Volume 1: I Came, I Saw, I Conquered!

The next day, at two in the afternoon, the game between Butler University and Oklahoma University finally got underway. As the No. 3 seed, Butler had been given the home locker room, while Oklahoma University had to make do with the cramped visitors' locker room. This game, which would determine a spot in the Sweet Sixteen, had drawn widespread attention from fans. Although the East Region's top seed was the legendary powerhouse North Carolina, Birmingham, Alabama, was still some distance from North Carolina, so there were not many North Carolina fans here. If the game had been held closer to North Carolina, North Carolina University would have shown every other team what true home-court advantage meant. In the Roadrunners' locker room, head coach Lon Kruger nervously repeated the tactics he had laid out earlier, but Griffin barely took any of it in. He sat there, recalling the media's evaluations of him. Back when countless elite schools had been his to choose from, he had carefully considered his options before choosing Oklahoma University. With Greg Oden and Durant setting the precedent, Griffin had confidently planned to dominate the NCAA as a freshman and then enter the NBA as the first overall pick. Countless people had placed high hopes on him, believing he would become the next superstar. His talent and explosive athleticism were his greatest source of confidence. But reality had dealt Griffin a crushing blow. Once the level of physical play increased, the brutish style that had worked so well for him in high school no longer worked. Faced with packed paint defenses and tightly rotating zone coverage, he was completely at a loss. Over the past season, Griffin had endured endless criticism from the media. "Blake Griffin's skills are terrible. He doesn't look like a college player at all;