Check out Li Fei's individual stats for the regular season.
Doubts had followed him all season long, but in the end, Li Fei still put up:
37.8 points, 18.8 rebounds, 8.2 blocks, 3.0 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.
He swept the Pac-12's Scoring Champion, Rebounding Champion, Blocks Champion, and Steals Champion titles.
Throughout NCAA history, in any conference, no player had ever swept so many statistical titles.
And that wasn't all.
Li Fei was also the Pac-12's efficiency leader.
He shot an incredible 66.7% from two-point range and 31% from three!
And if Li Fei hadn't so often pulled off low-percentage streetball dribble drives and layups, taken three-pointers off the dribble, or made shot selections so terrible they left his head coach clutching his head,
his percentages could've improved by a considerable margin.
Even so,
Li Fei's performance had cemented his place as the Pac-12's:
Regular Season MVP + Defensive Player of the Year + Best Freshman!
He was a veritable award harvester.
Li Fei's teammate Jason Kidd also averaged 16.8 assists per game, claiming the Pac-12's assist title for the second year in a row.
Scoring Champion, assist leader, Rebounding Champion, Blocks Champion, Steals Champion.
Every one of those titles went to a player from UC Berkeley!
It was a first in Pac-12 history.
Lamond Murray, meanwhile, made the Pac-12 All-NBA Team with 23 points per game.
Jason Kidd, Lamond Murray, and Li Fei.
UC Berkeley's three-pronged attack had all made the All-NBA Team.
Coach Todd also won Coach of the Year without a doubt.
It was his third consecutive year receiving the honor.
"Kids, our job isn't done yet."
During team practice, however, Coach Todd didn't let the accolades go to his head.
"Don't get caught up in the honors. The real journey is only just beginning."
The conference playoffs and March Madness were up next.
Both would use a single-elimination format.
One slip-up, and you'd regret it for the rest of your life.
That meant the games ahead would be tense and thrilling.
Coach Todd then set the tone for the team's training.
Until March Madness was over, everyone had to give practice everything they had, get themselves into peak form, and prepare for the playoffs.
That night.
At a hotel in San Francisco.
"You're the last one this season."
Li Fei looked at the blonde, blue-eyed college girl in front of him, her chest enormous, and held up one finger.
"Starting tomorrow, I won't date any more girls until I win the championship."
"Well, I'm honored."
The student tied her blonde hair into a ponytail and smiled. "But what does that one finger you just held up mean? One time?"
"No."
Li Fei shook his head and grinned. "Forever."
And then—
Titanium Alloy King Oyster Mushroom stunned the college girl!
That's right.
Li Fei wasn't some upright gentleman.
He'd been given a second life, for crying out loud, and had a system to boot.
He was about to become a millionaire in the '90s.
And people still expected him to be some innocent college boy?
Give me a break.
Over the past few months, Li Fei had sampled the charms of several foreign beauties.
He'd already lost count of how many times he'd been with this blonde, whom he'd just met.
Besides, this was America in the '90s—a pretty open-minded place. Sometimes, after team practice, Li Fei would find a bunch of cards in his bag with girls' contact information and hotel addresses.
And Li Fei wasn't worried about becoming the next Magic Johnson, either.
He had a super-buff that kept him free of sickness and injury.
He'd never meet the same fate as Magic Johnson!
As the saying goes:
The jade burner and icy pillow lay beneath embroidered mandarin-duck covers; fragrant sweat flowed down the pillow as all restraint melted away—enjoy yourself to the fullest tonight.
Or, as another verse put it:
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Her face was like a flower holding dew; the jade tree shimmered beneath the courtyard lights. Ten rounds, and still no sleep.
In short: Let's have some damn fun!
A week later, the fiery conference playoffs were underway!
In the first round, the Golden Bears faced UCLA, led by George Zidek.
George Zidek, the center considered the only player in the Pac-12 capable of limiting Li Fei, had once been a seemingly insurmountable mountain in the conference.
But when the 2.13-meter center, who averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds, faced Li Fei, his stats plunged to 6 points and 3 rebounds.
Even so, George Zidek gritted his teeth and declared before the game, "I'm ready to get my revenge on Li Fei."
"I'm still the toughest mountain to climb in this conference!"
And then...
There was no "and then."
By halftime, Zidek had draped a towel over his head.
Trailing by 38 points at the half had completely crushed his hopes of advancing.
When the final buzzer sounded, the score stood at 88–43. Li Fei led all scorers with 52 points, setting a new Pac-12 single-game scoring record, and added 18 rebounds and 6 blocks.
His 52 points also set a new conference record for a single game in the playoffs.
"Everyone, listen up."
After the game, Coach Todd said in an interview, "Li Fei told me he won't show any mercy in the playoffs!"
In other words,
Li Fei hadn't scored more than 50 points during the regular season.
Not because he couldn't.
He could. He just didn't need to.
In the playoffs, Li Fei would show what he could really do.
At first, people thought Coach Todd was just talking big.
Then came the next game.
Li Fei put up 55 points and 22 rebounds, crushing the undersized frontcourt of the University of Arizona and proving Coach Todd wasn't bluffing.
UC Berkeley also advanced to the conference final with ease.
Their opponent in the final was the University of Utah, led by freshman Keith Van Horn.
"My two losses in the regular season have only fueled my determination."
With the final just around the corner, even the usually gentle Van Horn was fired up.
"I'll fight for that championship trophy with my life!"
That's right.
Just as the NBA title didn't depend on your regular-season ranking,
if the third-ranked University of Utah won the final, they'd still be the Pac-12's champions in name!
And they'd earn an automatic ticket to March Madness without needing the selection committee's approval!
But then—
As the final buzzer sounded, Keith Van Horn stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the scoreboard above the basket: 98–70.
The moon fell silent for me; silence was the failure of Cambridge...
Van Horn still couldn't claim the conference championship.
He watched UC Berkeley go undefeated and win the title, securing an automatic berth in March Madness!
Meanwhile,
the Golden Bears stood together on the podium, with Li Fei at center, holding the championship trophy.
He also had the conference tournament MVP trophy.
Conference Final MVP + Regular Season MVP.
And a long list of regular-season honors besides.
Li Fei had come away with plenty from his Pac-12 run.
But,
when the host called his name on the podium,
Li Fei merely gave a slight nod, his expression calm as still water.
There wasn't a hint of excitement.
His reaction left the reporters baffled.
"Li, you've just gone undefeated and won the championship, earning a direct ticket to March Madness."
A reporter asked, "You've seen the so-called view from the mountaintop."
"So why is there still not a hint of a smile in your eyes?"
"There's no mountain here. What view from the mountaintop?"
Li Fei looked at the reporter, his voice still calm. "The real view is from the March Madness podium!"
"Let's meet at the summit!"
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