Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School and Huipu Middle School had different team-building philosophies.
From its inception, Huipu Middle School adhered to a team-oriented approach, prioritizing strategy and suppressing individual statistics. This had been the greatest weapon for Huipu Middle School's decade-long dominance in the Zhejiang region.
Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School, however, was different. Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School had always pursued a star player model. Given Hangzhou's special status in Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School frequently recruited talented players from junior high league competitions across the province through special admissions. After gathering a group of talented players province-wide, they were made to compete again, with the strongest enjoying unlimited shooting rights. The losers either transferred or accepted their fate of becoming role players…
Yuan Zhangyang of Changxing Middle School, Fu Zaifeng of Jinyun Middle School, and Hu Yunlong of OuHai Middle School had all been members of Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School.
Including He Ximeng, who had actually received an invitation from Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School upon graduating from junior high.
He Ximeng had been somewhat tempted, as Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School's overall basketball level was a notch above Zhuji Middle School at the time.
However, He Ximeng's mother believed that Zhuji Middle School had a better academic atmosphere than Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School… After all, Zhuji Middle School's key university admission rate ranked fourth in the entire province… while Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School was not among the top ten in the province.
Weighing the pros and cons, He Ximeng ultimately followed his mother's advice and stayed honestly at Zhuji Middle School.
If the He Ximeng of that time had chosen Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School… He Ximeng estimated that he would have achieved the goal of breaking through the Zhejiang region long ago. After all, in the previous two years, Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School had entered the Eastern Division as the second-place team in the Zhejiang region…
But every gain has a loss! If He Ximeng had chosen to join Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School back then, the final outcome might have been similar to Yuan Zhangyang, Fu Zaifeng, and Hu Yunlong: first, failing to compete with Liu Yudong and losing the team's ace status. Either accepting Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School's basketball culture and diligently playing a supporting role for Liu Yudong, or, like Yuan Zhangyang and the others, choosing to leave Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School and start anew with their local teams.
The most brutal competition forged the strongest individuals! This is how the star player model works, with the winner dominating the team.
There is no right or wrong with two different team-building philosophies.
Most national teams worldwide emphasize the rationality of the team model, but the strongest league across the ocean actually opts for the star player model… building teams and tailoring tactics around star players. It is rare to find star players by focusing on tactics and tailoring them.
This year's Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School's offense and defense tactics are entirely centered around Liu Yudong.
At the opening tip-off, Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School did not field a center, but instead sent out power forward Liu Yudong, who is 1.98 meters tall, to compete against the 2.06-meter tall Yan Hui.
Liu Yudong directly defeated Yan Hui with his superb jumping ability and precise rhythm, giving Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School the opportunity for the first possession.
This was also the first time this year that Yan Hui had lost at the jump ball in the grassroots competition. And he lost not to a player of the same position, a center, but to a power forward… This kind of start made Yan Hui feel quite embarrassed and stifled.
After gaining possession, Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School did not rush their offense but slowly advanced, patiently waiting for Liu Yudong to position himself and establish dominance in the paint against Feng Chen before directly passing the ball to Liu Yudong.
As the primary defender of Liu Yudong, Feng Chen immediately adopted a stance to prevent Liu Yudong's strong attack, but to his surprise, after carrying Feng Chen for one step, Liu Yudong immediately executed a turnaround straight-arm jump shot!
Liu Yudong's mid-range straight-arm jump shot was superb! Not only was his release point extremely high and difficult to disrupt, but his shooting percentage was also extremely stable.
Feng Chen lunged forward with all his might, but Liu Yudong's jump was already very high, and coupled with the straight-arm jump shot, it was not only impossible to block, but even difficult for Feng Chen to interfere.
Therefore, Feng Chen followed He Ximeng's pre-game instructions, abandoning the block and instead aiming for the eyes…
The eye-blocking technique! He Ximeng had brought it to the Chinese high school arena in advance. Logically, ordinary shooters would experience some change in feel when encountering the eye-blocking technique, but this move was ineffective against Liu Yudong!
Whether it was Feng Chen's eye-blocking motion that was not in place, or Liu Yudong's mental fortitude was too strong…
Liu Yudong's first jump shot was accurate!
Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School scored first, eliciting loud cheers from the entire crowd.
This is the advantage of playing at home. The audience's support and the referees' inclinations can all influence the direction of the game.
However, He Ximeng was not considering these things at the moment. The game had just begun, and everything was still unknown. He Ximeng was fully prepared for the difficulty of this match against Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School. After all, challenging the second-best team in the Zhejiang region was a different level of difficulty compared to the previous group stage matches.
Turning around, He Ximeng brought the ball past half-court and then called for Yan Hui to come to the high post for a screen.
Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School was also playing zone defense. The center did not move out because Yan Hui had moved, allowing He Ximeng to easily drive to the three-point line after the pick-and-roll with Yan Hui.
However, once inside the three-point line, Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School's defense began to shrink rapidly, with at least three players converging to double-team He Ximeng! Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School's defensive objective was very clear: not only to prevent He Ximeng from scoring directly, but also to cut off He Ximeng's connection with his teammates, forcing He Ximeng into an intentional turnover…
But just as Zhuji Middle School had underestimated Liu Yudong's mid-range jump shot, Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School had also underestimated He Ximeng's passing and ball-handling ability.
After being double-teamed by three players, He Ximeng decided to go with the flow and drove all the way to the basket. When everyone thought He Ximeng was going to forcefully challenge Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School's center and attack the basket, He Ximeng chose to jump out of bounds, hold his body in the air, and pass the ball to Wang Xian, who was positioned at the deep corner for support!
This was a very risky play, but because he trusted his teammates' positioning, He Ximeng played very decisively!
Wang Xian did not fail He Ximeng's trust, appearing in the correct position at the right time!
At this moment, Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School's defense had fully collapsed due to the attempt to contain He Ximeng.
Liu Yudong, who should have been guarding this position, had already retreated to the basket to fill the empty space left by the center.
Wang Xian, with no defender on him, received the ball and shot without hesitation… Wang Xian's offensive ability was not particularly strong; more often, he was a defensive stalwart on Zhuji Middle School's wing, limiting the opponent's swingmen.
However, during the past month of training, in addition to guiding Wang Xian's individual defensive skills, He Ximeng's focus had been on having Wang Xian practice his shooting from beyond the left three-point line. And the left corner was Wang Xian's highest-percentage shooting spot…