Chapter 84 A Dislocation
Martin had absolutely no intention of forcing things, and he chose Gawain as the first singles player because Gawain's mental quality could withstand such pressure; at the same time, it was also because this was the most risky yet most ingenious move in the comparison of strength between the two sides.
Since he was going to disrupt his opponent's plan, he would start a big rebellion to completely disrupt the opponent's judgment and expectations. Most importantly, Martin's arrangement of Gawain to shoulder the heavy responsibility was not a blind disruption without a plan.
The USC Trojans' first singles player is Ray Sarmiento and the second singles player is Yannick Hanfmann.
The two players have very different styles. Saramento is also an Asian-American of mixed descent. He is not tall, but his defensive ability is outstanding. He covers the entire court, and he has a very good sense of the ball. His defensive quality is excellent. Last year, he was ranked outside the top 50 in the United States, but this year he has soared to seventh place.
Hanfman is a German student studying abroad. He is tall and strong with great strength, but he grew up training on clay courts, so his skills are not monotonous. He has many techniques and tricks on both offense and defense. Last year, he ranked around 30th in the United States, and this year he has reached 12th place.
It can be seen that Sacramento and Hanfman are both in a period of rapid growth, and are not inferior to Thompson, Gillon and others. Although their rankings in the United States may be higher, the overall strength comparison is almost the same and they are competing against each other.
Last season, Saramento was the Trojans' fourth singles player, but he was repeatedly promoted to the second singles and first singles positions as a surprise player. His overall performance was more wins than losses because his solid defensive ability did make opponents feel guilty. Offensive players are prone to making mistakes in consecutive offenses, and this is even more true for young players who lack offensive stability.
Sacramento and Giron played against each other three times last year, winning two and losing one; they met Thompson once and won.
Hanfman was already a regular at second and third singles last season. His aggressive and skillful style of play is indeed very competitive. Although he has no record of playing against Thompson, he was not at all inferior to the Bruins' last year's top singles player Dennis-Novikov who has graduated. He even won three consecutive games against Giron.
In other words, this is also a tough opponent.
This year, both Sacramento and Hanfman are continuing to grow and may be even more difficult to deal with.
In terms of tactical style, Thompson's full-court offensive style will have many variables when facing Sacramento. Because of the conflicting styles of play, Thompson will have a harder time. Of course, the specific performance still depends on the on-the-spot performance.
Similarly, Giron is also a weak opponent against Hanfman due to their opposing playing styles. From a purely theoretical perspective, he is also at a disadvantage. I'm afraid Giron needs to burst out with his inner strength.
Compared to ranking numbers, style conflicts are the most fatal.
In Martin's original plan, he actually wanted Gillon to play against Sacramento and Thompson to play against Hanfman, so that both games could return to a balance - but the question is, will the Trojans obediently not change their formation?
Moreover, the deployment of Thompson and Gillon in which they swapped positions was too simple and lacked variety, making it easy for the Trojans to catch them.
Martin then thought of Gawain.
Gowen's style of play has advantages against Sacramento, and he can give it a try against Hanfman - now in the mini-matches within the team, Gowen's performance is getting better and better when facing power players like Thompson, and it is no longer one-sided as before, and he has many ways to deal with it.
If Gauvin is promoted to first singles, facing Sacramento, then Thompson will face Hanfman, and Gillon will face the Trojans' third singles Roberto-Quiroz.
By the way, Queiroz is also very strong. He has the upper hand against McDonald and Brymer, but Giron can turn the situation around.
In other words, in the most ideal situation, Gawain would be used to fight against the Trojans' first singles player, Saramento, while the second and third singles players would also be able to gain an advantage, and the difficulty of deploying the troops would suddenly become simple.
Even if the Trojans also change their formation, Martin's trick can bring more changes. In the top three singles, no matter which player Gao Wen faces, the Bruins can take more initiative in the close combat.
"Gawain will play the first singles", perhaps this can be a brilliant move to completely reverse the situation - of course, like Cowell, it is also possible that his cleverness may backfire. After repeated thinking, Martin made this decision.
But deep down, Martin was still a little uneasy. He didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing for Gawain and the Brown Bears.
How could Martin not know Grant's concerns?
However, Martin's personality is slightly different. Once he has made a decision, he will go forward courageously. As for the result, no matter what the situation is, he will face it calmly.
The Bruins are experiencing a new atmosphere because of Martin's bold adventure; at the same time, the Trojans are no exception.
"Hey, Ray!"
When Saramento arrived at the training ground as scheduled, there was a small group of reporters gathered at the door. There were not many, only three people. Compared with the attention the football team received, it was just a drop in the bucket. But all three reporters swarmed forward and easily surrounded Saramento.
"Lei, everyone is talking about the Bruins' freshman Gao. Maybe he'll play as a surprise player in the next game. What do you think?"
Saramento gave a polite smile and said, "I'm sorry, we have been concentrating on training. We don't need to worry about the news of other teams. As long as we focus on doing our best, we are confident that we can win any game."
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Just one short sentence can show Sacramento's emotional intelligence. He did not mention the Bruins throughout the whole process, but the words between the lines could convey his disregard for the opponents.
As a student at the University of Southern California, questions from the city's rivals are always the hottest focus. Sacramento has experienced it many times last year, and now he is much more at ease when facing it again. Even reporters who usually don't show up did not disrupt his composure.
The reporter immediately asked, "You mean, you haven't heard of Gao?"
Saramento did not answer, but just smiled and said, "I want to focus on myself." Then he pushed the reporter away and walked straight into the training ground.
The three reporters exchanged glances, unable to conceal their excitement. The news headline had already appeared:
"Saramento: I don't know Gao."
This piece of news is enough to push the atmosphere of the confrontation between the city's mortal enemies to a new climax. I'm afraid this Los Angeles derby will be a good show to watch.
Sacramento is serious, his goal is the national championship and to become a professional player. The NCAA is definitely not his destination. He has bigger ideals and goals and has no time to pay attention to the endless but fleeting "geniuses".
(End of this chapter)