The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 350 Control

For Bobby Bellman, moving from Gonzaga to Portland was not a troublesome affair.

All his belongings could be loaded into a pickup truck. He would drive southwest from Spokane on Highway 90 to Hermiston, where he would refuel, rest, and then drive west along the Columbia River for another three hours to reach his destination.

Since his marriage broke down, Bobby Bellman's life has revolved solely around basketball.

From Michigan to New Jersey, from San Francisco to Spokane, and finally to Portland, he took one step at a time and completed his own comeback in a very short period of time.

A man who was expelled from university for allegedly gambling on basketball and ended up as an assistant coach in a grassroots basketball training program has now embarked on his NBA journey.

Berman undoubtedly felt nostalgic and reluctant to leave Spokane and Gonzaga University, where he spent four whole years truly immersing himself in studying basketball and coaching.

Especially in the two years since Gan Guoyang went to the NBA, without this superstar, Berman has led the Bulldogs to the NCAA national championships twice with his own coaching skills, which is truly a remarkable achievement.

He was highly respected in Gonzaga, had good relationships with Fitz, Delon and others, his new contract offered him a very good salary, and Spokane was a pleasant place to live. He could easily start a new life here, teaching at the university for five, ten or even more years.

In the days before the NCAA became entirely profit-driven, it was common for a suitable and excellent college coach to stay with the team for 15 to 20 years.

Ray Meyer of DePaul University, for example, served as a coach for 40 years until his retirement. His son, Joey Meyer, took over his position, and his grandson was sent to the Bulls as a scout.

If Berman wanted, with his NCAA championship and two national titles, he could have settled down in Spokane like Meyer, started a new marriage, had children, and become the basketball leader of Gonzaga University.

But Berman didn't do that. He didn't even buy a house in Spokane and rented for four years, working odd jobs while coaching during the toughest early days to pay for the rent.

Even after winning the championship and improving his conditions, Berman still rented a place. From that time on, Fitz knew that Berman's heart was not truly with Gonzaga, and even after signing the contract, he still retained the clause that allowed him to leave at any time.

Upon arriving in Portland, with the help of Gan Guoyang, Bellman rented an apartment in Lake Hill Park, which was close to Portland Community College, making it convenient for him to commute to and from get off work.

With his excellent professional skills, Berman was quickly entrusted with important responsibilities, such as being in charge of the rookie training camp and serving as a defensive coach in the preseason training camp, responsible for guiding the players' individual defense.

For Berman, the difficulty of the job was not in the technique; he had absolute confidence in his basketball skills. The real challenge lay in how to get along with the players and how to earn the respect of professional players.

This is the primary challenge many college coaches face when they come to NBA professional teams. How to play the game and what tactics to use are often not the most difficult things. The biggest challenge is getting the players to listen to you and get along with you.

Professional players are not students; you can't treat them like a teacher treats students. Players' positions are often more secure than coaches', and sometimes coaches have to coax the players.

In the past, at Beiqiao Middle School and Gonzaga, Bellman was a master of profanity, but when he joined the Trail Blazers, he had to restrain himself and had to hold back some things for the time being.

From the start of the rookie training camp, he took on a lot of tedious tasks, such as making spreadsheets, taking notes, editing videos, and serving as a referee in matches. These were all things that used to be Adelman's job, but now they've all been handed over to him, keeping him extremely busy every day.

For a coach to be a champion NCAA team and have to do odd jobs on an NBA team is something most coaches would find hard to accept.

But Bellman didn't complain. He had experienced worse situations, so this was nothing.

Moreover, he can indeed learn a lot from Ramsey; the title of "coach of coaches" is no joke.

The good news for Berman is that with Gan Guoyang on the team, the difficulty of integrating him into the team has been greatly reduced.

Gan Guoyang is a natural leader and the undisputed king of Portland. Bellman's status as "Forrest Gump University Coach" has brought him many advantages.

Although he sometimes had to say bad things about Gan Guoyang behind his back in order to please Jack Ramsey, Berman knew in his heart that Gan was the foundation of his career with the Trail Blazers, and he had to serve this young master well no matter what.

