The Golden Age of Basketball

() Gan Guoyang may not have thought that Jordan, like him, has been looking forward to this game for a long time.

As early as 1982, when Michael Jordan was still a freshman at the University of North Carolina, he saw a report about Gan Guoyang in a sports newspaper.

It was still in February, and Gan Guoyang was still playing in the Northern Division of the California Second Division League. At that time, Gan Guoyang showed his overwhelming strength in the knockout round.

Although the report was extremely biased, it was cynic and sarcastic towards Gan Guoyang's complexion, and had a clear tendency of racial discrimination.

But Jordan still showed a strong interest in a Chinese center who can kill the Quartet in California high schools.

He was under coach Dean Smith at the time, and every day Coach Smith would tell him in training, "You always have to remember that somewhere in this world, there must be someone who works as hard as you, or even harder than you." keep it up."

Inspired by Smith's words, Jordan practiced diligently. Whenever he felt that his training this year was enough, he thought that someone somewhere was also training hard, so he would continue to train until there was no more. So far.

I don't know why, but since reading that biased report, Gan Guoyang is often what Jordan thinks of during training.

He was always thinking about how much effort a yellow-skinned person would have to put in to succeed in basketball in a foreign country, and how talented he was.

Finally, in the 1982 NCAA Finals, Jordan won the championship for North Carolina with a lore, and the sweat he left on the training ground finally paid off.

By 1983, Jordan still paid close attention to Gan Guoyang's dynamics, thinking that he would eventually go to that university.

Later, he learned that Gan Guoyang had gone to UCLA. He thought that this Chinese man might inherit the mantle of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wharton there. He was very much looking forward to North Carolina's ability to compete with UCLA in the NCAA National Championships.

Unexpectedly, Gan Guoyang left UCLA and switched to the little-known Gonzaga University, which caused quite a stir in the college basketball world at the time.

Jordan also felt sorry for Gan Guoyang, thinking that such a center might be ruined by such a transfer. Not to mention the difference in reputation between the two schools, at least Gan Guoyang would not be able to play for a year.

After the championship season in 1982, North Carolina's small forward James Worthy participated in the NBA draft and joined the Los Angeles Lakers as the No. [-] pick, which greatly reduced North Carolina's strength.

In the 1983 NCAA competition, the defending champion North Carolina Blue Devils lost to the University of Georgia in an 8-to-4 game.

In 1984, they took another step back and lost 16 to 8. They bid farewell to the NCAA in advance, and Jordan also decided to bid farewell to college and enter higher-level basketball games.

However, in 1984, Gan Guoyang ushered in the first pinnacle of his basketball career. He led Gonzaga University, which had never entered the NCAA National Championship, to enter the National Championship with an undefeated record.

Then he went all the way, shaking Georgetown, defeating the Kentucky Twin Towers, beating Houston, and reaching the top of the United States with a perfect winning season.

That year, Jordan won the Wooden Award, the Naismith Award, the Robertson Award, the Sports News National Best Athlete Award, the AP, UPI Best Athlete Award, and almost all the awards that NCAA players can get. .

But the final MOP, that is, the final-four best player, the final award, was undoubtedly taken away by Gan Guoyang.

For Jordan, this is unacceptable. He has been hit hard, but he is no longer willing to stay in ncaa, and he has no pursuit here.

He participated in the Olympic Games and participated in the NBA draft. He wants to prove his strength in a higher world.

After winning the gold medal in the Olympics, Jordan learned from his agent David Falk that Gan Guoyang would also participate in the 1984 NBA draft. The first goal is to compete with Gan Guoyang in the NBA.

After that, Jordan, who was originally unwilling to sign with Nike and wanted to sign with Adidas, chose Nike because Gan Guoyang would also sign with Nike, and his contract amount was higher than Gan Guoyang.

In the draft, Jordan was far away from Gan Guoyang. When he heard that the Blazers selected Gan Guoyang with the second overall pick, and Gan Guoyang became the second pick, Jordan couldn't help being disappointed again, and he lost again.

Although he knew for a long time that he should be selected by the Bulls with the third overall pick, he doesn't like to be always overwhelmed.

After the actual start of the NBA game, one of the things Jordan must do every day is to see if the Blazers have played that day after the game, and to see how Gan Guoyang is doing.

In the game against the Milwaukee Bucks in October, Michael Jordan scored 10 points, the highest score of that rookie class; and just a few days later, Gan Guoyang scored 37 points in the Los Angeles Great Western Forum, surpassing Jordan, Became the top scorer among 39 rookies.

