Advancing to the Elite Eight

The timeout ended, and Louisville's head coach stood nervously on the sidelines, a stark contrast to his earlier calm demeanor.

On the court, the game remained intense. While Jay's off-ball movement helped him avoid physical collisions on offense, defense was another matter entirely. Louisville continued exploiting their physical advantage, bulldozing Jay to the basket yet again.

This time, Randle rotated over to help, but Louisville quickly passed to an open teammate, who nailed an easy mid-range jumper. The score was now 5–2, with Louisville finally getting on the board.

As the game progressed, Jay's fluid off-ball movement allowed him to glide through the defense like a nimble deer, constantly finding openings to shoot or set up his teammates.

On offense, Jay thrived. Surprisingly, relinquishing ball-handling responsibilities made him more comfortable, freeing him to focus on creating threats in a way that felt almost effortless. His offensive impact was even greater than when he had the ball in his hands.

By the ten-minute mark, the score was 35–27, with Kentucky leading by 8 points. Jay had already scored 11 points and dished out 3 assists, leaving Louisville scrambling for answers.

Louisville's head coach was visibly stressed, his forehead slick with sweat. His voice was like a machine gun as he barked orders non-stop:

"Defense! Tighten up on defense! Where is your defense?! Get tough out there! Toughen up! Do you understand?!"

"Klass! Can you stop being so soft? You're like a cupcake out there! That Asian kid has already dropped 11 points on you! What are you even doing?!"

On the other sideline, Coach Calipari couldn't stop smiling, his expression reminiscent of the cheerful Colonel Sanders.

"Jay, great job. Keep it up, just like that—don't stop," Calipari said, clearly pleased.

"Got it, Coach," Jay replied with a smile, though the phrasing made his thoughts wander for a moment. Still, he couldn't deny that the coach's guidance had been a game-changer, elevating his impact on the court.

He decided not to overthink the wording.

After the timeout, Jay didn't immediately return to the court, sitting out while the Harrison twins led the second unit.

With two minutes left in the half, Jay checked back in. This time, Louisville's players kept a close eye on his off-ball movement, trying to anticipate his next move.

Seizing a moment of distraction, Jay suddenly drove into the paint. The interior defender stepped up instinctively to help, but Jay fired a sharp bounce pass between the defender's legs.

The ball zipped through with a slight breeze—cold and humiliating.

Kentucky's center caught the pass and slammed it home with such force it seemed like he might bring down the entire rim.

The arena erupted in cheers as the replay of the nutmeg pass and dunk played on the big screen, drawing another wave of gasps from the crowd.

The Louisville defender stood frozen, dazed. "Did I just get nutmegged?" he muttered.

The Louisville coach quickly subbed him out, worried the embarrassment might crush his basketball dreams.

Following Jay's brilliant pass and Kentucky's relentless offense, Louisville lost the will to fight. The game ended with Kentucky cruising to an 85–67 victory, comfortably advancing to the Elite Eight.

Jay played 30 minutes, finishing with an impressive stat line: 23 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. He shot 5-for-8 from three-point range, demonstrating remarkable efficiency.

Still, the familiar issue of stamina plagued him.

"Good thing we caught them off guard early. If it had come down to a tight finish, it might've been a different story," Jay thought, already considering ways to improve his endurance. "I've got to figure out how to boost my stamina or learn to manage it better."

Despite feeling drained, Jay celebrated with his teammates, cheering as they advanced to the Elite Eight. After all, as a man, he couldn't admit he wasn't up to the challenge. You know the drill.

As Kentucky wrapped up their game, the tournament's Elite Eight lineup was finalized. Kentucky's next opponent would be Michigan State.

The following morning, Jay groggily opened his eyes and stretched his aching body. "I need to pace myself better," he muttered. "Basketball's an intense sport, after all. Breaking double teams is exhausting."

He rolled out of bed, started making breakfast, and casually opened his system interface.

Host: Jay Sun

Layup: 60 (60)

Dunk: 48 (50)

Three-Point: 78 (80)

Mid-Range: 70 (70)

Dribbling: 60 (60)

Passing: 70

Perimeter Defense: 60 (60)

Stealing: 39 (40)

Blocking: 35 (35)

Rebounding: 45 (45)

Interior Defense: 37 (37)

Height: 195 cm

Wingspan: 203 cm

Dynamic Athletic Ability: C+ (C+)

Badges:

Corner Specialist (Silver): Moderately improves three-point stability and resistance to interference from the corners.

Catch and Shoot (Bronze): Slightly improves stability and resistance to interference on catch-and-shoot attempts.

Jay scanned the panel. Only three attributes—three-point shooting, dunking, and stealing—weren't maxed out yet. Seeing everything else maxed out filled him with motivation. The next template card was just within reach.

After finishing breakfast, Jay headed to the gym to focus on those three attributes. He was determined to fill out his stats and unlock the next card as soon as possible.

"Wonder who the next card will be? Maybe Twilight Kobe? Or Twilight Jordan? Either one works for me!" Jay grinned as he trained, dreaming about his future.

"Oh? That's Jay? Don't bother him—let him train. This kid's something special. Even after playing so well yesterday, he's right back to work. Looks like next year will be a breeze," Calipari said, watching Jay through his office window.

"True," an assistant coach replied. "But do you think Jay will declare for the draft this year? If he leaves, and Randle's definitely leaving too, we won't have it so easy next year."

Hearing this, Calipari paused for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Yeah. But a smart, hardworking player like him probably belongs in the NBA. We shouldn't hold him back. Let's focus on the present and leave next year's worries for later."

With that, Calipari turned his attention back to planning for Michigan State, hoping to take down the next formidable opponent.