The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 73 Nothing more than that
Gan Guoyang is the absolute core of both the Shuizhong team and the Dou Niu team, controlling the overall situation.

However, the two teams are completely different in temperament, and Gan Guoyang uses completely different methods to "manipulate" his teammates.

The Water Bell team is a team with poor talent, and the players lack confidence and encouragement.

As a leader who stands out from the crowd, Gan Guoyang never hesitates to praise others. From Xu Xun to Chen Xing, from Gan Guohui to Franklin, Gan Guoyang mainly encourages and boosts everyone's confidence.

They were already the team with the least talent and the least experience. If the leader continues to suppress everyone, who will have the confidence to play?

In just one year, Gan Guoyang led his team to the California championship by setting an example and encouraging the team.

The Bulldogs are different. Although their talent is below average nationally, they are still an NCAA Division I team, not some nobody.

Even without Gan Guoyang, they have players like John Stockton who will shine in the future. Their strength is in the upper-middle tier of the West Coast Conference, not a pushover.

However, most of these players grew up in Spokane and went on to study at Gonzaga Preparatory School. They were all good students with excellent character and academic performance, and their upbringing lacked competitiveness.

Stockton, for example, decided to attend Gonzaga University when he was very young, and his first basketball game was at a basketball camp held by Gonzaga University.

There were almost no Black players there. Among the white guards, Stockton was already the fastest and strongest, but looking across the United States, those super Black guards were often a nightmare for John.

In contrast, Gan Guoyang encountered all types of players during his year in San Francisco, especially strong black guards, and he has a wealth of experience dealing with them.

Stockton didn't need praise, he needed encouragement, someone to tell him, "If you don't get past every black guard you encounter, then the days and nights to come will be miserable days of being outmaneuvered and humiliated by them."

Every white player on the Bulldogs needs this kind of motivation, which is why Dan Fitz brought in Bellman. He needed to inject wild, passionate energy into the team and find the perfect balance between savagery and civility.

Gan Guoyang is undoubtedly the perfect embodiment of this balance.

In the first game of the NCAA National Championship, his performance in the first half was nothing short of perfect.

He showed no signs of nervousness or stage fright, and single-handedly carried the team despite his teammates' poor performance.

This prevented the team's offense and defense from collapsing, giving Stockton a chance to adjust in the second half.

Now, not only Bellman, but also Dan Fitz and Steve Delon have complete trust in Gan Guoyang.

After the start of the second half, Berman changed the Bulldogs' defensive strategy, switching to man-to-man marking instead of the zone defense used in the first half.

He demanded that everyone give their all, employing a half-court press defense to stifle Dayton's offense.

The physical contact between the two sides became intense, with Stockton marking Chapman closely, and Chapman failed to score in his three attacks after the start of the second half.

Gan Guoyang sounded the first horn for the Bulldogs' offense in the second half. He grabbed a defensive rebound, but instead of passing the ball, he dribbled it up the court by himself.

Two Dayton University players rushed up to stop Gan Guoyang from making a layup, but Gan Guoyang, with two people hanging on him, hooked the ball into the basket. The ball went in, drawing a foul from the opponent and resulting in a free throw.

From this moment on, the bulldog's imposing presence was fully unleashed.

Stockton, in a very rare move, clenched his fist and shouted, then high-fived Gan Guoyang.

He is usually very calm during matches, his face remaining as still as a calm lake even when his heart is pounding.

It seems that the first half of the game and Gan Guoyang's words really provoked him.

With the free throw made, Gan Guoyang has now scored 26 points. Dayton University also has their own troubles, as they simply cannot control this unpredictable player, Gan Guoyang.

Dayton University's renowned coach, Don Donoch, stood on the sidelines, watching Gan Guoyang score with ease in the first half, occasionally sinking a light, full-moon-like hook shot. His thoughts drifted back to the distant year of 1967.

At just 37 years old, Donoch led Dayton to the NCAA National Championships, which was the pinnacle of his basketball coaching career. They faced John Wooden's UCLA and Lew Alcindor, who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Donoch remembers that they lost by 15 points in that game, but in reality, UCLA gave up in the last 5 minutes, giving Dayton some time to save face.

Judging from the game, Donoch felt they had lost by 50 points. Alcindor didn't even exert himself and just played casually, and Dayton was defeated.

Then in 1974, they encountered UCLA again, this time with Bill Walton as their center.

74年他们打了漫长的三加时，100：111输掉了比赛，沃顿27分19个篮板球。

Dayton seems to have a phobia of centers, and Donoch has never had a true top-class center. He tries to defeat the giants on the court with speed and shooting.

Then this time they encountered a center who was faster and more accurate at shooting than their own team's forwards.

He ran tirelessly on the court, moving in and out, doing everything an inside player could do on both offense and defense.

"What an energetic guy, no wonder he's so famous. It's a pity I wasn't prepared enough this time."

The bulldogs had never had a nationally televised match before, since the broadcast content was pre-arranged. Who would have thought to broadcast a match from a Spokane elementary school?

No video recordings of their match were leaked; only reporters who witnessed the match described Gan Guoyang's performance in writing.