For this reason, Jordan scored 33 people in the game against the Knicks, 27 points and 34 points in the game against the Pacers, holding his breath and wanting to surpass Gan Guoyang.

But this also caused him a lot of criticism, thinking that he played too independently, would not share the ball, and used high hands and low hits to score points.

Before the game against the Trail Blazers, the Bulls had just experienced a wave of 4-game losing streak, their winning percentage plummeted, and the pressure on Jordan gradually increased.

In contrast, Gan Guoyang's Blazers have won all the way. Under the training of Ramsey, Gan Guoyang has become more and more like an orthodox center, with excellent offense and defense, and quietly contributing to the team.

All this made Jordan eager to prove himself in this game. In the direct dialogue with Gan Guoyang, he led the Bulls to victory.

At the beginning of the game, Gan Guoyang always stared at Jordan intentionally or unintentionally. In fact, Jordan has also been paying attention to Gan Guoyang.

Therefore, Jordan began to use his breakthrough at the beginning to try to tear the Blazers' defense, and at the same time use the pass to drive his teammates to attack, laying a good tone for the game.

Jordan's breakthrough was so sharp, his technical level obviously surpassed the ordinary guards at that time, his pace control, direction changing ability, control ability, and his physical fitness all surpassed the times.

When basketball was first invented, basketball games were similar to football games. It was not total defense, but there were special defenders in the backcourt as defensive players, so the name "guard" came into being.

Afterwards, with the continuous improvement of skills and tactics, every player participated in the offense and defense, but the name of defender was still retained, and the tactical status of defender was also retained. They were only auxiliary players on the field. The core is the center forward.

This phenomenon has not been completely changed until the 60s. That is to say, defenders are subject to various restrictions, including dribbling, wrist flipping and whistles are extremely strict, so many players have practiced proficient one-handed dribbling and low-waisted advances.

Because changing hands and changing directions are often fouls.

In the 70s, this situation began to gradually change, especially in aba, more and more street elements poured into nba, until nba annexed aba, along with aba's various styles-including the three-point line.

In the 80s, various techniques on the perimeter finally began to explode, and the dribbling of defenders began to become more and more fancy, and at the same time, they were also unusually sharp, such as dribbling under the crotch, continuous change of direction, breakthrough steps, jump steps, and European steps. , The arsenal of outside players is gradually enriching.

Among them, Jordan is one of the representative figures in it. His super talent, coupled with the solid foundation he laid in college, allowed him to make any outside moves with such chic and lightness.

He always seems to be a beat or a half faster than anyone else, and by the time defenders try to keep up with him, Jordan is often already in the air.

"Keep distance, make him jumper! jumper! If he's going to drive, let him go left, don't put his right hand! Also, the main thing is to cut him off from the rest of the team, everyone keep to themselves The defender's focus, don't double-team easily, at worst we let him score."

At the end of the first quarter, Ramsey called a timeout. At this time, the score on the field was 25:25, and the two sides tied.

For the Trail Blazers, they are not at a disadvantage in every position. They rely on the personal abilities of Sampson and Vandeweghe in the offense. The Bulls have nothing to do with them.

But in defense, the Blazers also didn't have many ways to deal with Jordan, a rookie. Today he was like an angry bull, and he rushed to the Blazers' inside crazily from the very beginning.

It would be fine if he just made a breakthrough, but Jordan has already sent 4 assists in the first quarter, and the entire Bulls' offense was revitalized by him.

In comparison, Gan Guoyang played mediocre, he did not get too much offensive power, and the Bulls' center made him extremely unhappy.

In the last game against the Nets, Gominsky made Gan Guoyang a little dizzy during the offense. He really couldn't do anything about this kind of player who couldn't run fast or jump high, and relied on time difference and experience to play.

Today, facing the Bulls center, Dave Corzin, who is 6 feet 11 tall and weighs 250 pounds, a white center with a beard, Gan Guoyang once again realized what basketball oil is.

Kerzin's physical fitness and talent are mediocre, and like most white centers, he relies on consciousness and strength to make a living.

Although Gan Guoyang seldom went to the low post in the first quarter, Korzin did not let go of Gan Guoyang who supported him in the high post. Did he make some small moves when defending him, such as kicking his legs, pulling his clothes, and swinging his elbows? , Gan Guoyang was very annoyed.

Gan Guoyang, who has never been a fuel-efficient lamp, naturally took advantage of Kerzin's mouth, but Korzin really didn't move his hands, no matter how Gan Guoyang spat him trash, Korzin would not be moved.

