"UCLA on the break!"
The commentator roared as the crowd rose to their feet.
They watched Yuuto, clad in UCLA blue, leading the charge ahead of everyone.
Behind him came North Carolina's Black Falcon, Harrison Barnes.
The result?
Barnes—renowned for his physical gifts—couldn't close the gap even without the ball slowing him down.
Barnes was drafted seventh overall for simple reasons.
He could shoot, defend, and had an enticing physique.
That's what Jerry West saw in him—the type of player the Warriors needed.
Barnes knew where his advantages lay.
But he'd discovered this Asian kid might be even better.
He didn't want to give up—but what happened next made his expression look like he'd seen a ghost.
Yuuto reached the free-throw line with the ball, gathered it with both hands, and launched off both feet.
A free-throw line takeoff!
In the stands. On television. Fans everywhere simultaneously thought of the basketball god who was also in attendance tonight—Michael Jordan.
Then—
BOOM!
Yuuto threw down a one-handed hammer, smashing the ball through the rim.
This dunk was explosive enough to send the entire arena into pandemonium.
Including Jordan courtside, frozen with both hands on his bald head.
This kid's got this much game?
The Pelicans GM, who'd been debating between Yuuto and Anthony Davis, lost his composure.
He shot to his feet.
They might have underestimated this Asian prodigy.
Television immediately showed the slow-motion replay.
Through the replay, fans clearly saw Yuuto's takeoff position was exactly at the free-throw line.
This was a clean, legitimate free-throw line dunk.
They also saw Barnes trailing behind, his face a mask of disbelief.
Like James Harden in future years—an expression both terrified and comical.
The deficit officially hit double digits.
Williams slapped his forehead hard.
"Failure isn't a single moment. Failure is a collective subconscious behavior."
These were words from legendary coach John Wooden.
Coincidentally, that legendary coach had also led the Bruins.
The game wasn't over. A ten-point deficit wasn't insurmountable.
But this dunk made Williams feel a chill.
The fire his players had been holding inside seemed to have been extinguished.
He had no choice but to call another timeout and rally his troops.
But after the timeout, UCLA's intensity didn't wane—it increased, suffocating North Carolina.
Jordan's expression courtside wasn't pretty.
Yuuto's excellence pleased him, but his alma mater's players were disappointing him.
"If I were the coach, I'd kick every single one of them out of North Carolina without hesitation!"
What was he seeing?
UNC's players looked like pushovers—getting beaten down and not fighting back, staring at their opponents with fearful eyes.
"Black Falcon my ass—he's not worth my little toe!"
Jordan kept venting to the people beside him.
He knew North Carolina was done.
Barnes and company hadn't inherited UNC's spirit.
They feared battle. They feared their opponents. Their will couldn't withstand any challenge.
Some of those bastards probably weren't even thinking about the game anymore—they were thinking about the draft and the luxurious lifestyle after signing million-dollar contracts.
The timeout failed to restore UNC's rhythm. Instead, UCLA's fast break extended the lead to 16.
Williams couldn't bear watching his team get slaughtered like this.
In a rage, he pulled all five starters.
This was essentially conceding the year.
The result was ironic.
North Carolina had assembled a group of top-100 high school recruits—former stars of hope.
But when you crowd big fish from different ponds into one tank, it becomes a bloodbath.
The more talented and game-ready players earned rotation minutes; the others became deep bench pieces with no playing time.
Their abilities remained. On weaker teams, they might have been stars.
Now, coming in with the game decided, they had no psychological burden—they actually cut the lead to 10.
Steve noticed immediately and burned two timeouts.
Why two?
One might not be enough rest for Yuuto!
Yuuto had barely rested all game, constantly facing North Carolina's defensive schemes while UCLA needed his scoring.
Even with the Star Bible's perfect conditioning, he felt fatigue.
These two timeouts were specifically for Yuuto to rest.
After the timeout, Williams noticed UCLA hadn't changed anything—they just put Yuuto back in.
The difference was this time Yuuto scored—a pull-up three over Barnes from beyond the arc.
He called consecutive timeouts just to let that Asian kid catch his breath? Williams's scalp tingled.
This was an absolute disgrace to the NCAA.
That damn Steve—he was ashamed to be associated with him!
How could the NCAA have such a useless head coach?
His breathing grew heavy with anger. But what drove him crazy was that after catching his breath, that Asian kid once again dominated the game.
One three. One defensive stop. One trip to the line in the paint—two makes.
In just two possessions, he'd pushed UCLA's lead back to 15.
I actually lost to a guy like this?
Williams couldn't believe it.
But when the final buzzer sounded, UCLA had beaten North Carolina 88-75 by 13 points.
Yuuto finished with 39 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
His stat line was gorgeous as always—complete on both ends—earning another game MVP.
Post-game, reporters found Williams. Discussing the loss, he said:
"We didn't lose to UCLA. We only lost to Yu!"
"Lost to Yu?"
"That's right. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I never would've imagined a coach calling consecutive timeouts without drawing up any plays—just to let one player catch his breath."
Williams couldn't accept losing to someone like Steve.
It was humiliating!
"When you have a player like Yu on your team, you only need to do one thing: make him as comfortable as possible."
"My tactic is to unlock all of Yu's potential—just like Phil Jackson and Jordan. We're doing the same thing."
"Most importantly, we won the game. We made it to the Sweet Sixteen. That's all that matters."
Steve was naturally annoyed by Williams's criticism, but only mildly.
After all, he was the winner.
Smart people don't engage with losers' barking.
He even invoked the Zen Master and Jordan as examples.
"Are you saying Yu is as good as Jordan?"
"I never said that. But for UCLA, Yu is our Jordan—even better, because Jordan couldn't put up near-triple-doubles every game."
...
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