The Golden Age of Basketball

"...I remember that game vividly. At the start of the second half, Ah Gan came up to me and said that the reason he only scored 7 points in the first half was that he didn't want to." I told him that was just self-comforting, but he responded, "No, this is a preview for you."

Back then, I was just 15 years old. I thought to myself, 'Damn, I'm in for trouble.' Honestly, I never care much about trash talk. Most people just blow hot air, blabbering away—it's more about venting and means nothing.

But Gan was different. Every word he uttered was meticulously crafted, part of a grand scheme, a delicate trigger for the trap he laid.

Of course, this was something I only understood much later, and at that time Gan was only 16 years old. To tell you the truth, if Gan ran for mayor against me in 2008, I would have dropped out and become his assistant, pushing him to the governor's seat or even higher."

————————Excerpt from an interview with Kevin Johnson after he finished his term as mayor of Sacramento in 2017.

Gan Guoyang might not have played basketball for long, but he was no stranger to the sport.

From the very first game he played, Gan Guoyang used his brain well, not just relying on his Biochemical Warrior-like body.

Apart from employing trash talk for psychological tactics, Gan Guoyang was also finding his own style of play through one game after another.

Many players don't start to consider their style of play until they're 20, or even 25 years old.

The vast majority of young players just play based on their imagination, preferences, talent, or coaching guidance.

For example, a player who likes Magic Johnson might try to mimic his fancy passes and flashy dribbling on the court because that's what they enjoy.

But actually, the best position for them might be center, with a defensive blue-collar style.

Or there might be a player who, according to the coach's instructions, plays as a shooting guard with scoring as the priority.

But with a change of coaches, it could turn out that he's more suited to playing point guard, which would truly allow his talent and style to shine.

This requires quite a bit of time to accumulate experience and explore. It demands real reflection by the player on their skills and basketball career, and also a bit of luck in receiving guidance from a mentor.

Gan Guoyang was exceptional; his self-reflection exceeded that of most high school students, and his observation and accumulation from games were far more detailed than average players.

Early on, when his offensive skills were not refined, Gan Guoyang made good use of offensive rebounds with simple brutality, and the results were outstanding.

But gradually, Gan Guoyang realized that an overemphasis on offensive rebounds could, firstly, affect the transition to defense, leading to counterattacks, and secondly, sometimes be inefficient, vulnerable to exploitation by well-disciplined teams.

Therefore, Gan Guoyang didn't obsess over offensive rebounds like Moses Malone did; instead, he aimed for crucial offensive rebounds based on the situation, improving efficiency while conserving energy.

Defensively, besides creating a tense atmosphere with the threat, "I will block every shot you take," Gan Guoyang would devise defensive strategies based on actual conditions.

He understood that you can't block every shot from your opponent, but you can effectively disrupt each of their offensive plays.

He would focus on defending the key players, allowing some to shoot when necessary while paying close attention to protecting the rebounds and skillfully directing his teammates' movements.

In the areas he couldn't reach with his arms, his teammates could help him, and his eyes and brain were quicker than others.

Gan Guoyang could even participate in the creation of the team's tactical strategies, exerting a strong influence over Beelman.

During the pre-game strategy meeting against the Giant Dragon Team, Gan Guoyang and Beelman discussed how the game should be played.

Beelman believed that since the Giant Dragon Team was fast, the Shui Zhong Team should slow down, drag the opponent's offense with zone defense, and rely on Ah Gan and Franklin's offense to beat the opposition.

This was the most common strategy used by the Shui Zhong Team, fitting the players' style and something everyone was familiar with.

But Gan Guoyang had a different opinion. He believed that a major difference between the Giant Dragon Team and other teams was Kevin Johnson.

This little cannon's breaking ability was something an average high school team's zone defense simply couldn't withstand; neither Chen Xing nor Xu Xun would be able to stop him.

Shui Zhong Team's perimeter defense had always been weak against such fast guards; their footwork was too slow.

