duke to win going into that game, but unfortunately for them, they didn't know that four days earlier, Duke was an aberration. That aberration is now in the hands of Coach K's prayers. This one was more like it for Duke.

  It's really thanks to the classic matchup four days ago that they were able to pull off a blowout win, although they won but it was clear that Villanova almost got upset in their previous game, so Villanova's players had been holding their breath for a long time. Duke University was completely tragic. This game also set the record for the largest margin of victory in the ACC tournament.

  Zhuang Fei watched as the Duke University players left Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum one by one, dejected. Especially K coach's gnashing teeth expression made Zhuang Fei feel very innocent, and K coach vented his anger on Zhuang Fei again.

  The other semifinal was a real barnburner, with Georgia Tech, led by Iman Shumpert, ultimately falling to Antoine Wright and Shammond Williams-led North Carolina 77-72 in a five-point loss. The Yellow Jackets had struggled at the beginning of conference play this season, getting blown out by Wake Forest in their first game and not recovering until ten games later, only to make it all the way to second place in the ACC.

  Georgia Tech lost, Zhuang Fei also let out a sigh of relief. Ma Bu's resentment towards this task was really too abnormal, and it would be best to avoid it as much as possible.

  The 1996 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament championship game took place on February 29 at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem.

  In some ways, North Carolina and Wake Forest are similar in that both teams have a good balance inside and out. With Antawn Jamison and Shammond Williams splitting the duties inside and out, it's a great combination, complemented by Ed Cota, Ademola Okulaja, and other solid role players, which is also why they were able to come back against Georgia Tech. Their bench depth is pretty good too.

  Although the style is similar, there are also strengths and weaknesses to distinguish between. Jamison and Duncan, Shammgod Williams and Carter, are clearly a notch apart. So in this game against North Carolina, Wake Forest performed extremely well, relying on their strength to overpower their opponents without any fancy moves. Duncan overpowered Jamison, Carter overpowered Williams, and in the end, Wake Forest defeated North Carolina 97-71 to win their fourth ACC Tournament championship in school history. It had been 34 years since they last won a title, which was in 1962. After 34 years, Wake Forest once again dominated the ACC, and that year's team also won both the regular season and postseason championships, ultimately advancing to the NCAA Final Four.

  .............

  .............

  "Hello, Mr. Zhuang, I am David Muir, a reporter from USA Today." The second day after the ACC tournament ended, USA Today invited Zhu Feng for an exclusive interview again, and this time Zhu Feng really had no reason to drag it out any longer. USA Today is a national newspaper with its headquarters in Virginia, adjacent to North Carolina, and is said to be one of the largest newspapers near North Carolina, with great influence around the world.

  "Martin Moore? I think I've heard that name somewhere before." Zhuang Fei said after hearing his self-introduction, stunned for a moment. Then Zhuang Fei slapped his forehead and shouted: "I remember! Last year's headline on the American Sports Edition 'The Fallen Vickson, The Sad Chinese Coach' was written by you, wasn't it?"

  Zhuang Fei looked at Martin Mul's embarrassed face and smiled. Last year, Zhuang Fei was beaten by Kangda in his first game after taking office, and many media outlets reported on the Viks Lin. As the largest newspaper near North Carolina, USA Today was no exception. The article was one of the most scathing criticisms of Zhuang Fei and Viks Lin, and Zhuang Fei still remembered it vividly.

  "Mr. Zhuang, you have a great memory." Martin Muller said with an apologetic expression and continued: "You won't be refusing today's interview with Today USA for this reason, will you?"

  "Haha, Mr. Reporter, you're thinking too much, I'm not a petty person, so don't worry, ask whatever questions you have." Zhuang Fei indeed didn't refuse the interview for this reason, and he didn't hold any particular grudge against Today's America either, because after that, Today's America quickly became one of Zhuang Fei's biggest boosters.

