After the Demon Deacons turned the tide, momentum had completely swung in their favor.
Although Coach K tried every method—even forcing McRoberts to post up against double teams in the low post—none of it could reverse the situation.
This extreme small-ball tactic struck precisely at the Blue Devils' soft spot.
It proved the Blue Devils' poor record this season was no accident: McRoberts lacked dominance in the low post, and Henderson on the perimeter had yet to develop. They no longer had the kind of player, like Redick and Williams before, who could change an opponent's defense.
By contrast, the Demon Deacons only got smoother as the game went on. With five minutes left in the second half, the Blue Devils were already being routed by the Demon Deacons' Popovich-style play.
The Demon Deacons ultimately beat the Blue Devils 78–66. They not only completed a 12-point comeback but also won by 12 points.
Put another way, once Yang Shuai took over, they had beaten Duke by a full 24 points!
It had become a complete rout.
After the game, per custom, the coaches met at center court to shake hands.
Coach K's expression was beyond ugly. Losing a game wasn't entirely unacceptable—after all, they were the lower-ranked side—but losing in this fashion was an indelible black mark on his coaching career.
Once the handshakes were over, the Demon Deacons players gathered around Yang Shuai, shouting wildly. Westbrook even picked up a mineral-water bottle and poured it straight over Yang Shuai's head.
The players knew better than anyone that without Yang Shuai tonight, they would definitely have lost—and even lost the NAA Tournament invitation they had already clinched.
And it wasn't over. In the heat of the moment, the players actually started hoisting Yang Shuai into the air.
Similar ages, same student status—there was no distance between them.
With each toss into the air, Yang Shuai's heart, sealed away by years in the workplace, melted at that moment. Being young is great!
Surrounded by his teammates, Yang Shuai returned to the locker room. Westbrook brought him a towel for his face and hair. As he was drying off, Vincent appeared in the locker room.
After calling Yang Shuai out of the locker room, Vincent's next words caught him off guard: "You're going to the press conference."
"Me?" It wasn't the head coach attending the press conference, but him, the acting head coach? Was that appropriate?
"Don't overthink it. You're the one who helped this team win." If Vincent went, the scene would truly be awkward.
Yang Shuai didn't refuse after hearing that. This kind of public-facing opportunity could raise his profile and help him enter the NBA later.
But in front of Vincent, he couldn't help asking the question on his mind: "Why did you choose me as acting head coach?"
The question was a bit forward, but Vincent's response was matter-of-fact: "The transition offense tactics—weren't those proposed by you to Prosser in the first place?"
Facts proved his choice was correct.
When Yang Shuai entered the press conference and drew many reporters' gazes, his heart pounded.
Although in his previous life he was a workplace veteran, he had never experienced such an occasion before, let alone known what these reporters would ask.
But as his eyes swept the room and he saw Ian Eagle among them, his nervousness eased considerably.
Before the last exclusive interview, Ian Eagle had shared a trick for facing the camera: pretend the camera doesn't exist. Yang Shuai tried it, and it worked.
Yang Shuai had just sat down when the reporters below raised their hands in unison.
Per the rules, Yang Shuai could choose who would ask, and he quickly chose Ian Eagle.
"Hanson, you beat the most famous coach in NAA history. How do you feel now?" Ian Eagle knew Yang Shuai, but his question was still sharp—that was his usual style.
With his question, the reporters below stirred; this would be the most buzzworthy postgame material.
"I'm excited, but not because I beat someone—it's because we beat Duke University, and that means a lot to us." Yang Shuai's answer was measured.
On the way over, he had considered whether to create a buzz with a high-profile approach or build a persona with a low profile.
If he were a player, he'd choose high-profile, because a player with a distinct personality naturally brings the spotlight; but as a scout, no general manager likes a loudmouth subordinate.
Yet always staying low-profile wasn't good either. In this dog-eat-dog place called America, staying low-profile was a symbol of the weak.
"But you used an undersized lineup and zone defense to crack Duke's tactical system." Ian Eagle wasn't someone easily satisfied.
"Insight is one of the essential skills for a scout. I just applied it to the court. Our advantages are youth, good conditioning, and high defensive intensity. The undersized lineup and zone defense happen to bring those advantages out."
"So are you planning to switch careers and become a coach?" Ian Eagle pressed.
"No, tonight was just a special situation." Yang Shuai didn't think leading one comeback meant he was already qualified to be a basketball coach, because there was an element of chance.
If Duke's interior core weren't McRoberts but Oden, Horford, Noah—or even North Carolina's Hansbrough—small-ball tactics would be hard to pull off.
Basketball tactics kept evolving, but they were tied to the rules; you couldn't just copy future tactics into the present and expect success.
"What about the future?" Ian Eagle kept pressing. He really thought Yang Shuai was a born NAA head coach.
"Who knows?" Yang Shuai replied with a smile.
Although he wasn't capable of coaching now, his in-game command and mental toughness that night were impressive. Maybe someday he would pick up the whistle after all.
The next day, when Yang Shuai entered the training facility, the players greeted him one by one on their own.
If previously Yang Shuai had only earned the approval of Curry, Westbrook, and Ibaka on this team, then after last night's game he had earned the respect of everyone on the team.
Prosser had just returned from suspension. Seeing Yang Shuai, he smiled and took the initiative to greet him.
If it were someone else, it might be a little awkward right now, because "winning isn't scary; whoever misses out is the one who's embarrassed." But Prosser, who had long wanted Yang Shuai as his assistant, was delighted—this was far more effective than his earlier efforts to drum up support for Yang at the press conference.
He even started discussing small-ball tactics with Yang Shuai after greeting him.
Since it concerned Wake Forest's path forward, Yang Shuai laid out his understanding in full, explaining the pros and cons of small-ball.
Prosser, an old coach, basically understood already, and after discussing the details he got it. But realizing it wouldn't work against North Carolina, he was somewhat disappointed.
To top the A League this season, North Carolina was the hill Wake Forest had to climb.
That night, Yang Shuai studied North Carolina's game film at his computer.
Compared to last season—or the start of the season—Wake Forest's style had changed a lot, and North Carolina's had too. In fact, the two teams now had many similarities in style.
Roy Williams, a tactically versatile coach, had sped things up based on his personnel and added a lot of transition offense.
Wake Forest had the Westbrook-Curry backcourt duo; North Carolina had Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington.
But unlike Wake Forest, because they had Hansbrough inside, their half-court game was equally strong—they could play fast or slow.
In a sense, this was an upgraded version of Wake Forest.
Yang Shuai was worrying when his phone suddenly rang—it was Curry.
"Hanson, check out N Channel!"
It was the first time Yang Shuai had heard Curry so excited. Puzzled, Yang Shuai got up and went to the locker room.
In this era, cell phones weren't yet capable of streaming live TV, but the locker room had a TV.
He went in and turned it on, seeing N Channel airing "Inside the NBA."
There were plenty of American TV shows Yang Shuai didn't know, but he knew this one. In Chinese it was called "NBA Insider," one of the few basketball programs popular domestically, for no other reason than its hosts were names familiar to domestic audiences: Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O'Neal.
But that was before Yang Shuai transmigrated. Now the show was hosted by Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson.
Even now, the show was hugely popular—Barkley's famous "bet Yao Ming wouldn't score 20 points and kiss a donkey's ass" originated here.
This showed the show was mainly an entertainment program centered on NBA anecdotes.
But when Yang Shuai turned it on, he found Barkley and the others were discussing something neither NBA-related nor entertaining.
They were discussing the story of the youngest head coach in NAA history taking down the most veteran head coach.
Chapter 26