The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 109 He is Perfect
Inman made a phone call to Dr. Ogilvy, and fifteen minutes later, the doctor appeared in his office.

Gan Guoyang took out the business card that Karp-Raven had given him and handed it to the doctor. Ogilvy took the card and said, "This was printed when I was teaching at San Jose University. Karp still has it. It's been almost ten years..."

After inquiring about his old friend's situation, Ogilvy turned his attention to Gan Guoyang, asking him if he had taken any psychological tests.

Gan Guoyang remembered that when he was in college in his previous life, he took a test on his future career development, and the result showed that he was suited to be an engineer.

Two years later, when he took the test again, the result showed that he was suited to be a librarian. He felt that this kind of test was ridiculous and had almost no effect on students' employment guidance.

He assumed that Dr. Ogilvy's test was also a questionnaire-like quiz, asking you dozens of questions, scoring you based on your answers, and finally giving you a comprehensive evaluation.

In fact, the person being asked knows what outcome each question will lead to. If they are dishonest, the test can give them the result they want.

Moreover, in many cases, the people being tested don't understand themselves and find it difficult to give accurate answers.

"I took the career development test twice at university, and it said I was suited to be an engineer and a librarian," Gan Guoyang said honestly, since he is currently a university student himself.

"Yes, those were rather immature tests, too crude. Come with me."

Dr. Ogilvy led Gan Guoyang to a small office, where there was a comfortable, oversized recliner, specially made for tall athletes.

He had Gan Guoyang lie down on it, closed the door, and sat to Gan Guoyang's side and behind him. Gan Guoyang could clearly hear Ogilvy's voice, but he could not see Ogilvy's expression.

There is a mirror directly in front of Gan Guoyang. Ogilvy can see Gan Guoyang's face through this mirror, but due to the angle, Gan Guoyang cannot see Ogilvy in the mirror.

It was like an interrogation, where the person being interrogated could not see the interrogator, could not read the interrogator's face or gestures, and could only answer based on the content of the words.

Ogilvy didn't speak; he kept staring at himself in the mirror. The room had no windows and was very soundproof. In the long silence, the quiet environment was unsettling.

The time lasted for about two minutes, but those in the situation might feel that at least five minutes had passed, and time would seem to pass very slowly.

A rustling sound came from the room as Ogilvy lowered his head and began to take notes in his notebook. The first thing he wrote down was: "A surprisingly stable mood, even a kind of detached indifference. He showed no panic in the silence, but waited patiently, as if he were having a silent contest with me, and he had a firm determination to persevere to the end (initial impression, to be further observed and revised)."

In fact, Ogilvy's testing of Gan Guoyang had already begun the moment he stepped into the room and lay down on the sofa.

His every word, action, micro-expression, and movement was within Ogilvy's observation range. He would conduct a two-way assessment based on the answers to questions and the test subject's performance.

If a test subject claims to be a calm and composed person in their answers to questions, but their micro-expressions and actions reveal constant restlessness and agitation, Ogilvy can generally conclude that this person is inattentive, agitated, and has an inaccurate or dishonest self-assessment.

Of course, it would be too arbitrary to make a judgment based on just a few questions, expressions, or actions.

Ogilvy will measure from multiple perspectives, and will ask the same type of questions in different ways and with different wording.

Just like when the police interrogate a criminal, they can't believe everything the criminal says. They will use many questions to make logical comparisons, and any lies will be exposed.

Therefore, the Ogilvy test takes a very long time, not just seven or eight minutes as Gan Guoyang thought, but up to three hours, almost like a psychological hearing.

Even so, Gan Guoyang remained patient throughout the testing process, answering every question from the doctor carefully, and handling some of the questions and cross-examinations very well.

The questions are focused on the field of sports, are quite detailed, and are difficult to determine what dimensions they are measuring.

In the latter half of the test, the two sides gradually shifted from a question-and-answer session to a conversation. Gan Guoyang was even able to take the initiative and ask the doctor about his personal matters, as well as his views on the Trail Blazers players and coaching staff.

In order to communicate better with Gan Guoyang, Ogilvy had to do something that "betrayed" his teammate by telling Gan Guoyang some inside information about the team.

