Wang Chong had previously received a 1,000-point bonus from the novice gift package. After using all of them to accelerate the fusion of his template, his overall ability score soared from an initial 41 to 65.
Of course, the reason the improvement was so significant is mainly because the original overall ability score of 41 was indeed quite low. Even a slight increase in ability would result in a substantial jump.
The ability score in 2K is much like leveling up in a game. At the beginning, levels rise quickly, but as strength grows, the experience points required for upgrading increase, and leveling up naturally becomes more difficult.
Therefore, Wang Chong didn't have high expectations for the improvements that the 500 points could bring him. It would be great if his overall ability rating could surpass 70, but it wouldn't be surprising if it didn't.
After all, if improving his ability by gaining points were that easy, he would reach the maximum level in no time and start dominating the league.
But then again, after Durant entered the league, it only took him a few seasons to become one of the league's top superstars.
In his rookie season, Durant averaged 20 points and 4 rebounds per game. In his second season, those numbers increased to 25 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. By his third season, he was averaging 30 points and 7.6 rebounds, becoming the league's scoring champion that year. He continued to win the scoring title in the following seasons, establishing himself as the league's top scorer.
In this regard, Wang Chong has Durant's growth template and system assistance. Logically, his growth rate should be faster than Durant's.
Shaking his head, Wang Chong pulled himself back from his unrealistic fantasies. He would think about the future later. What was more important now was how to better improve his abilities so that he could compete with Anthony in the finals.
After some thought, Wang Chong decided to ask the system within his consciousness space: "System, can I actively choose the direction of growth for the accelerated fusion of templates?"
He was just asking tentatively, not expecting a response from the system.
But the next moment, the system's cold voice sounded in his ears.
"The host can perform targeted accelerated fusion based on the four basic attribute categories of offense, defense, awareness, and physical attributes."
Hearing this, Wang Chong was immediately overjoyed.
That's it!
Without hesitation, he said, "Use all 500 points to accelerate the fusion of the defensive template."
"500 points have been consumed to accelerate template fusion."
With the system's feedback, Wang Chong, who was staring at the data panel, noticed that his overall ability rating had improved.
It increased from 65 to 69.
The 4-point increase in ability value seemed modest compared to the previous jump from 41 to 65, but Wang Chong found that due to the specialized improvement, his defensive abilities saw considerable gains.
Previously, his defensive attributes were: 66 for rebounds, 48 for blocks, 44 for steals, 67 for perimeter defense, 62 for interior defense, 57 for positioning ability, and 67 for help defense ability.
After the system's accelerated fusion of templates, his attributes had become 72 for rebounding, 60 for blocks, 47 for steals, 81 for perimeter defense, 69 for interior defense, 71 for positioning ability, and 77 for help defense.
Not only that, but Wang Chong also noticed that even defensive awareness and help defense awareness, which are usually categorized under basketball IQ, had increased from 67 and 65 to 75 and 73, respectively.
This made sense. While these abilities are related to basketball awareness, they ultimately impact defensive capabilities. It was only natural that they improved as his defense got better.
Wang Chong had a plan in mind when he decided to enhance his defensive ability.
Even if he had used all 500 points to boost his offensive skills, they wouldn't have been enough for him to surpass Anthony in scoring. Therefore, Wang Chong figured the best solution was to limit Anthony on the defensive end, which could also fulfill the mission requirements.
As luck would have it, the system had just given him the Death Coil badge, which embodied superb defensive capabilities. Wang Chong believed he could try to use this badge in combination with his enhanced defensive skills, which had already reached an upper-middle level for the NBA, to lock down Anthony in the finals.
If he were facing Anthony who had already entered the NBA and received professional training, Wang Chong wouldn't even think about shutting him down completely.
After all, Anthony was a tough competitor who averaged over 20 points per game in his rookie season, and even many of the league's top defenders struggled to contain him.
However, this was still the NCAA. Although only a few months separated this stage from his entry into the NBA, the results could be very different.
There was definitely a significant gap between the current Anthony and the version a few months later when he had joined the NBA, participated in the Summer League and preseason, and honed his skills under the guidance of professional trainers and coaches.
In short, to complete the system's mission, Wang Chong racked his brain and thought of the most likely ways to achieve his goal. Now, everything was ready, and he was just waiting for the NCAA finals to begin!
The NCAA tournament, better known as the finale of March Madness, actually takes place in early April.
On April 7, 2003, the NCAA finals officially kicked off at the Superdome in New Orleans!
It truly was the most watched event in the United States, with even the NBA schedule giving way for the NCAA finals.
The atmosphere at the game was no less thrilling than that of an NBA match. The stadium was packed with fans, and the deafening roar made it almost impossible to hear anything around you.
Even Wang Chong, who had traveled back from the future, felt disoriented in such an environment. His head buzzed, as if everything was a dream.
The coach of Marquette University was shouting words of encouragement to his team, repeating the same things he'd said countless times before.
When the starting players were about to take the court, he looked at Wang Chong with concern and couldn't help but ask once more.
"Wang, are you sure you want to be in charge of guarding Carmelo? You've seen his game footage, and you know he's not an easy guy to handle."
Wang Chong nodded firmly. "Don't worry, coach. I've prepared thoroughly for this game, and I won't let you down!"
A few days ago, when the coach was still worried about how to handle Syracuse University's star player, Carmelo Anthony, in the finals, Wang Chong had volunteered to be responsible for defending Anthony.
This request completely caught the coach off guard. After all, Wang Chong had always played as a center or power forward on the team, positions quite different from Anthony's small forward spot. Even though Wang Chong had a comprehensive advantage in height and wingspan over Anthony, could he really defend him?
Although he was skeptical, the coach couldn't find another player more suitable for this task. Plus, Wang Chong's performance since the start of the NCAA tournament had been remarkable. He was practically a twin star with Wade at Marquette University and was a key contributor to their reaching the finals!
After some hesitation, the coach finally decided to grant Wang Chong's request, allowing him to guard the opposing star player in what could be Marquette University's only finals appearance for decades.
End of this chapter
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