71 to 54.
Thanks to
Zack’s
27 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal in this grueling battle,
Wake Forest
defeated the Badgers and successfully joined the
Illinois Fighting Illini
(Chicago Region),
North Carolina Tar Heels
(Albuquerque Region), and
Michigan State Spartans
(Austin Region) to form the
Final Four
of this year’s
NCAA March Madness
.
According to the bracket, the
Demon Deacons
would face the Spartans in the Final Four. Meanwhile, the Fighting Illini would square off against the Tar Heels. Both games were scheduled for April 3rd and would be held at the
Edward Jones Dome
in St. Louis, the former home of the Rams (as pictured).
Although this stadium would later be voted the worst NFL stadium by fans in 2008, for NCAA players accustomed to arenas holding only one to two tens of thousands of spectators, standing before the colossal
Edward Jones Dome
, almost every player who practiced on April 2nd instantly felt tiny. They also felt the palpable tension and excitement of the impending Final Four.
Of course, everyone except
Zack
.
On the court, watching a calm
Zack
,
Paul
curiously asked, "The Final Four game is almost here, how come you’re not excited at all?"
Hearing this,
Zack
looked down at Paul’s incredibly animated face and said, "Because the closer a big battle gets, the more I want to stay calm."
In that moment, gazing at
Zack’s
eyes, which were completely different from before, and recalling how he used to need Paul to calm him down before his college debut, Paul said, "You’ve really grown a lot in these past two years."
The next second, after playfully elbowing
Zack
in the lower back, Paul continued, "When we get to the NBA, I’m really going to miss the time we spent fighting alongside each other in college."
Seeing this,
Zack
smiled slightly and placed a hand on Paul’s shoulder, saying, "Two more games, and our college careers will be over."
Two games: one was the Final Four matchup against the Spartans, and the other was the championship game against the winner of the Fighting Illini versus Tar Heels.
On the evening of April 3rd, as the
Demon Deacons
vs.
Spartans
Final Four game took center stage as the night’s main event, the fervent cheers from both teams’ fans in the
Edward Jones Dome
instantly drowned out everything in sight.
Especially during the players’ introductions.
Zack’s
entrance almost instantly pierced the eardrums of reporters who had come to the U.S. for the first time to cover the NCAA Final Four. As the universally acknowledged best player in American college basketball since
Tim Duncan
, the
Wake Forest
faithful used their most passionate noise to completely blow the roof off the dome when Zack appeared.
In the VIP boxes, all the big figures who had come to watch also turned their gaze toward Zack.
Then, at center court, the starting fives of both teams took their positions. For the
Demon Deacons
:
Ellis
,
Zack
,
Reeves
,
Gray
,
Paul
. For the
Spartans
:
Paul Davis
,
Maurice Ager
,
Alan Anderson
,
Shannon Brown
, and
Chris Hill
.
After the tip-off,
Wake Forest
had the first possession.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is CBS Sports, bringing you the 2004-05 NCAA Final Four game between the
Demon Deacons
and the
Spartans
!"
On the court, after Paul brought the ball across half-court, the
Wake Forest
players, positioned in a 2-3 alignment, quickly initiated a
Flex offense
around
Zack
.
Inside,
Paul Davis
, who
Zack
remembered would be drafted by the Clippers as the 4th pick in the second round in 2006, was prevented by
Reeves
from switching with a teammate to face
Zack
directly in the low post. Though slender, Reeves successfully cut off the passing lane between Davis and Ager during his cross-screen with Zack.
Maurice Ager
, who would be selected by the Mavericks as the 28th pick in the first round in 2006, was never known for his defense throughout his college career. Although scouting reports stated that the 198 cm (6’6") Ager possessed perfect body control and could perform incredible alley-oops and put-back dunks, in reality, his trademark was his unrestrained jump shots and freestyle dribbling. When he was hot, Ager often single-handedly destroyed opponents with his shooting. But once he was off and couldn’t fool opponents with his dribbling, Ager would make unbearable, elementary mistakes on the court.
Reeves
had studied Ager thoroughly before the game, which allowed him to complete that crucial inside screen, effectively blocking two defenders. On the court, seeing this, Zack immediately moved up to the top of the arc, received a pass from Paul, and sank a jump shot.
Coming back, it was the
Spartans’
possession. As the team’s primary scorer, Ager’s nonchalant play cost the entire Spartan team. After his wild, off-balance three-pointer missed and bounced off the rim,
Zack
out-jumped Davis, who was also 6’11" in shoes, to secure the rebound and immediately pushed the ball upcourt for a fast break.
As a well-known rebounding monster on the college circuit, Davis was utterly bewildered when he noticed
Zack
picking up speed with the dribble. "We’re both 6’11," so why can you be so fast and so agile when you get going?"
Zack
dribbled all the way past half-court. Then, he took three long strides into the paint, powering through
Brown’s
attempted block to sink the ball. At this moment,
Shannon Brown
, officially listed at 6’4", wasn’t overestimating himself. Because in the 2006 NBA Draft Combine, he recorded a 45-inch (approximately 114 cm) vertical leap.
However, the moment Brown jumped to try and stop
Zack’s
attack, he was utterly crushed. Not only did
Zack’s
sheer size prevent him from reaching his highest point, but even if he could, what could he possibly do to stop this raptor-like fighter jet with astounding dynamic and static athleticism?
