The Golden Age of Basketball

(Sorry, I have been delaying the update today, it's too... No way, the weekend is such a stable delay.)

Thinking about it carefully, Gan Guoyang has not returned to San Francisco for a while.

Since being selected by the Trail Blazers in the draft, Gan Guoyang has almost never returned here, but has been running around in other places.

As Gan Guoyang's second hometown in the United States, this city has left too many basketball memories for Gan Guoyang.

The small basketball hoop next to Union Square in San Francisco, where the reborn Gan Guoyang really experienced the fun of basketball for the first time and discovered his talent in basketball.

He also met Bernard King here, from whom he learned the quick turnaround jump shot that destroyed every high school in the San Francisco area.

In the Binhai Stadium, "Guns and Roses" encountered the challenge of "cancer". After the failure, Gan Guoyang vowed to be a strong center forward and embarked on the road of fighting inside.

There is also the street court in Oakland. His one-on-one match with street legend hook Mitchell has become an eternal legend on the streets of Oakland.

Not to mention the Palo Alto High School he attended, he is now the biggest pride of this high school, although he failed to bring a California championship trophy to the Vikings. [

This place carries too many memories of Gan Guoyang, the good, the painful, the difficult, the happy, everything, and everything will remain in his new life forever.

Among them, the place that is as important as a sacred place to Gan Guoyang is the Big Nette BBQ Restaurant in the South District of San Francisco.

After Gan Guoyang arrived in San Francisco with the pioneers, he first took the time to go back to Gan’s Restaurant in Chinatown, had a good get-together with his father, cousin, and uncle, and had another meal cooked by his father, then took a taxi and left The Big Nette's Grill.

Just like when he came to San Francisco for the first time, he was driven by an Indian guy, which made it easier for Gan Guoyang not to be pestered by the driver for an autograph, because Indians are not interested in basketball at all.

When encountering some drivers watching football in other cities, Gan Guoyang will always be entangled.

When Gan Guoyang arrived at the Dnet Barbecue Restaurant, he found that the business inside was booming. Instead of going in directly through the gate, Gan Guoyang walked around to the back yard and came under the basketball hoop where he used to practice his low-level skills.

This basketball basket was a bit worn out three years ago, and it has also been devastated by Gan Guoyang, Thurmond and Chamberlain. At this time, it looks rusty and old, but the basket is still upright, and the metal net is still there. , although the backboard is missing a corner, but the painted black frame line is vaguely discernible.

"How tall was I at that time? 6 feet 6? Or 6 feet 5..." Gan Guoyang recalled the scene when he first practiced with Thurmond here. Ass and back", he never forgot.

"Hey, Gan, you're back." A deep voice came from behind Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang couldn't be more familiar with this voice, "Mr. Thurmond, long time no see." Gan Guoyang turned around and said.

He saw Thurmond wearing woolen trousers and a dark casual suit with a fashionable red lapel sweater inside, standing at the back door of the barbecue shop, showing his white teeth and indicating to Gan Guoyang, "I am here."

Since Gan Guoyang went to college, he has less contact with Thurmond, because Gan Guoyang does not often go back to San Francisco. He is busy with training, studies and competitions, and then started his basketball career.

Unlike Chamberlain, Thurmond just stayed in San Francisco at ease, running his barbecue restaurant and doing some community service activities.

Unlike Chamberlain, who ran around all over the United States, the best way for Gan Guoyang to find Chamberlain was to buy a newspaper of the day and see where he went again.

And to see Thurmond, just go back to San Francisco and give him a call. [

"Hey~ You are almost as old as me! I still remember when I first met you, you were a 6-foot-4 kid!" Thurmond walked up to Gan Guoyang, patted Gan Guoyang on the shoulder like an elder and said.

6 feet 4 is still small in Thurmond's eyes. It can only be said that the world of giants is too scary.

“我记得我已经6尺5了！对，是6尺5，我刚到美国的时候才6尺3，后来我长得可快了……其实我觉得我可以长到七尺的……”甘国阳当年在设定球员身高时弄成7尺，那么现在的他就会是7尺。

"Really... I can't remember, you were not as strong back then... Come in, let's sit down and talk... talk about your nb feelings, rookie..." Thurmond said , while pulling Gan Guoyang into the barbecue shop.

And Gan Guoyang does have a lot of troubles to communicate with his enlightenment mentor.

"How does it feel to defend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?" Gan Guoyang just sat down, Thurmond got some rum for Gan Guoyang, lit a cigar himself, and asked.

Gan Guoyang knew that Thurmond had fought against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but he didn't know the grievances between the two, so he wondered why he asked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all of a sudden.

"I feel...I'd rather do a hundred back and forth runs. Even if I try my best, I can only restrain him occasionally. The rest of the time I have to depend on the sky to eat. I bet his hand feels bad." Gan Guoyang said with a sip.

"Haha, if you want to restrain him, you have to use the strength to do a hundred back and forth runs, and let him do two hundred back and forth runs at the same time. This guy's hook is like an adult playing with a primary school student's basket. You He has to be a schoolboy too." Thurmond seemed to recall the times when he and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar used to battle each other on the court.

In the 44 games Thurmond and Kareem have played against each other, Kareem has averaged 25 points per game, a decent number but well below his average.

In the playoff series, Thurmond restricted Abdul-Jabbar to only 40% shooting and 22 points per game. This is something no other center, not even Chamberlain, can do.

Therefore, Thurmond has been Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's bitter hand, and now he thinks that his disciple will enter the NB and confront Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the West District, so he wants to give Gan Guoyang some advice.

"I tried to lock him up like wrestling, and it worked, but I can't always do this. The referee sometimes calls me a foul, and I have to help defend other players." Gan Guoyang said with some regret.

