"Hey, Martin kid, I gotta thank you. How'd you convince that stubborn old coot Bobby Knight?"

On the phone, Trump spoke in his distinctive raspy duck-like voice.

Bobby Knight was absolutely the classic white old-timer—conservative, stubborn, old-fashioned about etiquette, big on hierarchy, hot-tempered...

This old guy had once chewed out and made Isiah Thomas—the smiling assassin—cry, and he'd also reamed out a young God of Basketball—Michael Jordan—until he cried during the 1984 Olympics.

Let me digress a bit here.

Michael Jordan's rise to fame in the world of basketball probably came with the Dream Team men's basketball in 1992; that Olympics made Jordan's name echo far and wide.

He won the Olympic gold with the US Dream Team.

But actually, Michael Jordan also competed in the 1984 Olympics.

The US basketball roster back then: 1. Coach: Bob Knight, 2. Players: Alford, Ewing, Fleming, Jordan, Joe Kleine, Koncak, Mullin, Sam Perkins, Alvin Robertson, Wayman Tisdale, Jeff Turner, Leon Wood.

It was during the semifinals where West Germany's men's basketball gave the US team a lot of trouble, but in the end, the US national team won 78-67.

Coach Bobby Knight had a bad temper and ripped into Michael after the game for playing poorly.

And he told Jordan, "You little bastard should apologize to everyone; you dragged them down. It was their effort that saved you."

Jordan straight-up cried.

Then his words were debunked by his teammates at the time, Leon Wood and Sam Perkins. Sam Perkins wasn't just Jordan's national team teammate but also his UNC teammate.

Leon Wood said: "Michael did cry back then; I comforted him. Of course, it wasn't tears of weakness—it was self-blame."

Sam Perkins said: "Leon Wood was like Jordan's little brother back then; he patted his shoulder and told him not to be so upset."

Sam Perkins added: "I explained to Jordan too; it was just Bobby Knight's coaching style. He used chewing out to build team cohesion and fighting spirit, but Jordan thought the coach really hated him."

Jordan made plenty of people cry during his career; who'd have thought this guy got chewed out and cried himself.

By the way, earlier, Bobby Knight had publicly suggested that the top three teams in the 1984 NBA Draft pick Jordan.

"Draft him; you won't regret it."

Before Michael Jordan even played in the NBA, Bobby Knight had said: "He's the greatest basketball player I've ever seen."

You can see how sharp his eye was.

But the final results, as you all know: Houston Rockets picked Hakeem Olajuwon, Portland Trail Blazers picked Sam Bowie (and they've been mocked for it to this day), Chicago Bulls picked Michael Jordan third (two dynasties).

Rumor has it the Blazers' management, torn over who to draft, even called Bobby Knight, then head coach of the US men's basketball, for advice. They had this exchange:

"Bob, I don't know—should we draft Sam or Jordan?"

"Draft Jordan," the men's basketball head coach said.

"But our team needs a center right now."

"Then draft Jordan! And have him play center!"

Back then, the Blazers' management undoubtedly thought Bob Knight was crazy. At the time, Michael Jordan at UNC was just averaging 17 points a game; he hadn't shown that boiling dominance in the NBA yet—so in the end, they became the laughingstock.

Back to the main point.

Hearing Trump's confusion, Martin laughed and replied: "That hot-tempered old guy was indeed tough to deal with, but he was at a low point in his life. You know, the feud between him and Indiana University—they both needed a way to save face. I built them a ladder."

"Just that simple?"

"Just that simple."

Bob Knight, during his time coaching Indiana University's basketball team, won three NCAA championships for them, but ultimately fell out with the team and the school because of his bad temper. Fresh chapters posted on novᴇlfire.net

Both sides actually wanted to reconcile, but the school hoped Bob Knight would make the first move, and that stubborn old guy would never bow first.

Martin, from his other memories, knew about this and acted as a mediator, easily resolving it.

In fact, in the original timeline, the two sides reconciled around this time next year, with the school taking the first step.

"Haha, anyway, Martin, you did great." Trump's tone was a bit smug. "Kruz is out; I have no rivals left in the Republicans."

Martin heard the drift in the other's voice—this seemed to be one of Trump's traits: getting carried away when smug.

He reminded: "Winning the intraparty race is just the first step; Hillary is your ultimate enemy."

Trump heard the advice in Martin's voice but still smugly said: "Hillary? That woman has strong forces behind her, but let's be blunt—she's got big 'problems' in her past."

Martin was keenly sensitive; from the certainty implied in Trump's voice, combined with his memories of this year's election...

It was probably that big northern cold country about to make a move?

Hillary's "email" scandal was about to blow up.

And the day after Martin and Trump's call.

The other Republican candidate, Ohio Governor John Kasich, also announced on May 4th that he was suspending his campaign.

In his speech, he said: "I've always said God has other plans for me, and for everyone. Though I decided to withdraw from the race today, I still have a deeper faith, believing God will show me the path to fulfill my life's purpose."

Thus, Trump became the sole Republican candidate.

The New York Times pointed out that in this election full of personal attacks, Kasich had always maintained a sunny demeanor—rarely mentioning rivals, let alone launching personal attacks.

Before the New Hampshire primary, Kasich had rarely called himself the "prince representing light and hope."