Just as Xu Yong was making final preparations for the new season with the Devils, the first NCAA opinion poll of the new season was released.

Every year, the NCAA has big changes in team lineups. For example, last year's champion, the University of Kansas, announced its candidacy with almost its entire starting lineup after winning the championship, which meant that the talent accumulated over several years was cleared out at once. Although the Morris brothers and others have joined, the strength has obviously declined compared to last year.

Similarly, with the departure of Rose, the University of Memphis recruited top 3 high school students such as Tyreke Evans, but its strength is not as good as last year.

In this list, the University of North Carolina ranks first.

They had already accumulated talent last season, but lost to the University of Memphis in the semifinals. This season they added two five-star high school students, Ed Davis (9th) and Tyler Zeller (18th), and a quasi-five-star high school student, Larry Drew (44th).

As Jordan's alma mater, this volume is beyond reach.

Ranked second is Duke University, which has 12 four-star high school students, including 7 five-stars, even more than North Carolina.

Ranked third is UCLA. Although Love and Westbrook left, Darren Collison chose to stay. At the same time, they also recruited three five-star players and two quasi-five-star players from the 2008 class, including Jrue Holiday, who was ranked second. Except for the lack of experience, the talent is still very strong.

Ranked fourth is the University of Connecticut, which recruited Kemba Walker, a five-star high school student ranked 18th. Although there are only six four-star high school students, they are favored in the new season because they have an inside Optimus Prime like Hasheem Thabeet.

Also favored is Arizona State University, which ranks 9th on the list!

They were not on the list last year, but this year they are already in the top ten!

Such changes gave the Devils players a shot in the arm and also gave Sandek greater confidence and voice.

When it comes to arranging opponents for the invitational tournament, his thinking is not different from last year, it can only be said to be completely different.

This time, their opponents are basically on the survey list.

It is also worth mentioning that their opponent in the opening game is the University of Memphis, which is ranked 12th and eliminated them in the championship last season.

Sandek's arrangement is obviously meaningful. In addition to the close rankings of the two teams, he also wants the players to overcome the psychological barriers.

Of course, such an arrangement also puts pressure on the players. After all, if the Devil's team loses, the blow will be doubled.

However, as the saying goes, fortune and wealth are sought in danger, after a whole summer of training, Sandek is clearly very confident in his players.

The Devils fans are also full of confidence.

The opening game of the invitational tournament was played at home, and an hour before the game started, there were already crowds of people outside the stadium.

If they relied on derby games to gain popularity last season, they have completely suppressed the University of Arizona in the new season.

By the way, because Bayless chose to enter the NBA, it is the University of Arizona's turn to be absent from the list this year.

In the locker room before the game, the players of the Devils team were already eager to try.

As the captain, Xu Yong gave a mobilization speech before the game.

"The floor of Wells Fargo Arena will remember all the sweat we shed this past summer. Let's step onto this floor and embark on the journey of a new season, Devils!"

"come on!"

After raising their hands and cheering in unison, the players trotted out of the locker room together.

When they came out of the player tunnel, they were greeted by overwhelming cheers.

Xu Yong looked up and saw the fans waving their KT boards excitedly with fiery enthusiasm.

And in the center of the audience, he also saw some scouts in suits.

This is a different time now, because he and Harden were first-round prospects last season, plus Tyreke Evans from the University of Memphis, this game is enough to attract their attention even if it is just an invitational tournament.

Or to put it another way, from today on, every game they play will have an impact on their ranking!

The scene entered the opening ceremony, and the University of Memphis Tigers took the field first as the visiting team, and the starting lineup was also announced: No. 1 Willie Kemp, 1.88 meters tall, No. 20 Doniel Mack, 1.96 meters tall, Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier, and No. 0 Sean Taggart, 2.08 meters tall.

Roberts and Dorsey ran for the draft along with Rose, leaving only Anderson and Dozier in the starting lineup.

Moreover, after the opening ceremony, the camera kept focusing on Evans on the bench.

As the third-ranked high school student in the class of 2008, Evans' performance in high school can be described as "terrifying."

In his senior year, he averaged 32.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 4.3 steals per game, including two 50+ points. He also scored 21 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in the McDonald's All-American High School All-Star Game and was named MVP. He scored 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in the Jordan Classic Game, sharing the MVP with Brandon Jennings, the No. 1 high school student in the class of 2008. He was selected to the All-American First Team in the class of 2008 and was the Pennsylvania High School Player of the Year.

If it weren't for the rule that Stern had already made that players must be at least 19 years old to be eligible for the draft, Evans would have entered the draft last year and basically locked up the lottery.

Then, the University of Memphis didn't even arrange for him to start!

It is not known whether the head coach is being cautious or whether Evans has some physical problem.

The Arizona State Devils came on stage as the home team, and when they came out, the audience was cheered like a tsunami.

Fans are looking forward to the team's starting lineup and even playing style for the new season.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineup of the Devils team was announced: Harden, DeRozan, Cooksix, Xu Yong, and Ayres.

Instead of having DeRozan play as a substitute like in Memphis, Sandek moved Harden to the No. 1 position.

Moreover, the average height of this lineup reaches 2 meters, and it is really average. There is no one in the team who is less than 1.95 meters tall!

Regardless of how the game went, as soon as these five people stood on the court, there was an immediate sense of oppression.

Of course, such an arrangement also made the scouts confused and curious.

Harden is said to be a combo guard, but he plays as a shooting guard most of the time, and his assist-to-turnover ratio was very high last season. It is questionable whether he can be a point guard.

Moreover, his defense is very poor. When you add in DeRozan, whose defense is also criticized, the outside line is directly double-leaked.

While they were in this mood, Ayers took the lead in giving them a surprise. He jumped high and pushed the ball back to the Devils' half.

This veteran with the longest experience but the least talent in this devil team seems to be recovering at this speed?

Of course, that is impossible. It is more because of the hard training in the summer that Ayers is in very high condition.

Harden dribbled the ball forward, and the curtain opened on the Devils' first show of the new season.