At that moment, Gan Guoyang had to plug the gaps, which meant somewhat giving up comprehensive protection under the basket. The zone defense would be ineffective under these circumstances.

Therefore, they might as well abandon the zone defense and switch to man-to-man, with Gan Guoyang and Xu Xun working together to suppress Johnson and prevent this key player from performing.

Johnson wasn't the kind of point guard who prioritized organization; he needed to get his own offense going to lead the whole team in a frenzied attack that would overpower the opponent.

If he was frustrated in scoring, even if he had numerous assists, his contribution to the team wouldn't be as significant as his direct scoring, which again, was determined by his style of play.

Since they gave up on the zone defense, they would have to match the Giant Dragon Team's intensity on the offensive end, playing fast and definitely not slowing down to grind out possession.

After some contemplation, Beelman decided to agree with Gan Guoyang's advice and followed that strategy.

As a result, the first half went well, with Shui Zhong scoring 40 points, their highest half-time score since the team was formed.

While the Giant Dragon Team's offense seemed smooth, without Kevin Johnson's strong performance, they lacked explosive power.

From start to finish, they were suppressed by the Shui Zhong Team, constantly trailing by a few uncomfortable points.

The strong and speedy Franklin scored 20 points in the first half, currently the most troublesome scorer on the Giant Dragon Team's coach's mind.

During the half-time break in the locker room, the Giant Dragon Team's coach repeatedly demanded that they tighten the defense on Franklin and not let him score easily anymore.

They completely overlooked Gan Guoyang, the top scorer of Beiqiao High School, thinking either he was off his game today or their defense had been sufficiently outstanding.

Gan Guoyang was just biding his time, finding that instead of going all out in the first half, it was better to deliver a decisive blow at the start of the second half.

The third quarter, which is the start of the second half and often the most volatile and decisive in establishing an advantage, beckoned.

The first half is for probing and getting a feel, with a certain recovery of energy during the half-time break and a summary of strengths and weaknesses from the first half, leading to targeted adjustments; thus, at the start of the second half, whoever adjusts well can deliver a fatal blow to the opponent.

Therefore, this stage often sees the fiercest competition, keeping spectators on edge if the teams are evenly matched until the very end.

Gan Guoyang didn't want to leave the suspense until the end. He had already figured out the Giant Dragon Team's defensive tactics in the first half.

After the ball was in play, Gan Guoyang moved to the top of the arc to receive the pass, while Franklin posted up asking for the ball.

In the first half, they launched several attacks like this, utilizing high-low post plays and having Franklin power his way to the basket for multiple successful shots.

This time, the Giant Dragon Team noticeably tightened their defense, but Gan Guoyang didn't pass the ball and without any hesitation, he took a long-distance jumper and scored.

This shot caught the Giant Dragon Team off guard; they didn't expect this guy could shoot from afar.

After scoring, Gan Guoyang taunted Kevin Johnson, "Didn't expect me to shoot from distance, did you? And you, a guard, don't seem to be very good at shooting."

Gan Guoyang didn't miss the opportunity to put pressure on Johnson.

On the sidelines, Beelman watched Gan Guoyang's shooting, reminded of Lan Bi'er, that guy liked to drift outside and shoot too.

But Lan Bi'er did it out of laziness, whereas Gan Guoyang did it for accuracy and offensive strategy.

When Gan Guoyang hit three long-distance shots from almost the same spot in succession, the Giant Dragon Team's coach couldn't sit still.

How the hell is this big guy shooting so accurately? He had no choice but to call a timeout to revise their defensive strategy.

But what could be changed? In the 1980s, big men shooting from the outside was a relatively rare tactic.

It's one thing for an occasional shot to go in, let them shoot, could they really shoot us to death?

But with Gan Guoyang looking like he did, he really could shoot you to death.

The Giant Dragon Team's center was forced to guard him closely.

And that's where the problem with close defense lay; Gan Guoyang had a certain ability to drive with the ball.

Long hours of dribbling practice weren't wasted, his height of 6-foot-9 made it not difficult to protect the ball, and it wasn't easy to get stolen from.

