The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 339 Working and Not Working
The Gonzaga Bulldogs were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA National Championships again this year.

Berman could sense that without recruiting truly talented players, their current performance had reached its ceiling.

Even if they fight with all their might to get to the top 32, at best they can break through the first round. Getting to the top 16 is purely a matter of luck.

Many NCAA championship teams experience a sharp decline in performance after losing their top talents, sometimes even failing to qualify for the national championships.

Given Gonzaga's student body and resources, it's already quite remarkable that they've made it to the national championships for two consecutive years.

Hearing Gan Guoyang say this, Behrman retorted, "Sonny, why do you keep saying I betrayed you? I've already explained it to you..."

“I understand that you want to showcase your talent on a bigger stage. Don’t worry, I’ll arrange an interview for you. But let me tell you, Bobby, my relationship with Jack hasn’t been great lately, so if you go for the interview directly, I’m afraid he’ll reject you.”

Berman was surprised that old man Jack had a bad relationship with the team's star player, Gan Guoyang. Did he not want to continue as coach?
If Jack doesn't become a coach, does Bobby Berman have a chance to directly compete for the head coach position?

Bobby Bellman leaned closer to Gan Guoyang and whispered, "Since Jack and you don't get along, why don't you just..."

Gan Guoyang knew that Behrman had misunderstood and said, "Hey Bobby, what are you thinking? It's not that our relationship is bad, it's my problem. Once this summer is over and he calms down, it'll be fine."

The wedding banquet was very noisy, so the two found a quiet place to sit down and talk.

Although they won the championship, as Gan Guoyang said, they didn't even have time to savor the taste of victory before they had to start preparing for the new season.

In this league rife with drugs, the championship is the most addictive and legal drug; once you've tasted it, you'll want to try it again and again.

Ordinary drugs are readily available and can be obtained with a little money, but the "championship drug" requires great effort to obtain, and most people cannot even taste it.

“Mr. Bellman, I promised the Portlanders at the celebration that we will bring the championship back to Portland next season.”

"I've seen the news. You're really good at bragging, aren't you? No team in the league has successfully defended their title for 17 years, and every defending champion doesn't have a good ending the following year. You're probably the only one in the league looking forward to seeing you fail next season. Is Dr. Jack angry with you because of this?"

"No, no, that's not it. Don't worry about that. If you really want to work for the Trail Blazers, you need to have something real to convince the management and coaching staff. Jack isn't interested in your stats-based approach. I'm not saying your methods are wrong, it's just not the right time yet. If you go for an interview next season, put away your stats for now and bring out the defensive principles you learned in college, along with your training methods—those are your strengths. Anyway, get into a team first. Once you're in the NBA, you'll naturally have the opportunity to showcase your ideas."

Gan Guoyang offered constructive advice, and he actually really wanted a strong defensive coach to join the team for the new season.

Last season, the Trail Blazers were gradually transforming from an offensive team to a defensive team. Although Ramsey was an expert in defense, he was 60 years old and his energy was limited.

Coaching on defense is very physically and mentally demanding, and Ramsey, who has to control the overall situation, sometimes inevitably falls short in the details.

Season after season, the NBA's offensive and defensive competition will become increasingly intense, and new tactics and new ideas will continue to emerge.

If players and teams fail to adapt to trends and evolve, they will be eliminated in this ever-changing league.

Berman nodded, agreeing with Gan Guoyang's point that he should first find a way to get into the NBA.

"Forrest Gump, thank you so much," Berman said. "Without you, I'd probably still be an assistant coach at a youth training camp in San Francisco, teaching kids the basics. While grassroots coaching is important, it's not my ideal place. College and the NBA are where I belong and my dream. Thank you, Forrest Gump."

With that, Berman toasted Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang laughed and said, "I also want to thank you. Your sarcastic remarks on the phone back then ignited my competitive spirit. That's why I worked so hard in the training camp and have been working hard until today without ever stopping."

Indeed, from the moment he stepped onto the basketball court, Gan Guoyang kept running forward, never once considering stopping halfway.

Even though he has temporarily reached a small point of fulfillment in his life, he is not satisfied. Instead, he lets go of the past and continues to move forward. The two were chatting about their high school and college days when Fitz suddenly burst in. Seeing Behrman drinking with Gan Guoyang, he pointed at Behrman and said, "Bobby, you're trying to get on Forrest Gump's good side again. You're going to betray us again!"

"We said in the contract that I could leave at any time!"

"Alright, alright, we can talk about that later. Our entire Gonzaga team wants to take a picture with the newlyweds, so come out here, come out here!"

The couple quickly got up and went to the grass to take a group photo with the Stocktons, marking the end of the grand wedding.

The next day, the newlywed Stocktons went to warm San Diego for their honeymoon, while Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi returned to Portland together.

Wang Fuxi officially graduated from university in June. When asked what kind of job she wanted to do, she replied very simply, "I don't want to work."

"What? You studied hard for four years at the University of Portland, majoring in computer science, which is a very promising industry, and you're not working?" Gan Guoyang was very surprised.

“Yeah, if I work, I’ll be working every day, constantly on the go, and only have two days off a week. And you, you’re not in Portland most of the time anyway, you’re always flying around, and you have so much time to train. I won’t have any time to spend with you. What if I’m working and our relationship has faded, and you dump me? That’s why I can’t work.”

Wang Fuxi's reasoning was sound: she feared that once she started working, she would have less time to spend with Gan Guoyang, and their relationship would fall apart.

Gan Guoyang said, "Hey, don't you know what kind of person I am? Since I agreed to be with you, I won't break up with you so easily. When we got together, I made it very clear to you that no matter what happens, we will face it together."

"Am I facing a bad situation?"

"You handled it very well, in every aspect, impeccably."

After Gan Guoyang became famous, Wang Fuxi inevitably faced a lot of pressure.

Gan Guoyang, in particular, has a huge number of female fans, and almost every day women express their love for him.

In this situation, Wang Fuxi maintained a calm attitude towards Gan Guoyang. Although she was occasionally a little jealous, it was harmless and provided Gan Guoyang with a stable rear base.

She was no different from any other college student at school, and refused the daily pick-up and protection from bodyguards, saying that it was too high-profile, unnecessary, and would cause trouble for Gan Guoyang.

They respect and love each other. Although they inevitably have disagreements, arguments, and squabbles, their relationship is getting better and better overall.

“I used to think that a woman should have her own career and her own dreams. That's why I play basketball and I can program. But after meeting you, I realized that life always involves making choices, and if you want everything, you end up with nothing. You are the center of my life, and I don't want to be distracted by anything else. You will have more and more complicated things to deal with in the future, especially after winning the championship. I want to stay by your side to help you and support you. I don't want to be like those celebrity couples who are only together in name, drift apart, and eventually break up. If you don't want to marry me, I don't care. Anyway, more and more people are not getting married these days, and I'll just stay with you.”

Wang Fuxi spoke sincerely, tears welling in her eyes. She was very similar to Gan Guoyang in this respect; once she decided to do something, she would be very determined and would not be influenced by anything else.

In fact, Gan Guoyang didn't care whether Wang Fuxi worked or not. What was so great about working in a lousy class? With money, what couldn't he do?
She and Bellman, one didn't want to work, and the other wanted to find a tiring job. The difference between people is really huge.

"Okay, okay, do whatever you want, I support you, we won't be short of money anyway."

"Haha, really? I'm so glad you support me. So, can you take me with you this time when we go to Italy?"

"..."

After all that talk, it turns out they were waiting in this place.

"Okay! I'll take you to Italy! We'll leave next week."

(End of this chapter)