Yuuto knew exactly what kind of person Green was, so he ignored him.
Game day afternoon.
The Bruins and Spartans arrived at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.
A number of VIPs were in attendance.
The Logo Man, absent for some time, was back in the building.
He wasn't here for Yuuto—the Warriors' chances of getting him were extremely slim, essentially nonexistent.
Today he was scouting other players, looking for potential steals—like that trash-talking guy from the pre-game hype, Draymond Green.
That was a lottery ticket worth scratching.
As for Green, he glared ferociously at Yuuto before tip-off.
He saw himself as a rabid dog, and Yuuto was his prey tonight.
At the opening tip, Reeves Nelson lost the jump ball once again.
Gary Harris grabbed the ball and pushed quickly up court, feeding Green at the top of the key as soon as they crossed half-court.
Now a senior, Green's playing style already closely resembled what it would become in the NBA—essentially fully developed.
Defense and playmaking were his bread and butter. While he didn't yet have the three-point shot he'd develop later, scoring in double figures in the NCAA wasn't difficult for him.
The rest of the Spartans started running. Gary Harris, a freshman who'd already cracked the starting lineup, was a future NBA player.
Green faked a pass, drawing attention toward the paint.
Green's draft stock had remained stubbornly low due to his physical limitations.
As a player who operated primarily inside, he stood the same 6'6" as Yuuto but lacked Yuuto's explosiveness and top-end speed.
To compensate for his physical shortcomings, he'd packed on muscle during college.
This severely affected his mobility.
His drive was quickly tracked down by Norman Powell, but he wasn't forced to stop. Instead, he bullied through the defender, plowing toward the paint like a bulldozer.
Then he exploded upward for a powerful slam.
But Yuuto came flying in from the weak side and swatted the dunk attempt into the stands.
"Well, well, look who it is—a discount-bin LeBron."
Yuuto hadn't responded to Green's provocations before, refusing to give the man free publicity.
But on the court, his venom was immediately on display.
Hearing the "LeBron" comparison, Green actually seemed pleased for a moment—until "discount-bin" registered. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
"Shut up, Asian boy. Tonight I'll expose you for what you really are," Green shot back, his expression unchanged.
Draymond Green—destined to become one of the NBA's most unlikable players.
But his mental toughness would make him the Warriors' locker room leader.
The spiritual edge he provided the team was something even Curry couldn't match.
The Spartans inbounded from the baseline, getting the ball directly to Keith Appling. Facing Mosely's defense, he drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key.
This guy essentially embodied the Spartans' story this year.
No elite talent.
He'd entered the 2014 draft but went undrafted. The Lakers gave him a non-guaranteed training camp contract, only to waive him after just two months.
He bounced around multiple teams afterward, never establishing himself in the league—he never even got a guaranteed contract in his entire professional career.
Yet this team of limited talent had become one of the toughest outs in the tournament.
On the other end.
Yuuto didn't have the ball initially. Mosely crossed half-court before Yuuto started his off-ball movement.
But the Spartans were prepared. Appling hounded Yuuto relentlessly.
He was clearly outmatched athletically, but underdogs had their own methods.
Appling grabbed at Yuuto's jersey and extended his arm to impede his path, doing everything possible to stay attached.
This was the Spartans' mentality.
Steve wanted more spacing, but with only Yuuto and Mosely capable of shooting from deep among the starters, creating good looks for Yuuto was difficult.
But Yuuto signaled he was fine.
When Mosely fed him the ball, he still hadn't fully shaken his defender.
So what?
Yuuto stepped back to create space, then immediately exploded forward. His elite burst and top-end speed let him blow past Keith Appling with a single step.
The future undrafted player experienced firsthand the talent gap between himself and a potential top-three pick.
But this was something he'd always known.
Without hesitation, he spun around while simultaneously grabbing Yuuto's jersey with his arm.
Yuuto? He was ready for it, decisively dribbling away to create separation.
This wasn't to escape—it was to make sure the referee could see the foul clearly.
Tweet!
The ref blew his whistle immediately. Yuuto's stretched-out jersey clearly revealed Appling's guilt.
Appling could only raise his hand. Yuuto's speed was just too much—he simply couldn't keep up.
As Yuuto stepped to the free-throw line, Appling started chirping.
"Is that all you've got? Cheap tricks?"
"Without the refs, you're nothing."
He was trying to throw off Yuuto's focus.
"I heard you're Chinese but grew up in Japan. So you're basically a mongrel."
Yuuto glanced at him. "Stop flaunting your pathetic intellect, you sad little creature who won't even go in the first round."
"You know who all those people came to see tonight?" Yuuto pointed at the NBA executives in attendance.
Green said nothing.
He wasn't stupid—of course he knew who they were here for.
That's exactly why he wanted to destroy Yuuto and prove himself.
"Looks like you're not completely hopeless. That's right, they obviously didn't come to watch a mediocre nobody like you. They're all here to see me."
"You know what the biggest difference is between you and me?"
"I don't want to know."
After a few verbal exchanges with Yuuto, Green realized this Asian kid was not easy to mess with.
Yuuto's trash talk seemed completely unbothered—Green's usually devastating psychological warfare wasn't working at all.
If anything, Green was the one getting worked up. That sensitive word "draft position" from Yuuto had his blood pressure rising.
Yuuto paused. This guy was actually smart—he wasn't taking the bait.
Fine. He couldn't be bothered to keep sparring with Green anyway. It was beneath him.
Bounce.
Swish!
Yuuto hit both free throws.
On the other end, Appling had the ball again.
Against Norman Powell, he had enough of a size advantage. He muscled his way toward the paint, and this time Green was smarter—seeing Yuuto closing in, he immediately kicked it out to a teammate.
Gary Harris caught and fired another three. Nothing but net.
He was the only truly talented player on the Spartans. As a freshman, he was already averaging nearly 13 points and shooting 41% from three—showing elite shooting potential.
Green picked up an assist and felt his confidence returning.
Back on defense, he called out to Appling: "Give me the Asian kid!"
This wasn't a wise decision.
They were the same height, but their athleticism wasn't even in the same stratosphere.
The Spartans' coach could only watch helplessly as Green was left in the dust by a single crossover from Yuuto, who then drove to the rim for the score—or rather, drew another foul to get back to the line.
"This idiot!"
Green was the Spartans' defensive anchor, and he'd been assigned to help on Yuuto tonight.
But his role was supposed to be help defense. Going one-on-one? That was just asking for humiliation.
...
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