The Golden Age of Basketball

() (Comrades who read the book give it a bookmark, at least let me over a thousand!)

17 points, this is not the highest score Gan Guoyang has ever scored in a half. He once scored 30 points in the half in the game against the University of Portland, and then he was never sent to the game in the second half.

In the face of Georgetown, which is good at defense, Gan Guoyang, who exploded with full ability, was almost a god in the first half. In fact, no center has scored more than 15 points in this year's game against Georgetown.

Gan Guoyang did it in halftime.

But Gan Guoyang, who was sitting in the locker room, felt extremely tired, as if he had finished playing the entire game.

In the first half, Gan Guoyang rested for a total of 1 minute. In the other 19 minutes, he was constantly entangled with Georgetown's insiders and fighting Ewing.

Although his shooting percentage was astonishingly high in the first half, plus the two missed shots from his own shots and grabs, he only missed three shots in total. He made 11 of 8 shots in the half, including 5 consecutive hooks. Almost tore the inner line of Georgetown to pieces.

However, before each shot, he had to fight frantically with Ewing in the low post for the card position, for which he and Ewing each paid two fouls.

His palm was bruised from the dunk, his thigh was bruised in a big way, and there were four streaks of blood on his arm.

The sweat all over his body made his clothes wet and dry, and his hair had already condensed into pieces and stuck to his forehead.

"Gan, you are very tired, come on!" Bellman looked at Gan Guoyang who was extremely tired, walked up to him, hugged his head and said to him like a father.

If Thurmond is Gan Guoyang's mentor, then Bellman is Gan Guoyang's godfather. It is precisely because of his strict guidance and planned special training that Gan Guoyang's talent can be well developed and developed.

At the same time, he also cares about everything in Gan Guoyang's basketball life like a father, from his diet, physical fitness to injuries, and undertakes what Gan Youwei cannot do.

Gan Guoyang also used his performance to give back to Bellman's careful cultivation, but when Bellman saw how tired Gan Guoyang was, he couldn't help but feel a little heartache in his heart.

He didn't want Gan Guoyang to be so tired, but there was no way, everyone tried their best, but in Gonzaga, only Gan Guoyang could withstand the strong oppression of George Town, and he could only let Gan Guoyang fight non-stop on the court.

"Mr. Behrman, please don't let me rest in the second half. I still have to say that I will have time to rest after I die." Gan Guoyang stood up, looked at Behrman and said.

Just like what he said when Palo Alto High School played against Tianji High School, Gan Guoyang has decided to win or die on the court and will not back down.

Behrman didn't know what to say for a moment, but another person spoke.

"Me too, please don't take me off the field." It was Stockton.In the first half, Gan Guoyang rested for 1 minute, but Stockton did not rest for 1 minute. If he was not present, Gonzaga's offense would be even more unwatchable.

"Mr. Bellman, please continue to let me start in the second half. I will not be afraid of anyone on the other side. I will make the ball that should be scored. For Gan, for the Bulldogs." It was Matthews, who did not perform well in the first half , A goal was not scored.

"Me too, for Gan, for the Bulldogs, I will drain my last drop of blood." It was Anderson, who was at a disadvantage in the first half against the opponent's striker.

Everyone stood up, expressing their beliefs like a soldier about to go to the battlefield to say goodbye to his family. Gan Guoyang's solitary struggle and fighting spirit in the first half infected everyone.

"We have no way out, win, or go home, let's fight for the bulldogs! go-bulldogs!" Everyone stretched out their hands to unite, shouting the battle horn together in Gan Guoyang's voice .

"go-bulldogs!!"

The second half of the game started quickly, and the 1984 NCAA National Championship 16-to-8 Western Conference rekindled the battle.

Georgetown, who had an overall advantage on the sidelines in the first half, didn't really open the score because they couldn't contain Gonzaga's leading scorer, Gan Guoyang, who scored 17 points in the half.

For this reason, Coach Thompson was furious in the locker room, scolding Georgetown's insiders and Ewing, because a center scored 17 points in the half, and in Thompson's impression, no player could do it on Georgetown's head.

