Jonny Wolfson couldn’t fathom the Stanford player’s behavior on the court.
Was he looking for trouble?
The physical disparity was glaring, yet he kept playing tight defense—even deliberately seeking out physical contact?
On Pruitt’s second attack, Bruce closed in on him again, arms spread wide, adopting a suffocating defensive stance.
But…
what was the point?
Pruitt simply turned his body; the resulting collision sent Bruce staggering back two steps.
Although he fared slightly better than on the previous play, he ultimately lost his balance and fell to the ground.
It was a disaster!
Laughter erupted from the crowd once more.
But the laughter died down quickly; Pruitt’s jump shot fell short, bouncing off the rim.
In the ensuing scramble for the ball, Frank Benson kicked it out of bounds, and USC retained possession.
“I really don’t understand this player, Bruce Li.
His behavior is baffling.
There’s a clear gap in strength—why be so stubborn?” Jonny Wolfson continued.
“Is he hoping…
to use his body to hold off Pruitt’s attack?” “I disagree with you.
I admire him,” said Magic Johnson, offering a completely different perspective.
“The first time he went for the block, I thought he might have misjudged the difference in strength.
But the second time, he tried it again.
What does that show?
It shows that even though he knew the gap was huge and understood the cost of that kind of defense, he was still willing to defend that way because he had succeeded the last time.” “Honestly, if he were a bit bulkier and stronger, I’d strongly recommend Lakers scouts take a look at him,” Magic Johnson said this time with great seriousness.
His seriousness puzzled Jonny Wallson; he felt Magic Johnson was being too emotional.
Meanwhile, on the court, Bruce rubbed his aching chest and got back up.
Jamie Lin, who had been pressing the referee on the sideline—reminding him that Pruitt had already committed two offensive fouls—now shouted at Bruce during the break in broken Mandarin: “Bruce, if you keep playing this kind of risky defense, I’m benching you and never letting you play again.
You’re committing suicide, do you understand?” He was agitated and angry.
He knew Bruce wanted to prove himself during these last three games, but that wasn’t the way to play basketball.
There were things in this world more important than basketball, and absolutely no reason to engage in self-destructive behavior just to stay at Stanford next season.
This wouldn’t move the hearts of the cold, unfeeling coaching staff and athletic committee.
Jamie Lin, who shared the same ethnicity, spoke harshly, yet deep down he felt sorry for Bruce.
He knew better than anyone how difficult it was for an Asian player to prove himself in basketball—requiring twice, or even ten times, the effort compared to players of other backgrounds.
Unless you vastly outperformed everyone else, your efforts went unrecognized.
They arrogantly believed your potential reached no higher than the knees of players from other races.
Bruce replied in Mandarin, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” At this moment, Bruce had no intention of using this self-destructive defensive strategy to impress anyone or secure his spot at Stanford.
He wanted to use this method to gain more strength and talent for himself.
As he hit the ground, the Gifted Baby spoke to him: “You’ve gained 3 Strength Talent points this time.
He only has 39 points left, while you have 19.
Since this bastard wasted energy last night, he can only utilize about 30 Strength points right now.
If you two clash again, the balance will shift, and he won’t be able to completely overpower you.” This news made Bruce smile.
He then turned and looked at Pruitt with a gentle expression: “Dear Pruitt, those two slaps felt amazing!
Come on, I can’t wait for round three!” He spoke softly and sincerely, but to Pruitt, it sounded like utter nonsense.
So, even though Pruitt felt his body completely drained every time he collided with Bruce, he still had to maintain his arrogant demeanor.
He glared at Bruce: “You reckless fool—you should have called an ambulance before saying that.” “Putting on a tough act in front of me.
Hmph!” he retorted coldly, then sprinted toward the three-point line.
But by then, USC had already passed the ball to Nick Young.
As soon as Nick Young received the ball, Pruitt stopped running.
He knew Nick Young’s playing style well; the guy was just like his idol, Kobe Bryant—a player who loved to dominate the ball.
Once the ball was in his hands, it was never getting passed back out.
To him, even being guarded by three players felt like an open shot.
Stanford immediately double-teamed him, with Thompson and small forward Ian House quickly closing in.
Nick Young evaded them with a clean spin move and launched a highly difficult fadeaway shot.
The move even stunned Kevin George on the sidelines—it was truly an NBA-caliber play, beautifully executed.
Unfortunately…
*clang*!
The ball missed.
Scott, positioned under the basket after Frank Benson had boxed out, leapt up, quickly grabbed the ball, and immediately passed it to Bruce at the top of the three-point arc.
Bruce caught the ball and instantly took off at full speed.
Despite Pruitt’s tenacious pursuit, the Stanford player was simply too fast: a speed rating of 80 would place him in the NBA’s top 30, and in the NCAA—unless the opponent was exceptionally gifted—that meant a decisive advantage.
As Bruce decisively beat Pruitt at mid-court, Kevin George quickly pulled out his notebook; the surprise this guy had sprung on him was worth noting down.
He was already considering recommending the player to Spurs management—even if it might make some view him as an unprofessional scout—because…
the guy was simply captivating.
Bruce streaked toward the defensive zone like a bolt of lightning and leapt into the air; while his vertical wasn’t quite as impressive as his speed, there was no one there to stop him…
*swish!* The ball went in without a doubt!
YES!!
Jamie Lin clenched his fist on the sideline, overjoyed by the basket.
He had poured so much of his own emotion into Bruce.
“Great job, buddy!” he shouted.
Bruce turned and blew a kiss to Jamie Lin.
Then, Jamie Lin heard a shout from the stands behind him.
He turned to see a female fan wearing a #23 Nick Young jersey, looking completely captivated.
Her eyes were practically glued to Bruce.
Okay, this girl had definitely misunderstood the situation.
But Jamie Lin wasn’t surprised at all.
After all, things like this happened often.
Bruce was incredibly popular with the women at Stanford; even though he didn’t get much playing time, his good looks made him the player who garnered the most attention.
According to Scott: “This guy is always at the top of the Stanford dating scene; even the star players on the football team aren’t as popular as he is.”