The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 76 So Dirty

At 7 p.m., the Poly Stadium was packed, and the second match of the Western Conference Round of 16 was about to begin.

When Gan Guoyang and his teammates officially entered the stadium through the player tunnel, a commotion erupted at the scene.

In Los Angeles, Gan Guoyang is already a true basketball celebrity, having completely won over the local fans.

The entire stadium, except for the Duke Blue Devils' section which was booing him, was filled with cheers for him and the Bulldog.

The banner of "Gan Family Restaurant" fluttered in the air, pushing the atmosphere of the stadium to a climax.

"Competing in Los Angeles feels fucking good," Gan Guoyang thought to himself.

The bigger the event, the more excited Gan Guoyang became, showing no signs of nervousness or fear.

He was born for the big stage of basketball.

Before the match, Berman repeatedly emphasized the tactical strategy for tonight, which he had said countless times before the game, and the players were tired of hearing it.

The other four starters are now keeping an eye on Gan Guoyang, watching how their leader deals with Duke, and they'll wait for the right opportunity to make their move.

McAfee, Stockton, Van Naut, and Blair Anderson all clenched their fists, looking tense and ready to fight.

They were all excellent students in both character and academics. Except for Stockton, who liked to play tricks, the others rarely resorted to dirty tricks and were generally upright and honest.

But this time, they want to strike first.

Stepping onto the court, the players from both sides exchanged fist bumps and handshakes, and Gan Guoyang stood in the center circle for the jump ball.

Duke's starting center is Jay Bilas, a 6-foot-8 white small forward.

He originally played forward, but Duke didn't have a better big man center, so Bilas had to play center.

To compete with the taller players, Billas spent the entire summer in the school gym, gaining 25 pounds of muscle to improve his ability to compete in the paint.

During the jump ball, Bilas chose to give up and did not jump, as Duke attempted to steal the ball from the Bulldogs to launch a fast break.

But Stockton was quick; he controlled the ball, dodged Johnny Dawkins' steal, and the Bulldogs launched their first attack.

Gan Guoyang walked straight to the basket. Stockton's first shot was a high lob into the three-second zone. Gan Guoyang jumped up to catch the ball, turned and cut to the basket, pushed past Rabias, and dunked with his right hand!

"Law…"

Rabis tried to block Gan Guoyang with his body under the basket, not giving him an easy opportunity to turn around and approach the basket.

However, his body, which had gained 25 pounds of muscle, was completely unable to withstand Gan Guoyang's dribbling and headbutting him. He took a step back and watched as Gan Guoyang easily dunked the ball.

“What’s wrong, Jay? Do you need my help?” his inside partner, Mark Allari, asked.

Unlike other college teams, Duke strictly enforces man-to-man defense and resolutely refuses to use zone defense.

Coach K has implemented this defensive strategy since he first joined Duke, aiming to increase the intensity of the defense and the players' defensive focus.

This is why Duke players are more aggressive, playing one-on-one man-to-man defense, and defenders need to be more competitive.

"I don't need it, leave me alone!" Rabis shouted at Arari as he served.

As they crossed halfway, Gan Guoyang stared at Rabis and said, "Why did you refuse your teammate's offer? You need his help, and you'll hurt his feelings by doing this."

Rabis glared at Gan Guoyang. Before the match, Coach K repeatedly emphasized that they should take this number 11 Chinese player seriously, as he was a big problem.

Coach K asked Rabis if he could handle him one-on-one.

Rabbis patted his chest and said it was no problem, adding that he could even handle Ewing.

But during their first contact under the basket, Rabis was a little nervous.

Dawkins hit a mid-range jumper from beyond the arc, Bulldogs' possession.

Because Duke was playing one-on-one, Gan Guoyang started to post up and call for the ball.

Stockton's passes were very comfortable, and Gan Guoyang firmly marked Rabis in the midfield position.

Gan Guoyang's positioning skills are top-notch, and his footwork is excellent, after all, he was started by Thurmond.

Rabbis tried to push Gan Guoyang away, but he couldn't budge him.

Gan Guoyang received the ball, dribbled it briefly, quickly turned around, and unleashed a powerful shot, which went in.

