The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 526 Gap
Time flew by and it was October 1989 in Salem, Oregon, about a 45-minute drive from Portland.

The Trail Blazers moved their training camp from the former Portland Community College hangar-like gymnasium to the scenic Willamette University.

This location is further from the city center, with well-developed infrastructure and beautiful scenery. The coaching staff believed that the new season should have a fresh start, so they arranged the training location here.

The rookie training camp takes place before the preseason training camp, by which time summer has passed and the autumn winds have turned the leaves red.

With the crisp autumn air, this is a perfect time to train.

The weather was great on the first day of the training camp; it didn't rain, and the temperature and humidity were just right.

Petrovich got up very early, opened the window and breathed in the fresh air outside, feeling quite excited.

Portland's climate is quite similar to that of his hometown, Croatia; the autumn is a bit chilly, but very pleasant.

After the dispute with Real Madrid was settled, Petrovic remained in Portland to recover from his injury.

His injury improved day by day, and gradually the team doctor allowed him to engage in physical training and shooting practice.

In his new apartment in Portland, the first piece of equipment he bought for himself was an exercise bike. Every morning he would get up and warm up by cycling, then go to the gym to train and run, never letting himself be idle.

By the end of September, he was able to play, and he immediately began spending most of his time in the gym.

He trained so hard, from dawn till dusk, that he would not rest until he had completely exhausted his energy.

In contrast, the two giants, Divac and Sabonis, know how to enjoy life more, and they enjoy fine food and drinks at restaurants and bars in Portland.

Sabonis has an amazing alcohol tolerance. According to Divac, they drank beer at the bar, and Sabonis drank countless glasses from the moment he entered until he left, but he never got drunk.

There wasn't even a sign of him being drunk.

Petrovic's life is relatively simple: recovering from injuries, training, eating, sleeping, watching TV, occasionally going out for a nice meal with Divac, or going shopping with his girlfriend Retana Kaić.

However, these only account for a small part of his life. He dedicates most of his time to basketball, anxiously and patiently waiting to showcase his talent on a higher stage.

Compared to NBA games, he is currently more looking forward to the legendary Trail Blazers rookie training camp, hoping to train and compete with Forrest Gump.

Petrovic occasionally sees news reports about Gan Guoyang on television. He attends a star training camp in Los Angeles, hosts games at UCLA, and frequently appears on television in advertisements for Avia, Coca-Cola, and Ford cars. He also appeared as a special guest at Michael Jackson's concerts.

In Madrid, in Yugoslavia, and in Moscow, Petrovic, Divac, and Sabonis were big stars.

But in the United States, Forrest Gump is a true superstar, especially with the promotional support of Tang Jianguo and the combined effect of Michael Jackson, he is becoming a cultural icon.

However, Petrovic is only interested in Gan Guoyang on the basketball court, and today is the day for that.

Petrovich took a deep breath, closed the window, glanced at his girlfriend who was still fast asleep in bed, and then washed up, got dressed, and prepared to leave.

After leaving the house, he first went next door and knocked on the door of Divac and Sabonis's room. Sabonis and Divac opened the door sleepily and saw that Petrovich was already dressed and ready to leave.

Divac complained, "Drazen, why are you up so early? It's only a little past four!"

Petrovic said, "I think the first day of training should be earlier. I heard that Forrest Gump is always the first one to arrive, so I want to be even earlier than him."

Divac shook his head, leaning against the door, and said, "You brought your girlfriend with you, how could you get up so early? Don't you know you should spend more time with her?"

Sabonis said, "Unmarried young men always get up early. Alright, let's get ready and head out. If I ever buy a house in Portland, I'll definitely keep it far from the Drazen's house to avoid disturbing my sleep..."

Like Divac, Sabonis also got married to his girlfriend after deciding to come to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The women might worry that the evil capitalist America will corrupt their giant boyfriends, since basketball players are very popular with women in the US, and they could change girlfriends every day if they wanted to.

Sabonis's wife, Ingrida, is a beautiful Lithuanian woman. She has her own job and plans to wait until Sabonis settles down in the Trail Blazers and buys a house before considering moving to Portland.

In this respect, European players and African American players are really very different.

Sabonis and Divac's wedding had a significant impact both domestically and regionally, and was broadcast live on television, comparable to Gan Guoyang's grand wedding in Chinatown.

For these well-known players, a grand wedding is a moral constraint—of course, without morality, there is no constraint.

After the three finished packing, they got into Divac's Mercedes. Sabonis sat alone in the back, while Petrovic sat in the passenger seat.

