You Can't Guard Me

Kansas University bench:

"Way to go, Goodwin! I knew you wouldn't let me down!" Coach Roy Williams said excitedly, embracing Goodwin as he returned to the bench.

Goodwin's lips curled into a smug smile. "Of course. I'm the team's three-point king. I dare anyone to claim they're better."

As soon as he finished speaking, Collison smacked Goodwin on the forehead.

Smack!

"Ow!" Goodwin clutched his forehead in pain.

"Goodwin, don't get cocky. The game isn't over yet," Collison reminded him.

Goodwin was speechless. Sure, remind him, but why hit him on the forehead? Didn't Collison know that getting hit too often made a person stupid? Still, at least it was Collison. He usually looked out for Goodwin. If it had been anyone else, Goodwin would have hit back.

Coach Roy Williams picked up where Collison left off. Looking over each of his players, he said, "Collison's right. The game isn't over yet. We're going to take the win in overtime!"

"Right!" the entire University of Kansas team answered in unison.

Coach Roy Williams then took out his tactics board and explained the team's game plan for overtime.

The brief rest came to an end, and both teams returned to the court. Other than Goodwin, all nine players on the floor had started the game.

"Let's go, Syracuse!" "Let's go, Syracuse!" "Let's go, Syracuse!"...

"Let's go, Kansas!" "Let's go, Kansas!" "Let's go, Kansas!"...

"Bweeet!" Amid the cheers from both teams' fans, overtime officially began.

Smack!

Syracuse got the first possession of overtime.

The ball went straight to Carmelo Anthony in the low post, where Goodwin was guarding him.

Goodwin didn't understand why Coach Roy Williams had assigned him to guard Carmelo Anthony. With his defensive skills as they were, he was practically handing Syracuse free points.

Coach Roy Williams knew that was a problem, too. But the other players on the court had already logged plenty of minutes, so they couldn't be as fresh as Goodwin, who had just come in.

Besides, Carmelo Anthony had played nearly the entire game and was running out of gas. Coach Roy Williams figured Goodwin could put some pressure on him.

Bullshit!

Goodwin couldn't help cursing under his breath.

As soon as Carmelo Anthony got the ball, he drove his shoulder into Goodwin's back. Goodwin had been expecting it, but the tremendous impact sent him stumbling backward like a punctured balloon.

Carmelo Anthony was taken aback. He hadn't expected the tall guy to be so flimsy. One bump and he'd flown all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Not about to waste the golden opportunity, Carmelo Anthony spun around and charged into the University of Kansas paint.

"Not so fast!" A Kansas big man rushed over to help on defense.

The two made contact in the air. Carmelo Anthony controlled his body and tossed the ball toward the basket.

Clang! The ball hit the rim, and Carmelo Anthony's layup missed.

Goodwin ran back and grabbed the rebound.

Protecting the ball, Goodwin rubbed his chest. It hurt!

Carmelo Anthony's hit had left him hurting, and he still hadn't recovered.

Damn! (A kind of plant.)

Goodwin glared at Carmelo Anthony's back. I'll get you back for that.

"Goodwin, the ball!" Collison ran over to call for it. Goodwin passed it to him, then sprinted up the court and headed for the left corner.

As soon as Goodwin crossed half court, Carmelo Anthony stuck close to him. "I'm not giving you another chance to shoot a three." Thinking about how this guy's three-pointer had ruined his win made Carmelo Anthony furious. He wanted to beat Goodwin to a pulp.

Goodwin refused to back down. "I'm going to shoot all over you."

When "enemies" met, their eyes burned with resentment.

The two ran shoulder to shoulder toward the left corner.

Coach Roy Williams watched from the sideline, the corners of his mouth lifting. He'd known Syracuse would be wary of Goodwin after that game-tying three-pointer. Perfect. He'd take advantage of that and station Goodwin in the corner to draw defenders away from his teammates.

Of course, Coach Roy Williams wasn't telling Goodwin not to shoot. If a good opportunity came along, he could still take the shot.

Collison dribbled the ball to the top of the key, used a teammate's screen, and drove into the paint for a layup.

Clang! The shot was disrupted and still wouldn't go in.

"Fast break! Fast break!"

Syracuse grabbed the rebound and launched a fast break. They moved so quickly that Kansas couldn't get back on defense in time. Swish! Syracuse scored on a layup, claiming the first point of overtime.

"Fuck!" Coach Roy Williams cursed from the sideline.

Two seconds later, he quickly reined in his temper and shouted to his players, "It's all right. Focus on our own offense."

Play resumed. Collison used another screen and drove into the paint, drawing Syracuse's defenders. This time, he didn't try to finish himself. Instead, he passed the ball out to Hinrich on the perimeter.

Hinrich caught the ball but didn't shoot right away. He dribbled forward to avoid the help defender, then took a mid-range shot.

The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air.

Swish! It dropped cleanly into the basket.

83–83

The teams were tied once again. Overtime was already halfway over, and the players and fans were all on edge. Nobody dared to relax. But there was one exception on the court.

That was Goodwin, who was "doing nothing."

Goodwin hadn't expected Carmelo Anthony to guard him so tightly. He hadn't been more than a step away the entire time.

You damn Anthony, just you wait. Once I've leveled up and got myself a full set of six divine items, I'll teach you how to spell "si"! Hahahaha... Goodwin couldn't help flashing an evil grin.

But the next second, thump!

Carmelo Anthony got the ball and drove into Goodwin again. Goodwin, "distracted," was sent flying and crashed hard to the floor.

Carmelo Anthony spun around and immediately took his shot.

The ball dropped into the basket.

83–85

Carmelo Anthony had put his team ahead once more.

"You can't guard me!" After scoring, Carmelo Anthony didn't immediately head back on defense. Instead, he looked down at Goodwin and taunted him. After just two clashes, he finally understood why Kansas hadn't put Goodwin in earlier: the guy was that bad.

As soon as he finished speaking, Carmelo Anthony turned around and walked back to his own end without looking back.

With his teammates' help, Goodwin got back to his feet and glared at Carmelo Anthony's retreating figure through gritted teeth.

Goodwin roared in his heart, "Carmelo Anthony!!!!"