Ten days later, just as Zhao Xiu had predicted, UCLA steadily won the first four elimination games of March Madness.
They advanced to the Final Four, having defeated Mississippi Valley State University, Texas A&M University, West Virginia University, and Western Kentucky University.
In the first game against Mississippi Valley State University, UCLA even created a massacre with a 78-29 score, winning the first round by nearly fifty points.
The subsequent three rounds also didn't pose much trouble for UCLA. It's worth mentioning that in the direct head-to-head matchup against Western Kentucky University's star player, Courtney Lee, Zhao Xiu completely shut down the opposing star player.
While completely freezing the opponent, he made 3 of 6 three-pointers and achieved excellent statistics of 18 points and 9 rebounds.
It's important to know that in the NCAA, where the pace is slower and average scores are lower, these statistics are already comparable to the average scoring data of many star scorers.
It could be said that in every game of March Madness, Zhao Xiu was steadily improving his draft position.
In the first four rounds, starting player Zhao Xiu averaged 17 points, closely approaching Love, the team's leading scorer.
The most miraculous part was that after one teammate was replaced in the starting lineup of the other four players, no one's average score decreased; instead, Westbrook, Love, and Collison's average assists all saw a certain increase.
In the next game, the two teams will head to the Alamodome in San Antonio, a venue with a capacity of 64,000 seats, where they will face the University of Memphis led by Derrick Rose.
They arrived in Texas two days early for training, and on the evening of their arrival at the San Antonio hotel, the two immediately opened their laptops.
As March Madness approached its end, every game brought changes for players intending to enter the draft, especially for players like Zhao Xiu who hadn't played many games.
It's no exaggeration to say that consistently outstanding performances could even lead to a player's draft position rising by several spots in just one game.
Westbrook and Zhao Xiu eagerly clicked on the draft website.
NBAdraft had already released a specific list at this time, the 2008 draft predictions.
First up was the first overall pick, Derrick Rose, who averaged 14.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in the regular season.
Although his statistics were unremarkable, if you only looked at the numbers, you couldn't tell what was good about him from an Excel sheet.
However, the scout report stated:
Strengths: A natural leader, always at the forefront, explosive athleticism and incredible finishing ability make him seem unstoppable.
The second pick was Beasley, who posted 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds in the regular season. This scoring record even surpassed Anthony's record at the time.
It's important to know what it means to average 26 points in the NCAA; it's a dominant scoring ability.
Strengths: Mature offensive skills, a versatile offensive repertoire, and excellent static and dynamic abilities. He could very well be the next Carmelo Anthony.
Weaknesses: Sometimes an unfocused game attitude, and sometimes his effort on defense in games is questionable. His lateral quickness on defense is extremely slow, and he struggles immensely in pick-and-roll defense.
His desire to win is also a question mark. He has the physique of a power forward but lacks any rim protection ability or willingness. His immaturity in discipline also causes concern.
Teammate Kevin Love was ranked fourth, averaging 17.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.
Love's extremely strong low-post offense and shooting ability give him a huge offensive threat, and his excellent playmaking ability further increases the possibility of Love being a core player for a team.
However, his height is a huge problem, and his issues with weight management are also concerning.
Westbrook's draft prediction was 8th. Zhao Xiu kept looking down and found himself at the 23rd pick.
So high! Zhao Xiu was pleasantly surprised. It seemed he was definitely going to enter the draft.
Before his transmigration, Zhao Xiu had deliberately controlled himself, rarely using social media. In this life, social media was not yet so developed, and Zhao Xiu only knew that his fans were increasing.
However, he hadn't realized how much traffic his lockdown defense and consistent scoring in the recent games had brought to the media.
Zhao Xiu was ranked 23rd, averaging 10.1 points, 3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists.
Scout Report, Strengths: Perfect basketball physique, extremely large hands, strong physical confrontation, performs better in tougher games, very consistent since becoming a starter, has a stable three-point shot, good defensive attitude and skills, good basketball IQ and off-ball movement awareness, an excellent immediate contributor.
His consistent performance makes him look like a mature championship puzzle piece.
Weaknesses: Unrefined offensive skills; due to limited playing time before, more observation is needed. He appears to be only a perfect championship puzzle piece.
Whether he can be developed as a core player and whether he can master more advanced technical skills remains to be seen.
After reading the entire scout report, Westbrook and Zhao Xiu exchanged glances.
"Are you planning to enter the draft this season?" Westbrook asked first.
Zhao Xiu nodded affirmatively, thinking, "The players from the East in people's eyes this season are extremely excellent and very worth investing in.
There's a high probability they'll be given more leeway and have higher draft picks. If I can be selected in the lottery, I'll have at least one season to level up.
If Sun Yue and A Lian's season-ending injuries happen next season, then my draft prospects in '09 might be affected, even having more negative impacts on me.
Moreover, UCLA is likely to undergo a major overhaul next season. My current skills make it difficult for me to be the primary offensive core.
If I have too much ball-handling offense, coupled with a not-so-strong team roster, I might not even achieve better results than now."
What he said aloud was, "Let's win the championship first, then we'll think about everything else."
Looking at the already passionate Westbrook, he also thought that if he could perform better in the upcoming March Madness, or even win the championship, he would have a better chance to move up.
When they woke up from the hotel the next day, the team's life became completely different.
Furthermore, this year's NCAA was unusual because all four of the strongest seeded teams advanced to the Final Four.
This meant that all four 'popular teams' advanced to the Final Four, just like if in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers, Warriors, Suns, and Los Angeles Clippers all made it to the very end.
The team's exposure greatly increased, with various commercial activities and promotional videos coming their way.
