"Uh..."
Coach Todd looked at Stewart.
He'd wanted Stewart and Li Fei to go one-on-one to see how Li Fei performed in a real game.
Li Fei's physical abilities in the tryout had far exceeded Todd's expectations.
If this guy had even a little bit of practical skill, he'd be an absolute force in the NCAA paint!
"In that case, let's have a scrimmage."
Stewart breathed a sigh of relief.
At least he'd avoided the fate of getting crushed one-on-one by Li Fei.
But the next moment, he was assigned to Li Fei's opposing team.
Kidd teamed up with Li Fei, along with three bench players.
Lamond Murray and Stewart were on one team, joined by starting shooting guard Michael Bryant and former starting power forward Kevin Garnett.
Coach Todd's reasoning behind the teams was clear.
With Kidd's passing and playmaking,
Li Fei would be able to showcase his physical abilities to the fullest.
Soon, the game began.
Stewart looked miserable as he stood at center court for the tip-off.
"Hey, Li."
Before the jump ball, Stewart greeted Li Fei with a friendly handshake. "I'm Green Stewart."
Li Fei laughed as soon as he heard the name.
What a name. If the future deputy GOAT ever met you, he'd probably run the other way.
As they spoke, the ball was tossed high into the air.
There was no doubt about it.
Li Fei easily tipped the ball to Kidd with his long arms.
The next moment,
Li Fei took off like a rocket, sprinting downcourt and crossing inside the three-point line in two strides.
When Kidd saw Li Fei raise his right hand, he immediately understood what he wanted.
He fired a two-handed chest pass to Li Fei, who was streaking downcourt.
"Not a chance!" Stewart rushed over, trying to steal the ball.
But Li Fei dribbled with his right hand, gathered the ball, and pulled off a behind-the-back crossover.
Uncle Drew!
He blew past Stewart, switched to his left hand, and slammed the ball home with a bent arm.
Slam!
2–0.
WOW!
On the sidelines, Coach Todd's eyes widened.
The players and coaching staff watching were all stunned.
He'd sprinted downcourt right after the jump ball!
Who even thought of doing that?
And Li Fei was so tall, yet he could still dribble behind his back to get past someone.
"Jason was right."
Coach Todd narrowed his eyes. "Besides his physical gifts, this guy's feel for the game is also on another level."
Whether it was sprinting straight downcourt after the jump ball or a seven-foot-plus big man dribbling behind his back,
every frame of the play screamed absurd.
On the court,
Li Fei and Kidd slapped hands.
"You could've jumped from farther out next time,"
Kidd suggested. "You didn't even fully extend your arm just now."
Li Fei shrugged.
At the end of the day, I still haven't fully adjusted to this body...
It was just like when Wembanyama first joined the league.
A lot of the time, when Wembanyama dunked or went for a layup, his arms were bent and his movements looked awkward. The truth was that his arms were so long he sometimes couldn't fully extend them.
As they spoke,
the other team's offense was already underway.
Lamond Murray used Stewart's screen to loft a layup from inside the paint.
But
Li Fei rotated over and swatted the shot right back in his face.
"What the hell?"
Lamond Murray was stunned.
He was a superstar scorer who averaged 22 points per game. He'd raised the arc on that layup, and still couldn't escape Li Fei's reach.
Before he could even process what had happened,
Li Fei was already charging downcourt like the Attack Titan.
This time, Kidd found Li Fei and threw him a two-handed alley-oop, which he slammed through the hoop.
"Damn..."
On the sidelines,
the watching players sucked in a collective breath.
"He's 2.24 meters tall, and he's still leading the fast break."
"He can run the floor like a guard!"
"This guy really is one of a kind..."
In the 1990s, centers over seven feet tall usually didn't leave the paint.
But Li Fei was showing off his speed on the fast break.
It was as ridiculous as O'Neal dribbling between his legs beyond the three-point line, then throwing a no-look assist to Li Kui for an alley-oop.
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When play resumed, Li Fei blocked Stewart again, this time with a clean grab. Then he used a Euro Step to evade the defense on the fast break and posterized Stewart. He'd racked up six points right out of the gate.
