Chapter 27: Fiasco

The next night, Hinkle Arena.

It was the 16th minute of the first half in the Bulldogs' game against Purdue, but Hinkle Arena, which had been boiling for the past five games, was silent.

Butler fans looked at the big screen in mid-air in disappointment, no one cheered, no one shouted.

From time to time, someone raised their hands, ready to celebrate a goal, but immediately put them down with the sound of iron striking.

On the sidelines, Zhang Yu's expression was also ugly.

He frowned tightly, and paced back and forth on the sidelines, with his hands crossed over his chest, exuding a cold feeling that no one should enter.

The reason for all this is because of the real-time score played on the big screen - 45:28, the away team is in front and the home team is behind. The Bulldogs, who have won all five games in the past, are 17 points behind Purdue University!

Remember, the Bulldogs have trailed by more than five points in none of their past five games.

Bang!

Curry hit the iron again with a three-pointer that ran out of space. Purdue University took advantage of the situation to counterattack and hit a layup.

47:28, the point difference is about to break through 20 points.

Butler fans sighed loudly, while a small number of Purdue University fans who came to watch the away game cheered ecstatically.

The deep black T-shirts on their bodies stand out against the large sea of light blue in the arena, which is the color of Purdue University's away jerseys.

Zhang Yu frowned even tighter, but he couldn't say anything, because these were all tactics he arranged, and Curry executed them perfectly.

Purdue's defense isn't strong enough to lock Curry down, and he can find good offense with or without the ball.

But the strange thing is that Curry was normal during training yesterday, but today he didn't know what happened and missed shots repeatedly.

The basket seems to have put a cover on him, even if it is a super-open three-pointer with no one three meters behind him, it can hit the front of the basket outrageously.

boom!

Curry played the pick-and-roll with the ball and broke through the opponent's center, but someone had come to help the defense. He threw a shot from the free throw line, and the basketball bounced out of the basket again.

Drew and Campbell fought hard at the rim, but the rebound was protected by Purdue.

Curry shook his head angrily, feeling very guilty, and raised his hand to indicate that the ball was his responsibility.

The disappointment on the faces of the Butler fans was even stronger, but instead of booing, they cheered sporadically.

With the accumulation of the previous 5 games, the fans have confidence in the team and Curry, otherwise, according to the hot temper of the Indiana fans, there must be boos at this time.

But the relief of the fans could not affect the situation on the court. At the end of the first half, the Bulldogs trailed Purdue University by 34 points 52:18. Fortunately, the point difference did not expand to more than 20 points, which barely maintained a trace of decency.

Zhang Yu walked into the player tunnel first with a livid face. Every player of the Bulldogs did not dare to breathe, and followed cautiously.

The head coach of Purdue University smiled and hugged the players one by one. There was a burst of laughter on the bench, talking and laughing as they walked to the locker room.

In the locker room of the home team, Zhang Yu stood at the forefront, watching the players come in and sit down. There was no other sound in the room except the exhausted panting and the swallowing of energy drinks, and the atmosphere was very quiet.

"Come on, let's continue to play like this in the second half." Zhang Yu said suddenly.

The players looked up at Zhang Yu in surprise. They had thought that there would be a storm of devastation.

During training, Zhang Yu performed the NCAA version of the "Ferguson" brand hair dryer several times.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zhang Yu smiled, "You guys executed the tactics very well, but there was a small problem in the last step, Stephen, don't hesitate, make a bold move, I believe you can feel it get back."

This is not the Staples Center, and he does not believe that Curry will shoot 10 for 0 three-pointers.

"I see, coach." Curry nodded hesitantly, he doubted himself a little bit.

The 15 minutes of intermission passed quickly, and the second half of the game began.

The Bulldogs attacked, and Curry used a single block to cover and got a short shot. He remembered Zhang Yu's advice, looked up at the frame, and made a gesture to shoot.

But in the first half, the scene where he failed to make any shots left him with a heavy psychological shadow. He paused when he raised his hand, giving his opponent time to pounce. out of the box.

Zhang Yu shook his head in disappointment on the sidelines, but still clapped his hands and shouted:

"Stephen, keep voting and believe in yourself!"

Stevens came to him and whispered:

"Ronan, do you want to adjust, Stephen's condition doesn't look very good."

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment, then shook his head:

"He just didn't find the touch, just try a few more times."

"But we're already 21 points behind, where's the time for him to find the touch?" Stevens frowned slightly.

"Let's wait a little longer, I believe him." Zhang Yu insisted on his opinion.

Stevens could only shrug helplessly, returned to his seat and sat down.