But now the yellow-skinned Chinese man has done it, and it is still on the head of his proud disciple Patrick Ewing.

For this reason, the task Ewing received in the second half was to never allow Gan Guoyang to score more than 5 points.

"Hey Patrick, you must have been scolded in the midfield. I'm so sorry, but I have to score." Gan Guoyang and Ewing pushed each other on the side of the three-second zone, and said in his mouth.

"No-way." Ewing just said lightly.

This guy is really a bit of a stickler, and the idea of ​​trying to stimulate him with trash talk doesn't seem to be very effective, Gan Guoyang thought in his heart, and at this time Georgetown had already launched an attack.

At the beginning of the second half, Gonzaga's defense once again returned to man-to-man. In this early trial period, man-to-man is the safest defensive strategy.

However, Gonzaga's man-to-man marking has also changed compared to before, that is, once the opponent's forward guard has the intention of falling into a low single, Matthews and Claremont will leave and defend the opponent's front to prevent the opponent from receiving a frontal attack. ball.

If the opponent's point guard dares to pass the ball directly with a lob, there will still be Gan Guoyang in the three-second zone who will jump out to make up the defense.

Sure enough, the opponent saw Gonzaga using man-to-man again, and Reggie Williams decisively ran to the left low post. With the help of Ewing's cover, he circled from the baseline to the left waist.

But Claremont squeezed in front of Williams before the opponent's point guard passed the ball, blocking Williams' streetball route with his body.

Jackson tried several times to pass the ball without success, because he also faced interference from Stockton.

So he turned the ball to Wingate at the top of the key.

For this transfer, Williams suddenly turned around and went straight to the inside. Because the ball was transferred, the passing route was also changed, and Claremont's block around the front naturally had no effect.

Wingate understood, and directly passed the ball to Williams with a lobbed through ball!

Williams threw off Claremont and went straight to the basket, but there was still Gan Guoyang under the basket.

The two took off almost at the same time, but Gan Guoyang found something wrong in the middle of the jump, and Williams' take-off was weak and weak at all, and he was looking for a cover at all.

Williams is not an idiot, he is not looking for a risk, but passes the ball to Ewing who is plugging in from behind!

Ewing had screened for Williams in the high post before, and saw that he ran to the right waist and took away Gan Guoyang's defense.

As soon as Gan Guoyang went to defend Williams, Ewing was naturally free. He went straight to the basket and dunked when he received a pass from Williams!

"Oh!"

What came was not the sound of the basket, but the crisp sound of a blocked shot.

It's Anderson!

He slapped Ewing from the side before Ewing could fully jump up!

The ball was slapped directly from Ewing's hands.

Matthews, who was originally defending on the left perimeter, got the ball. Instead of grabbing the ball and looking for Stockton first as he did in the past, he ran with the ball!

As a shooting guard, his speed is not particularly fast, and the opposing player behind him, the opponent's power forward Martin, is closely following him.

Martin was pacing, ready to cap Matthews on a layup.

If it was Matthews before, he would take a break, wait for his teammates to catch up, and attack in positions.

But at this time, he is indomitable!

Take off!

Martin jumped at the same time, and at the same time the giant palm slapped him.

Matthews did not evade, he knew that the more he evaded, the easier it was to be blocked.

He pushed Martin, touched Martin's arm with his arm, and forced a layup!

"Beep!" "Boom!"

The referee's whistle blew, and Matthews fell heavily to the ground. Martin fouled and Matthews made a free throw.

"Good job!" Gan Guoyang, who followed, pulled Matthews up. This is the teammate he wanted to see. He was fearless, and he had to fight to the end even if he was at a disadvantage in all aspects.

Matthews made a free throw and made two free throws. At 27:30, Gonzaga opened the scoring in the second half.

This is also the 10th point scored by others except Gan Guoyang, and the first 1 points scored by Matthews.

Behrman also breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines. He knew that this sentence was not just a simple two points, because since the 15th minute of the first half, no one from Gonzaga has scored too many points.