"Drazen, buckle your seatbelt."

"No, wearing a seatbelt is uncomfortable."

"But it's safe!"

"Go ahead and drive. I trust your driving skills."

Petrovic doesn't like to wear a seatbelt when he's in a car, just like his free-spirited playing style on the field.

They drove south along Interstate 45 from their apartment and arrived at Willamette University 45 minutes later.

It was already daylight when they parked their car in the stadium parking lot and ran into Rick Adelman.

After returning to Portland, Adelman went from head coach to assistant coach, returning to his old job of running a rookie training camp.

As a coach, Adelman is quite strict. During the Summer League, he guided the team's training and was very strict with Divac and Sabonis, pointing out their many problems without mercy.

Therefore, Sabonis and Divac were somewhat intimidated by Adelman, while head coach Bobby Berman made them feel friendly and approachable.

After recovering, Petrovic also received guidance from Adelman. Petrovic, who was a superstar in Europe, was too thin and slow in Adelman's eyes, who said, "It will be difficult for you to survive in the NBA like this."

Petrovich was very dissatisfied, believing that his body had not yet recovered to its best condition.

He felt pretty good today, and when he saw Adelman, he went up to greet him: "Coach, you're here so early."

Adelman replied in his hoarse voice, "Today is the first day, so I need to come early to do some preparations. Are you all ready?"

Petrovich nodded vigorously and asked, "Has Forrest Gump arrived?"

Adelman said, "Forrest Gump should have been training for at least an hour."

As he spoke, Adelman pointed to a car in the corner of the parking lot, which was Gan Guoyang's car.

Petrovich was surprised. The three of them were early enough, so how could Forrest Gump be even earlier?
The four of them entered the gymnasium together, and sure enough, they heard the sound of a ball bouncing inside.

Upon entering the stadium, there was only one person in the vast arena. He had his back to the four people, was shirtless, and his muscles were perfectly sculpted.

His back muscles had a marble-sculpted texture, making him look like a work of art from a distance.

He wasn't as tall as David Robinson, but he was more solid and had a rock-solid lower body.

At this moment, he was practicing three-point shooting. A basket of balls was placed in front of him. He picked one up and, without moving his lower limbs, relied entirely on the strong power of his upper limbs, arm and wrist to easily throw the ball.

His entire upper body core was very stable, without any swaying. Only his arms and hands moved, and he threw the ball in a perfect parabola, which went into the basket steadily.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth... and ten more in a row, all with that machine-like precision and consistency.

Until all the balls in the basket were thrown, Gan Guoyang only missed one. The rest not only hit the basket but didn't even touch it.

Such precise and consistent shooting, relying solely on upper body power, was truly a sight to behold and breathtaking. The four men stood quietly on the sidelines, watching intently.

Gan Guoyang only noticed after he finished shooting that Adelman and the three little pigs from Eastern Europe had already arrived at the training hall and were standing at the door watching his shot.

Gan Guoyang waved to Adelman and said, "Rick! Do me a favor and get all the balls back into the basket, thanks!"

Adelman shrugged and said, "I'm the coach."

"I know this is the price you pay for your betrayal, a small punishment for you. Get to work, lunch is on me."

Adelman, who was usually very strict with Petrovic and his two teammates, could only shrug and sigh helplessly before actually running off to retrieve the ball.

This was simply unbelievable to Petrovic and others, because in Europe, basketball coaches have supreme authority and their word is law in the team, just like in American college basketball.

But in the NBA, especially with the Trail Blazers, star players are paramount.

Adelman ran over and picked up the balls from the ground one by one and put them into the basket, seemingly not finding it shameful at all.

Gan Guoyang came over to greet the Eastern European trio. Only after getting up close and personal with them did Petrovic realize just how powerful the aura and pressure of this NBA's number one player was.

Although he was shorter than Sabonis and Divac, he didn't seem small at all when you stood in front of him; on the contrary, he looked even bigger than the two giants.

This is related to his perfect, strong muscles, as well as his unparalleled confidence and temperament; his eyes are full of openness and confidence.

You can tell from the fact that he ordered Adelman to retrieve the ball for him that he is the king here and can control everything.

Petrovic had thought about what he would say when he first met Forrest Gump. He wanted to play one-on-one with Forrest, or, as he had said on the phone, have a three-point shooting contest with Forrest.

But seeing how accurately Gan Guoyang shot from beyond the three-point line using only his upper body strength, Petrovic hesitated.