For example, within the management team, Stu Inman is Gan Guoyang's biggest supporter, and he drives most of the decisions.
The coaching staff doesn't seem to like Gan Guoyang very much. Jack Ramsey believes that Gan Guoyang "lacks discipline," an impression that may come from Gan Guoyang's tendency to take long-range shots and dribble past half-court to launch fast breaks.

Owner Larry Weinberg remained neutral, neither overly excited nor concerned about Gan Guoyang's arrival, perhaps reflecting a decline in his passion for basketball. The two also discussed Portland fans' attitudes towards Gan Guoyang, with Ogilvy stating that fans currently hold some negative views of him.

But the reason is not what Gan Guoyang did, but the image deliberately created by the media.

"The same thing can have vastly different results depending on the angle you choose to take and the image you want to create. In order to cater to readers' tastes and boost sales, the media is particularly keen to create the image of 'rebellious youth'."

"Striving for a big contract and working to improve the team's medical environment are actually good things. For an ordinary person, it's similar to wanting a raise or hoping the owner will set up a no-smoking area. Everyone would think that's a good guy. But newspapers, through certain words and descriptions, can portray the person who does this as greedy, sensitive, and aloof."

“Few people are averse to specific details, because how much money you receive or what the medical team is like has nothing to do with them, and the extra money you receive is not paid by them. What people are averse to is the image that is created, and that is the key.”

As expected of someone with a psychology background, Ogilvy had a very accurate grasp of the psychological game between the media and the audience, and he knew that Portland's negative feelings towards Gan Guoyang were only temporary.

“Once you start winning and you start putting on great shows, they’ll create a new image for you, like ‘genius player’ or ‘city savior’! That’s when you’ll become a hero in Portland, just like you did in San Francisco and Spokane.”

As Ogilvy spoke, he glanced at the mirror, while Gan Guoyang simply nodded slightly, listening attentively.

Suddenly, Ogilvy found himself talking more and more, and he couldn't stop himself.

What's going on? Forrest Gump is clearly the test subject, so why is he answering more and more questions and asking fewer and fewer questions?

I checked the time; three hours had passed, and the test should be over.

Ogilvy stood up from the stool, stretched his sore body, and said, "The test is over. Thank you for your hard work, Gan."

Gan Guoyang stood up from his chair, stretched his neck, shook hands with the doctor, and said, "No, thank you for your hard work. I've learned a lot of information, thank you so much."

Looking at the smile on Gan Guoyang's face, Ogilvy thought to himself, "Who is testing whom here?"
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The test results weren't available immediately. Dr. Ogilvy needed to go back and organize his notes and feelings to write a comprehensive report.

Ogilvy was no ordinary psychologist; he was a pioneer of sports psychology in North America, and throughout the 70s he promoted the theoretical accumulation and practical application of psychology in sports.

He has provided psychological counseling services to many professional teams, such as the NFL's San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, and the MLB's New York Mets.

Because of his pioneering contributions, he was later known as the "father of applied sports psychology in North America".

Since the 80s, sports psychology has been widely used in professional sports because, in high-intensity professional competitions, the players' mental state often has a decisive impact on the outcome of the game.

When the Trail Blazers were first established, Dr. Ogilvy provided consulting services to the team. After retiring from the University of San Jose in 1979, he came to Portland to work full-time as a player counselor.

Although he made many contributions to psychology, the psychological test was not popular with players at the time because it was too time-consuming and cumbersome, and some sensitive players felt that their privacy was being violated.

Therefore, Bill Walton never conducted this test when he was with the Trail Blazers, and refused to accept the doctor's intervention when he was plagued by injuries and conflicts with the team.

He was clearly a sensitive person with a strong sense of self-esteem, and eventually his relationship with the Trail Blazers broke down, leading him to leave Portland and return to California.

Ogilvy organized his notes, then compiled and calculated the problem scale, and spent an entire night writing the report.

The next morning, he rushed to the Trail Blazers' headquarters with the report in hand. Before going, he called Stu Inman and Jack Ramsey and asked them to wait for him in the office.

Ramsey, seeing Dr. Ogilvy, joked, "Doctor, did you have any nightmares last night after the test?"

Ramsey likes to have players do these kinds of tests, but he himself refuses. A former Marine, he says that seeing these tests reminds him of the Marines' counter-interrogation training, and he has nightmares every night after each training session.

Ogilvy ignored Ramsey's joke and went straight to the point: "I've finally found someone who scores higher than Roger Stauba. And he's perfect."

(End of this chapter)