Zeng Xingyang proved with action that his fame is not undeserved.
Isaac muttered a soft f*ck.
He couldn’t believe Zeng Xingyang was so difficult to restrict.
Kupchek on the sidelines smiled, as Zeng Xingyang’s shooting ability seemed no different from NBA shooters now.
This level of shooting ability would make playing in the NCAA very easy.
Tyler Ulis quickly came over to high-five Zeng Xingyang in celebration.
Zeng Xingyang’s tough three-point shot was incredibly cool, leaving the scouts on-site continually surprised.
Although Isaac doesn’t have an NBA prospect, his defense isn’t bad, and he quickly confronted Zeng Xingyang.
Yet Zeng Xingyang ignored this defense and scored.
Previously, Zeng Xingyang’s average of 15 points per game at Kentucky wasn’t eye-catching, as many were open shots, so some scouts still worried about his shooting ability under heavy interference.
It’s known that in the NBA, the playing opportunities aren’t as open as they are for Zeng Xingyang at the University of Kentucky.
Kentucky’s strength this year is purely number one seed level, their talent is outstanding, they created many open shots for Zeng Xingyang.
If a shooter can only make open shots, it’ll be difficult to fight tough battles and easy to be tightly guarded.
Zeng Xingyang used this type of shooting to tell all the scouts that he has a strong ability to shoot under interference, and they can boldly select him.
Zeng Xingyang’s shots in the NCAA aren’t many, mainly because the University of Kentucky has too many players needing shooting rights.
Everyone wants to join the draft, so almost everyone who gets on the court thinks about getting some stats, and there is internal competition.
Many NCAA players have high average scores, mostly because the team relies on one or two people to attack, in such circumstances, naturally, the stats will surge.
Point guard Bliss dribbled past half-court and continued to give the ball to Powell.
As soon as Powell got the ball, he started dribbling, preparing for a breakthrough.
Powell’s ability with the ball is stronger than without the ball.
Powell pulled the ball from the left to the right, continuously changing rhythm, but Zeng Xingyang’s defense was very solid, not giving Powell any chance for a breakthrough.
He stayed close the entire time.
Seeing this, Rooney quickly came over to set a screen, Zeng Xingyang was blocked, and Koulistan quickly switched defense, still not giving Powell space.
Powell held the ball for a bit too long, Koulistan is a nimble-type inside, after a quick change of direction and breakthrough, he was double-teamed by Koulistan and Towns.
Powell transferred the ball out to the outside to Isaac.
Isaac, without stopping, transferred to Rooney, and at this moment, Zeng Xingyang was still defending Rooney, creating a misalignment, Isaac thought Rooney had a mismatch opportunity.
Indeed, Zeng Xingyang is a guard, but his height is that of a tall guard, Rooney found it not so easy to exploit this mismatch.
Rooney didn’t want to waste this mismatch opportunity, he started posting up Zeng Xingyang.
Rooney continuously bumped Zeng Xingyang, though Zeng Xingyang did retreat, Rooney wasn’t absolutely confident.
Rooney quickly tried to turn to shake free, Zeng Xingyang’s agility was better than Rooney’s, so he immediately followed.
Rooney discovered he hadn’t shaken the defense, but he also got to a close position.
Rooney gathered strength to bump again, Zeng Xingyang predicted this, borrowing the force to retreat as Rooney was preparing for a layup, Zeng Xingyang quickly swiped backward with his left hand.
Zeng Xingyang’s wingspan is long, his reaction is quick.
As Rooney gathered the ball and was about to jump, it was swiped away, the ball bounced off Rooney’s knee out of bounds.
After the referees’ performative gestures, possession was given to the University of Kentucky.
Deng’s swipe was very effective.
If it were pure strength confrontation, Zeng Xingyang might suffer, but he used his advantages for defense, which was very successful.
This switching defense ability also means Zeng Xingyang can defend from position 1 to 4, not becoming a distinct defensive weak spot.
Familiar teammate Towns wasn’t surprised by this, Zeng Xingyang often used mismatch defense against him in team practice games, unless he was deep inside, it was hard to deal with Zeng Xingyang even slightly outside.
In Towns’ view, Zeng Xingyang’s strength is not particularly strong, but he is very smart, he constantly disrupts the defender’s rhythm and maximizes the use of his wingspan and reaction speed.
The University of Kentucky’s offense comes again.
Booker got the ball and dribbled forward.
After getting to the front court, Booker started passing the ball, Zeng Xingyang was positioning on the other side.
Tyler Ulis passed the ball to Towns inside.
UCLA’s defensive strategy is still to double-team Towns.
Without a three-second defense in the NCAA, the inside is very packed, Towns didn’t force it but passed the ball out to Booker.
Booker called for a screen from Koulistan.
Koulistan quickly moved up, and Booker used the screen to continue penetrating.
Booker’s ability to use screens is very strong, but after getting inside, Booker also didn’t find an opportunity.
Booker made a bounce pass to Zeng Xingyang at the right 45-degree angle.
Zeng Xingyang caught the ball with a fake, his shot was intimidating, and Powell fell for it.
Zeng Xingyang, although faking out Powell, didn’t find a good shot, choosing to drive the ball inside.
Zeng Xingyang stopped quickly and jumped up to pass to Koulistan in the middle.
UCLA’s Roony and Thomas were busy dealing with Towns, leaving Koulistan comfortable.
Koulistan took the ball, stepped forward, and flew up, switching from a two-handed to a one-handed grip, by the time Roony rushed over, it was too late.
Koulistan slammed the ball into the basket over Roony in mid-air.
Zeng Xingyang assisted Koulistan to score, helping the University of Kentucky open up a slight gap.
Koulistan roared at Roony.
"Willie Cauley-Stein, he completed a poster dunk over Kevin Rooney’s defense, God, this guy jumps so high."
"This is an agile-type inside, with a stunning physical talent, when he wants to, he can dunk violently, dive for loose balls, or fly to block."
"Zeng Xingyang’s pass was perfectly timed, making him very comfortable."
The commentator shouted.
Koulistan and Zeng Xingyang celebrated with a hard high-five.
Zeng Xingyang’s assists in each game aren’t particularly high, but very stable, showing he has a playmaking ability.
Seeing Zeng Xingyang bringing out Koulistan’s potential, Coach Calipari on the sidelines was very satisfied, showing that the decision to start Zeng Xingyang was not wrong.
In the next round, Powell continued to challenge Zeng Xingyang one-on-one, and after a high-speed direction change, his right-side breakthrough layup missed.
Powell has always been very confident in his ball-handling ability, thinking no one in the entire NCAA could absolutely restrict him.
But at this moment, facing Zeng Xingyang, he felt a sense of being restricted.
Previously, he could easily get past defenders to layup, now finding such shot opportunities has become very difficult.