Facts have proved that there is always a big gap between reality and imagination. In the subsequent games in the second half, Zhang Yu's face became more and more ugly.

Curry has never recovered his touch!

Purdue University also guarded Curry strictly at the beginning of the second half, and did not want to give him a chance to shoot, but as Curry did not score for a long time, Purdue University also relaxed its defense against him.

At this time, there are only 3 minutes before the end of the game. The Bulldogs are 48:69, 21 points behind Purdue University, and the general trend is over.

Zhang Yu could only replace all the starting lineup and admit defeat.

Curry looked very depressed when he left the court:

"Coach, I'm sorry, it's all my fault."

"It was just an accident. Next time you have to make a bold shot. Remember, you are a shooter and you must not doubt your shooting." Zhang Yu patted him on the shoulder and comforted him.

"Yeah!" Curry nodded heavily.

During the post-match interview, the reporter asked Zhang Yu:

"This is the first time you have lost since you took office. Do you have anything to say?"

"No one can win forever. It's normal to lose. All we need to do is to adjust our state and win the next game." Zhang Yu's answer is very sophisticated.

When the reporter saw that there was nothing to ask, he turned to Curry:

"In this game, you took 26 shots, but only hit 7 goals. Among them, you made 15 of 3 three-pointers and scored only 17 points. This is the worst performance in 6 games. What do you want to say about this? ?"

Curry was about to answer, but Zhang Yu spoke first:

"He just doesn't feel good, that's all, next question."

"Stephen, you made 10 of 2 shots in the first half, but the number of shots in the second half did not increase but decreased. Why didn't you give up the ball to your teammates?" The reporter continued to ask.

It was still Zhang Yu who answered for Curry:

"I arranged for him to continue shooting. He was just playing according to my tactics."

"Coach Z, why did you arrange it like this?" Another reporter stood up.

"Shooters need to shoot to get back the touch. I believe Stephen will be able to get back the sight in the end, but unfortunately, the hole we dug is too big." Zhang Yu replied.

"Can I understand that you are blindly trusting Stephen Curry?" The reporter asked a sharp question.

"I don't think giving the ball to the NCAA scoring champion is blind trust." Zhang Yu said slowly.

"Coach Z..."

The reporter wanted to ask again, but after Zhang Yu finished speaking, she got up and left directly, letting the reporter hold back the question. Curry smiled awkwardly at the reporters and quickly followed.

Zhang Yu walked into the player tunnel and found Stevens standing around the corner waiting for him.

"Why did you come out before the interview was over? Aren't you afraid that those reporters will arrange you?" Stevens raised his eyebrows.

"Just lost a game, those guys are like sharks smelling blood, they began to question my tactics crazily, and even set Stephen up, I don't want to see them again." Zhang Yu said angrily.

Stevens laughed out loud. Since Zhang Yu took office as the head coach, he has always been very old-fashioned, and now he looks a little young.

The two walked out of the arena, silent all the way.

It was already 10 o'clock in the evening. The Bulldogs lost the game badly. The fans didn't have the heart to celebrate after the game. After the game, they went back. There were very few people outside the Hinkle Arena.

"What do you think of what those reporters said?" Stevens asked suddenly.

"what?"

"That's their question to Stephen."

"Have you heard it all? Those guys are just talking about it. Stephen just happened to be in a bad state today, so they will not let him go. Just watch, they will definitely blackmail me tomorrow." Zhang Yu snorted disdainfully.

"I think what they said is quite reasonable." Stevens said lightly.

Zhang Yu widened his eyes and looked at Stevens in surprise:

"What did you say? Do you also think my tactics are unreasonable?"

"That's right, you shouldn't still give Stephen so many possessions in the second half." Stevens looked directly at Zhang Yu without giving in at all.

"He is our core point guard, the NCAA scoring leader, and a super shooter. Shouldn't I give him time to get back his touch?" Zhang Yu explained with difficulty suppressing his anger.

He didn't expect that Stevens, who had always supported him, would start to question him, which made him feel aggrieved.

"But he didn't get back to his form throughout the whole game, and we lost this game." Stevens looked very serious.

"Heh, this is just a regular game. If you lose, you lose. You just win the next game." Zhang Yu said indifferently.

"That's right, this is just an insignificant regular season, winning or losing doesn't matter," Stevens first nodded in agreement, and then changed the subject, "But if we enter March Madness, Stephen suddenly Missing in one game? Are you going to give him one game to find his touch, and then come back next year?"

Zhang Yu froze in place, lost in deep thought.

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