"We might be witnessing a player who comes along once in a generation,"
Todd couldn't help saying. "Not just his talent—his defense and his style of play are both ahead of their time!"
"And we're even luckier to have Jason..."
The assistant coach beside him nodded. "Jason's passing and basketball IQ will make Li Fei even better!"
Todd said nothing more, but he'd already made up his mind.
Kidd plus Li Fei made one plus one greater than two.
This season would be the Golden Bears' most glorious year!
As they spoke,
Li Fei had already recorded his fifth block, and the scrimmage had only been going for two minutes.
He'd blocked shots at the rim and from mid-range.
He'd even swatted away Lamond Murray's wide-open three.
He was flying all over the court, seemingly everywhere at once.
His defensive range was even bigger than his opponents' psychological shadow...
On offense, Li Fei was even more merciless.
He could easily leave Stewart in the dust on a fast break, use his height to lay the ball in right over him, or overpower him and throw down a dunk in his face.
Even worse, he'd also pulled up and hit a mid-range jumper right in Stewart's face.
So the next time he found himself matched up against Li Fei, Stewart retreated all the way under the basket and yelled:
"Don't come any closer!"
But Li Fei couldn't hear Stewart's desperate plea.
He planted his feet at the free-throw line and jumped straight up.
This time, he had plenty of room.
At last, he fully extended his arm.
Slam!!
A heavy bang rang out.
The next moment,
even though Stewart had retreated all the way under the basket, Li Fei still dunked him out of bounds.
30–2!
In a game to 30, Li Fei went 13-for-15 from the field and 1-for-2 from three, finishing with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 blocks. He'd turned the scrimmage into a one-sided slaughter.
He'd completely dominated his opponents!
Coach Todd hurriedly called the game.
If they kept going, Stewart was going to start crying and announce his retirement.
"I guess I'm getting old. These young guys nowadays..."
After the scrimmage, Stewart sat slumped on the sidelines, completely shell-shocked after getting dominated from start to finish.
The game was still fresh in his mind.
Li Fei was everywhere, charging and attacking like a freshman who'd just lost his virginity. He had stamina for days, and when once wasn't enough, he went again. He even hit a three from beyond the arc. Who the hell could handle that?
"Who said you were old?"
Jason Kidd trotted over, looking smug. "Li Fei just turned you into his bitch."
"Why you..."
Stewart looked like he was about to cry.
"Coach, can I join the team now?"
On the other side, Li Fei looked eagerly at Coach Todd.
"Join the team?"
Todd laughed. "If you can't join the team, then it'll be the twilight of UC Berkeley."
```
The moment the head coach finished speaking, the system's voice suddenly rang in Li Fei's mind.
[ Ding... You have successfully joined the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears. Reward: Shooting Package ×1 ]
The team-joining mission was complete!
"Everyone, I'd like to make an announcement."
Before Li Fei could draw his shooting package, Todd excitedly turned to the others.
"The man standing before you isn't just the Golden Bears' starting center."
"He's also the team's new leader, by my personal appointment!"
Kidd: ???
He'd just gotten here and already stolen my throne!
I should've known better than to give him all those assists...
Everyone knew the head coach was only teasing.
But they also knew the truth.
Li Fei
was the key to raising the team's ceiling!
"Congratulations, kid."
Todd patted Li Fei on the shoulder. "I'll have the team make you a custom-sized jersey. You can start practicing with the team tomorrow."
"Thank you for the opportunity, Coach."
Li Fei bowed politely, then added with a grin, "But I have to emphasize one thing, Coach: I'm a shooting guard!"
Everyone present froze for a moment.
Then they burst out laughing.
Only Todd smiled and reassured Li Fei:
"Who says a 2.24-meter shooting guard doesn't make sense? It makes perfect sense!"
But in his mind, he was already planning out Li Fei's role.
Li Fei's physical gifts meant the paint was bound to be his territory, but there was no way they could waste his guard skills or outside shooting touch.
And on top of that, he had an inexplicable longing to play shooting guard.
So...
He could play inside or out—cute or cool.
That was the path to greatness that belonged to Li Fei alone!
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