"It's the right thing to do more contact, he just hates too much contact, and your strength is good. But you have to pay attention to some techniques, pay attention to his habits when he does movements, for example, you should be closer to the left side of his back. Go to the side to defend, not in the middle. If you are in the middle, then he will push you away with his left hand, and hook you with his right hand, which is almost impossible to defend. And if you are on the left side, he can't easily pull you with his left hand Yeah, he's going to foul. Of course you have to guard against his right turn and left hook, and the fadeaway, but he's a lot less threatening than a straight right hook, and it takes a lot more effort."

Thurmond asked Gan Guoyang to stand up and show him how to stand and how to interfere with Kareem's shooting.

Thurmond's words made Gan Guoyang suddenly enlightened. He didn't expect that defense should pay so much attention.

"Also, you have to be fast, and if he turns right, you have to keep up. If he turns to the basket, you're finished." Thurmond added.

"Okay... But there is more than one center in the league, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Do I have to study them one by one?" Gan Guoyang said.

"Of course! You have to study the characteristics of each opponent, come up with a targeted strategy, and then implement it. Of course, this is not only your job, but also the team's job."

"My performance in the first two games was extremely poor. I was beaten by Bill Walton and Jack Sikma. I wanted to teach them a lesson, but... I think I have to consider the whole team." Gan Guoyang said of himself Things that have been frustrating lately.

He was torn between the team and his ego, and his conversation with Carl made him lean toward the team, but the two-game losing streak revived his ego.

"I know what you're thinking, all star players go through this process - put the team first, or be yourself." Thurmond smiled and smoked a cigar, looking like an experienced , the godfather who specializes in solving difficult problems for people.

"If Wirth were here, I think he is more suitable to answer your question than me."

What plagued Chamberlain throughout his career was the contradiction between personal performance and team victory. This contradiction has tortured him for many years and caused him huge controversy.

"I know that Wilt's statistics are very good, but the victory is always Russell's, but he won the assists title one year! Then the team won the championship!" Gan Guoyang thought of Chamberlain's miraculous performance in the 1967 season.

"That's right, then do you think you can become the assist king?" Thurmond asked.

"I...I...can't...I can't even pass the ball after being double-teamed." Gan Guoyang's biggest technical shortcoming should be passing the ball. For any strong center forward, passing the ball after being double-teamed All are compulsory courses.

Gan Guoyang still needs a long time to practice before he can master this seemingly simple but strategic technique.

"Few people can do it. Wilt is Wilt. There will be no second Chamberlain. You have to understand that what you have to do is what the team needs you to do. As long as you do this, then the individual will Being one with the team, showing who you are, but also contributing to the team."

"Just like Wilt, he already scored too many points, so much that the team doesn't want him to score so many points, then those extra points are good for the team...you ask why the score is good? Because of these Scores can be scored by other players, and can be more efficient. Those shots of Wirth would have scored more points if they had been distributed to teammates, but he didn't, so he always lost to Russell. But then, he After learning to pass the ball, he uses his deterrence to attract the defense, and then passes the ball to his teammates to score. The difference between this and his own scoring is that it is more efficient."

"And you are different. I have watched your game, the game against the Rockets. You have no problem. The opponent played too well, and it is normal to lose. But in the next two games, it is obvious that your teammates are not in the same state. Well, there is something wrong with their offensive feeling, this is a problem that often occurs with professional players. At this time, what the team needs is not to share the ball, but to score! Need to score! Ramsey is a good coach, but he is too obsessed with Team basketball and sharing the ball, the Blazers in 1977 can't be replicated. He still doesn't understand that sometimes superstars can solve problems by themselves, especially on offense."

Thurmond shared his experience with Gan Guoyang without hesitation, and every word spoke to Gan Guoyang's heart.

In fact, what Thurmond said is essentially the same as what Kenny Carr said, except that Carr emphasized "compromise", while Thurmond emphasized "self".

In the games against the Clippers and the Supersonics, the Blazers fell into offensive crises many times. Ramsey made tactical adjustments, but he couldn't resist the players' failure to score.

At this time, it should be the time for someone to stand up and score consecutive goals. At this point, Gan Guoyang's super scoring explosive power has given him this ability.

Although his stability and tactical ability still need to be improved, once the touch comes, it is really unstoppable.

"Stand up when you need to stand up, do a good job of supporting in silence when you need to, and stay on the bench when you need to rest."

"Then how should I judge, when do I need what..."

"Rely on your own heart, you have to integrate with this team, with the coach, with your teammates, with the fans, and then you will understand their needs as well as your own, and then do what you can ’” Thurmond finished, took another hard puff on his cigar, then stood up and walked to the TV.

"This is a tape of one of my games. On October 1974, 10, in the opening game of that season, my Eagles played against the Bulls. I scored a quadruple-double, but we still lost the game." Thurmon said De turned on the VCR.

The old game in 74 began to be played on TV. Thurmond has always cherished this tape. It was recorded and broadcast by a local TV station at that time, and it was given to Thurmond as a commemoration of his quadruple-double performance.

But Thurmond showed it to Gan Guoyang as a negative teaching material. He wanted to tell Gan Guoyang that what is impossible does not necessarily bring victory, and of course doing nothing will not work.

Doing what the team needs you to do is the best.

By the time Gan Guoyang left the Big Nette BBQ restaurant, there were basically not many customers left in the barbecue restaurant.

There is still a game tomorrow, and Gan Guoyang still needs to go back to the hotel for an early rest and get ready to turn the tide in Auckland.

Thurmond personally drove Gan Guoyang back to the hotel in Oakland. When parting, Thurmond got out of the car and said goodbye to Gan Guoyang.

"Gump, if one day you can understand the needs of the league and the league, then the league is yours."