In the following days, Zhao Xiu once again adjusted the focus of his training.
After two months of devilish training and two and a half months of “intermittent” training (though already far exceeding others’ training), he confirmed that his core strength was generally superior in NCAA competition, at least not losing by too much, so Zhao Xiu once again adjusted the focus of his training.
From the original focus on strength, three-pointers, and finishing, he allocated most of his strength training time to ball-handling and breakthroughs, which means dribble penetration.
The reason for the adjustment was simple: Zhao Xiu still had too many technical skills to master, so he could only train them one by one.
First, fundamental dribbling could not stop.
However, now that opponents might be more wary of his three-pointers, he needed to use his shooting threat to create more breakthroughs, as Zhao Xiu’s self-positioning was not to be a catch-and-shoot three-point specialist forever.
If there wasn't a good shooting opportunity after receiving the ball, he also had to strive to create more opportunities through breakthroughs.
Finishing ability is extremely important; no matter how basketball techniques evolve, putting the ball into the hoop remains the most crucial skill.
Although Zhao Xiu’s idol was a primary ball-handler like James Harden, he didn't have much obsession with ball-handling; perhaps shooting opportunities were more important to Zhao Xiu.
Of course, for Zhao Xiu, helping the team win was good, but the most critical factor was himself.
If he wanted to enter the NBA within the next two years, the most crucial thing was to excel in both scoring and defense simultaneously, along with having a unique skill, which he had already designated three-point shooting as.
To put it bluntly, because the current UCLA Bruins team was so strong—so strong that Zhao Xiu, who had been prepared for a long time, waited two and a half months for his first chance to play extended minutes and perform impressively—they didn’t even really need Zhao Xiu.
Fortunately, when Zhao Xiu was needed, he was ready.
For Zhao Xiu at this time, the main focus of his training was ball-handling and breakthroughs, specifically quick penetration immediately after receiving the ball on the perimeter.
After all, he was still a newcomer who had just earned the coach's favor, and Zhao Xiu knew perfectly well that if he were to engage in excessive dribbling in limited playing time, even if he scored, he might find himself firmly benched again after a timeout.
NCAA coaches are the kings of the NCAA; if you dare to defy a coach’s tactical arrangements, he will dare to call a timeout and bench you...
In the remaining 13 regular-season games, except for one loss to the University of Washington on February 10th due to excessive complacency, UCLA concluded the regular season with an outstanding record of 18 wins and one loss.
In the latter half of the regular season, Zhao Xiu averaged 13.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 20 minutes of playing time, becoming the team's sixth in playing time but second in scoring.
His field goal percentage was as high as 63%, and his three-point percentage was 45%.
He became a super bandit off the UCLA bench, and it was this period of consistently excellent and stable performance that allowed Zhao Xiu to begin to stand out on the scout lists.
In later regular season games, there were also multiple instances of defensive performances, such as locking down potential guard James Harden from Arizona State University in the second half and limiting OJ Mayo.
Thanks to his performance in the first game, leading the team to a 20-point comeback against the University of Southern California, his celebratory gesture, the commentators' assist, and his precise three-point range, Zhao Xiu had already earned the nickname 【X-ray】 from commentators in the comeback win against USC.
Zhao Xiu was happy with this nickname and, with his excellent performance, fully embraced this rather good moniker.
Especially in the latter half of the regular season, Westbrook's performance saw a significant decline after opponents figured out his unstable shooting.
Many times, UCLA only managed to come back from behind to tie the score after Zhao Xiu entered the game.
Zhao Xiu's stable three-point shooting, "super sticky" defense, powerful breakthroughs, low ball dominance, perfect execution of tactical intentions, plug-and-play attributes, and calm game temperament gradually earned him recognition and affection from UCLA fans.
At the same time, because what Zhao Xiu had said to Westbrook during their pre-season training together came true during the season, and Westbrook had practiced many breakthrough-to-shot techniques in advance, Westbrook's shooting, though still unstable in games, was much better than in the original history.
While it couldn't be said to be completely resolved, having mental preparation and practicing relevant techniques beforehand made a big difference compared to having the problem directly in his face.