The NBA's three-point line is much farther than FIBA's. He hasn't even gotten used to the NBA's three-point distance yet, let alone challenge this center three-point king.

Gan Guoyang inquired about Sabonis and Petrovic's injuries and asked about Divac's English learning progress.

He cautioned, "The purpose of rookie training camp is to select the players who will ultimately stay with the Trail Blazers. Although you've all signed contracts, those on short-term contracts will work very hard to stay; they'll fight tooth and nail. The Trail Blazers have always been a fair team. If you play well, you can stay; if you don't play well, even if you stay, you won't get enough playing time. So rookie training camp is always tough, extremely tough. Good luck, comrades."

Gan Guoyang didn't say "buddies," but instead used the term "comrades."

If we add Song Tao, who has returned to China, the four of them are enough to establish a Party branch in the Trail Blazers.

Song Tao spent a season recovering from an injury in Portland. Last season, he was the team's twelfth man and sat on the bench, occasionally getting some playing time.

However, he is indeed unable to reach the NBA level in terms of physical strength. Although he has made considerable progress, frequent injuries have made it difficult for him to establish himself.

After his contract expires this season, he returns to China to continue shining in the places where he is needed.

After changing into their jerseys and doing some basic stretching, the three began warming up under Gan Guoyang's guidance.

Gan Guoyang's warm-up method is very simple - a half-hour full-court shooting method.

In half an hour, the two hoops were back and forth, and the player completed all kinds of offensive techniques he knew, such as layups, close-range shots, catch-and-shoot, mid-range shots, three-pointers, and crossover shots, from the inside out and from slow to fast.

Before they started, Gan Guoyang reminded the three people, "If you feel that you can't keep up, stop and rest. Don't push yourself."

Then, Gan Guoyang took the lead, Petrovic followed closely behind, and Sabonis and Divac also joined in, starting to run at both ends of the field.

Adelman assisted from the sidelines, passing the ball and giving instructions, all with a smile on his face, thinking to himself that Adelman was going to train these three European players to death.

No player on the Trail Blazers side could easily keep up with Gan Guoyang's half-hour full-court shooting warm-up before practice.

Don't be fooled by the slow pace at the beginning, with its leisurely layups and shots; it lasted a long time, a full half hour.

As the game progressed, Gan Guoyang's speed increased and the intensity rose, with him constantly accelerating and changing speeds, resulting in a significant drain on his physical energy.

This is hardly a warm-up; for some players with poor physical fitness, this would be considered a full day's training.

Youngsters like Hornacek and Kossi can hold out for 20 minutes, which is pretty good.

After about 15 minutes, Divac was the first to give up. He raised his hand to Adelman to signal that he was going to leave the court for a rest.

It wasn't that his physical fitness was too poor, but rather that Gan Guoyang was leading the way, and the speed was fluctuating, which he couldn't keep up with.

Sweat dripped down Divac's forehead as he sat panting on the sidelines. Was this supposed to be a warm-up?
Sabonis was the second to give up. It wasn't a problem with his stamina, but rather that his ankles and knees couldn't take it anymore, and he started to get a fever.

For a heavyweight like him, running and jumping training should be reduced to a certain extent to protect his joints.

At 19 or 20 years old, Sabonis was a 7-foot-3 monster who could run and jump, had abundant physical strength.

Like Divac, he felt weak in his legs after the game, clearly indicating that he had expended a lot of energy.

Divac joked with Sabonis, "Did you stop only because I raised my hand to stop? You were too embarrassed to be the first to stop, right? You should thank me."

“I’ll teach you an English phrase, it means thank you. Fuck you.” The two laughed heartily on the sidelines, panting, while Adelman said, “This is just the beginning. The NBA season is long, and you need to have good physical reserves to prepare for the game.”

At this point, only Gan Guoyang and Petrovic remained on the field, while the stadium was getting increasingly crowded as everyone came to report.

Last year, the Trail Blazers only retained one of their rookies, Mark Bryant; the others did not re-sign and left the team.

This year's draft eliminated the later rounds, leaving only the first two rounds, so many players went undrafted.

Players who are not selected can only play in the Summer League, sign a ten-day short contract, and then participate in rookie training camps and preseason training camps in an attempt to stay and secure a job.

However, among all the teams' rookie training camps, the Trail Blazers have the most prestigious reputation because Forrest Gump will be participating.

Many fringe players with NBA dreams want to come to Portland to give it a try and see firsthand how the NBA's number one player trains.