In this way, Matthews broke the scoring drought and will definitely relieve the pressure on Gan Guoyang's shoulders.

Moreover, basketball is a five-person sport. Gan Guoyang alone can survive the first half, but it is almost impossible to rely on Gan Guoyang to beat Georgetown in the second half.

As other Gonzaga players gradually regained their confidence and feeling, coupled with the decline in physical strength in the second half, the two sides launched a tough tug-of-war.

Mistakes, fouls, forced breakthroughs and fouls began to flood the field.

The two teams were like two red-eyed bulldogs, who began to bite their opponents desperately and crazily, even if they were bruised and bruised, they refused to let go.

In this situation, Gonzaga is getting points back bit by bit.

Falling behind by 3 points, trailing by 5 points, getting back by 2 points, scoring another goal, foul, turnover, turnover again, foul again, free throws, missed free throws, and offensive rebounds.

The 5-point gap left at halftime has become the furthest distance in the world, but even so, Gonzaga will make this distance the closest until it is evened.

"Beep beep!" The referee whistled, and Gonzaga called for a timeout.

On the field, Claremont and Williams fell on the floor, entangled like wrestlers, fighting for a floor ball.

The George Town player made a dribble error, and Claremont made a steal, but he also slipped and fell. The two started a floor scrimmage. Fortunately, Claremont was the first to free his hand and call a timeout.

At this time, there is still 1 minute before the end of the game. Gonzaga is 44:45, only 1 point behind Georgetown. Claremont's steal and timeout can be said to be worth a thousand dollars.

"There is still 1 minute left, we must score this goal, don't delay, as soon as possible, as soon as possible, we can defend against the opponent." Behrman's nerves were extremely tense at this time, and his speaking speed was much faster than usual , but the voice is a little hoarse.

After Bellman finished setting up his tactics, the timeout was over.

It was a crucial goal. At this time, the physical strength of both sides had reached the limit. Everyone was panting on the court, but there was no expression of flinching.

It will be a mental battle.

"Beep!"

Stockton served the ball from the sidelines, but Georgetown's defense was still tight. Gonzaga's players had no strength to move quickly and get rid of the defense. It was almost five seconds away!

Gan Guoyang immediately stepped forward to respond, and Stockton passed the ball to Gan Guoyang.

But the opponent double-teamed!Ewing and Jackson!Gan Guoyang hadn't secured the ball yet, and the three of them fought together!

But no one caught the ball, the ball flew to the right side of the border, and the ball was about to go out of bounds. I don't know who touched the ball.

Anderson rushed out. He didn't know who touched it out of bounds, but he knew that the ball must be firmly held.

With a diving leap, the 6-foot-9 Anderson flew out of bounds with the ball and headed for the stat sheet.

Before he hit the ground, he threw the basketball in his arms in the direction of his teammates, and Stockton got the ball!

"Beep!" The referee whistled, and Stockton called a timeout again. The previous tactical arrangement had been destroyed, and it was not known how Anderson was doing or whether he was injured.

When Gan Guoyang pulled Anderson up from the overturned table and chair of the technical statistics seat, he found Anderson's expression was quite painful.

"What's wrong with Anderson? Injured?"

"It's okay, it's okay, it's just that my arm hurts a little." Anderson's expression was definitely not a little hurt.

Gan Guoyang helped Anderson to the bench. The team doctor did a simple examination for him and found that his back shoulder blade should have been hit. I don’t know if there is any problem with the bone or soft tissue, but the muscle must have been contused, because the back has been swollen. chunks.

"Anderson, you'll get off the field later and let Danny Roy play. You performed great, great." Bellman said, and Anderson's offensive rebounds and blocks in the second half were very critical.

"No, coach, please put me on the court, please," Anderson said.

"Anderson, you are injured, and there is still a long way to go in the future. You can't hurt yourself for a game." Gan Guoyang comforted.

"No, Gan! I've got nowhere to go. I'm not you, and I'm not John. This is my last chance, my last chance. I can't play professional basketball. My father has decided that I'll be a lawyer. Maybe in the future I will never be able to stand on the court of a basketball game again. I don’t want to leave any regrets, I want to keep going, walk a little longer, even if I die, I will die on the court.”

