The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 19 Statement
In the 19th century, San Francisco was known as a city of sin, where the wealth brought by gold fueled rampant crime.

In Barbary Beach, casinos, brothels, pubs, and theaters stand side by side.

In Chinatown, there are Chinese restaurants, temples, opium dens, and Asian prostitutes in the Red Mansion.

The Pacific News stated in 1852: "No country in the world dares to say that it has never sent a single prostitute to San Francisco."

The Tenderloin district, not far from Chinatown, has long been one of the most crime-ridden and chaotic areas in San Francisco.

This downtown area has always maintained its dirty but distinctive character, with homelessness, drug trafficking, prostitution, and strip clubs being common labels associated with it.

At the same time, it was also a refuge for non-mainstream art and culture and marginalized groups. Bands such as Green Day and The Dead Kennedy recorded records here.

During the Vietnam War, a large influx of immigrants from Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia brought the area to Tien Duc Long, earning it the nickname "Little Saigon".

Regardless of the dark, cold depiction of reality or the romanticized legends, Chinese people have always played a less-than-glorious role in these narratives.

Chinese restaurants, opium, bound-foot prostitutes, and bespectacled bookworms—these are pretty much all that Americans imagine about Chinese people.

Like the gaunt, pale-faced old men in Hollywood movies, wearing mandarin jackets and melon-shaped hats, with ugly rat-tail braids and numb expressions.

For a Chinese basketball team to defeat a well-known streetball team in San Francisco is, in the eyes of the residents of the Tenderloin neighborhood, nothing short of an Indian winning the Nobel Prize in Physics.

But Gan Guoyang did it; in the match on the afternoon of August 2nd, he dominated his opponent.

Although Cancer put up a strong fight, they managed to close the gap to 5-6 at one point.

However, their key player, White, was completely outmatched in his confrontation with Gan Guoyang.

He was almost unable to score, and also unable to defend against Gan Guoyang's one-on-one attacks in the low post.

Once Gan Guoyang mastered the technical details of low post positioning, White, who played small forward on the school team, was completely dominated.

Even fouls couldn't stop Gan Guoyang from scoring under the basket; the referee's whistle only served as a rallying cry for the crowd's cheers.

Not to mention, when the game was going well, Gan Guoyang also had a skillful but calm passing technique, assisting Chen Xing and Gan Guohui, making Cancer's double-team ineffective.

Both teams performed admirably, seizing all three scoring opportunities and making the most of Gan Guoyang's passes.

Clearly, after losing the last game, they are constantly thinking about revenge.

Appropriate hatred is the best liquor to motivate people to move forward.

Steve LaVine, White, and Pittman never expected that just one week later, the performance of both sides on the field would be reversed.

Putting aside the influence of venue and morale, Gan Guoyang's progress is undoubtedly the most direct reason.

"His progress is frighteningly fast, Dad. Can anyone learn those things in a week?" LaVine asked his father after the competition.

Several names flashed through Karp's mind, but even these geniuses seemed unable to make such great progress in just one week.

"Maybe he was hiding his true abilities in the last game, or... he had some other reason for not playing well. Maybe I should take some time to visit his family's restaurant. Don't be discouraged, Steve, there are always a lot of monsters in this world, especially on the basketball court."

While making excuses for Gan Guoyang's progress, Karp comforted his son.

Gan Guoyang had already left the stadium surrounded by the crowd and led a group of people to Gan's Restaurant.

Gan Youtang and Gan Bingguang were startled, thinking that the vagrants had come to rob them, and were so frightened that they almost picked up the phone to dial 911.

After figuring out the situation, I learned that my grandson and his team had actually won the game, bringing glory to Tiandelong District.

Raymond, Ispel, and their friends brought down their instruments, intending to hold a small punk concert in the restaurant—free of charge, but no alcoholic beverages allowed. The once quiet Gan Family Restaurant suddenly became noisy and chaotic, and Gan Bingguang and Gan Youtang almost lost control of the situation.

Fortunately, they held their ground at the counter, preventing the celebration from turning into a looting spree.