At least psychologically, he was no longer flustered.
Furthermore, during this period, the brotherly bond between Westbrook and Zhao Xiu rapidly warmed.
College students naturally become close quickly, and the two had lived in the same dorm for over five months.
Both also had very easy-going personalities.
Although Zhao Xiu's personality was cheerful, he wasn't a very talkative person and maintained a good sense of distance with others, never prying into their private affairs.
Westbrook developed a very strong affection for his organized and planned roommate during their daily training, which gave him a very grounded feeling.
He also greatly admired this roommate because his transformation this year was very evident: persistent training, active gameplay, and providing significant help on the court.
This left Westbrook with the biggest impression of Zhao Xiu: playing with him, they could win.
In every game, Westbrook received at least two assists from Zhao Xiu, and whenever Zhao Xiu and Westbrook were on the court, few dared to double-team him, allowing him to fully unleash his attacking force, which Westbrook greatly enjoyed...
Another month passed in the blink of an eye.
The Pac-10 Tournament, essentially the NCAA version of the playoffs, but the NCAA format still had significant differences.
The PAC-10 Tournament is an annual knockout tournament held in the spring for college basketball teams in the PAC-10 conference, with 10 universities from the conference participating.
The competition uses a single-elimination format, and the champion not only earns the PAC-10 honor but also directly qualifies for the national NCAA March Madness tournament, making it a crucial battle for advancing to the national competition.
Even the overtime game against USC on March 14th in the original timeline was avoided because Zhao Xiu, starting in the second half, locked down OJ Mayo, causing OJ to once again get lost in the second half, leading to dominant 20-point victories against both the University of California and the University of Southern California in the two preceding games.
It is worth mentioning that in the game against Stanford University, Holland started Zhao Xiu.
Due to the "supersize" Lopez brothers, Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez, from Stanford University, both standing at 2.13 meters, even Kevin Love was completely suppressed.
Therefore, Holland started Zhao Xiu, who had better shooting, to counter Stanford's 2-3 zone defense.
Because the two big men couldn't defend outside, Zhao Xiu got a lot of open shots from the perimeter.
The effect of this starting appearance was that Zhao Xiu continued his excellent shooting touch throughout March, taking a full 10 three-pointers, primarily playing with the mentality of "if you leave me open, I will shoot without hesitation."
In the end, they won by a large margin of 73-52 against the Cardinals, a much better outcome than the original history's struggle and eventual 3-point victory.
In this game, Zhao Xiu played 32 minutes, completely replacing Josh Shipp's position, and partnered with Collison and Westbrook, playing at the small forward position.
Zhao Xiu scored 33 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists in this game, including 8-for-10 from three-point range, becoming the most important scoring threat for UCLA, and this was Zhao Xiu's first truly significant game to appear on scout lists...
After this game, on the UCLA team bus from the Staples Center, the players were extremely excited, and the bus was filled with constant chatter.
Suddenly, Coach Holland, who was sitting in the front, stood up and first congratulated everyone on winning the Pac-10 conference championship, but he added, "For us, the Pac-10 championship is a given.
Everyone gets a three-day holiday!"
After the celebration on the bus quieted down slightly, Coach Holland announced another piece of news: "In the March Madness tournament, Zhao Xiu will be starting."
An unexpected announcement time, an unexpected announcement location.
However, judging by the results of Zhao Xiu starting tonight, this seemed to be within expectations.
No one could have imagined that Zhao Xiu, in his first start, would achieve such excellent results.
Upon hearing the news, captain Collison was the first to speak: "Congratulations to Zhao Xiu on starting! I hope we can continue to work hard; our goal is!"
"Championship!" everyone responded in unison.
At this moment, the Bruins, who had won the Pac-10 conference by a large margin, were in high spirits...
The next day, the news of UCLA topping the Pac-10 conference was not even as hot as Zhao Xiu's solo 33-point performance.
Everyone considered this game a natural victory for UCLA, but Zhao Xiu's scoring truly ignited a bigger buzz.
