Chapter 150 Summer

"What month does summer refer to?" he then asked.

"Mid-July," the professor replied.

"No problem." Tang Tian agreed readily. The draft was in June, there would be a Summer League in early July, and the team would probably start training camp in September. Only mid-July and August were the most free.

"No problem for me either," Foster agreed as well.

"Very good, then it's settled. Give me your contact information," the professor said, taking out his phone.

After exchanging contact information, the matter was settled.

Being able to make money and play streetball with the professor was actually quite a cool thing to think about.

"You seem to be short on money?" After finishing the business, the professor turned to Tang Tian and asked.

"I guess so." Tang Tian nodded. What he lacked was krypton gold value, but it was actually similar to lacking money, except that this money had to be earned through normal channels.

"Go to New York. The streetball courts in New York have a lot of unexpected opportunities," the professor suggested.

"Thank you, I will go," Tang Tian nodded.

New York is the birthplace of American streetball culture, and Queens in New York is now the most prosperous place for streetball culture. The opportunities there are indeed much greater than in New Haven.

After chatting for a few more words, Tang Tian went back to UConn first.

"Professor, which league do you think he's from? He's Asian, so he should be easy to remember, but I've never heard of such a person in the NBDL, CBA, or even Drew League," Foster couldn't help but say, curious.

(Note: The CBA here refers to the Continental Basketball Association of America, founded in 1946.)

"Him? He's not a professional player," the professor said with a smile, shaking his head.

"Not?" Foster was even more puzzled. Tang Tian's defensive ability and physical confrontation skills couldn't possibly be non-professional.

"I wasn't very sure before, but I'm basically sure now that he specifically asked me what month the game was in. He should be a student at the University of Connecticut."

"University of Connecticut? He's an NCAA player!" Foster immediately realized.

That's right, he had been thinking of Tang Tian as a professional player, but he had forgotten about the NCAA.

Tang Tian was so young, and the NCAA didn't allow endorsements or commercial games, so he ran to the streetball court to earn this small amount of money.

This was the most accurate explanation.

"Let's go, let's have a chance to watch the UConn game, it might be very interesting," the professor said with a smile.

After the end of the offseason, UConn was at home against Syracuse University.

Syracuse University produces a lot of scorers, the most famous of which is "Little Melon" Anthony. They also now have Dion Waiters, who has a solid offensive ability.

Waiters was the fourth overall pick in 2012, but at this time he was still a freshman.

He suffered badly from Tang Tian's defense the last time the two teams faced each other, and this game was similar. He was forced by Tang Tian to hardly have a chance to shoot.

Waiters was suppressed, and Syracuse University's offense was also a bit sluggish. On the other hand, for UConn, Lamb continued his excellent form from the last game, scoring continuously for the team from both inside and outside.

The point difference was being widened bit by bit. UConn suppressed their opponents from beginning to end and ultimately won the game smoothly with a score of 63 to 50.

Tang Tian made 4 three-pointers, scoring 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block. Napier had 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 9 assists. Lamb continued to perform efficiently, shooting 10 of 19 and scoring a game-high 25 points.

One game's performance may be just a coincidence, but scoring high scores continuously shows that he has really broken through the obstacle in his heart and has fully emerged.

A game in which the opponent was suppressed throughout the entire game, the team's morale was getting higher and higher.

With this momentum, UConn welcomed February, the last month of games before the league championship.

This month basically determines each team's respective ranking in the league. Teams that want to compete for a spot in the championship game and teams that want to improve their ranking in the league in order to have a better matchup advantage will all go all out in this month.

UConn's first opponent in February was DePaul University, which is currently ranked tenth in the Big East Conference and is making a final effort to enter the championship tournament.

UConn's strength and form are both stronger than their opponents, but the game was unusually anxious after it started.

NCAA is college basketball. Although there is a difference in talent, the gap is not as big as in the NBA. This is also why a civilian team like Louisville can become the league's number one team.

DePaul University gave 120% of their effort in order to compete for a championship tournament spot, and they fought very fiercely on both offense and defense. The scores of the two teams were constantly close.

It wasn't until the last five minutes of the second half that DePaul University had stamina problems due to fighting too hard earlier. Lamb and Tang Tian joined forces to launch an 8-0 run, ultimately helping UConn win the game.

After a three-game losing streak, a three-game winning streak is definitely good news for UConn.

Moreover, after this three-game winning streak, they have returned to second place in the league.

What's even more gratifying is that Walker's injury recovery is better than expected, and theoretically he can play in the next game.

UConn's next opponent is the University of Pittsburgh.

The University of Pittsburgh is a famous basketball school, but it has not performed well this season and is currently ranked 13th in the Big East Conference. It is basically out of the championship tournament, which is a good time for Walker to make his comeback.

The game was held at home, and Walker's comeback night was sold out.

Out of caution, Calhoun did not put Walker in the starting lineup.

After the game started, UConn played with great momentum in the cheers of the home fans. In the first half, after only eight minutes of play, they had already led their opponents by double digits with a score of 15 to 5.

The game entered a timeout for the University of Pittsburgh, and Calhoun replaced Napier with Walker when he returned from the timeout.

Cheers erupted from the crowd, knowing that they had not seen Walker play in almost a month.

Walker came on the court, and Oriakhi set a pick-and-roll for him. Walker broke through to the basket and got a one-on-one opportunity.

However, when he went for the layup, his shot was blocked directly by the opponent's center.

There was a commotion in the crowd.

However, this was just the beginning. Two missed free throws, air balls, and even turnovers that were very rare in the past all appeared on Walker.

Fans once thought they were seeing a fake Walker.

In the end, UConn still relied on the advantage of their overall strength to win the game against their opponents with a score of 58 to 43.

Lamb also continued his high efficiency and scored 19 points and 6 rebounds.

However, Walker's performance in his first game after his comeback was not good. He played for 10 minutes, shooting 1 of 6 from the field and 2 of 4 from the free throw line, getting 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist, and also had 2 turnovers.

This was obviously not his normal level.

"This is only his first game back. I never doubt him. He will find himself soon," Calhoun told reporters at the post-match press conference.