The game ended.
UCLA was crowned the 2011-12 Pac-12 Conference Champions.
Yuuto was named Conference Tournament MVP.
McMillan rose from his seat.
The results were in.
No need to wait for March Madness—he was now certain Yuuto was exactly who the Blazers needed.
He'd come tonight specifically to evaluate Yuuto, to see if he was worth Portland going all-in.
The NBA Draft hadn't even started yet, but McMillan felt like he could already see the future.
"Yu is not even 19 yet, but his skill, talent, and maturity are enough to make him the cornerstone of a championship contender."
"But we'll need at least the second pick to have a shot at him."
As things stood, the most likely first overall pick remained Anthony Davis.
This big man—who'd played perimeter in high school before shooting up to 6'10"—possessed interior size with guard-level skill.
That background made the Brow a monster everyone coveted.
From the start of this NCAA season, Anthony Davis had never fallen out of the top three in mock drafts.
Moreover.
Though Jordan had ushered in the era of perimeter dominance, NBA teams still fundamentally preferred big men.
Whenever a draft featured generational bigs like Shaq, Duncan, Oden, Howard, or Davis, nine times out of ten they'd go first overall.
Add in Yuuto's skin color—which many simply didn't trust—
So.
If the Blazers wanted Yuuto, they'd need at least the second pick.
But that was complicated.
The NBA regular season was about to end. Even if Portland wanted to tank now, it was too late.
The NBA Draft Lottery was theoretically random, but probabilities mattered.
Take the 2024 76ers—the sixth-worst team in the league—who won the lottery.
A bottom-six team had roughly 9% odds of winning the top pick, about 21% for top four, and 60-70% for top six.
The three worst teams each had 14% lottery odds.
Historically, teams around sixth-worst typically ended up with picks around sixth.
That was Portland's most likely scenario. They were only sixth-worst in the West, not the entire league.
Even if they tanked hard the rest of the way, their best outcome was still around the sixth pick.
So.
Ultimately, the Blazers would need to trade for a higher pick to get Yuuto.
Of course, there was one thing McMillan could do right now.
Pray that Yuuto's March Madness performance was as disappointing as possible—ideally an early exit.
Otherwise, Portland would pay a massive price.
"It's not even supposed to be a great draft class, yet getting a pick is this difficult..."
McMillan shook his head.
Meanwhile, Yuuto.
He wasn't overthinking it. Winning the Pac-12 championship had been the Bruins' goal from day one.
Now.
That trophy sat right in front of them.
They were conference champions, entering March Madness as the Pac-12's top seed.
Without Yuuto's 37 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists, 5 steals, and 4 blocks tonight, none of this would've happened.
Mosely and the others knew this.
The moment the final buzzer sounded, they swarmed Yuuto in wild celebration.
Steve stood on the sideline as reporters from across the country shoved microphones toward his mouth.
It felt surreal.
A few months ago, he was a coach worried about losing his job. Now, seemingly overnight, he was a championship coach.
"Coach Steve, what do you think got the Bruins to this point?"
"Yu. Is there any question?"
Steve glared at the reporter.
Of course it was some idiot from the Associated Press—a media outlet whose only contribution was giving casual fans a chance to vote on the Top 25.
But he kept those thoughts to himself.
Out loud, he said, "It's the hunger for victory. Like Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said: 'Never underestimate the heart of a champion.' And we—every single member of the Bruins—have that kind of heart."
"Yu delivered a dominant performance tonight. Will he enter this year's draft?" the reporter continued. "Also, we noticed your mentor Coach McMillan was here today. Was he specifically here to watch Yu? Did you facilitate any contact between him and the Blazers?"
Obviously I did, but since you know I won't admit it, why even ask?
Do you think I'm an idiot?
"My mentor came today purely as a fan. Nothing more."
"Really nothing else?"
"Absolutely nothing. He's a renowned gentleman—he'd never do anything that violates sports ethics. I can guarantee that."
"As for whether Yu will enter this year's draft—I believe he will. The sky is his limit. But I won't interfere with his decision. A mature man takes responsibility for his own choices."
"You got eliminated in the Round of 32 last year. Many questioned your coaching ability, saying you were the reason the Bruins lost. Any response?"
"Of course. I'm not questioning the NCAA tournament format—in fact, I love it. Full of unknowns and challenges. Fans enjoy the excitement."
"I have nothing to say. It's March Madness—anything can happen."
Steve certainly wasn't going to admit his coaching had caused the loss.
He blamed the tournament format instead.
"Those who doubt me can just wait and see what happens this March."
Steve spoke with absolute confidence.
Where did that confidence come from?
From the genius who wouldn't fall past the third pick—Yuuto.
If they'd had Yuuto last year, how could they possibly have been eliminated in the Round of 32?
Impossible.
As for Yuuto.
Reporters found him too.
His interview was far more explosive than Steve's.
"I'm proud of everything we did tonight. We didn't just beat our opponents—we overcame some factors beyond the court."
"Are you referring to those questionable calls early in the second half?"
"I didn't say that. But those calls were definitely unprofessional. They caused us a lot of trouble. Fortunately, we overcame them."
Yuuto directly blasted the refs in his post-game interview.
This youthful defiance was the complete opposite of his composure on the court.
Only then did reporters remember—he was just a freshman, not a professional athlete.
"Anything you want to say about the upcoming March Madness?"
"I'm looking forward to it. And I hope we won't see tonight's kind of unfairness there."
"But the foul counts and free-throw numbers were equal between UCLA and Oregon tonight."
The reporter was baiting Yuuto for more material.
Yuuto wasn't stupid—he knew exactly what the reporter was angling for. But he was genuinely disgusted by tonight's officiating.
So instead of stopping, he continued: "That's exactly how clever they are. They always give you some candy once the result is decided, hoping you'll forgive and forget the damage they did earlier."
"What's even more ridiculous is that casual fans who don't watch the games will point to post-game stats to help cover up this injustice."
"But if they think this can stop me, they're dead wrong. I've been in this country for three years now. The unfairness I've faced is more than you can imagine."
"Because my skin color stands out here. A lot of people see me and bring up Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. They project their assumptions onto me and think it's humor."
"But I've still proven myself—through basketball, not anything else. Just like I did tonight."
After saying this, Yuuto turned and walked away, leaving the reporters stunned.
He'd elevated the refs' bad calls to racial discrimination.
Because if he didn't, that damn head ref would get off scot-free.
He'd just admit his "mistakes," wait for fans to forget, and that would be that.
Yuuto wasn't having it.
Besides, racial discrimination was an extremely sensitive topic in America—it would draw massive public attention.
Simply put, Yuuto was about to generate enormous buzz.
He was going to make every American aware of this Asian prodigy guard.
...
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