  Martin Mulroney gazed at Zhu Fei, taken aback by his calm demeanor for a moment, then shook his head to clear those thoughts and smiled: "Mr. Zhu, let's get started."

  "Mr. Zhuang, my first question is, after losing to Kangda, as far as I know, you became the most unpopular person in Wenzhou University and Windsor City. Nobody believed that you could succeed at that time. What were your thoughts back then? Did you ever think of giving up?"

  "I didn't think about giving up at all," said Zhuang Fei, "the pressure was huge at that time, every day I worried about being beaten when going out, and during that period, I didn't even dare to leave the school gate. You know, in the US, it's legal to own guns." Zhuang Fei smiled and continued: "At that time, someone advised me to change some things, but I still insisted. Now we have become the most popular team in the US, more popular than Michigan Five Tigers at that time, and I have also become a hero in Windsor City."

  "I heard you said your goal was to win the NCAA championship in your first training session after taking office, is that true?"

  "Yes, because my predecessor Mr. Odum did a great job and we also have an excellent team, the goal of winning the championship is not an impossible task. Now haven't we become the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament among 68 teams?" Zhuang Fei replied confidently, if there's no trouble from the dynasty system later on, this year's championship is almost a sure thing.

  "If you guys really win the championship this year, it will be a perfect season and the first time in NCAA history. I never dared to believe it would happen, but Mr. Zhuang, you did it, congratulations!"

  "Thank you, I hope in a month and a half we can hold the NCAA trophy and accept your visit."

  "Is this a declaration of championship?"

  "Yes, we will be champions" Zhuang Fei said with a smile again.

  "Alright, so Mr. Zhuang, can you talk about that shocking small lineup of yours? Many people are curious, why didn't your team organize a backcourt defense, yet still performed so well, with an offense that was organized and didn't make many mistakes or errors, even when the four forwards were shaking things up? Why is that? Many people say you're a crazy gambler, but it seems like every time you gamble, you end up winning."

  "Do you think I'm crazy? I'm a very normal person. As for gambling, actually any basketball tactic is a gamble. If it works well, you win the gamble; if not, you need to change tactics. That's one of the charms of basketball - diverse tactics."

  Zhuang Fei continued: "Although small lineups haven't appeared on a large scale yet, future basketball games will have more and more of them. Athletic talent will dominate future courts. In fact, point guards are no exception. When you have an excellent small forward like Vince Carter, Scottie Pippen or Grant Hill, the demand for point guards decreases rapidly. Moreover, our team also has a player who can contribute 6.5 assists per game - Deng Kun."

  "So, Duncan and Carter, who do you think is the most crucial player for the Vicksburg Whirlwinds?" Martin Mulder asked curiously. Now, fans of the Vicksburg Whirlwinds have been divided into two factions: the Duncan faction and the Carter faction, with heated discussions about who's the real leader of the team.

  "Duncan is the most crucial player on our team, but we don't just need Duncan, we also need Carter, Bell, Szczepanik, James Posey and so on. We are a team, an entity, Duncan is the captain of the team, he should take more responsibility than others, he did very well, Carter did very well too." said Zhuang Fei without hesitation.

  Zhuang Fei's direct answer was quite surprising to Martin Moller, after all, a head coach shouldn't be so straightforward in saying that one player is better than another, especially when the two players being evaluated are both core players.

  The next visit to Zhuang Fei was a question-and-answer session, and Martin Mulder became more and more horrified as he listened. The ideas of this young Chinese man were really too strange, some things were simply unacceptable at present. Martin Mulder believed even more that this Chinese man was indeed a madman.

  "Mr. Zhuang, let's summarize this visit, what is it that you most want to do now?"

  "I hope to start the championship immediately and lead the team to win, it's best to have a real game with the Chicago Bulls" Zhuang Fei said with a smile, with a hint of longing.

  This left Martin speechless again, wanting to compete with Bulls? You're crazy.