Anderson's words touched all the players. For most of Gonzaga's players, they have no chance to play professional basketball. Being able to reach the top [-] of the NCAA may be the most glorious moment of their basketball career.

No one wants to leave, no one wants to give up this last chance.

Gan Guoyang felt that tears were about to come out of his eyes. In fact, when Anderson asked him that question that night, he should have understood that Anderson's basketball career was really not long.

This is really his last chance. If he loses, basketball will end in his life. He can only play challenge games with others on the field, but he will never return to the real battlefield.

"Then let us fight together until the last moment." Gan Guoyang held Anderson's hand tightly, and everyone held it for the last glory of their basketball career.

"Beep!"

The time-out is over and the game continues.

This time, Bellman made all the receivers stand in a row, so that Georgetown could not double-team. After the referee blew the whistle, everyone dispersed to execute tactics.

Matthews served, and Stockton got rid of Jackson's entanglement and received the ball smoothly.

Gan Guoyang picks and rolls for Stockton in the high position, and then goes straight down.

But Ewing did not let go of Gan Guoyang to make up for Stockton, but kept a close eye on Gan Guoyang, leaving a big space for Stockton.

Thompson was betting that Stockton would not make a shot, because Stockton's shooting percentage was terribly low today. He scored a total of 4 points in the first and second half, all of which were scored in the opening game.

But Stockton had to vote, he had no choice, and everyone else was looked down upon.

Stockton shot!Jackson still pounced on him and disturbed him.

"Boom!" The ball hit the neck of the basket and missed.

Gan Guoyang wanted to grab an offensive rebound, but Ewing stuck him tightly, and Gan Guoyang couldn't take off at all.

But Anderson was missed by Georgetown, and Anderson had only one arm to use.

Enduring the severe pain, he leaped high and touched the basketball in the air, but he couldn't catch the ball, so he flicked in the direction of Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang pulled Ewing past him, and the referee stopped calling the foul, and received the priceless offensive rebound first!

"Bang!" Gan Guoyang used a dunk to give Gonzaga his first lead after the first goal! 46:45!

"Beep!" Georgetown immediately called a timeout.

"Yes!" Gan Guoyang embraced Anderson excitedly, and the entire Gonzaga bench was boiling.

Anderson extended his life on the basketball court with a priceless offensive rebound.

But the game is not over yet, there are still 20 seconds left, enough time for Georgetown to make an attack.

At the end of the timeout, Behrman emphasized that he must be careful about the opponent's pick-and-roll and flanks, and asked Gan Guoyang to keep an eye on Ewing.

Georgetown served the ball. After continuously transferring the ball, they couldn't break through Gonzaga's defense. They still relied on Jackson and Ewing's pick-and-roll to open a small hole.

Ewing got the ball at 45 degrees, Gan Guoyang stuck to the defense, Ewing turned his back and made a jumper!

"Shua!" The ball bounced twice between the baskets, but still fell into the net. 46:47.

And Gan Guoyang has tried his best to interfere.

The situation of the game was reversed again with 5 seconds left in the final, and Gonzaga had no timeout.

The Georgetown players had no time to celebrate, and they still needed to hold on for 5 seconds.

Stockton got the request, evaded Jackson's steal, and went around Ewing.

He can't find anyone to pass the ball to because he's running out of time!

Gan Guoyang made the last screen for him at the top of the arc!

Stockton shot from 25 feet!

last blow!

"Shh!"

The cheers drowned out everything.

Time seems to have traveled to 1997. In that Western Conference Finals, Stockton faced Charles Barkley and sent the Jazz into the finals with an extremely decisive three-pointer.

But history at this moment, 1984, has been changed.

Stockton may never get another chance to make that game-winning three in 1997.

But if he knows, he will never regret it.

Because he used a shot that changed history and continued the basketball life of everyone in the Bulldogs.

This may be the most glorious moment of their basketball career.

In the 1984 NCAA National Tournament West Division 16 into 8 games, Stockton lore Georgetown.