His strong physique meant that even with unremarkable breakthrough skills, he could still power his way to the basket, either making the layup or drawing the foul.

Like a bulldozer, he repeatedly charged down the middle into the paint to score, a triple team unable to strip the ball from his hands.

The referees blew the whistle for fouls in quick succession, and Gan Guoyang stood at the free-throw line, continuously making free throws—in just four minutes, he had racked up 14 points.

This sudden scoring onslaught allowed the Shui Zhong Team to establish a 10-point lead, quickly tipping the scales of victory in their favor.

The Giant Dragon's coach shook his head at the sidelines, realizing his oversight.

In high school games, the players' tactical literacy isn't that high, and some players' abilities aren't quite up there.

So when faced with a tricky, talented player, it's a real headache for the coach.

The best solution is having a talented player of your own.

The Giant Dragon's talent undoubtedly lay with Kevin Johnson.

But in the second half, Xu Xun continued to stick to Kevin Johnson like a madman, while Gan Guoyang, like a wolf lying in wait, could jump out and strike at any moment.

Johnson struggled bitterly and finally lost his composure during an offense, elbowing Xu Xun away with a shove that sent Xu tumbling out of bounds.

The referee called his flagrant foul, and while both sides remained relatively calm without escalating the conflict, the Giant Dragon was penalized with two free throws and one possession, and Gan Guoyang stood at the free-throw line to continue racking up points.

He had already scored 23 points and showed no signs of slowing down, in fact, he was getting more and more fierce.

Gan Guoyang finally missed a jumper from the high post, but immediately after landing, he drove into the paint, snatched the ball among three Giant Dragon players, and quickly leapt for a close-range jumper that went in.

The series of actions were smooth and coherent, not giving the opponents a chance to respond or defend.

"25 points now, Kevin, do you think I'll hit 40?"

Gan Guoyang's pressure on Kevin Johnson was far from over, in fact, it was just getting started.

The Shui Zhong Team's teammates also cooperatively kept feeding the ball to Gan Guoyang, as it was the most efficient way to score.

With Franklin drawing the defense on a drive, he lobbed a high pass to the basket, where Gan Guoyang leaped up, caught the ball, and slammed it down with both hands!

That was Gan Guoyang's 30th point. He had told his teammates during halftime that he wanted to score 40 points.

The lead expanded to 15 points, and under Gan Guoyang's fierce offensive onslaught, the Giant Dragon Team could no longer hold up.

This was a clear defeat in the face of a core matchup; Shui Zhong could lock down your core player, but you couldn't lock down Shui Zhong's core player.

High school teams can easily crumble, and in an effort to stop Gan Guoyang from scoring further, the Giant Dragon started to double-team and even foul him liberally.

But once they reached a certain number of fouls, sending Gan Guoyang to the line was just handing him points—Gan Guoyang practiced free throws at least 200 times a day, even on rest days.

In the final minute of defense, Gan Guoyang once again thwarted Kevin Johnson's drive and then took the ball himself to lead a fast break.

Uncontested, he soared to the basket for an effortless glide through the air and a dunk, marking a perfect end to his 40 points.

Kevin Johnson stood at the backcourt with his hands on his hips, his expression filled with defeat. He hadn't expected his offhand boast to lead to such a painful retaliation.

However, after the game ended, Gan Guoyang took the initiative to shake hands and hug Kevin Johnson, saying, "Sorry, I got in the zone and just couldn't stop, the 40 points weren't intentional. You should really work on your mid and long-range shots; it'll make you harder to defend, rather than being taken out by a double-team."

The grudges of young men on the basketball court tend to dissipate easily, and Johnson also hugged Gan Guoyang back, saying, "I understand. Please take the championship back to Northern California."

"I will, the glory belongs to Northern California."

Their conversation was as if they had just played the Northern California championship match, with the winner set to compete for the California state title in Los Angeles.

Completely disregarding their other semi-final opponents.