"See you at the top!"
Li Fei's words became the rallying cry in the run-up to March Madness.
The NCAA even featured his quote in the newspapers.
During the playoffs, Li Fei had raised his personal stats by two whole tiers.
From averages of 37.8 points, 18.8 rebounds, 8.8 blocks, and 2.5 steals,
he had surged to averages of 49 points, 22 rebounds, 8 blocks, and 3 steals.
It was a signal.
Li Fei was declaring to the world through his actions:
The Li Fei who showed up in March Madness would be a completely different player!
Apparently stunned by his playoff performance, sports media outlets that had previously backed Li Fei—and those that hadn't—were all moving him up their draft boards.
In the latest mock draft, more than half of the media outlets had Li Fei going first overall in the 1994 draft.
After nearly a full season of hard work,
Li Fei had finally overcome people's preconceptions and become the clear favorite to go first overall.
United States, UC Berkeley
Dorm 206
"Li, even though more than 50% of projections have you going first overall,"
Kidd said to Li Fei, "I think that at the 1994 NBA Draft..."
"You're the chosen one, and the only one!"
"No one is a better candidate for the top pick—not even me."
"Because I don't think even your playoff performances show your full potential."
In Kidd's view,
even though Li Fei had averaged nearly 50 points, 20 rebounds, and 8 blocks in the playoffs, he still hadn't been at 100%.
After all, the Pacific-12 Conference really didn't have any centers with much to offer.
"I know what you mean, Jason."
Li Fei rolled his neck, full of anticipation for the coming March Madness. "There'll be plenty of great big men in the tournament!"
"And I'll bring the hammer down in March Madness!"
After chatting with Jason Kidd for a while, Li Fei headed to the bathroom.
As the shower water ran over him and the MP3 played "Good Luck Is Coming," the steamy space felt like the perfect place to activate a system reward.
After winning the regular-season championship, he had completed the system's first-stage mission. There was still one "skill pack" waiting to be claimed.
With March Madness just around the corner, he needed to improve before it began.
[ Ding... You are opening a skill pack ]
Light rippled through the system space.
The familiar, antique brown chest rose into view. After shaking violently, its lid swung open.
Before a card could even appear, red light from inside the chest illuminated the entire space.
"Red again? Don't tell me it's another one of Yao's skills..."
Li Fei waited in nervous anticipation.
Only once the card had fully materialized did he make out the image on it.
"It's not one of Yao's skills."
"This is..."
"The Dream, Olajuwon!"
[ Ding... Congratulations, you have obtained a skill pack ]
[ Dream Shake ]
"Holy crap!"
At the system's announcement, Li Fei couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.
It was an inside skill, the complete opposite of the guard skills he'd been hoping for.
But this was Olajuwon's low-post Dream Shake!
A skill so many players dreamed of mastering.
The Dream had been able to rank atop the Four Centers early in his career and become a feared scorer largely because of his footwork in the post. Eventually, his name itself became synonymous with the Dream Shake.
Mention The Dream, and you thought of the Dream Shake.
Even after retiring, he had made a fortune with a second career teaching the move. Word was that one of Olajuwon's training sessions cost as much as $100,000, with the full course running well into the hundreds of thousands. Even Yao, Anthony, LeBron James, and Kobe had trained under him.
Yao, who'd thought the course was too expensive, had complained after taking it that The Dream's Dream Shake lessons were nothing special—just basic footwork, with Olajuwon's superior athleticism and solid fundamentals making all the difference.
But one thing was beyond dispute:
The Dream Shake was one of the best post moves ever mastered by a big man.
Li Fei had once wondered whether Olajuwon's footwork was really better than Scola's, if you judged it on footwork alone. Was it really better than Kevin McHale's?
Better than Michael Jordan's or Kobe Bryant's?
Not necessarily.
But when the Dream Shake was combined with athletic gifts,
Olajuwon's execution was undoubtedly the best of all!
"Olajuwon was the best at combining the Dream Shake with his physical gifts. But what if you replaced Olajuwon with me..."
"With the same level of footwork and my athleticism, I think it'd be even more lethal!"
Li Fei narrowed his eyes. "And if I added Yao's straight-arm hook shot..."
Just imagine.
A taller, more agile Olajuwon, with longer arms, using the Dream Shake.
Then finishing with Yao's straight-arm hook shot.
Emmm...
Li Fei even felt that
although his shooting percentage couldn't yet be guaranteed,
that smooth little combo alone would let him hold his own against the Four Centers.
And as he looked at the ultimate mission of his college career in the system space,
[ Lead the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears to the March Madness championship ]
[ Mission reward: Bronze Badge ]
Li Fei found himself even more eager to see what the Bronze Badge would bring.
A few days later, the conference championship games across the country came to an end.
With 31 conference champions crowned, 31 teams earned automatic berths in March Madness.
Before the at-large selections were announced, the NCAA first picked the top seeds from among those 31 teams.
March Madness had four regions: East, West, South, and Midwest.
Each region had 16 teams. They would battle in single-elimination games for the regional title, and the four regional champions would advance to the Final Four to compete for the national championship.
The top seeds in each region were:
East: University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears.
West: University of North Carolina Tar Heels.
South: Temple Owls.
Midwest: Michigan Wolverines.
Of course, there were other teams to watch.
The Duke Blue Devils, two-time champions in the past three years, were lying in wait under Grant Hill's leadership.
Sharone Wright's Clemson University had lost only one game in its conference.
Marshall and Ray Allen of the Connecticut Huskies were confident they could shoot down anyone.
March Madness was about to tip off, and the excitement was building!!
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