The result of the victory celebration was:

The restaurant had sold out of its stock of alcoholic beverages and had to go to a nearby supermarket to buy more. The side dishes on the steamer were very popular, but many were eaten without being paid for. Gan Youwei experienced an overload of work in the kitchen, but he was proud of his son and did not feel tired because of his rosy complexion. The restaurant's toilet, which was originally quite clean, was ruined and became the dirtiest and most chaotic place for excrement on the West Coast.

When reviewing the accounts, Gan Bingguang discovered that the restaurant's revenue in one night exceeded that of the entire month of July, which gave Gan Family Restaurant a way out.

Although this business model deviates from the original intention, in the current environment and economic situation, survival is the most important thing.

Despite being instrumental in coming up with ideas and winning the game, Gan Guoyang and Gan Guohui received different treatment.

Gan Guoyang was asked to rest early so he could get up early the next day to go to the summer camp.

Gan Guohui's task was to clean the toilets, which was an even tougher test than winning today's match.

Gan Guohui disagreed, but Gan Youtang said, "Guoyang is the real hope, you're just a runner-up. Making him clean toilets is unacceptable! You'll have to bear with it and suffer a bit, Hui-zai."

Fortunately, Gan Youwei stewed a pot of soybean and pig tail soup for Gan Guohui as a late-night snack, which slightly soothed his soul that had been suffocated by the stench.

On Sunday morning, the 3rd, Capo LaVine drove his Cadillac to Gan's Restaurant, following the address on the card, wanting to talk to Gan Guoyang.

Upon learning that Gan Guoyang and Gan Guohui were going to Walnut Creek to attend the Alok Basketball Summer Camp, he offered to drive them there.

The distance from San Francisco to Walnut Creek is about 40 kilometers, which takes only half an hour by car, but by bus and light rail, you need to transfer in Oakland and it takes at least an hour.

Since they figured they might as well hitch a ride, Gan Guoyang and Gan Guohui put their luggage in the trunk. Gan Guoyang was too tall, so he had to adjust the passenger seat back quite a distance to sit in it.

Gan Guohui stayed up too late cleaning the toilets last night and didn't sleep well, so he fell asleep quickly in the back seat.

While driving, Karp chatted with Gan Guoyang about many things related to basketball.

Karp didn't pry into Gan Guoyang's privacy; he simply asked him about his thoughts on the future.

When Gan Guoyang said he wanted to play in the NBA in the future, Kapu's face turned serious.

If it weren't for yesterday's game, Karp might have just smiled and shook his head, thinking it was just another kid dreaming.

But now the situation is different, and Karp believes this is something worth taking seriously.

"If you really want to get into the NBA, then you need to have a good plan for the next two to three years. A good high school and a basketball college that suits you are essential steps. I might be able to offer some help."

Karp is right; this kind of guidance is important for a 16-year-old.

But Gan Guoyang's mind was not that of a 16-year-old. He asked in return, "Why are you helping me? We are not related."

Karp smiled; he knew Gan Guoyang was going to ask this question. He replied, “If I said I simply value talent and ask for nothing in return, you would think I’m hypocritical. I’ve been pushing a writing project since 74, a series of stories about the San Francisco Bay Area. The first time I saw you at the stadium, I thought you were a great subject… Forgive my somewhat presumptuous wording, but your identity…”

"Yes, I know, I am Chinese. There are no Chinese people playing professional basketball."

"That's right. But when I was young, there was a Japanese guy who briefly played in the NBA, back in 1947. His name was Wataru Misaka, and he was a player for the University of Utah in the NCAA, winning the 1944 NCAA championship and the 1947 NIT championship with his team. In the NBA, back then it was called the New York Knicks (BAA), he only played three games. But his name will forever be etched in basketball history because he was the first Asian to step onto a professional basketball court."

Gan Guoyang understood what Karp meant. If he could become the first Chinese player to play professional basketball, no matter how well he played, he would leave a mark on history and become a story worth writing for Karp.

Gan Guoyang said, "Thank you, Mr. Karp. However, I want to clarify that firstly, I respect every basketball player who strives hard, but please never compare me to a Japanese person. Secondly, I will leave my mark on history, but not because of my skin color or identity, but because of my achievements on the court. Finally, could you please slow down a bit? I feel a little nauseous..."

(End of this chapter)