A week later, still at the Greensboro Coliseum, Wake Forest would face Clemson!
From Wake Forest's loss to North Carolina, it was evident that Clemson didn't defeat the strong team of North Carolina solely by luck.
Of course, luck was a factor, but more importantly, it was Clemson's outstanding team defense!
During the game, Clemson used rapid rotations and help defense to successfully isolate and surround North Carolina's star players, preventing them from connecting effectively and forcing them into isolated possessions with low offensive efficiency.
Ultimately, Clemson unexpectedly defeated North Carolina against all odds, securing the victory.
For Wake Forest to avoid repeating North Carolina's mistake, point guard He Ximeng faced considerable pressure. He needed to transcend his usual abilities to break through Clemson's containment and connect his teammates. Fortunately, this was precisely He Ximeng's forte.
In the sectional semifinals, Clemson employed the same tactic again, focusing on a tight defense, packing the paint, especially guarding Wake Forest's leading scorer, Duncan.
Simultaneously, they intentionally left He Ximeng relatively open, aiming to sever his connections with his teammates. They intended to use the same strategy that worked against Carter and Jamison, luring He Ximeng into isolation situations and ultimately winning with a weaker squad.
Indeed, Clemson's overall strength was actually inferior to that of North Carolina or Wake Forest, but the reason they defeated North Carolina was their intelligence and teamwork.
However, such tactics, while effective once, lose some of their impact when used a second time.
Especially against a point guard like He Ximeng, who possessed a stable three-point shot!
Before the game, Coach Dave Odom's strategy still revolved around Duncan. Within Wake Forest, no one's status was comparable to Duncan's. Dave Odom valued He Ximeng because he believed He Ximeng could pass to Duncan. Yes, what he valued most about He Ximeng was his ability to pass to Duncan.
Following the head coach's instructions, attacking through Duncan was not impossible, but it would be extremely difficult.
He Ximeng found passing difficult, and Duncan found scoring difficult.
Clemson's entire team collapsing inward was equivalent to concentrating all their forces to cut off the connection between He Ximeng and Duncan.
This was like a declared strategy, a head-on collision.
Wake Forest, with their superior overall strength, still had a chance to win such a contest, but this style of play was too rigid and passive.
He Ximeng didn't confront the head coach but quietly warned Duncan beforehand. He planned to shoot a few more three-pointers in this game. Once his three-point shot was effective, he would force Clemson to abandon their packed defense, and then he would pass the ball to Duncan.
Therefore, at the start, Duncan's role was to play good defense and secure rebounds.
If such an arrangement were made for any other player, Duncan would have ignored it and reported it directly to the head coach.
But for He Ximeng, this mysterious martial arts prodigy... Duncan glanced at the oblivious head coach and chose to trust his new roommate.
As the game began, on Wake Forest's first possession, He Ximeng habitually called for a high pick-and-roll from Duncan. Clemson's point guard, Greg Buckner, who was guarding He Ximeng, immediately went behind to defend, collapsing into the paint.
At the same time, Clemson's center shifted over to block Duncan's baseline cut. They would rather let He Ximeng drive than let Duncan receive the ball easily.
He Ximeng didn't drive to the basket through the lane provided by Clemson. Instead, he executed a sharp stop, a behind-the-back dribble, and returned to the three-point line.
He then feigned a lob pass to Duncan in the post, but instead, after gathering the ball, he rose up and shot from beyond the arc.
Greg Buckner, who had rushed behind on the screen, was a step too slow to recover and chase.
"Rebound..."
Greg Buckner immediately signaled his teammates to rebound, but the ball, arcing gracefully from the top of the key, swished precisely through the net!
He Ximeng put Wake Forest on the board!
"Didn't Wake Forest's number four point guard not know how to shoot threes?"
"Who told you that?"
"He didn't attempt a single three-pointer in the last game."
"Not attempting equals not knowing?"
"Uh... not necessarily..."
Turning around, Clemson, fearing Duncan's rim protection in the paint, tried to patiently find an open shot through ball movement. However, during a cross-court pass back to Greg Buckner, He Ximeng anticipated it and stole the ball!
Greg Buckner sprinted back, trying to block He Ximeng's layup. But once He Ximeng accelerated, he gave Buckner no chance to block, driving to the basket like lightning. He Ximeng leaped high and softly tipped the ball in for another two points!
He Ximeng scored five consecutive points, igniting the Wake Forest fans.
The enthusiasm of these students was no less than that of professional NBA fans, perhaps even more so.
"How is it? Feeling great, isn't it?"
As He Ximeng jogged back on defense, Duncan intentionally waited for him at the high post. Without waiting for He Ximeng's reply, he returned to his low post position, arms spread, ready to contest drives.
Because He Ximeng didn't go head-to-head with Clemson at the start, instead reacting to their moves and shifting the offensive focus to the perimeter, he not only hit a three-pointer himself but also successfully involved his teammate Rusty.
As He Ximeng had reminded him, Duncan, under Clemson's constant pressure, didn't directly grab rebounds but instead tried to tip the ball out to the perimeter.
With Duncan's height, leaping ability, and sharp basketball instincts, he successfully secured several offensive rebounds for Wake Forest.
In other words, under He Ximeng's leadership, Wake Forest's three-point shooting percentage, already not low, combined with second-chance opportunities, meant they scored on almost every possession. This offensive efficiency quickly became too much for Clemson to handle.
Clemson's head coach was forced to abandon his paint-packing strategy and extend his defense to the three-point line.
He Ximeng then seized the opportunity to adjust Wake Forest's offense back to the head coach's preferred strategy of attacking the paint through Duncan.
Dave Odom was not blind. He had already noticed that He Ximeng wasn't implementing his offensive plan at the start, but with Wake Forest consistently leading, he couldn't say anything.
Now, with Clemson's adjustments, He Ximeng had shifted Wake Forest's offensive tempo back to his desired track. Dave Odom had even less reason to criticize He Ximeng.
However, a question gnawed at Dave Odom: "Was He Ximeng's decision to shift the offensive focus to the perimeter at the start deliberate, or a forced response? If it was deliberate, should I reprimand this young man after the game for altering my tactics without permission?"