Chapter 26 "Wake Forest's Commissioner"
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As the regular season came to a close, Wake Forest, a team with its sights set on the ACC Tournament championship this season, got some good news.
**Justin Gray**, the team's second-leading scorer from last season, had officially returned to the team roster after a long recovery period from injury.
On the day Gray recovered, the Demon Deacons prepared a grand welcoming ceremony for him.
And in a corner of the welcoming ceremony, Zack, by exploring "his" memories, reluctantly took the blame for another blunder.
Because, in "his" memories, Zack discovered that he was actually the culprit behind this Wake Forest backcourt general's long absence.
In the original timeline, although Gray would also suffer an injury during his freshman year, after a summer of recovery, he would quickly make a full comeback in his sophomore season.
Moreover, he and Paul would form the well-known "Wake Forest Twin Guns" duo during their time playing side-by-side.
So, the question now is, why did "he" become the culprit who altered Gray's fate in this life?
In "his" memories...
This was truly a past event that was hard to comment on:
During a training session in "his" freshman year, because "he" was completely dominated by Ellis, "he" completely collapsed mentally on the court, and thus unintentionally caused an accident.
On the training court, Gray, who was actively scrambling for an offensive rebound, accidentally stepped on the foot of the then completely numb "Zack" when he landed.
At that moment, "he" was extremely panicked and helpless when he saw Gray fall in pain.
Zack knew that given the original owner's mental state at the time, this training accident was purely an accident.
But this accident quietly changed the fates of Gray and "Zack."
Because of his poor performance in the training session and causing a teammate's injury, "Zack" completely lost confidence in continuing to play basketball.
And although Gray quickly recovered and returned to the team after this accident, that misstep during landing made Gray's right ankle his "Achilles' heel" going forward.
Last March, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, Gray, whose old ankle injury flared up, disregarded advice and stubbornly played while injured. His right knee's ACL quickly punished him with a year-long recovery period.
This lengthy recovery period almost destroyed Gray's basketball dreams.
But at the same time, after bravely enduring it, this accident also gave Gray a much stronger heart than before.
On the day he returned to the team, looking at a completely different Zack compared to a year ago, Gray slowly walked towards Zack, under the worried gaze of his teammates who feared he might bring up the past, and after taking a deep breath, said: "I never took that accident to heart. In fact, later, when I learned that you gave up basketball because of guilt, I wanted to find you more than once.
It's a good thing you bounced back. Honestly, even now I can't believe that you, who didn't even dare to fight for rebounds with guards back then, would become our current inside anchor."
After a pause, Gray continued: "Let's go dominate March Madness, President!"
At this moment, looking at Gray's sincere eyes, Zack was momentarily speechless.
Beside them, Evans, seeing this scene, quickly stepped forward and grabbed both Zack's and Gray's hands, saying: "Welcome back to the team, Justin."
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In the regular season finale, Gray, who had recovered from his injury, got 15 minutes of playing time.
His recovery was clearly better than expected, as he shot 4-for-8, all from beyond the arc, scoring a total of 12 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds.
In the game, he played seamlessly with Zack and Paul, the team's core players, which greatly reassured Coach Prosser, who had been worried he would need time to reintegrate into the team.
Additionally, Gray's return also, in a way, further liberated Paul on the court.
Because before Paul learned how to deal with those "tank" guards, Gray, at 188 cm (6'2") and 91 kg (200 lbs), could effectively switch with Paul and directly face those stronger guards.
In fact, this season, besides waiting for Gray's return, Prosser had never stopped trying to tap into the team's internal potential.
It's just that **Jamaal Levy**, who in "Zack's" memory was only slightly better than "him," still needs time to grow.
As a future Panamanian national player, you can think of the 206 cm (6'9"), 81 kg (178 lbs) sophomore Jamaal Levy as an "inverse Zack."
Although he has good mobility on the court and the team's second-best vertical leap after Zack, his physical confrontation is too weak, so this season, he is destined to only play as a reserve surprise for the team.
Therefore, Gray's timely return undoubtedly increased Wake Forest's chances of winning the ACC Tournament championship.
Currently, this Wake Forest team has Zack in the paint and Paul on the perimeter.
And with quality shooters in college basketball like Gray, Evans, Monk, and Taron Downey, even looking across the entire NCAA, Prosser saw them as a champion team.
Then, just as the Demon Deacons were confidently preparing to make a big splash in the ACC Tournament...
They, predictably, ran into trouble.
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On March 4th, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, Wake Forest lost 84-89 to Georgia Tech, regrettably missing out on the opportunity to advance to March Madness as the ACC's top seed.
