The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 11 Basic Skills

Gan Guoyang's team quickly scored the first point of the game after gaining possession of the ball.

Chen Xing passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who had moved to the top of the arc. Gan Guoyang received the ball about 20 feet away and made a long-range jump shot.

He shot quickly and without hesitation, clearly quite confident in his shooting ability, but the distance of his shot was unexpected.

In the 1980s, the three-point line was still a new invention, and the NBA had just tried the new rule for two seasons.

Last season, the entire league only made 943 three-pointers, averaging one per game, which had a negligible impact on the game.

To old-school college coaches, three-pointers are nothing more than a gimmick to attract spectators, just like dunks, one near and one far. Besides being visually appealing and stimulating the fans' hormones, they are of no benefit to victory and may even be detrimental.

Therefore, for players with formal training, long-range shooting is not part of their basic training curriculum; scoring inside and mid-range shots are the proper scoring methods.

A future center like Gan Guoyang, standing at 2 meters tall, pulled out to shoot a long-range shot, making Kap feel even more that this guy was special.

Karp suspected that this kid hadn't received formal academic training, and his shooting form was also unusual, with his upper arm bent more than the average person's, an adjustment made to shoot from a greater distance.

The Cancer team suffered a major embarrassment after conceding the first goal and being blocked.

However, White and Steve LaVine did not lose their composure, and they cooperated quite well in the following offensive plays.

Through continuous pick-and-rolls and back-cuts, LaVine knew that Gan Guoyang was the defensive core, and that only by fully utilizing him could he create enough good offensive opportunities.

White turned and cut to the basket, received a lob pass from LaVine, dribbled past Gan Guoyang, and scored with a reverse layup from the other side of the basket.

"Damn, you almost covered me."

After scoring, White praised Gan Guoyang, still resentful of the hard block he received on the first goal.

Gan Guoyang ignored White with a blank expression. Then, during the next offensive possession, he pulled up to the top of the arc for the second time, received the ball, and took another long-range shot.

Hit again!

Gan Guoyang's team took the lead.

Subsequently, Gan Guoyang disrupted Pittman's layup attempt on defense and secured the rebound.

Chen Xing launched a quick attack, taking advantage of Cancer's unsteady footing to break into the paint, but he knew he couldn't get past White's defense.

So he slammed the ball onto the backboard, and Gan Guoyang followed up, jumped high, caught the ball in the air, and dunked it into the basket with one hand!

A beautiful and difficult one-handed alleyway.

Gan Guoyang's foot landed on the blue hard surface of the Rochambord court, and the steel rim trembled slightly.

This was a tactic that Chen Xing and Gan Guoyang had practiced many times, and it often caught their opponents off guard, allowing them to wreak havoc on them.

After the successful combination, Gan Guoyang and Chen Xing high-fived. Gan Guoyang then waved to Gan Guohui, inviting him to come over for a high-five as well. Gan Guohui's "attracting" of the defense's attention was also indispensable.

Although the three people have varying levels of skill, with Gan Guoyang around, they form a powerful team. Gan Guohui, who previously lacked confidence in himself, has gradually gained confidence.

It's like a fox borrowing the tiger's power.

The goal sparked jubilation among the crowd, with several young Black men practically dancing with joy.

A middle-aged Black man on the sidelines yelled, "Hey buddy, what's your name?!"

Gan Guoyang replied, "Gump. Sunny Gump!"

"Go for it, Gan!"

"More taffeta, Gan!"

"Gan, give him a good beating!"

"Well done, Gan!"

The audience's emotions were ignited; in the end, what matters on the street is strength, not skin color.

The Cancers have always been undefeated at Rochambord Stadium, and street fans are eager to see the Warriors fight the dragon.

Gan Guoyang started with a block, two accurate shots, and his elegant dunk, quickly attracting a group of temporary fans.

Eric White was quite annoyed. He had played at Rochambord Stadium for a year or two and hadn't received as many cheers as this guy had today.