Gan Guoyang's requirements for Berman were simple: stay with him every day for extra training, guide Gan Guoyang's defensive techniques, and then have dinner together in the evening.

Gan Guoyang did not win the Defensive Player of the Year award last season because after losing weight he focused more on the offensive end, and in order to control his fouls, his number of blocks decreased. Therefore, the title of Defensive Player of the Year went to Alvin Robertson, who had excellent steal statistics.

In the playoffs, especially the Finals, Gan Guoyang proved with his blocks and defense that he is the best interior defender in the league. It can only be said that the Defensive Player of the Year award is heavily influenced by statistics and public perception, because this award is chosen by the media, and that's what the media values.

The defensive lineup was selected by the coach, who knew best who the best defender in the league was—Gan Guoyang was selected for the first defensive team without any doubt.

Gan Guoyang was not satisfied with this. He believed that he still had room for improvement on the defensive end, especially in how to defend two opponents at once. This kind of high-difficulty task that requires a lot of experience and skill is something that Gan Guoyang is very interested in.

Gan Guoyang knew that Walton would be out for most of the year, and Jones and Thompson were a year older, so he would definitely have to put in more effort on the defensive end.

As for offense, players like Drexler, Vandeweghe, Porter, and Korsey are all in their developmental stages, so there's no need to worry about the team lacking scoring options. Therefore, for the sake of the team, Gan Guoyang is willing to contribute more on the defensive end and sacrifice some of his scoring statistics.

After learning of Gan Guoyang's plans, Berman exclaimed, "You are truly willing to sacrifice everything for victory. You are the best player I have ever seen, both from an individual and team perspective."

Gan Guoyang said, "Then why are you still talking badly about me behind my back?"

"Huh?...I...I didn't, I was just joking." Bellman thought to himself, which mole said that? Could it be Adelman?
"Say what you want, just coax Dr. Jack a bit. I don't think he's in too good shape this year, after all, he's getting old. People tend to be stubborn when they get older, and they like to hear things they like to hear. Adelman has been an assistant coach for so many years, and your arrival is a step up for him, so he'll be very motivated. You should cooperate well with him. Although this guy's mind is a bit slow, he has a lot of ideas on offense, and the two of you will make a great pair."

Berman nodded. Gan Guoyang's understanding of human nature was still beyond his years. His overall control over the team was becoming increasingly profound, something that most team leaders could not achieve.

He had this ability back in high school, and it remained the same in college. In just two seasons in the NBA, he also led the Trail Blazers to victory.

"Hey Bobby, when do you want to be the team's head coach?" Gan Guoyang asked Berman another question that touched his soul.

Bellman stammered for a moment before saying, "I...I haven't been with the Trail Blazers for long, and I haven't thought about this at all."

"Don't lie to me, Bobby. If you don't want to be the head coach, why give up Gonzaga's job? It's only a matter of time before you become the head coach."

Upon hearing Gan Guoyang's words, Bellman dropped his pretense and said, "Shouldn't we at least wait until Dr. Jack retires?"

Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "So when do you think Dr. Jack will retire?"

Bellman wondered, "Is this something I can think of? Or is it something I can do simply by wanting to?"

The two did not discuss the issue in depth, but Bellman could sense that he was already being manipulated by his prized student.

In fact, as early as 1981, when Gan Guoyang called the Excel in Basketball summer camp, and Bellman answered the phone, he was already under their control.
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Time flew by and it was already mid-October when the preseason officially began.

After a period of adjustments, the defending champions began their preseason warm-up games.

The Trail Blazers' performance in the preseason was as lackluster as ever; Ramsey never wastes too much energy in the preseason.

The main purpose of the preseason is to assess players and tactical strategies, giving young players ample playing time to prove whether they can stay on the team.

After their final preseason game, the Trail Blazers finalized their 12-man roster for the 1986-1987 season.

Inside players: Gan Guoyang, Walton, Jones, Thompson.

Forwards: Vandeweghe, Jerome Kossie, Kenny Carr.

Guards: Drexler, Paxson, Terry Porter, Dale Curry, Jeff Hornacek.

This is still a very competitive roster, and the Trail Blazers have officially embarked on a difficult road to defend their title.

(End of this chapter)