Stevens' Heartbreak

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"What? The Bulldogs have only made it to the round of 16 once in their history, and this is Liam's first time as head coach. They are asking too much!" Stevens, who was walking by, heard the conversation between the two and looked very angry.

Micah Shrewsbury said helplessly,

"This is already for Lickliter's sake. The conservatives on the board insisted on hiring a new head coach for the next season, but the president rejected their request. However, they proposed instead that the team must enter the top 16; otherwise, the Bulldogs should not work with the youngest head coach in NCAA history. In their opinion, this is too crazy."

Stevens wanted to say something else, but Liam raised his hand to stop him.

"I understand. I will try my best," Liam's voice was a little heavy.

He hadn't expected that the situation he would face would be so bad. A rookie head coach had to lead the team into the NCAA top 16 in his first year of coaching. This was even more difficult than a rookie coach leading an NBA team to the conference finals in their first season.

NBA teams can rely on trades and draft picks to instantly put together a strong lineup. There are too many powerful teams that have fallen into decline for ten or twenty years and returned to the top with a trade, and too many weak teams have reached the top of the league with a successful draft. However, an unremarkable NCAA team can only recruit the remaining high school students from those powerful schools, so the possibility of becoming a dark horse is very low.

Micah patted Liam on the shoulder:

"Lickliter thinks highly of you. I believe in your ability. Just go for it."

"I will never let Coach Lickliter's efforts go to waste," Liam said solemnly.

Liam understood that the reason why Micah Shrewsbury was so inclined towards him had a lot to do with Lickliter. Without his recommendation, even if Liam was very capable, he would not have become the head coach of the Bulldogs.

"Micah, let's get those directors to come to the Bulldogs to form a joint meeting. They probably think that getting into March Madness is as easy as opening a bottle of wine worth tens of thousands of dollars," Stevens said with a gentle smile on his face, as if he were making a sincere suggestion. "Liam and I will be responsible for picking up the balls. Let's see how those old guys lead the team into the tournament."

Liam glanced at the director of basketball operations in shock, but instead of reprimanding Stevens, Micah laughed:

"Brad, I will pass this suggestion on to the principal."

"Then it seems that I will resign tomorrow. You guys can chat first..." Stevens shrugged and suddenly turned around and shouted, "Julian, slide, understand? Don't let me see your clumsy steps again!"

He caught a glimpse of Julian Beko making a mistake during defensive training out of the corner of his eye and walked straight over to guide Julian Beko's training.

"Liam, the team is now in your hands. I will give you all the power that a head coach should have," Micah walked to the entrance of the arena and whispered in Liam's ear, "But the team hasn't tasted victory for too long. I must see a breakthrough. Otherwise, not only will your position be in jeopardy, but those conservatives will also not let this go. Many people will be implicated, including me."

Liam narrowed his eyes and thought to himself:

"It seems like there are a lot of things going on behind my taking over as head coach."

But if you think about it carefully, you can understand that given his skin color, age, and nationality, it can be said to be a miracle that he became the head coach of the Bulldogs. It was the result of many coincidences.

Coach Lickliter's strong recommendation, the struggle between the conservatives and the left on the Butler University board of directors, and, of course, most importantly, his ability to coach a team—all these factors were indispensable.

"Please rest assured that I will not let you and Coach Lickliter down. Within three years, I will bring an NCAA championship trophy to the Bulldogs." Liam's voice was soft but firm.

Micah Shrewsbury was stunned, then burst into laughter:

"I'm looking forward to the day when the Bulldogs win the championship, but your primary goal right now should be the round of 16."

He admired Liam's determination, but this goal was too exaggerated. The Bulldogs had never achieved it in history, and they couldn't even think about it. He didn't think Liam could do it.

Liam knew that Micah Shrewsbury did not take his words to heart and did not say anything more. When sending him out of Hinkle Arena, Liam whispered:

"Micah, I have something to ask you..."

After Micah left, Liam continued to guide the team's training. To be precise, he watched other assistant coaches guide the team's training. His eyes mainly stayed on Stevens' back.

When Liam was an assistant coach, he was primarily responsible for the team's offensive tactics, which was also the area where he had the most thorough research on basketball tactics. The team's defensive tactics were handled by Brandon Miller, Terry Johnson was responsible for guiding the players' techniques, and Stevens was more like a jack-of-all-trades, serving as the team's first assistant coach. He was responsible for a little bit of everything and was the glue between everyone and Lickliter.

