The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 57 July

Fosse:

It's a pity we didn't get to meet in Los Angeles. My trip to UCLA was so rushed that I didn't have a chance to contact you.

I'm back in San Francisco now, and I keep thinking about the letter you wrote to me on June 15th, but I don't know what to say in reply.

With some things finally settled down recently, I had some things on my mind that I wanted to say, so I wrote you this letter. I apologize for the long delay.

It's already July in the blink of an eye. The last time I received your letter, I was in Los Angeles with my brother for an interview with the UCLA basketball team.

I was greeted by a big guy named Mark Eaton. I'm already considered tall, and I've met people taller than me before.

But Mark Eaton is truly a giant, a real giant. I felt tiny in his presence.

He's a very good man. The reason he hosted me was at Wilt Chamberlain's request (I told you about my relationship with Chamberlain in my previous letter; please don't tell anyone else. He's a petty person, and he'll be very angry if he finds out I leaked it. He's really good to me.)
Eaton said he is still playing basketball because he was inspired by Chamberlain.

During a preseason game, Chamberlain told Eaton to do what he does best and be a good interior defender.

He graduated this year, and at the end of June he was drafted by the Utah Jazz. He called me that day to tell me the news, and we became good friends.

However, when I told him on the phone that I probably wouldn't go to UCLA to study or play basketball, he seemed a little surprised, but said he understood.

I'm writing to you now to tell you this: UCLA is a prestigious basketball school with a long tradition, and it's very attractive, but I don't think it's right for me.

I waited for a long time at the school's gymnasium during the interview. I had driven myself all the way there, which took more than five hours, and I was getting a little impatient.

The arena was empty at the time, so I played with Eaton for a while. He was really big and strong, and it was really hard to score over him using conventional methods. I'm a bit too short for him.

I asked him if he must have had a lot of playing time at UCLA, but Eaton told me that he hardly ever got a chance to play.

He said that when he was coached by Larry Brown in 1981, he averaged eight minutes of playing time per game.

This year, the team changed coaches to Larry Farmar, and his playing time was reduced to 3 minutes.

Three minutes is far too short. It's like taking off your clothes and rolling around in the water. You can't get clean in the shower or swim properly; you're just left feeling wet.

Eaton says Coach Famar doesn't like white players; he only favors black players. I made the right decision not to go to UCLA, and he definitely doesn't like Chinese players either.

I didn't pay much attention to skin color. The people I met in California weren't too sensitive about skin color because there are so many different ethnic groups here.

That's why I prioritized UCLA among many schools. In fact, many schools in the East and South also sent me invitations, but those schools were too far away or the racial environment wasn't very good.

I'm not afraid of any racists, but I don't want to waste too much time fighting with idiots; I want to focus my energy on basketball and life.

What I really dislike about UCLA is that Coach Farmar's basketball philosophy doesn't align with mine. Unlike my high school coach, he doesn't give me the freedom to develop my own style.

After the interview, he set a whole bunch of rules for me, including how to tie my shoelaces, the length of my shorts, and how much playing time I would have in each game during my freshman year.

I've heard the story of John Wooden, who was a truly remarkable coach. But Mr. Wooden has retired, and his methods may not be applicable to every coach or every player.

I'm not a child; I don't need someone to teach me how to play or discipline me. I need to improve further.

So I decided to turn down UCLA, since they weren't really that interested in me anyway.

I'm sorry, I've talked a lot about basketball, and some negative emotions and words. I couldn't control myself as I wrote.

Instead of always talking about me, let's talk about you...

"Hey! Gump! What the hell are you doing? Writing a letter?"

Gan Guoyang, who was writing a letter, was startled by the voice behind him. He turned around and saw Bernard King walking into the stadium.

Today is July 4th, American Independence Day. Gan Guoyang practiced basketball for an hour at the YMCA training center in Chinatown. During a break, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't replied to Wang Fuxi's letter, so he took out paper and pen, squatted down on a bench by the court, and started writing.

It wasn't until Bernard King interrupted him that he remembered he had arranged to practice with King at the gym that day, but the guy was late.

Gan Guoyang quickly folded the letter and stuffed it into his sports backpack, saying, "You're late, Jin. That's not a good habit."

With a wicked grin, Jin said, "My God, Gan, you're not writing letters to a girl, are you? Is this the 40s or 50s? You have to communicate your feelings through letters? Call her, drive your Ford, pick her up from her house, go for a drive, have a big meal, see a movie, and I'm telling you, I can handle anything. You're the California champion, have some confidence."

Gan Guoyang was too lazy to explain to Jin Duo, and said, "Let's start training. You said you would add a new offensive skill to your repertoire every offseason."

Jin shook his head and said, "What an unromantic guy. You'd better hold a basketball with you when you sleep at night."

Bernard King went to the locker room to change his clothes; the two had the entire venue to themselves for the afternoon.

Since quitting alcoholism, Kim has set higher standards for himself, aiming to add offensive skills every offseason to enhance his firepower.

This year, the Golden State Warriors were once again just one step away from the playoffs, but they lost to the Phoenix Suns in the final battle for playoff qualification, missing the playoffs by a narrow margin for the second consecutive year.

This is a significant blow to the Warriors, a team with excellent talent, strong unity, and aspirations to become a top team in the league.

Bernard King's contract expires this summer, and there is currently no news from the Warriors about signing a new contract with him.

This upset Bernard King, whose season performance was outstanding, averaging 23.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, and who was selected to the All-Star team for the first time.

He has been training and playing basketball with Gan Guoyang recently to calm himself down.

Bernard King was amazed by Gan Guoyang's extraordinary learning ability; the guy had already mastered almost all of his quick turnaround shot.

The heel rotation is fast, with a small range of motion, and the movement is smooth and clean. Most tall people simply cannot achieve this level of skill.

They are mostly slow and need a lot of room to turn around. Once they are sandwiched, they will lose their space to attack.

Although he plays center, Gan Guoyang is learning offensive techniques from top small forwards.

Upon learning that Gan Guoyang would not be going to UCLA, Bernard King said that UCLA's decline was not without reason; they were really too stupid for not giving Gan Guoyang enough preferential treatment.

Jin also asked Gan Guoyang if he was interested in going to the University of Tennessee. Gan Guoyang smiled and shook his head; he didn't want to go to the South.

"We've been practicing the turnaround jump shot for several days now, let's try something new today, what is it?" Gan Guoyang was even more enthusiastic about basketball skills.

"You're a basketball fanatic... I'll teach you how to do a left-handed layup today."

"What? A left-handed layup? Dude, anyone can do that."

"I know, but it's not a regular left-handed layup. It's when you jump with your left foot, preparing to shoot with your right hand, but because of the opponent's defense, you have to switch to your left hand. You can still switch to your left hand very smoothly. Or, the defender will anticipate your layup based on your footwork, and if you do the opposite, the opponent will not be able to interfere with or block you."

Generally speaking, when a player goes for a layup, they jump with their left foot and then with their right hand; or they jump with their right foot and then with their left hand.

This is how the body maintains balance and coordination; if you move your hands and feet in unison, it will feel very awkward.

Some NBA players solve this by jumping with both feet, either left or right.

However, there are also some players with top-notch coordination and skills who disregard left and right feet or hands, adapting to any situation and going in however they want.

This presents the defenders with great difficulties and challenges.

Gan Guoyang became interested. He knew that Bernard King must have special training methods and that the guy had a dedicated trainer.

Learning from NBA players' training programs is a great way to improve yourself.

(End of this chapter)