In that game, Zack put up 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks for the team.
Paul had 21 points, 12 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.
The Wake Forest "Twin Stars" continued their excellent performance this season, but Georgia Tech, a team currently featuring four future NBA players, taught them a lesson in the ACC Tournament:
As the strongest conference in the nation, the ACC never has any weak teams.
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Throughout the game, six Georgia Tech players scored in double digits.
**Jarrett Jack**, standing 191 cm (6'3") and weighing 91 kg (200 lbs), who would later be jokingly called a "starter guard killer" by fans, had 15 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds for the team.
**Luke Schenscher**, a 216 cm (7'1"), 120 kg (265 lbs) "little giant from Australia" who would play two years in the NBA, had 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
Plus **Will Bynum**, who scored 12 points and hit a crucial three-pointer in the final quarter, and **Mario West**, who came off the bench to score 10 points.
And **B.J. Elder**, Georgia Tech's ace player who scored 18 points in the game, showed that Georgia Tech was truly a team where everyone contributed and could make plays when they stepped on the court.
It's clear that in Zack's memory, there was a reason why this Demon Deacons team, which Paul led into March Madness for two consecutive seasons, would only have him make it to the NBA.
Because compared to Georgia Tech's diverse cast of NBA role players with distinct characteristics, the Demon Deacons, apart from Paul and Zack, were not only quite ordinary but also had similar playing styles.
Evans, Monk, and Downey were indeed quality shooters in college basketball, but in crucial moments, none of them had the ability to create their own shots, only serving as spot-up shooters to create space for Paul and Zack.
Gray, who had just returned from injury, certainly had the potential to be the team's third scoring option, but in this quarterfinal game, Coach Prosser couldn't let Gray play for too long.
In short, on this night, Georgia Tech, which in Zack's memory would reach the NCAA final this season, showed the world with their team basketball that:
In college basketball, relying solely on superstar players isn't enough to go far.
Even Carmelo Anthony back then had role players like Hakim Warrick, Gerry McNamara, and Kueth Duany who could step up in crucial moments.
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After the game against Georgia Tech, Gray was very displeased with the performance of the rest of the team and spoke bluntly in the locker room afterwards: "We can't rely so much on Chris and Zack. I know many of us won't make it to the NBA in the future.
But in college basketball, if we want to leave ourselves with a good memory, we must give our all on the court.
You can all ask yourselves now, have you fought for every ball with all your might, and given your absolute best on every defensive possession?"
After a pause, Gray then turned his gaze to his teammates who had performed poorly tonight: "'Beast,' it's been a year, and your skills haven't improved much, but your temper has. What, are you so much of a big shot now that you need our inside anchor to help you with defensive rotations?
Ronnie, I want to ask you, was the basketball really that hot tonight? As a shooter, you didn't even dare to shoot open shots, why are you even playing basketball?
And Tyrese, Taron, is your defense made of paper? Damn it, I really want to kick both of you, because even my grandma defends better than you two!"
No one's mood would be good after an upset loss.
But at that moment, Zack noticed that after Gray's reprimand, the gloomy atmosphere that had filled the locker room had already vanished.
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In fact, the problems Gray pointed out after the game were precisely the tragedies that Wake Forest consistently repeated when facing strong teams this season.
As team leaders, Zack and Paul couldn't always criticize their teammates in an overly authoritative tone.
Just like on the court, a sigh or a shrug from a team leader often only makes other players more intimidated, completely unable to perform at their true level in the game.
In fact...
This is precisely why, in both the NBA and NCAA, the spiritual leader and the on-court leader of most teams are not the same person.
In a trance, as Gray's scolding diluted the negative emotions brought by the loss, Zack noticed that...
Wake Forest had quietly filled a most important piece of the puzzle.
A piece of the puzzle named "Commissioner."
As a sophomore, Gray had some seniority within the team due to his contributions last season, but he wasn't an absolute core like Zack and Paul.
He had just returned from injury, yet he played harder than anyone else on the court.
Without a doubt, from every perspective, Gray was the perfect "whip" for Wake Forest right now.
That whip that could be used to motivate other role players.
With this whip, Wake Forest might be able to go further in the upcoming March Madness.
In the locker room, after Gray gave everyone a good lashing, Zack and Paul immediately and tacitly took on the role of comforting their teammates.
In the NCAA, no team can guarantee that they will always win.
Now, after being taught a lesson by Georgia Tech...
Coach Prosser, who had been secretly observing in the locker room all night, realized:
The team's character now was even better than before.
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