Chapter 319 1997 NCAA Division I Men“s Basketball Tournament 7
"As well as Jake's excellent performance that ensured victory for the Tar Heels team and the good performance of Jamison and Carter also the Tar Heels team secured that easy victory today."
"I think you're being very tough with your assessment of the performance of the Tar Heels team players in today's game, everyone had a great defensive game and Williams scored 15 points hitting 5 three-point shots."
"Zwikker also got 9 rebounds in this game both defensive and offensive rebounds, I think this team has always played very well and that's why they have come so far in this NCAA tournament and it's a favorite to win."
"But of course if you compare Jake to his teammates it wouldn't be fair, even Jamison with 27 points would seem to have played poorly compared to Jake."
"I agree that this team has been playing very well this season and comes from a 22-win streak with today's game and could reach 25 wins if they win the last three games and are the champions of this NCAA tournament."
"But it's precisely because it's an elite team that I have to be so picky to judge if it wasn't for Jake on that team I'm sure they wouldn't have that big winning streak this season."
"Speaking of Jake it's a shame he didn't get a triple-double in today's game, with 2 more assists and 1 rebound he could get one more Quadruple-double even though it was a great performance."
As they did after every game the commentators spoke very well of Jake's performance in the game, the other players were not very upset that everyone said it was thanks to Jake that they won so much.
That's because, with such a big winning streak and the real chance of winning the NCAA tournament they had no reason not to be happy, it was the same with Jake's high school team as long as they kept winning nobody cared if everyone said it was just because of Jake.
Of course, it was different because the Tar Heels team also had great players who could win many games even without Jake on the team, but it was undeniable to all of them that Jake was important to the team.
In addition, they were confident that if they performed well the NBA team scouts would know their real quality in the games, and if they won an NCAA tournament that would surely greatly enhance their performance at the university.
So all the players just had to thank and be happy Jake was on the team, his teammates had even forgotten that at the beginning of the season they were jealous of Jake is the only one with a sponsorship.
With Jake's performance, this season as a freshman and the world record plus all the victories he had in the marathon it was certain that it was only fair that Jake was an exception at university, to complete Jake was always the best in his class in grades.
If someone wanted to use Jake's example to also get a university sponsorship loophole they would have to play very well and excel in two sports just like Jake and still have good grades, it was almost an impossible mission.
From returning to college Coach Smith asked everyone to rest until the next game, it would be in two days then the team would have only one day to rest before the next game, even if the players were not tired it was better not to risk it.
Jake spoke to her mother who had watched the whole game over the phone upon arrival at university, Eva was very happy for Jake and as the weeks went by watching television she began to realize how different games at university were in importance from games at the high school.
So she was even happier knowing that her son was winning even though the games were more difficult and important, Eva always had confidence that Jake would become a pro and play in the NBA as he had always wanted since the age of 10.
His roommates were also happy to see Jake being so successful on the Tar Heels team at the university, the strange thing was that since they were Jake's friends they couldn't see him as one of their idols who played on the Tar Heels team a few years ago.
It was normal if it was thought that it is often difficult to see people close to each other differently even when they become famous or suddenly rich, after all, people do not change suddenly and remain the same as their closest friends and family.
After two days the day of the next game soon arrived, this was the game between the teams that qualified for the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament, this was an honor that all players wanted to spend at least once at the university.
The opponent of this game was the strong team Louisville Cardinals who had a very strong team and had a great season too, the players of team Tar Heels were nervous to have come so far in the NCAA tournament.
Coach Smith did not require any training but instead asked the players to think hard about the strategies and formations the team would use in this game, only Jake was more relaxed in this game.
As far as he was concerned, the Tar Heels team easily won this game contrary to what everyone expected, even though with Jake this team was different it was possible to have as a reference that the team would be well in the game and the Tar Heels team attack was effective against the Louisville Cardinals team.
From what Jake also remembered, the Louisville Cardinals team's defense wasn't very good this season and they always tried to score more points than their opponents with their players who were good at three-point shots.
After a few hours, both teams were ready for the start of the game, with Jake playing the Tar Heels team was a favorite for this game and everyone expected another easy win for the Tar Heels team again.
In the early minutes of the first half unlike previous games Jake decided to accelerate the attacking pace of the team, the team Tar Heels was strong in attacking Jake did not want to take advantage of possession and worked with his team to reach the points.
In one of the first plays Jake advanced into the attack quickly and only passed the ball to Carter before the three-point line, Carter attempted a feint and managed to get past the opponent to the painted area.
The Louisville Cardinals defense soon adapted and tried to stop Carter's breakthrough, so Carter passed Jake back again, Jake passed the ball quickly to Williams who was free in the back of the court on the left.
Williams received Jake's pass and was clear off the three-point line, so he did not hesitate and tried the outside shot to score three points for the Tar Heels team. William was surprised to receive the pass early in the game because in the Last game Jake made few assists for him.
For everyone on the Tar Heels team, Jake's style of play was a mystery and no one could know who he would pass the ball to, only Jake knew he chose who he knew was good at passing the ball.
In another move, Jake advanced with speed again and his teammates followed because it had been the whole game that way, after passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Carter on the left.
Carter quickly advanced too and held the ball even before the three-point line and passed the ball to Jamison, Jamison received the ball and soon received the strong defense from Louisville Cardinals, so Jamison had to pass to Williams on the right.
Williams received the ball and had the opposing defense very close and had to pass the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and just walked off the three-point line while having only one player in defense.
Jake made a feint using speed and took his defender off the pitch and advanced into the three-point line when team defender Louisville Cardinals broke up to defend against Jake he made an alley-oop for Zwikker who jumped and caught the high ball to make the dunk and two more points for the team Tar Heels.
"What a great first half start for the Tar Heels team, they have been hitting almost every attack and thus managed to open the lead for the Louisville Cardinals team, if continuing this will be another victory for the Tar Heels team."
"True, Jake has been playing as well as ever, he has been instrumental since the first game of the ACC tournament, with Jake the whole team can play the best in the game safely and ensure the outcome."
"Sure enough, Jake has been doing great in these knockout games, but all season Jake has been performing consistently and we've never seen a game where he's been bad."
"The whole Tar Heels team this season is made up of great players, but in many games, we see Williams, Zwikker, Jamison, and Carter having ups and downs and some great and bad performances, but Jake always maintains a minimum standard which gives more security to the team."
The commentators spoke what the NBA team scouts also noticed, even though many criticized Jake for sometimes trying to pass when he could simply shoot the three-point himself.
It was undeniable that Jake was the kind of player that all NBA teams needed, scored high points, was good at defending, knew how to organize the team and pleased all fans which could improve the ticket sales of the team he played.