But as everyone knows, a reporter's pen will praise them to the point that they are all geniuses, capable of doing this and that, with an impenetrable defense and unerring offense.

Only by experiencing it firsthand in a competition can you truly know your opponent's strengths and weaknesses.

Stockton really tore at Chapman like a bulldog, and Chapman only managed to score one goal in the second half.

The score is now 55-50, with Dayton trailing by 5 points.

Donoch called a timeout, reminding the players to play more aggressively.

As an experienced coach, Donoch noticed the fatigue in his players' bodies and expressions. The Bulldogs' pressing defense was almost relentless, and Donoch thought they would eventually slow down and give him some opportunities, but the suffocating pressure never stopped.

It's clear that the entire Bulldogs team possesses amazing stamina, dragging the game into a tiring contest, which is very disadvantageous for an offensive team.

Donoch is considering whether to rotate players, bring on more substitutes, and launch repeated attacks to equalize the score.

However, Dayton's bench depth is quite limited; they only have two truly reliable rotation players on their bench.

In the knockout stage, there is no room for error, and it is common for key players to play the full 40 minutes.

Donoch gritted his teeth, took a timeout but didn't make any substitutions, and brought on the starting players to continue the game.

He told his team members that if you feel very tired, then your enemy must be even more tired.

Dayton made a three-pointer, which really puts the mid-to-long-range shooting ability of perimeter players to the test when everyone is using zone defense.

However, Gan Guoyang immediately received a pass from Stockton at the high post and made a long-range shot.

"Damn, is this guy's shooting accuracy that good? And his shooting pattern is completely unpredictable."

Neither Donoch nor Dayton's players could figure out Gan Guoyang's attacking tactics.

Just when you think he's going to drive to the basket or attack with the ball in the low post, he comes up with a mid-range shot.

In the first half, Dayton, who lacked height in the paint, was overwhelmed by Gan Guoyang's turnaround jump shot. The moment he received the ball, you couldn't even double-team him in time because he turned too fast.

Gan Guoyang's cunning movement made him even more unpredictable, and with this shot, he had already scored 28 points.

In defense, the Bulldogs started using a 1-to-4 marking strategy, which was to have Stockton mark Chapman closely.

Stockton, who seems honest and kind, is surprisingly adept at subtle hand tricks when he's on defense.

Chapman eventually got annoyed by Stockton and shoved him during the attack.

The two sides almost got into a fight when Gan Guoyang rushed over and pulled Chapman away.

Years later, Chapman recalled, "I had a conflict with Stockton, and I wanted to bump into him. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder and pulled me away forcefully. I had no chance to resist. Later I found out it was Gan."

The conflict between the two sides was just a minor incident, but it also symbolized that the game was beginning to tilt in favor of the Bulldogs.

Given that Dayton University was unable to contain Gan Guoyang, their defeat was actually expected.

Dayton University, whose tallest center is only 6'8", has no way of dealing with the giants on the court.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs gradually found the right way to defend against Dayton, and their zone defense became increasingly solid, preventing Dayton from getting a shot off twice.

Gan Guoyang watched as the Dayton University players passed the ball around repeatedly but couldn't find a chance to shoot. He thought to himself that college players in this era are too conservative. If it were 10 or 15 years from now, they might not be able to score, but they would definitely be able to pass the ball out.

In the latter part of the second half, the game gradually turned into a shooting contest between the two zone defense teams.

The decline in physical fitness prevented Dayton from repeatedly breaking through, stretching the defense, and speeding up the pace as he did in the first half.

They pinned their hopes on their outside shooting touch, but in games without three-pointers, long-range shooting yields the lowest returns.

Donoch realized the problem and missed Paul Hawkins, who was on the team last year and was an excellent shooter. If he were still there, the team's outside firepower would definitely be sufficient.

Unfortunately, he graduated from university last year.

When outside shots miss, the rebounds in the paint are easily harvested by Gan Guoyang, like corn on a vast plain.

Gan Guoyang caught the ball and made a layup during the counterattack.

They grabbed an offensive rebound in a set play and scored on a putback.

A pick-and-roll play, a drive into the paint, and another hook shot that goes in.

The fans at Salt Palace Stadium, who had initially remained neutral, began cheering for Bulldog and Gan Guoyang.

When Gan Guoyang hit a long-range shot on a fast break, the Salt Palace Stadium erupted in huge cheers, as if the Jazz had won the NBA championship.

The score reached 80-65, with the Bulldogs extending their lead to 15 points.

Gan Guoyang also scored his 40th point in the game, successfully completing his mission.

Donoch closed his eyes in despair, waiting for Gan Guoyang to run out of energy, miss his shots, and fall behind in defense.

It seems the newspaper was right: "This number 11 has amazing physical abilities."

By the time he's exhausted, his own players will probably be sitting on the ground with leg cramps.

Donoch called a timeout, during which Gan Guoyang said directly to Berman, "Let me take a break. If I play any longer, I'll sweat too much and feel uncomfortable."

Bellman had no choice but to substitute Gan Guoyang off the court; a 15-point lead was enough.

Gan Guoyang drank some water, wiped his sweat, and thought to himself, "This so-called NCAA National Tournament is nothing special. They can't defend against me at all."

(End of this chapter)