nCAA rosters have no upper limit, so Tang Tian's addition didn't have much impact on the team. However, it meant quite a change for him personally.

He no longer had to specialize in retrieving balls like before. Instead, he trained with the team and ran plays.

Being a coach himself, he picked up the plays especially quickly, and could even help the rookies familiarize themselves with them.

Calhoun was very satisfied, and Ollie gradually changed his opinion of him.

Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was November, and the nCAA 2010-2011 season officially kicked off.

Over the past two months, UConn had undergone some significant changes. The team's backup power forward, Lawerence Allen, had applied for a transfer to Marquette University next door to assist Jimmy Butler. The team also used scholarships to bring in two new players: Rosek Smith, a 1.96-meter small forward, and Tyler Olander, a 2.11-meter power forward. Both were players other teams had passed over and their abilities were limited.

In other words, the team had become weaker rather than stronger over the past two months, and the outlook for the new season was even more worrying.

On November 13, the team welcomed its first opponent, the University of Louisville.

The University of Louisville was a strong team in the Big East Conference and had even reached the Final Four of the nCAA tournament last year.

This was destined to be a difficult game.

After the game started, Walker was closely guarded, and Lamb became the team's main offensive point. However, he seemed very uncomfortable in his nCAA debut. He missed all three of his first shots, and the University of Louisville quickly pulled away. By the end of the first half, they were leading 38-27 by 11 points.

In the second half, Calhoun began to set up various isolation plays for Walker, and Walker began to score frequently with drives and outside shots.

But at key moments, UConn's defense had problems. Oriakhi was frequently targeted with mismatches by the opponent's guards. Walker's scoring couldn't keep up with the team's points allowed. By about fifteen minutes into the second half, they were trailing by nearly 20 points.

The game was as good as decided.

In the end, although Walker shot 9-for-22 and scored 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, UConn was still惨败 by a score of 61-81 at home.

After the crushing defeat in the first game, Coach Calhoun felt unprecedented pressure.

After resting for five days, UConn continued to play at home against DePaul University, a weak team in the Big East Conference. UConn finally won its first game of the season.

76-70. Although they won, it wasn't a glorious victory, especially allowing a weak team like DePaul University to score 70 points. The team's defense was really a bit unsightly.

After resting for five days, the team traveled to face Syracuse University and Georgetown University in succession, and as expected, they suffered a losing streak.

In the game against Georgetown, their star player Greg Monroe scored 30 points and 21 rebounds, thoroughly dominating UConn's inside game.

Tang Tian traveled with the team for all of these games, but he sat at the very end of the bench. Calhoun didn't send him onto the court at all.

A 1-3 start was UConn's worst start in recent years.

Calhoun was experiencing this kind of situation in his retirement year, and it looked like he might be ending his career on a sour note. He even had the idea of retiring early.

The team's record was poor, and the players' spirits were low during training, as if a dark cloud was hanging over the stadium.

"Old Man, why not try Tang?" One day after training, Ollie approached Calhoun alone and suggested.

Calhoun didn't say anything.

Tang Tian had been training with the team for so long, and he had a pretty good understanding of the ball boy's strength.

His defense was excellent, his basketball IQ was very high, and he could understand tactics at a glance, but apart from these characteristics, other aspects, including shooting and passing, were at the level of an amateur player, not even meeting the requirements of an nCAA player.

Putting him on the court would be like playing 4-on-5 on offense.

This was also why Calhoun had not put him on the court.

"Let's see," Calhoun could only say as he continued to coach.

On November 25, UConn played at home against Marquette University, a strong opponent. This was also their last game in November.

Marquette University was not considered an nCAA powerhouse, but it had produced nBA superstars like Wade. This season, the team was led by senior Jimmy Butler, who was averaging 16.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game in the first four games of the season, with all-around offense and defense.

In addition to Butler, transfer Lawrence Allen was heavily used by the head coach and also had an outstanding performance of 11.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.

Driven by the two core players, their current record was 3 wins and 1 loss, exactly the opposite of UConn's record.

This game was especially important for UConn. It not only related to the team's record, but also involved Allen facing his old team after transferring. If they lost again, it would give people the feeling that when a tree falls, the monkeys scatter, and when a wall collapses, everyone pushes it over.

Calhoun felt a lot of pressure before the game.

The atmosphere of nCAA stadiums is the best in the world, even better than the nBA. This was just an ordinary regular season game, but UConn's xL Center, a stadium that could accommodate more than 16,000 people, was already packed.

Fans held up various signs supporting the home team, and many people even tattooed the Eskimo dog team logo on their faces, chests, and even big bellies to express their fanatical support for the home team.

This is nCAA.

The players from both teams were doing their final warm-ups on the court, and Calhoun stood on the sidelines with a serious expression, not knowing what he was thinking.

After the warm-up, the starting players from both sides entered the court one after another.

For Marquette University, Butler and Allen both started. Although UConn had been in poor form recently, they didn't dare to take it lightly on the road.

UConn still had their regular lineup: Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb in the backcourt, Rosek Smith and Tyler Olander on the front line, and Oriakhi at center.

"Deng deng deng deng deng!"

As soon as the game started, fans started drumming, and along with the sound of the drums, the fans loudly cheered for the home team.

"Go! Connecticut!"

Amid the cheers of the fans, Oriakhi tipped the ball back into UConn's half, and the home team got the chance to attack first.

Walker dribbled the ball to the frontcourt.

Like the opponents they had faced before, Marquette University knew that Walker was UConn's lifeline and immediately double-teamed him.

Walker passed the ball to Lamb at the first opportunity. Lamb caught the ball and took an open three-pointer.

"Clang!"

The three-pointer missed.

But Oriakhi grabbed the offensive rebound with his height advantage.

Oriakhi attacked the basket from close range. Lawrence Allen stretched out his arms and successfully interfered with his shot before grabbing the defensive rebound.

There was a commotion in the arena.

UConn failed to seize two good opportunities after the opening.

Marquette University attacked the frontcourt. Butler dribbled the ball and broke through Smith.

UConn shrank the defense, and Olander double-teamed at the basket.

Butler passed the ball out in the double team, and Allen caught the ball and took a mid-range jump shot directly.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, the basketball fell into the net cleanly.

Marquette University scored first.