ESPN reported on Zhao Xiu with the headline, "Perhaps the first East Asian frontcourt player to enter the NBA."
The accompanying photo showed Zhao Xiu making a gun gesture with one hand, pointing it at his temple in a "headshot" celebration.
The cover poster of East Asia's 【Basketball Pioneer】 also featured this same photo, marking the first time in recent memory that the front page of a newspaper was not dedicated to Yao Ming or Yi Jianlian.
【NCAA Playoff Finals Starter, Youngster Zhao Xiu Dominates with 33 Points and 7 Rebounds】
The Basketball Pioneer's eye-catching large poster, paired with bold black headlines, instantly captured the attention of all Chinese people.
Basketball in East Asia at this time could be described as red-hot.
Thanks to Yao Ming's successful career, Yao Ming, who was at his peak in 2008, made the entire East Asia extraordinarily eager for international sports events, with immense attention.
At the same time, in that season, the NBA 07-08 season, the Rockets achieved the second-best record in NBA history with 22 consecutive wins.
Many people at this time considered the Rockets their home team and looked forward to the next East Asian player landing in the NBA.
Yi Jianlian was seen as the next Yao Ming; many people had a Love-hate relationship with Yi Jianlian.
It was only in the later years of Yi Jianlian's career, after his tragic final game in the World Cup qualifiers, that people truly let go of their prejudices against Yi Jianlian.
Similarly, the NCAA was a completely new experience for East Asians, like a country girl riding in a fancy sedan chair for the first time.
Although Ma Jian had participated in the NCAA, with the development of media now, especially after Yao Ming brought attention to the NBA, the NCAA was still entering the public's view for the first time.
Previous reports on Zhao Xiu's games had been scattered, but because he was still coming off the bench in college league games and NCAA scores were generally low, Zhao Xiu's scoring had never exceeded 20 points, so the reports didn't garner much attention.
This time was different: starting, playoff finals, 33 points alone, team's leading scorer.
Articles written overtime were freshly published, accompanied by Yang Yi's hopeful and expansive thoughts on the future.
"East Asia has Da Yao, an All-Star center who has already landed in the NBA, Sun Yue, a guard who is about to enter the NBA, and Yi Jianlian, a beastly power forward, but East Asia lacks a two-way wing player who can both attack and defend from the perimeter."
"The NBA had the Four Great Shooting Guards in the 2000s, and now there's the 03 Golden Generation, and we are about to have our own LeBron James."
"Zhao Xiu is called 'X-ray' by Americans; he can quickly catch and shoot three-pointers, never shrinks from big moments, and can lock down the opponent's toughest offensive players on defense.
East Asia's golden era is about to arrive!"
"In the highly competitive and prestigious UCLA Bruins team, the starting point guard is Darren Collison, a point guard generally projected as a first-round pick.
The shooting guard is a super rookie generally projected in the top ten of the draft, and the center is Kevin Love, who has a chance to contend for the top pick."
"In such a team, Zhao Xiu earned a starting position through competition and, in his first start, which was also the NCAA playoff final, scored 33 points, becoming the team's leading scorer!"
...Sports Illustrated reported, "Zhao Xiu is projected to be selected early in the second round."
This was a time of great draft excitement in East Asia.
Although Yi Jianlian had a great start, even being called "the second Nowitzki" by American sports media late last year, his performance had declined since January, but external confidence in him remained high.
Yao Ming, of course, needed no introduction; at the peak of his career, Da Yao averaged over 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks, with a field goal percentage over 50%, standing like a stable Eastern Great Wall in the paint—calm, tough, and unshakeable.
At this time, the expectations and confidence for East Asian players had reached a historical peak.
If it weren't for 2008 being a recognized strong draft class, perhaps Zhao Xiu would have already been a stable first-round pick.
2008 was a recognized strong draft class, featuring Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, OJ Mayo, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Danilo Gallinari, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum, George Hill, and DeAndre Jordan.
These were all strong players who left their mark in the NBA.
Although Zhao Xiu had a month of consistent high-level performance, he would need more to join the competition among these players.