If Kerzin didn't reply, it wouldn't be interesting for Gan Guoyang to spray alone.

In defense, Korzin is a complete blue-collar. He basically does not shoot without [-]% open positions. His main task is to cover, pick up leaks, and open the way for Jordan's breakthrough.

Gan Guoyang wanted to give Kerzin a big hat, but he had no chance.

Gan Guoyang finally began to realize the difference in style between the eastern team and the western team.

In the contest with the center of the western team, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Walton, Sikma, and Eaton are either long-established veterans or good friends of Gan Guoyang. In the contests, they are all head-to-head confrontations.

Gan Guoyang's win is justifiable, and his loss is also convincing.

And teams like the Nuggets and Suns play faster than the Blazers, and they don't compete with you at all. Half of Gan Guoyang's energy is spent on running back and forth.

In the east, compared with the west, the overall play is slower and more focused on positional offense, so the internal confrontation will be more intense and there will be more conflicts.

In the last game against the Nets, Gan Guoyang felt that it was different from playing in the West.

Playing against the Bulls today, Gan Guoyang really didn't know what to say when he met such an old-fashioned insider like Kerzin, not to mention his main focus on Jordan.

During Jordan's breakthrough, Gan Guoyang had three direct conversations with Jordan. The first ball was passed by Jordan for an assist, the second ball was directly broken by Jordan for a layup, and the third ball Gan Guoyang rewarded Jordan with a cap. .

It's a pity that the ball was picked up by Korzin, who was following up, and he made an easy layup under the basket.

Generally speaking, in the first quarter, both sides were relatively relaxed. Except for Jordan and Gan Guoyang who were holding back their energy, everyone else was in a tentative state.

Ramsey called a timeout because he thought it was time to adjust the lineup and let the main players come down and take a rest.

"No, I don't need to rest, let me stay a little longer!" Gan Guoyang knew that it was time for him to rest, and before Ramsay could speak, he shook his head, hoping to play for a while longer.

In the Blazers, only Gan Guoyang dared to say such a thing, but in fact Ramsey sometimes allowed Gan Guoyang to defy instructions like this.

"Okay, you play a little longer, if you can't score, you don't have to play in the second quarter!" Ramsey said.

What he said was not a joke. Ramsey could do it all the time by keeping the main players on the bench.

The timeout ended and the game continued. At this time, the Bulls had replaced Jordan and asked him to rest for a while.

The Blazers replaced Drexler, and Gan Guoyang stayed on the court.

"Hey Clyde, the contest between you and Jordan must be very interesting." Another matchup that Gan Guoyang was looking forward to was Drexler vs. Jordan. Unfortunately, the playing time of the two was staggered.

"There will be a chance."

"Coulter! Remember to pass the ball to me!" Gan Guoyang said to the point guard Colter who came off the bench.

Since Gan Guoyang yelled for Colter to give him the ball in the last game against the Lakers, and then scored consecutive goals, Colter has grown a little more in awe of Gan Guoyang.

Coming to the offensive team, Gan Guoyang asked for the ball in the low post on the right for the first time. It is not unreasonable for Ramsey to keep Gan Guoyang on the court. At this time, he is still very energetic, which happens to be a stable scoring point.

Gan Guoyang's position was still fierce. He stepped on one foot in the three-second zone and one foot outside, and quickly reached the position. This is a very threatening position.

Colter's feed was timely, and Gan Guoyang would have been three seconds later.

After Gan Guoyang got the ball, without any pause, he turned directly to the right basket and rushed to the three-second zone.

Gan Guoyang's left hand is not a good shooter, so he didn't use a hook, but relied on his strength to squeeze away Korzin and Steven Johnson, who stepped forward to double-team, and used his shoulders to resist the two for a layup!

"Beep!" The referee's whistle sounded, but Gan Guoyang's ball was not able to be shot, because his arm was completely embraced by Korzin.

Corzin's entire body was almost pressed against Gan Guoyang's arm.

After the referee blew the whistle, the arms of the two were still entangled.

Gan Guoyang was enraged all of a sudden, he exerted his strength suddenly, and flicked hard like a wild horse throwing off the rein, and Corzin was completely thrown away.

"Beep beep beep beep!" Seeing that the situation was not good, the referee immediately blew his whistle continuously and ran between the two to separate them.

"Be careful, rookie." This was the first sentence Kerzin said to Gan Guoyang today.

"Thank you, I will score 30 points on your head, so you should be careful." Gan Guoyang did not look at Kerzin, but looked at Jordan on the bench and said.