Klay Thompson

Cahoon naturally had every reason to be confident.

The Big East Conference was one of the most prominent conferences in the NCAA. From 2006 until now, it had set a record of sending eight teams to the tournament every year!

Eight out of sixteen teams advancing—that was an utterly terrifying qualification rate.

Meanwhile, the Pac-10 Conference, which Washington State University belonged to, was clearly much weaker. Especially in the new season, with each team's star players from last season having left, they ranked noticeably near the bottom among all conferences.

Of course, what made Cahoon hesitate was that Washington State University happened to be the current top team in that conference.

And there was also the Klay Thompson he had specifically mentioned.

Tang Tian was somewhat excited when he heard Thompson's name.

This was Thompson, the Klay who would one day form the Splash Brothers with Curry.

Come to think of it, Tang Tian had not followed the NCAA much in his previous life. He only knew that neither Thompson's nor Curry's college teams had been particularly strong.

But now, it seemed the situation was different from what he had imagined.

Before those two arrived, their teams might not have been much. But after they joined, that was probably no longer the case. They might not have been among the very strongest, but they definitely could not be called weak.

"This Thompson is a very accurate Three-pointer shooter. His style is somewhat like Ray's and Richard's, especially when it comes to Off-ball Run. He'll be a little troublesome to deal with," Cahoon added, worried that Tang Tian did not know enough about Thompson.

Tang Tian naturally knew all that. Thompson's off-ball movement really was similar to Ray Allen's and Hamilton's. They were all the type who seemed to have endless stamina.

"I think we can play them." Tang Tian considered it for a moment before giving his opinion.

"Tell me your reasons," Cahoon said.

"First, I think UConn needs a tough game to restore its reputation. They're the top team in the Pac-10 Conference, and we'll be playing on the road. If we win, it'll definitely achieve that effect."

Cahoon nodded.

"Second, like you said, aside from Klay Thompson, they don't have any other sufficiently reliable scorers. And I can defend Thompson."

Cahoon could not help laughing after hearing that.

Tang Tian actually had quite a lot of pride.

That was a good thing. When it came to defense, aside from ability, toughness, endurance, and fighting spirit were all important. A player without confidence might not do it well even if he had talent.

"I'll remember what you said." Cahoon had taken it in, but naturally, he would not make a final decision based on just Tang Tian's few words.

Tang Tian did not mind either. He had said what he needed to say. For him, the next game would be an opportunity to showcase his Three-pointer shooting. Matching up against Thompson would naturally be even better, but if not, it would not matter much.

At the next day's training session, Cahoon announced some news.

The team would fly to Washington tomorrow for an invitational game against Washington State University.

The players had mixed reactions after the announcement, but most of their faces revealed excitement.

Washington State University was the top team in the Pac-10 Conference, and the team was riding a Three-game winning streak. Facing such a strong opponent would be both a test and an opportunity.

Passion was the one thing a team primarily made up of young freshmen never lacked.

"The opponent proposed this invitational game at this time because they saw that we haven't performed well this season and want to use us to raise their own profile. So this is destined not to be an easy game. But I hope you bring out 120% of your form and win this game," Cahoon said, striking while the iron was hot when he saw the passion on the players' faces.

"We'll win."

"We'll win!"

The passion spread, until finally the players shouted their slogan in unison.

Cahoon nodded in satisfaction. Since everyone was prepared for this tough road game, he had nothing left to worry about.

News of UConn's trip to Washington quickly spread among the fans, and they were especially excited as well.

The team had performed poorly at the start of the season, but now its form was recovering. Using an opponent like this to make a statement could not have been better.

Some diehard fans even found ways to get over a thousand tickets, preparing to travel there as a group to cheer for the team.

The game even drew widespread attention from other NCAA teams.

An established powerhouse facing a conference leader was already an attractive matchup, not to mention the clash between two great talents.

(Note: Walker had averaged 22.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists so far this season. Klay Thompson had averaged 24.6 points and 5.6 rebounds, with a Three-Point Percentage as high as 49%, while making over four Three-pointers per game.)

As for the invitational game, Washington State University naturally promoted it heavily before the game.

The day before the game, the matchup directly made the NCAA front-page headlines, drawing enormous attention.

Washington State University also attached great importance to this game. They had not chosen to use their campus basketball arena, instead opening Martin Stadium, which they normally only used during the Knockout Stage.

Martin Stadium was usually used for football games. After the seats were arranged, it could hold more than 35,000 people—more than any NBA arena could accommodate.

But that was the NCAA.

By the time of the final, venues that could hold sixty to eighty thousand people were generally chosen. The atmosphere was far more electric than in the NBA.

The arena with over thirty thousand seats was nearly packed that night. Aside from nearly a thousand UConn fans sitting in a remote corner, the rest were all home-team fans—students, middle-aged men, and even some elderly men. It felt livelier than an NBA All-Star Game.

There was even an opening ceremony, with the players from both teams being introduced one after another.

Walker's appearance drew a burst of cheers, but when Thompson came out, the entire arena was truly ignited.

Thompson currently ranked near the top of the Pac-10 Conference in average score and was one of the conference's most sizzling hot stars.

Tang Tian also saw Thompson. Wearing the number 1 jersey, he was different from the bearded man fans would later call Buddha. At this point, he was still youthful-looking, though his aquiline nose was just as striking as it would be in the future.

After the opening ceremony ended, the players from both teams began their final pregame warmups.

At that moment, a sideline reporter interviewed Washington State University's Head Coach, Tony Bena.

Bena was only around thirty-five years old. Even in the NCAA, he was among the youngest coaches.

He looked spirited and beamed with confidence.

Washington State University had never previously reached the Top 16 of the tournament, and no one had favored them before the season. Yet they now sat atop the Pac-10 Conference and had even invited UConn for a game. This was the peak of the school's history.

"Coach, what kind of opponent do you think the University of Connecticut is?"

"They're a great team. They have won two NCAA championships, and they even reached the Elite Eight the year before last. Playing against such a strong opponent is a very challenging thing." Bena lavishly praised UConn before the reporter.