Ohio State University – Dorm Room 201
Lying comfortably on his bed, Su Pan was casually scrolling through the latest NBA news on his tablet, earbuds in, music playing.
As boredom kicked in, he stretched lazily, stared at the ceiling light, and sighed.
"All I did was step outside for a smoke… and I ended up time-traveling."
Even though it had been a while since his arrival, the whole thing still felt surreal.
Yes, Su Pan had a secret — he was a transmigrator.
On a rainy night, craving a smoke, he went downstairs to the convenience store. The next thing he knew, lightning struck — and when he opened his eyes, he had traveled back to 2015, now living as a chinese exchange student at Ohio State University.
At first, everything felt unfamiliar. But now, he had fully adapted to his new identity.
And like most protagonists in webnovels, he wasn't alone — he had a system.
[Basketball God – 10-Tier System]
To be honest, before all this, Su Pan had read plenty of basketball novels. He was well-versed in the whole "system + transmigrator = cheat code to greatness" trope.
Naturally, he started exploring what this system was all about.
The Basketball God system was exactly what it sounded like — a ten-level path to becoming a god on the court.
Each tier unlocked a new power or reward.
After adapting to his new life, the system finally allowed Su Pan to step onto Tier 1.
And the reward? It nearly made him choke on his drink:
A drop of essence blood from Pangu — the Primordial God of Chaos.
Yes, that Pangu — the mythological titan who split heaven and earth, whose eyes became the sun and moon, whose limbs turned into mountains and rivers.
Of course, this wasn't the full-strength version. This drop was an extremely watered-down, super-nerfed version — a 1-billionth-of-a-billionth kind of dilution.
After all, this was still the real world. If someone actually showed up who could pull stars from the sky or part the clouds with a flick, they'd be dissected in a lab — or worse, the scientists would just kneel and beg not to be stepped on.
Still, after absorbing that drop of blood, Su Pan's body changed dramatically.
He shot up to 7'1" (2.16m) in height, ballooned to 285 lbs (130kg), and his wingspan stretched to a monstrous 7'10" (2.4m).
Even more shocking — his strength, speed, vertical leap, and all-around athleticism skyrocketed.
Granted, he hadn't gone through any official combine testing yet, so the numbers were unknown.
But he was sure of one thing:
Given the chance, his raw talent would shake the entire basketball world.
Right as he decided to pursue a path in basketball, the system dropped his first mission:
...
[Main Quest: Lead Ohio State to win the 2014–2015 NCAA Championship.]
[Completion Reward: Unlock Tier 2 – Max-Level Post Scoring Skills]
Includes: Elite Footwork + Advanced Post Moves
...
Su Pan was speechless.
It was already mid-March 2015.
Ohio State had just finished their conference tournament a few days ago, and March Madness was about to begin.
And now the system expected him to lead them to a national title?
"I'm not even on the damn team yet!"
So, if he wanted to join Ohio State's roster this late, he'd need to take a… less conventional route.
That's when he remembered something:
In the 2015 NBA Draft, D'Angelo Russell was projected to be a lottery pick — and he was picked No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers.
And guess what? He just happened to be Ohio State's star point guard.
If Su Pan could impress Russel, maybe he could get an introduction to the coaching staff.
Russell, during his NCAA days, was a legit star. But the Buckeyes still didn't go far in March Madness that year—mostly because the team lacked a dominant center.
That's where Su Pan came in.
He was confident — no, certain — that he could win Russell over.
So he scouted out Russell on a local outdoor court — where he was busy showing off for a girl—and completely shut him down, showcasing his raw power in the paint.
Maybe too much power.
He accidentally shattered the backboard… and it fell on Russell's head.
That injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It convinced Russell that this monster of a man had to be on the team.
Su Pan was going to be their nuclear weapon in March Madness.
"Wonder how D'Angelo's talk with the coach is going…"
Su Pan lay back with his hands behind his head, one leg crossed, deep in thought.
"Maybe I should bring coach a gift? A wall calendar? Plasma TV?"
BANG!!
The dorm door suddenly burst open.
"Damn!"
Startled, Su Pan sat up, instinctively alert — this was America, land of daily shootings, after all.
But when he saw it was just Russell, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Dude, ever heard of knocking?"
Russell smirked.
"What, were you doing something private in there?"
Su Pan shot back,
"Not unless you count cross-stitching like you do."
But he couldn't wait anymore.
"So, how did the talk with coach go?"
Russell grinned.
"I told you—I want us to run this season together."
"I explained your situation to coach Holtmann. He's interested. You've got a tryout."
"And it's happening tonight."
Su Pan smiled in satisfaction.
He gave Russell a friendly slap on the shoulder.
"Nice work, bro. BBQ's on me tonight."
Russell rolled his eyes.
"You think a meal's enough? I want the net from this year's championship."
In the NCAA, there's a tradition — the winning team gets to cut down the net as a trophy.
In other words—
Russell's goal wasn't just to make noise in March Madness… he wanted the whole damn thing.
"Don't screw up your tryout," he added.
"Screw up?" Su Pan cracked his neck—pop pop pop—with the sound of crunching bones.
"Better tell coach to reinforce the backboard in advance."
Russell looked at Su Pan — his massive frame, the predator-like muscles, and the unshakable confidence.
In that moment, he realized:
Step aside. This man is about to steal the spotlight.