Kentucky's shooting guard bricked a three-pointer, but it didn't matter.
Because while Reeves was fighting hard for the rebound, the moment he left his feet, an impossibly long arm emerged from the other side and effortlessly plucked the ball out of the air.
He turned around. Sure enough—it was the fresh-faced freshman Anthony Davis.
Land.
Pivot.
Launch.
BOOM.
Three savage two-handed dunks, completed just like that.
The Wildcats were demolishing the Bruins' interior, exactly as everyone had predicted before the game.
Fortunately, UCLA had their own weapon that Kentucky couldn't handle.
Yuuto posted up and received the ball. Everyone else spread the floor to maximum spacing.
"Don't let him shoot easily!" Calipari shouted from the sideline.
Kentucky's defensive scheme against Yuuto was meticulously prepared. Marquis Teague anchored the perimeter, prioritizing contest over anything else.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was ready to rotate at any moment—if Teague couldn't contain him, Davis would be waiting in the paint as the last line of defense.
Their defense was layered, ensuring someone was always in Yuuto's face.
The instant Yuuto caught the ball, he exploded into motion. His absolute speed combined with the Demon Eyes meant Teague could never get into proper defensive position.
Over seventy thousand fans in the arena watched Yuuto streak toward Kentucky's defense like a beam of light.
One step past Marquis. Kidd-Gilchrist rotating to help. A spin fake, then an immediate fadeaway jumper launched over the outstretched arms.
The ball was through the net before Davis even arrived.
"All you do is throw darts from the outside?" Davis sneered, clearly frustrated. He'd been planning to make a statement this possession, but Yuuto had simply ignored his teammates and pulled up.
"You had that much space and didn't shoot?"
Marquis and Michael exchanged confused looks.
We were in his face the whole time. Where was this "space" he's talking about?
This guy was unbelievably arrogant.
Davis's unibrow twitched with rage. "You better pray those darts keep finding the target."
The "projected number one pick" label was never a blessing—it was a shackle.
It meant you had to become the brightest star of your generation. It meant countless eyes would watch your every move, waiting for you to stumble so they could pile on.
But young men never cared about such things.
Youth was meant for swagger, and Davis wasn't afraid of any challenge.
If anything, having his draft position threatened only made him play harder, more explosive—he'd prove himself and reclaim what was rightfully his.
The moment Yuuto threatened his spot, they became bitter rivals despite having never met before.
SMACK!
The Bruins quickly encountered their first major problem.
Mosely's open layup was swatted away by Davis.
How terrifying was his rim protection?
In their game against South Carolina, Davis had gone 9-for-10 at the rim for 22 points, demolishing their interior.
But what truly shocked everyone was his 8 blocks that game—a feat that shattered Shaquille O'Neal's freshman record for the Southeast Region.
The Wildcats' transition offense arrived immediately.
Davis hit the floor and found a teammate. Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis were already sprinting downcourt.
Yuuto recovered quickly, but facing a 2-on-1 in transition, he couldn't stop Kentucky's fast break.
This was the Wildcats' preferred tempo.
They didn't rely on Davis posting up and grinding—they turned defense into devastating transition offense.
The second overall pick's physical gifts meant even Yuuto had to pick his battles.
UCLA continued feeding Yuuto. Nearly every possession ran through him.
After several exchanges, his Weakness Correction talent finally triggered.
This time, he chose to challenge Davis directly.
An extreme fadeaway, but he couldn't escape that impossibly long arm, practically in his face.
What a freak of nature. Yuuto cursed internally. If this were Kobe or Jordan, it would've been a bucket.
But he still had talents like Acrobat.
The crowd watched in disbelief as Yuuto, seemingly with no space to shoot, contorted his body mid-air. His upper body and head simultaneously twisted away from Davis's block, finding just enough clearance to release the ball.
It went in.
"My God!"
Basketball had existed for over a century, yet they were seeing moves that defied imagination.
"That core flexibility is insane! I'm guessing one partner isn't enough for Yu—his minimum is two!" Duff couldn't help but make a crude joke.
Momoi and Sora heard it from the stands, their faces instantly flushing red.
Well, he's not wrong...
The pro-Kentucky commentator beside Duff was too stunned to respond.
Only Davis reacted differently, shouting, "Lucky shot!"
It did require some luck.
But in basketball, many spectacular moments couldn't happen without a little fortune.
...
"I heard you played guard in high school. I bet you couldn't make shots like that."
Yuuto's trash talk came free of charge.
Davis's growth trajectory was the stuff of legend.
As a high school freshman, he stood just 6'0". By sophomore year, he'd grown to 6'1".
Back then, he wasn't anything special. But senior year? Everything changed.
In just one summer, he shot up to 6'6". By graduation, he'd reached 6'10".
That growth curve transformed him into an absolute monster.
He'd played two years as a perimeter player—even as a senior, his position leaned toward the wing. But in college, he was forced to transition to power forward.
His technique couldn't evolve overnight.
Thus was born a freak of nature: a player with an interior body but perimeter skills. In that final high school season, Davis averaged 32 points, 22 rebounds, and 7 blocks per game.
Absolutely ridiculous.
...
Back to the game.
Midway through the first half, Courtney Lee began making his move.
The shooting guard prowled near the right corner three-point line, then suddenly backdoored his defender to get open.
The opportunity materialized. Marquis immediately delivered the pass.
However.
At that precise moment, Yuuto's incredible vision and anticipation allowed him to intercept the ball mid-flight.
Marquis and Courtney Lee couldn't react in time. Yuuto had already grabbed the ball and was sprinting downcourt.
Powell and Mosely broke into full-speed fast breaks, their chemistry seamless.
Even with Kidd-Gilchrist's quick recovery, they couldn't prevent the numbers advantage.
Yuuto drew the defense, then immediately found Powell, who finished with an easy layup.
On the ensuing possession, Marquis learned his lesson. He used a screen to quickly swing the ball to Courtney Lee.
Lee caught and immediately rose for a textbook pull-up jumper—only to find Yuuto materializing out of nowhere to reject him.
"Unparalleled defensive ability!"
"AD is destroying the Bruins inside, but Yu is equally dominant on the perimeter!"
Yuuto and Davis's offensive brilliance had already captured everyone's attention, but their defensive impact seemed just as extraordinary.
Now people finally understood why the draft experts had these two in their own tier.
These two-way superstars didn't just have All-Star ceilings—they had superstar potential written all over them.
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"