However, after training camp, they often only have one thought: I want to rest and never want to stay in Portland to play again.

Training with Gan Guoyang is too tough.

At this moment, Petrovich was still trying to keep up with Gan Guoyang's pace.

For the first 20 minutes, Petrovic felt there was no problem and even wanted to overtake Gan Guoyang.

After 20 minutes, the physical exertion became very high, and the movements began to become distorted.

Even simple layups can go wrong, let alone long-range shots from the outside.

However, Gan Guoyang began to accelerate 20 minutes later; his turning speed and shooting speed both increased.

Gan Guoyang started "ringing" the basket, finishing with a dunk and then hitting a three-pointer on the other side.

He ran back to the other side, dunked again, and then ran back to shoot a mid-range shot—at this moment, Petrovic was still shooting a three-pointer, which he had just missed.

The two balls collided and bounced apart in the air. Gan Guoyang rushed over, grabbed the ball, turned around, and quickly shot a mid-range shot with a slight backward lean, hitting the target accurately.

He got the ball, turned back, and finished with another dunk on the other side.

Petrovic finally made the three-pointer after trying twice.

Gan Guoyang was like a tireless machine, sprinting back and forth between the two baskets.

After 25 minutes, Divac and Sabonis could see that Petrovic was very tired.

His speed has slowed, his shooting is unsteady, and he's staggering – he hasn't fully recovered from his injury.

Even in a perfectly healthy state, such a warm-up is still too taxing.

Professional athletes are human too; they get tired, their muscles ache, and their joints hurt.

Starting this season, the Trail Blazers will not only have to change their training venue, but also their training schedule.

In the past, they trained twice a day, two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, for a total of four hours.

If you want to do extra training, that's your own business; the coach and trainer will leave on time.

At the start of this season, Adelman and Bellman discussed and decided to train once a day.

Training starts at 9 a.m. and lasts for about three hours, ending at 12 p.m. If the players want to do extra training in the afternoon, that's their own business.

The reason for reducing the frequency and increasing the duration of each session is twofold: firstly, to improve efficiency, as players can concentrate better during a three-hour training session.

Secondly, considering health, reducing training by one hour is more efficient and causes less wear and tear on the players.

During last season's playoffs, many Trail Blazers players suffered injuries, including Gan Guoyang, who strained his calf.

Therefore, health management must be given a very important position.

Of course, it's impossible to reduce Gan Guoyang's training time.

This guy only has one time plan when it comes to training: keep training.

Petrovic finally couldn't hold on any longer, and with half an hour to go, he ran to the sidelines and vomited.

Gan Guoyang, however, was still full of energy and completed a dunk.

He only stopped warming up when he saw Petrovich vomit, and waved to Adelman: "Rick, clean up."

Adelman rolled his eyes. So, if I betray you once, I'll just become a handyman, huh?

How many times has Bellman betrayed us!

After vomiting, Petrovic actually stood up, took the ball, and returned to the field to finish the rest of his warm-up.

Divac and Sabonis tried to persuade Petrovic, but Petrovic wouldn't listen. Gan Guoyang, on the other hand, didn't try to stop him and ran with him until the last minute.

Half an hour of torture, and this was just a warm-up session—it's unimaginable.

Adelman cleaned up the vomit and told Petrovic, "This was just Forrest Gump's warm-up. He does two to three hours of extra training before practice every day, and then three to four hours of training after practice. In short... this is not our team's training volume."

Petrovich drank some water; his face was very pale.

“He is my goal, and I will be like him,” Petrovich said.

"Rest is just as important as training."

"Doesn't Forrest Gump need rest?"

"Forrest Gump is different from ordinary people. He is completely different from ordinary people. Don't try to emulate him."

At this moment, Gan Guoyang remained calm, chatting and laughing with Sabonis and others on the sidelines.

It has to be said that Gan Guoyang's physical fitness is an anomaly, thanks to his physical model.

Some athletes are simply exceptionally fit, such as sprint legend Michael Johnson.

He is a legend in the 400 meters. The 400-meter event has always been a nightmare for runners, a distance between endurance running and speed running.

Even for world-class athletes, every 400-meter sprint is a challenge to their physical limits, and many champions are carried off the stadium on stretchers after finishing the race.

But Michael Johnson won the 400-meter race without even breaking a sweat, looking perfectly normal, just like before the race, and not even sweating.

Gan Guoyang is a physical monster. For him, 30 minutes of shuttle runs plus shooting and layups are just a warm-up to get his body into its best condition.

