After a few days of training, Carter already showed some star qualities when handling and passing the ball, often executing some impressive and intricate plays with Duncan during intra-squad scrimmages. Duncan was the same; his court vision was even a bit better than Carter's. As long as Wally Szczerbiak and Raja Bell could get to their spots, he could always deliver the ball to them in time. During team practices, Duncan often led the team in points, rebounds, and assists. On the other hand, the team's other starter, Stephen Green, wasn't given any specific tactical requirements by Eric Turner; he was simply asked to act as a moving fortress, setting screens for his teammates' cuts. Eric Turner figured that even if he wanted Stephen Green to participate in the offense, he probably couldn't do it.

"Finally, you can see some patterns emerging. Their fundamentals are solid, and they're improving quickly," Mark Allen said with a smile to Eric Turner as they both stood on the sidelines.

"Don't be too quick to praise them. The intensity of training is nothing compared to a real game. They look good now, but maybe they won't be able to use any of this in an actual match. And don't you think their pace during these plays is too slow?"

"Too slow?" Mark Allen looked thoughtfully at the players practicing on the court and nodded silently. It was indeed as Eric Turner said: the players' coordination was fine, but the pace was too slow. In a real game, the opponents wouldn't give you so much time to think about how to coordinate, nor would they just stand there and watch you execute your plays. The correctness of the play is important, but the speed of execution is just as crucial. In a regular game, if you have 2 seconds to take a shot, maybe your shooting percentage could be over 70%, but in a real match, will anyone really give you 2 seconds to get a shot off?

After thinking this through, Mark Allen lost his earlier optimism and actually looked even more worried than Eric Turner.

"Don't worry, this is just the beginning. The road is taken step by step. Reaching this level already is quite good. I believe they'll only get better in the future," Eric Turner said with a smile.

After hearing this, Mark Allen relaxed a little, but as soon as he thought about the upcoming new season, he tensed up again. The team needed time, but how much time would this Chinese coach have? Maybe he'd be dismissed before the team even took shape.

The first game of the new season saw Wake Forest facing the University of Connecticut Huskies, a team that made the NCAA Elite Eight last season. Wake Forest Demon Deacons, on the other hand, were a Sweet Sixteen team last year. Both teams were among the NCAA's top programs, and this matchup attracted a lot of attention.

Facing UConn, Eric Turner took it very seriously. He really wanted to use the Dynasty System to check out this team, but seeing that he only had 40 Dynasty Points left, he was powerless—scouting a team required 100 Dynasty Points each time.

This game was held at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, which is Wake Forest University's home court. The coliseum isn't far from Wake Forest University, just to the southeast. Next to the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum is another arena, the BB&T Field.

What surprised Eric Turner was that, even though this was just a regular exhibition game, the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which can hold over 14,000 people, was more than 90% full. Looking around, it was a sea of people. This attendance rate really shocked Eric Turner; in his previous life, when Zhejiang's youth team played Guangdong's youth team, the number of fans never exceeded 100. But that wasn't all—among the crowd, he also spotted the president of Wake Forest University and the chief secretary, Miss Nice, sitting right among the fans.

"Is that our team's new head coach? Why does he look so young?"

"I don't know. I heard he took over after Mr. Parker resigned."

"Damn, what was the president thinking, letting such a green kid lead the team?"

For a moment, boos echoed throughout the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and the president sitting among the fans looked quite embarrassed.

"Zhuang, don't mind them," Mark Allen said worriedly, glancing at Eric Turner beside him.

Eric Turner shook his head lightly, signaling that he was fine, but his tightly clenched fists betrayed his true feelings. Mark Allen could only sigh helplessly.

For this game, Wake Forest's starting lineup was center Duncan, power forward Stephen Green, and on the perimeter: Carter, Wally Szczerbiak, and Raja Bell as a trio.

This game had to be won, Eric Turner vowed to himself. Only by doing so could he silence the doubters.