News of the Stanford Crimson Rumble’s victory over the Southern California Ducks quickly caused a stir on campus, given the perennial rivalry between Northern and Southern California.
Southern California had always held the upper hand in basketball; consequently, whenever Stanford defeated UCLA or USC, it sparked a campus-wide sensation.
As the key contributor to this victory, Bruce Li received a hero’s welcome in the school cafeteria.
Students constantly approached him to applaud, chat, or snap photos.
While the applause mostly came from the guys, the ones chatting, taking pictures, or even inviting him to parties were predominantly girls.
Bruce Li wasn’t quite used to being a campus star.
Especially when a girl exclaimed dramatically, “Wow!
Do you basketball players really eat this much?”—he even blushed.
Looking at the pile of steaks on his table, he quickly explained, “It might have been a mistake.” “How do you eat so much and stay so lean?” the girls immediately asked, fishing for tips.
Staying in shape was always a top topic of conversation among women.
Um…
“Wow, your hands are huge!
Is that how they are when you play basketball?” Suddenly, a girl reached out and grabbed his hand to compare sizes—though, in truth, she just wanted to feel what it was like to hold hands with Bruce.
This quickly started a trend among the girls.
Bruce Li was incredibly embarrassed.
He quickly devoured the food on the table and ran toward the training facility.
At that moment, he was unaware that a photo of him eating twenty-two steaks had surfaced in a Stanford campus Facebook group.
This skinny big eater rapidly became a topic of discussion and a viral internet trend; after all, it is rare for someone to consume such a massive amount of food and remain thin.
And his hands were huge.
All of this fit the pattern of how things go viral online.
“Are your hands really that big?” When Bruce Li arrived at the practice gym, he finally took a good look at his hands.
They were already larger and longer than those of most people his height, and upon closer inspection, they were indeed significantly bigger than before.
Instinctively, he palmed a basketball with one hand and discovered…
he could easily grip the ball, even swinging it up and down without it slipping from his grasp.
“Wow!” he exclaimed.
He suddenly recalled what the “gifted baby” had said that day…
it turned out the increased appetite and larger hands weren’t just empty words.
He was instantly delighted.
Large hands are a huge asset for a playmaker; they greatly improve ball control, making dribbling, palming the ball, and finishing layups much more stable.
He specifically measured his hands and found that with his palm spread wide, the span from thumb to pinky was 2 centimeters greater than before, and the length from wrist to the tip of the middle finger had increased by 3 centimeters.
This far exceeded the standard benchmarks.
Keep in mind that the average hand length for an American male (with an average height of 178 cm) is 9 centimeters; this was an increase of over 3 centimeters—and we’re talking about hands here!
A centimeter of hand size is a completely different matter than a centimeter of body height.
“You look like a guy who can be trusted.” The German-American coach, Kleesman, who was helping him measure his hands, said with a smile, “There’s an American saying: You can’t trust a man with small hands.” Just as he finished speaking, Scott’s teasing voice rang out from behind: “Hey, you damn German.
Are you making fun of my idol, Mr.
Kobe Bryant?” Kleesman shrugged and said with a smile, “If you’re using that guy as proof, then it only goes to show that the saying is absolutely reliable.” “Damn you!” Scott muttered, then went to lift weights.
He knew this matter couldn’t be discussed in detail; if it were truly broken down and analyzed, it would reflect very poorly on his idol.
Bruce Li chuckled, then began his stretching and strength training.
Kleesman was quickly amazed by Bruce; he discovered that Bruce could now manage five reps at 60 kg, whereas previously he had only been able to do two.
It was a remarkable improvement.
While it was a trivial feat for Scott—who could easily lift 90 kg—it was a significant achievement given Bruce’s physique.
“Your recent progress has been truly outstanding,” Kleesman praised sincerely.
“That’s why you were the savior in the last game.
Always remember: the sweat you pour into the gym will never betray your body.
The essence of sports is making yourself stronger and more agile…” Kleesman went on to discuss the benefits of fitness.
Bruce Li even found himself doubting whether Kleesman was truly of German descent.
Furthermore, were the school not already paying Kleesman a handsome salary, he worried the man might suddenly try to sell him on “personal training sessions” at any moment.
Regardless, Kleesman was a good guy.
…
While Bruce Li trained hard for the match the following afternoon, a forward from the University of Oregon named Tinsley was stirring up trouble on the Stanford campus.
This buck-toothed Black man—who considered himself incredibly handsome—suddenly became brimming with unearned confidence while at a campus restaurant.
He even approached an architecture student and started hitting on her, using cheesy pick-up lines he thought were funny—like claiming his manhood was so huge he could take her sailing in paradise.
This made the Stanford student feel deeply insulted, and she immediately confronted him for his lack of respect toward women.
However, the visiting athlete seemed unconcerned and continued to harass her.
Then, the young woman’s boyfriend appeared, and the verbal altercation quickly escalated into a physical fight.
During the scuffle, the man—Spiegel—fell to the ground.
Security personnel subsequently intervened.
Although the school handled the situation swiftly, and the University of Oregon promptly offered compensation and an apology, news of the incident spread rapidly across campus, infuriating the Stanford student body; no one could tolerate a visiting player behaving so arrogantly on their turf.
Before long, this anger was directed at the Oregon Ducks.
Everyone hoped to see the Crimson team teach these uncivilized, boorish players a lesson on their own home court.
When this sentiment reached the basketball team, Scott and the others were incensed, eager to take the court and teach the Oregon players a lesson.
However…
Jamie Lin was worried.
The campus outrage had placed immense pressure on the team; they *had* to win to vent that collective frustration.
If they lost, that anger would turn against the team itself—everyone would feel the squad didn’t deserve their support or the title of “Stanford’s pride.” Yet, the reality was grim: Stanford was without its head coach and missing two key players, and they were vastly outmatched by Oregon; their chances of winning were slim.
Jamie Lin was on the verge of becoming absolutely furious.
Then, something happened that only made matters worse.
In an interview with Time Warner, Oregon’s star point guard, Brooks, confidently declared, “Without a doubt, I am the fastest player in the Pacific Division.
I watched Stanford’s last game, and the guy is fast—Magic Johnson even heaped undeserved praise on him.
I know…
a lot of people want to see a new star emerge.
But I’m going to prove in the next game that while some players only shine briefly, the name ‘Brooks’ will be etched in basketball history forever.” When asked for his thoughts on the Stanford team, he said, “Anything I say now would sound like kicking a man when he’s down.
But the facts are: their two key players are injured, and the head coach has even publicly announced he’s given up on the season to focus on recruiting high schoolers.
What kind of competition can you expect from them?
Let’s just try to put the game out of reach in the first half!” Brooks sounded completely sincere.
However, the Stanford students perceived this sincerity as sheer arrogance.
It was incredibly disrespectful!
And so, the Stanford Crimson team had to crush these arrogant hicks!