The following training sessions were very painful for Petrovic, but he forced himself to participate.

But Gan Guoyang is like the catfish in a can of sardines, bringing the training pace and intensity to a very fast and very high level.

Actually, if Petrovic had just run around shooting for half an hour by himself to warm up, he wouldn't have vomited.

But there was a tireless guy leading the way, setting a really fast pace, and he couldn't keep up.

Three hours of training: one hour of skills, one hour of tactics, and one hour of sparring.

Adelman followed Gan Guoyang's rhythm completely, which was unbearable for the others, who were tortured to the point of near death.

Cliff Robinson quit halfway through training, saying he couldn't go on and needed to rest.

However, Sabonis and his two companions persevered thanks to their strong willpower.

By the time training ended at noon, everyone on the team was too exhausted to speak.

Divac, who used to joke around before training, now has a hunched back and his eyelids are drooping.

Thankfully, the training schedule was changed to once a day. If it were twice a day, with a break at noon followed by training in the afternoon, these new recruits would definitely not be able to handle it.

In the locker room, Gan Guoyang sighed again: "Your class is the worst rookie class I've ever coached."

Of course, despite saying this, Gan Guoyang was very satisfied with Petrovich's tenacious willpower, even though he knew Petrovich was still recovering and not in good condition.

He was holding on by sheer willpower, refusing to give in or admit defeat.

In contrast, Cliff Robinson is much more honest; if he can't do it, he can't do it, and if he can't train anymore, he won't train.

Such players are destined to be unable to play a key role on the big stage.

Gan Guoyang treated everyone to lunch at noon, and then they returned to the training hall in the afternoon to continue training.

In the afternoon, Gan Guoyang was going to sculpt his muscles at the gym, and Petrovic surprisingly followed him there.

Gan Guoyang said, "Your body is not fully recovered yet, so don't push yourself."

Petrovic said, "Not letting me train is forcing myself."

Gan Guoyang smiled and didn't say much. Training fanatics are people who love basketball.

In terms of training volume, only two people in the league can rival Gan Guoyang: Michael Jordan and Chris Mullin.

Chris Mullin has developed a drinking problem in the last two seasons, which will definitely reduce his training volume.

Another person who could get close to Gan Guoyang and Jordan was Karl Malone. Stockton said that the guy spent all his time in the gym.

Gan Guoyang doesn't mind having another training fanatic on his team, so he won't be too lonely during training.

At the gym, Gan Guoyang guided Petrovic in strength training.

Tell him which muscles are important for basketball players, which muscles are less important, and which training methods can quickly improve their ability to compete.

In those days, strength training in Europe and China was not very scientific. Often, it only pursued heavy weights and high repetitions, lacking theoretical guidance and scientific planning.

In the summer, Gan Guoyang would invite different trainers to provide systematic guidance, combining the strengths of various schools to explore a fitness method specifically for basketball players.

Petrovich trained with Gan Guoyang for a while and found that the guy was practically Superman.

Moreover, he has a wide variety of training methods. In addition to equipment, he also uses bodyweight exercises to enhance flexibility.

Gan Guoyang has a complete and diverse set of training methods to develop his abilities in all aspects in order to adapt to the changes in the NBA.

"Playing in the NBA is like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind!"

The two chatted while training, and unlike Jerry West, Gan Guoyang and Petrovic only had one topic to talk about: basketball.

Gan Guoyang trained from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., a total of five hours. Near the end, he did an extra 300 mid-range drills.

Petrovic was truly exhausted by the end and could only sit on the sidelines and watch. His arms and legs were shaking; he was just too tired.

Gan Guoyang finally showed signs of fatigue during shooting practice; his shooting percentage was not as high as before, and he needed to pause for a short while between shots.

This state of reaching his fatigue limit is exactly what Gan Guoyang needs, as it allows him to improve his shooting percentage in crucial moments—even if it's just 1%.

Petrovich looked at Gan Guoyang's resolute eyes and saw him tirelessly strike with standard movements. Even without going on stage to compete, he could feel the huge gap between the two.

It was already dark when I left Willamette University.

Gan Guoyang comes and goes under the cover of darkness, dedicating all his daytime time to basketball.

On the way back, Petrovich couldn't help but ask Forrest, "Forrest, how big is the gap between you and me?"

Gan Guoyang was driving when he thought for a moment and said, "There's probably a Jordan between you and me."

"Hey, buckle up your seatbelt, it's dangerous like this."

(End of this chapter)