In the memories left by Liam's original body, Stevens was the most prestigious assistant coach in the Bulldogs. He came to Butler University in the summer of 2000 and became a basketball volunteer without any salary. The conditions were very difficult.

But he persisted, seized the opportunity to get the position of basketball operations coordinator, spent 14 hours a day watching game videos and studying tactics, and soon won the appreciation of Lickliter. He became an assistant coach in 2001 and the team's first assistant coach in 2003, a position he has held to this day.

Liam only became an assistant coach for the Bulldogs two and a half years ago, later than juniors like Julian Beko and Mike Green.

From any perspective, Stevens is the best candidate to take over as head coach.

Just now, Liam asked Micah why they did not choose Stevens. Micah told Liam that although Lickliter recommended him, the board's first choice was still Stevens. However, during the investigation by the basketball operations department, Stevens strongly supported Liam, which made the board give up the idea of letting Stevens be the head coach.

"Okay, let's take a break!" Stevens clapped his hands and shouted loudly.

The players, who had trained hard for half a day, walked to the sidelines with a sense of relief. The training arranged by the coaching staff was very intense, and everyone was sweating profusely, but they could not drink a lot of water after the intense exercise, so they could only pick up energy drinks and drink them in small sips.  

Liam walked to Stevens. He finally understood why Stevens was so thin in his previous life. The coach, who liked to demonstrate technical moves to the players in person, was now soaked in sweat. Rivers, Thibodeau, Stan Van Gundy, and other big bellies would definitely point fingers at the players while they were training and would never go on the field to demonstrate.

Of course, when Liam thought so, he forgot that he was not even as good as these people. During the entire training process, he just watched from the side.

"Brad, thank you for your hard work," Liam took a bottle of Gatorade and handed it to him.

"It's far from enough to get into the round of 16," Stevens took a sip of his energy drink, looked at the laughing players, and whispered.

Liam was silent for a while before speaking:

"Brad, the school board clearly supports you to take over the position of head coach, and Micah would not have any objection either, so why do you support me?"

"Are you scared? Worried that you can't lead the team into the round of 16?" Stevens chuckled.

"Would I be scared? Not only will I lead the team into the top 16, but I will also bring a championship to the Bulldogs!" Liam said in a loud voice.

This is a must for his goal, and he is confident that he can do it.

"First, make sure you're still the head coach of the team next year."

"..."

Liam was very puzzled. He had also watched Stevens' interviews in his previous life. His answers were decent and gentle. Why were his words so hurtful now? Or was this his true nature, and his gentleness was just a disguise?

Liam said seriously,

"No matter what, I hope you can do your best to help me. You know, my goal is the NBA. I can't stay here for long. When the time comes, you will be the only one who can take over the position of head coach."

Stevens smiled:

"In that case, why should I help you? If the Bulldogs don't make it to the round of 16, I can become the head coach of the team next season."

"Uh..." Liam was stunned and speechless for a moment.

But he saw the teasing in Stevens' eyes, reacted, punched Stevens on the shoulder, and said with a smile:

"Don't be ridiculous. I know you are not that kind of person. You won't sacrifice the interests of the team."

Stevens' expression straightened up.

"Since you know that, why are you asking? It was Coach Lickliter who gave me the opportunity. He recommended you, so of course, I will do my best to help you."

Moreover, I see my own shadow in you—hard-working, diligent, and regarding basketball as life... I believe you will lead the Bulldogs to create miracles.

Stevens added silently in his heart that given his personality, he would never say these words out loud.

Liam breathed a sigh of relief. Stevens' support was the primary condition for his coaching success.

He looked at the players, his eyes slowly moved upwards, looking directly at the dome of the arena, and slowly said:

"Brad, I hope we can stand on the stage of the NBA Finals together."

Stevens had revealed in a previous chat with Liam that he also wanted to experience the NBA.

"I will, but I'll be standing opposite you," Stevens said seriously.

The two looked at each other and laughed in unison.

…

After the afternoon training, Liam went to the school cafeteria to eat and then returned to his apartment.

His apartment was on the third floor and was only 60 square meters, but it was more than enough for one person.

After entering the room, a strange smell, mixed with rotten food and smelly socks, hit Liam's nose, causing him to hold his breath in a hurry. He only breathed a sigh of relief after opening all the windows in the room.

He knew the apartment wouldn't be very clean, but he didn't expect it to be so dirty!

Note: This novel as you see I changed the name and nationality, as such is more complicated translate it I hope you support it.

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