NBA: Warrior godfather.

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Stevens continued:

"Liam, I know you've been working hard to coach an NBA team and have made a lot of preparations for it. We all know that in the NBA, superstars are everything because the NBA's competition system allows them the time to adjust and find their form. The seven-game, best-of-four series in the playoffs is designed so that the stronger team always advances. Almost no team wins by luck."

"But the NCAA is different! You haven't experienced March Madness, but I have. In that tournament, everything is decided in one game—anything can happen. Many weaker teams have defeated powerful schools with surprise tactics or unexpected performances. That's why the NCAA has always been coach-centered; tactics are everything here!"

"You're relying too much on Stephen. Don't you think he's taking too many shots? We're not one of those weaker teams. At least in the Horizon League, the Bulldogs are a strong team! AJ and Drew were both selected to the Horizon League All-Star Team last season, but they haven't even had much presence in these recent games. Does that seem reasonable? Everyone can see Stephen's potential, but he's still just a talented freshman, not yet a superstar. For us, reasonable tactics are more important than relying on one player. Liam, you are the core of the Bulldogs!"

Outside the quiet, empty stadium, Stevens' clear voice carried through the air.

When he finished speaking, after a long pause, Liam said softly:

"Thank you, Brad."

"What are you thanking me for? I was criticizing you," Stevens replied, his serious expression easing a bit. He knew that Liam had understood his point.

"Thanks for waking me up. Ever since Stephen joined the team, I got a little lost. I thought he could solve everything and forgot that he's just a freshman and about the unique nature of the NCAA," Liam took a deep breath and said sincerely.

"Then let's go," Stevens smiled and started walking, gently pulling Liam in another direction.

"Hey, where are you going? This isn't the way back to my apartment!"

"I know. This is the way to the office."

"Why are we going to the office so late?"

"Of course, we're going to look at new tactics for when Stephen isn't in good form or when he's being heavily guarded."

"It's already almost 10:30 PM. Can't we think about it tomorrow?"

"No, I'm full of ideas right now and have a lot of things I want to discuss with you."

"Brad! I think you just want to take revenge on me!"

"Revenge? No, this is your punishment for losing the game!"

The two of them continued playfully bickering as they walked farther and farther away, their voices fading into the night breeze.

…

The next day, Liam and Stevens showed up at the team's practice with dark circles under their eyes.

The aftermath of yesterday's crushing defeat hadn't yet dissipated, and the atmosphere within the team was heavy with tension. Even Julian Beko, who was usually always joking around, was silent. The entire practice session was carried out under this oppressive mood.

Curry was silently shooting three-pointers. Unlike yesterday, when he missed repeatedly, today his shots were landing accurately, and he kept moving further back, from right near the three-point line to two steps beyond it, maintaining a very high shooting percentage.

But his face was still tight with concentration, with no hint of a smile.

Liam walked up to Curry, watching him carefully. He noticed that Curry took more shots from specific spots on the floor—the same spots where he had missed three-pointers in yesterday's game.

Liam said nothing and slowly walked away.

The day's practice ended in a somber mood. Liam called all the team members together and began speaking slowly:

"I noticed that Stephen was practicing his shooting from the spots where he missed yesterday. The atmosphere in today's training didn't feel right. I know yesterday's game is still on your minds."

"Coach, I wasn't accurate with my shooting yesterday and let everyone down, which caused the team to lose the game. I'm sorry," Curry apologized.

"Even Jordan had bad performances sometimes; let alone you. Losing to Purdue University is not your fault but my responsibility," said Liam.

The players all looked up at Liam in surprise. Curry quickly said,

"No, Coach, the tactics you set were great. They gave me a lot of open shooting opportunities, but I just didn't make the most of them."

Liam looked at Curry, who was clearly full of self-blame, and shook his head, chuckling:

"Are we having a blame-sharing meeting now? You all want to take the responsibility upon yourselves. Don't worry—when you play badly in the future, plenty of people will spontaneously hold a meeting for you."

"Meeting?" Curry was a little confused.

"You'll understand later," Liam said with a smile, recalling how brutal post-game meetings could get in his past experiences.

Curry was still puzzled by Liam's words, but before he could dwell on it, Liam shifted the conversation:

"Everyone has their off days, Stephen, but I didn't consider that. I put all my hopes on you without making any tactical adjustments, just hoping you'd recover. The loss in this game is entirely my fault, and I want to apologize to everyone."

After saying that, he bowed deeply to the players.

Everyone was stunned; they had never seen anything like this before.

In the NCAA, the head coach is usually the most respected person on the team. They have the final say in everything—from arranging offensive and defensive tactics to deciding the starting lineup. At most, they might discuss things with their coaching staff, but whether they accept the assistant coaches' suggestions is entirely up to them.

But here Liam was, directly admitting his mistake. It was something none of them had expected, and the room grew cold and quiet.

Liam straightened up, unaffected by the tension, and continued speaking:

"Of course, losing is normal. There's never been an undefeated team in the world, but I cannot tolerate losing because of basic mistakes. Coach Stevens and I are already designing new tactics to better integrate everyone into the team's offense. I expect you to train well and avoid making mistakes, or I won't go easy on you."

The players breathed a collective sigh of relief. This was more familiar—the Liam they knew was tough and demanding. He expected his tactics to be executed to perfection, and he wasn't afraid to criticize players if they didn't follow through.

But if his tactics didn't work, he would never blame the players.

"Basketball isn't a one-man sport. Teamwork is the real key to winning. No matter how good or bad Stephen is on any given day, we shouldn't pin all our hopes for victory on him alone. If we want to make it to March Madness, or go even further, we need everyone to contribute. Losing one game doesn't define us. We just need to win it back next time. I want to see you all smiling tomorrow. Understood?" Liam said.

"Yes, Coach!" the players responded in unison.

End of this chapter

Note: This novel as you see I changed the name and nationality, as such is more complicated translate it I hope you support.

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