There's no way around it; fans are visual creatures. Eric White is very strong, but his playing style is solid and unassuming, not exactly eye-catching on the street. Steve LaVine came over to comfort White, "Relax, Eric, we haven't gone all out yet, have we? They'll be in pain later."

Steve LaVine was clearly confident in his trio, and White calmed down and got into the offensive game.

LaVine lobbed the ball to White in the low post, and White backed down to push inside – the low post back-to-the-basket technique is an essential offensive skill for players from guards to centers in this era.

Aside from a few adult players, White's physique has always been unstoppable on Rochambord Stadium. Standing at 6'6" and weighing 190 pounds, he is difficult for his peers to compete with.

Today he finally met his match. When he was blocking the way, he felt that Gan Guoyang was like a nail driven into the ground. No matter how hard he tried, he could not budge him even a little.

After receiving the ball, he dribbled and pushed it inwards, but it felt like he was hitting a concrete block.

"Watfuck, is this a telephone pole buried in the ground?"

When White couldn't force the ball to its limit, he started to doubt himself and gave up on the idea of ​​taking the ball by force, passing it back to Steve LaVine.

"This kid's defense is so tough, how come Eric can't do anything about him?"

Steve LaVine was quite surprised, and upon receiving the pass back, he immediately changed his strategy.

He dribbled down the left flank and then passed the ball to Pittman, who had circled around.

Pittman caught the ball, stopped abruptly, and made a jump shot.

Cancer kept close behind, and Gan Guohui's defense ultimately proved to be a major weakness.

He couldn't keep up with Pittman's agile running, and after just a few rounds, he was already a little out of breath.

This is precisely why Cancer is called Cancer – whether on offense or defense, they excel at wearing down their opponents.

Endless running, an incredibly fast pace, and relentless, powerful pressing on the defensive end.

Teams that are slightly weaker or have a weaker overall ability are easily driven to collapse by them.

After a few tentative attacks and defenses in the first few rounds, Cancer's defensive intensity increased significantly.

White began to stick close to the defense, constantly making small hand gestures and trying his best to cut off the passing lanes between Chen Xing and Gan Guoyang.

Chen Xing was unable to shake off LaVine's defense and made two consecutive mistakes, handing over the offensive opportunity.

Pittman made another jump shot, followed by LaVine breaking through the defense and driving to the basket. At the moment when Gan Guoyang was helping to defend, he passed the ball to White with a bounce pass.

White finally unleashed a powerful two-handed dunk, sweeping away his gloomy mood.

Conversely, Gan Guoyang struggled against the tight pressing defense honed by the professional school team.

Chen Xing was unable to pass the ball smoothly to the inside players, so Gan Guoyang tried to receive the ball on the outside.

However, his dribbling skills were not up to par, and he was intercepted by Steve LaVine who came over to double-team him.

LaVine glanced back at the moon and made a through pass to the inside, where White received the ball and easily made a layup.

Unable to break through with his own dribbling skills, Gan Guoyang tried to receive the ball in the low post with his back to the basket.

But White's defense was unlike anyone else's; he used three-quarters of his body to front the opponent, firmly pinning the powerful Gan Guoyang behind him.

Although Gan Guoyang is incredibly strong, in this situation, he just forces his way in without any skill, which results in a foul.

Chen Xing's attempt to lob the ball past the defender was futile—he was constantly disrupted by Steve LaVine's tenacious defense, making even passing the ball difficult.

Gan Guohui stepped up to receive the ball at the top of the arc, then tossed it inside, hoping that Gan Guoyang could jump up and grab it.

But White anticipated the ball's landing point, successfully intercepted it, and regained possession.

The audience members who had been cheering for Gan Guoyang fell silent.

The Black man shook his head and muttered, "Can't withstand the test, kid."

Karp LaVine confirmed his guess: the kid has great talent, but his fundamentals are severely lacking.

It's a pity that at 16 years old, with such basic skills, there's little room for future development.

(End of this chapter)