This was also why the NCAA did not allow any form of commercial endorsement, otherwise, the popularity at this time would definitely be comparable to the NBA All-Star period.
From the Final Four onwards, it was already considered the highest stage of the NCAA.
Surprisingly, CCTV5 also obtained the broadcasting rights for this NCAA semifinal, and began promoting it two days in advance.
On the afternoon of the day before the game, Zhao Xiu was invited to an interview with an East reporter. The interviewer was also Zhao Xiu's "old acquaintance" from television, Coach Zhang.
The distinctive Beijing accent immediately made Zhao Xiu feel a sense of home. After a casual chat with Coach Zhang, the interview questions officially began.
Question: "Are you satisfied with your current performance?"
Answer: "To be precise, not completely satisfied, because I believe I still have greater potential, and I hope to have an even better performance in March Madness."
Question: "How did you secure a starting position on such a strong team, especially since you were a substitute for more than half the season?"
Answer: "My teammates are all great. Russell, Kevin, and everyone else, whether it's Captain Collison, or Josh and Shipp, whom I replaced in the starting lineup, are all excellent teammates.
The internal competition in the team wasn't as intense as one might think. Everyone is a good teammate, good brother. Whoever is more suitable plays, that's all."
Question: "Do you want to represent the East team in this year's 2008 Beijing Olympic Games?"
Zhao Xiu's lips curled slightly, his eyes bright and sharp, carrying the unique youthful edge.
Answer: "I am always ready for my motherland, anytime, anywhere."
Upon hearing these words, Coach Zhang suddenly paused.
In this era, every player going to play in the NBA always instilled endless confidence when responding to interviews.
Just like in 2004 when Da Yao was asked if he had confidence to play in the NBA, Da Yao's resounding answer was, "Yes."
These athletes from the East always managed to reveal their edge through their answers, in the simplest way, while also giving people endless confidence.
Fans far away in the East, listening to CCTV5's special live interview, even without having watched the game live, already had an image of a confident, resolute, and fearless individual vividly portrayed...
The two days before the game were like a major fashion show, with all sorts of interviews, newspapers, and predictions flying around. It was a scene of exploding traffic.
The day before the game, TNT specially organized a prediction show for this NCAA game, during which TNT's famous commentator, the retired Charles Barkley, boldly predicted that "Xiu" would be selected in the lottery.
At that time, Kenny Smith, as always, posed their topic of the day: "At what pick do you think the new East forward Xiu will be selected?"
"I believe Xiu will be selected in the lottery. Xiu's temperament in the game is fascinating. If you haven't watched his games, I suggest you do," Barkley said.
"Ever since you kissed a donkey's ass, have you started to worship people from the East?" Smith immediately began to provoke him.
"No, no, no, if you really watch Zhao Xiu's games, you will be attracted by his game temperament. I suggest you take a good look at Zhao Xiu's first game where he played more than ten minutes, against the University of Southern California."
"He's like a leopard, gradually revealing his fangs, showing no hesitation when the score is close, just like a leopard approaching its prey."
"When he bares his fangs, you'll find that you are no longer safe. My god, he's like a hidden sniper. When he fires the bullet from his gun, you will surely die."
Kenny Smith immediately retorted, "Oh, no, Barkley, he only gets those open looks under the wings of Kevin Love, Collison, and Russell.
When he leads the team, he can't achieve such results."
"He also has extremely strong defense and the ability to defend smaller players. He has locked down OJ Mayo from the University of Southern California, Jason Kapono from the University of Arizona, and DJ Augustin from the University of Texas.
He is every guard's nightmare."
Barkley had clearly watched many of Zhao Xiu's games, and in his debate with Kenny Smith, he frequently cited many examples from Zhao Xiu's games, perfectly matching Kenny's various questions.
New York, at the NBA headquarters in the Olympic Tower on Fifth Avenue.
David Stern looked at this year's NBA draft predictions, then at the East official interview about Zhao Xiu on the TV screen, and the various sports newspaper reports about Zhao Xiu on the desk.
One Da Yao had already made the NBA incredibly profitable, but it was clear that for the international market, especially the East basketball market, one East player not only made the Rockets team a fortune but also greatly boosted the entire NBA's revenue and viewership.
And the East basketball market was far from saturated!
Thinking of the dense votes from the East for Da Yao in every All-Star ballot, David Stern couldn't help but rub his fingers. These were all crisp dollars!
Who would turn down money?
Moreover, David Stern's attention to Zhao Xiu began at the start of the NCAA season. No one wanted other East players to enter the NBA more than David Stern.
Especially if they could be star players, that would be even better.
For Yi Jianlian, who entered the NBA this year, David Stern had already quietly started to build momentum for him, including personally promoting him, calling Yi Jianlian the "second Da Yao," and actively arranging for Yi Jianlian to participate in multiple international events and commercial endorsements, all aimed at building Yi Jianlian into "the next big thing from the East."
However, Yi Jianlian's rookie performance was merely satisfactory.
David Stern knew that Yi Jianlian's current performance was not even enough to match Da Yao's popularity, let alone the undeveloped East market. Therefore, he had already added more "pushers" for Zhao Xiu, who was playing in the NCAA this season.
Zhao Xiu also seized the opportunity himself. He earned a starting position in the Pac-10 conference and March Madness, and became the team's second-leading scorer.
His draft stock soared like a plane taking off.
His Vice President, Mark Jackson, had suggested to him more than once to intensify efforts to build momentum for this potential new star from the East.
After watching CCTV5's interview with Zhao Xiu many times, David Stern finally made up his mind, picked up the phone, dialed Mark Jackson, and said,
"It's time. Let's begin."
The stage has been set for you; now it's up to your performance.