"So, you were under me just now?" On the court, after completing the play,
Zack
, who had just realized, said to Brown.
Brown: "..."
Next, the
Spartans’
offensive possession. Because Ager’s previous reckless shot had given the
Demon Deacons
two free points, this time, after dribbling past half-court, the composed
Hill
decisively passed the ball to
Anderson
.
Alan Anderson
. Another familiar face to
Zack
.
Anderson
, who would enter the NBA as an undrafted player, played for several teams, and at 198 cm (6’6"), he was known for being both an offensive and defensive threat. However, the main reason
Zack
was familiar with him was because of the
CBA
( Basketball Association). In Zack’s memory, Anderson would become a famous player for the
Shandong team
in the CBA.
The
Spartans
reaching the Final Four this year was no accident. Besides point guard
Hill
, the other four starters on their team tonight all had future NBA experience.
On the perimeter, after a hand-off with
Brown
,
Anderson
seized the opportunity to set a screen, successfully creating an open shot for Brown. Immediately after, Brown hit the jump shot.
4 to 2.
And in the stands, the
Spartans
’ fans immediately responded with cheers, drowning out the noisy
Wake Forest
supporters in their eyes.
But coming back, the Spartans still had no answer for the
Demon Deacons’ Flex offense
. This time, since
Reeves
couldn’t block
Davis
as planned,
Zack
decided to improvise, pulling up to the top of the arc to execute a pick-and-roll with Paul.
The follow-up options for the
Flex offense
were constantly changing. And
Zack
, who was unstoppable on the college court, perfectly amplified the offensive advantages of this strategy.
At the top of the arc,
Paul
drove to the basket after gaining speed, completely disrupting the
Spartans’
defense. Then, noticing
Zack
following for the fast break, Paul immediately passed the ball back to Zack.
CLANG!
In the
Spartans’
paint,
Zack
hammered down a one-handed dunk, igniting the
Wake Forest
fans’ emotions once more.
"If the
Spartans
keep allowing
Wake Forest
to generate this quality of offense, then I think this Final Four game will quickly lose its suspense," commented the CBS announcer.
On the sideline, the notoriously fiery
Spartans’
head coach,
Tom Izzo
, began yelling at his players. Meanwhile, noticing Izzo’s agitated expression as he paced the sideline,
Zack
immediately recalled an interesting anecdote about the coach.
In 2019, during a tactical discussion, a heated argument with player Henry led the hot-tempered coach to punch Henry in the chest. At the time, many fans online joked that
Draymond Green’s
"unruly" behavior in the NBA was likely inherited from Izzo. Yes, as a legendary
Spartans
coach, Izzo was indeed Green’s college mentor.
Interestingly, after Izzo threw that punch at Henry, he was immediately removed from the Lakers’ list of new head coach candidates, despite being considered for the role. It made some wonder if
LeBron James
was afraid that Izzo, if he coached the Lakers, would punch him for not following tactical instructions.
On the court, after Izzo’s tirade, the
Spartans’
offense and defense immediately saw a qualitative change. Especially their defense. The NCAA always encouraged physical play, so it would have been a miracle if a fiery coach like Izzo was satisfied with the
Spartans’
previously soft defense.
However, after
Wake Forest
was stalled on two consecutive offensive possessions, the
Spartans
, who were just about to gain momentum, had their comeback stifled by their star player, Ager.
On the court, the
Spartans
were on offense. Ager, after breaking down
Gray
with his dazzling dribbling, could have passed the ball to Davis, but instead chose to charge directly into
Zack’s
defensive area. In that moment, if Ager had passed, even
Zack
couldn’t have stopped Davis.
But this was
Maurice Ager
. In the future, this guy would prove with his desolate NBA career, like a cold, long river, that both physically and mentally, he was a child who would never truly grow up. In
Zack’s
eyes, compared to the cutthroat world of basketball, Ager should have left the sport sooner to pursue his musical dreams. Because if Zack remembered correctly, Ager even received a Grammy nomination after transitioning to the music industry.
SMACK!
On the court, as Ager’s basketball dreams were swatted away by
Zack’s
ferocious block,
Paul
, who secured the second rebound, immediately initiated a fast break. And
Wake Forest
, who had failed on two previous offensive possessions, once again sent the entire arena into a frenzy after
Zack
followed up with a fast-break dunk.
Seeing this, Izzo on the sideline grew agitated again. It must be said that NCAA head coaches can, in a way, truly determine the character of a team. Because after another round of Izzo’s shouting, the
Spartans’
subsequent defensive actions could only be described as over the line.
But even this intensity from Izzo couldn’t salvage Ager’s increasingly low morale tonight. After all, if mud could be supported against a wall, what would it be called then?
Perhaps, when he was in a good rhythm, Ager’s freewheeling style could indeed break down opponents first. But tonight, the
Spartans
were facing
Wake Forest
.
At the
Edward Jones Dome
, as
Zack
received a pass from Paul and hit a half-court
logo three-pointer
at the buzzer to end the first half, sending the entire crowd into a frenzy, the scoreboard read 47 to 31.
"Now, the
Demon Deacons
are just 20 minutes away from advancing to the championship game!" the CBS announcer remarked during halftime.