"See? I told you, have your teammates come and help out."

"Fuck you, I'll take care of you." Labis cursed angrily. Gan Guoyang's face darkened, and he said, "I was just trying to give you a friendly reminder, and you curse at me. You people from Duke really have no manners."

Dawkins missed a three-pointer and complained to the referee that Stockton's defense had been dirty tricks.

The referee ignored it, and Gan Guoyang got the rebound. Rabius tried to steal the ball, but Gan Guoyang taunted him by circling the ball around his head.

Then he dribbled the ball quickly across half-court, suddenly accelerated at the top of the arc, rushed into the basket and slammed it home with one hand!

Duke players were completely unprepared for Gan Guoyang's surprise attack.

Alari attempted to block Gan Guoyang but was knocked out of bounds.

Dawkins attempted to drive to the basket using his speed during a fast break, but was knocked away by Gan Guoyang, who came over to help defend.

The referee called a foul on Gan Guoyang, and Coach K got angry, saying it was a malicious foul and should be considered a technical foul.

However, the game had just begun, and the referee didn't want to give the Bulldogs' star player a technical foul so soon.

He came over to remind Gan Guoyang to pay attention to his defensive moves.

Gan Guoyang nodded, and then Dawkins made both free throws, keeping Duke close in the score.

Duke's defensive moves were also getting more aggressive, with Rabis constantly shoving Gan Guoyang off the ball.

But Gan Guoyang ignored these little tricks. His attention was very focused during the game. No matter how you pulled, tugged, or pushed, his mind was on the ball.

McPhee took a mid-range shot from the outside, but it missed. Gan Guoyang pushed past two Duke players, grabbed the offensive rebound, and then drew a foul from Rabias on his layup attempt.

In just a few minutes, Gan Guoyang brought the match into a heated and competitive rhythm and atmosphere.

Coach K paced back and forth on the sidelines, feeling a terrible sense of having his Achilles' heel stepped on.

According to his plan, as the game progresses, the intensity of man-to-man defense will increase, and Duke will be the one to disrupt the opponent's mentality and emotions.

In this way, the game will gradually fall into Duke's rhythm.

Even Dean Smith's North Carolina sometimes couldn't handle Duke's "noise" and complained to the referees after the game.

This is Coach K's strategy; given their lack of talent and height, they must use emotions to influence the game.

Just like slowly building a blazing fire in a furnace, talent is melted away by sweat and hard work in that fire.

But Gan Guoyang poured it down like a bucket of molten steel.

With both free throws made, the Bulldogs maintained their lead at 8-4, with all 8 of their opening points coming from Gan Guoyang.

The Bulldogs suddenly switched to man-to-man defense and applied half-court pressure to Duke.

Dawkins broke through and passed the ball to the inside, where Rabis went for a layup, but Gan Guoyang blocked it from behind!

Arari grabbed the offensive rebound and attempted a putback, but was knocked over by Vannott, who rushed in from the side, and fell to the ground.

Duke players immediately surrounded him, but Gan Guoyang stood in front of Van Naut and blocked all the Duke players' outstretched hands.

The players from both sides started hurling insults at Duke, mainly Gan Guoyang, and the court descended into chaos.

The referee called a technical foul on Van Naut, warning the Bulldogs players to watch their hand movements later.

The game went into a timeout, and Berman asked Vannott why he had committed the foul.

“I…I just wanted to commit a foul, I did it because I was following Gan’s lead.”

"But Duke did nothing, they played cleanly."

"Whatever, I want to run him over anyway. And I can't let Gan foul again."

This reason is still very important. If Gan Guoyang commits two fouls at the start, it will be very difficult for the Bulldogs to win.

"Well done, Nott. But you need to watch your fouls; I can't do without you under the basket."

Gan Guoyang patted Fannot on the shoulder. This 6-foot-9 power forward with an excellent wingspan, number 33, was Gan Guoyang's good partner under the basket. He could help with a lot of the dirty work and relieve Gan Guoyang's defensive and rebounding pressure.

The match continued, and the emotions between the two sides were burning.

Coach K, sitting on the bench, couldn't help but complain to the school's athletic director, "Why does Gonzaga University play so dirty?"

(End of this chapter)