The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 83 It’s really hard to kill
In 1980, when Hakeem Olajuwon took his first airplane ride to Houston, Texas, he did not feel lost or bewildered as if he had entered a future world, unlike other Africans who had never been to the United States.

At just 16 years old, he had already traveled all over his homeland, Nigeria, and his rich experience allowed him to remain calm and composed when facing new things.

So even though the University of Houston, which had summoned him from Africa, didn't send anyone to pick him up at the airport, he still found a public phone in the huge and unfamiliar airport, calmly dialed Coach Lewis's number, and was then told, "Just take a taxi here yourself."

This was just one of the countless times he had been looked down upon in his life.

He was once ridiculed for being too tall when he was only ten years old; his first basketball coach made him stand on a bench to practice dunking, and he thought it was already quite an achievement for this big guy who used to play soccer to be able to dunk.

Hakeem Olajuwon punched the guy who was mocking him to the ground, and then proved with dunk after dunk that he didn’t need a bench at all.

After she arrived at the University of Houston alone in a taxi, he made up his mind never to let anyone look down on him again.

In 1980-1981, he followed Coach Lewis's advice and did not participate in official NCAA games, spending his time on his studies and training.

For a whole year, he sweated it out in the arena, going head-to-head with Moses Malone, transforming himself from a basketball novice who could only dunk into a well-rounded, all-around powerful center.

In 1981-1982, his team, the Houston Cougars, made it to the Final Four, but unfortunately lost to the eventual champions, North Carolina, in the semifinals.

In 1982-1983, they went even further, reaching the NCAA Final Four, but lost to the North Carolina State Wolves.

In 1983-1984, Drexler, his most capable assistant and best friend on the team, graduated and entered the NBA, while he stayed in school to continue fighting alone for that championship.

Finally, they made it to the NCAA Final Four once again, making it to the Final Four for the third consecutive year. If they can win this game and achieve their ultimate goal in college basketball, he can then move on to a higher level league without regrets and prove himself to those who underestimated him on a broader stage.

Now, standing in front of him and the cougar is a bulldog from the Northwest region, and a Chinese center standing opposite him, vying for the ball—Sonny Gan.

The two looked at each other, their expressions as cold and aloof as the snow atop Kilimanjaro or the ice and rocks of the Himalayas.

The young Olajuwon had a more ferocious appearance, with a square face resembling a tribal witchcraft totem, inspiring fear in others.

In the season's blocks rankings, Hakeem Olajuwon ranks first in the nation with an average of 5.6 blocks per game, while Gan Guoyang ranks third with an average of 4.9 blocks per game.

The referee tossed the ball into the air, and both players jumped at the same time.

Gan Guoyang rarely loses to his opponents when it comes to the ball, but this time Olajuwon touched the ball first and flicked it towards his teammate.

The Cougars gained the offensive right, and the 1984 NCAA Championship game officially began!
"Left! Left! McAfee, left! Watch the left side! Anderson, move in and block this area!"

Gan Guoyang loudly directed his teammates while on defense, and the team's defensive strategy at the start of the game remained a zone defense.

“I don’t think you have the energy to care about other people,” Hakeem Olajuwon suddenly said in front of Gan Guoyang.

“No, I have it,” Gan Guoyang replied calmly.

Hakeem Olajuwon moved laterally from the right side towards the middle, trying to quickly position himself in front of the basket and gain a favorable offensive position.

Gan Guoyang used a sideways half-circle to block Olajuwon while using his right hand to interfere with Olajuwon's receiving of the ball.

Houston's point guard Franklin tried to pass the ball inside from the perimeter, but found that the passing lanes were blocked, so he had to give up.

Seeing that he couldn't get the ball and that staying inside would mean a three-second violation, Hakeem Olajuwon had no choice but to give up on positioning and move to the left side of the basket.

In their first encounter, Hakeem Olajuwon did not gain the upper hand; he felt the abundant power and amazing vitality emanating from Gan Guoyang.

This guy is absolutely one of the most difficult to deal with.

"...Olajuwon's positioning was quite good, but Gan's fronting defense was also very tight. The Cougars couldn't get the ball inside, but they also had Michael Young... Oh! Gan slapped his shot away! But Olajuwon picked up the ball and made the shot."

Michael Young's layup attempt was blocked by Gan Guoyang.

Amidst the chaos, Hakeem Olajuwon got the ball, but instead of forcing a layup or dunk, he scored two points with a turnaround jump shot.

The University of Houston scored first, leading 2-0.

"Why didn't you dunk? Were you afraid of getting blocked?" Gan Guoyang said after Olajuwon made the shot.

"I can beat you with just a shot."

The battle between the two began from the very first second, both physically and mentally. The Bulldog quickly followed suit, with McPhee receiving a pass from Stockton in the corner after a screen and sinking a mid-range jumper.

Hakeem Olajuwon then made a sudden back-cut to the basket, received a high pass from his teammate, and slammed the ball home with both hands for a powerful dunk!
He broke free from Gan Guoyang's fronting and positioning, and it's clear that he has more talent on offense than Ewing, and a better feel for the basket.

"You said you'd only need to shoot," Gan Guoyang accused Olajuwon of breaking his promise.

Hakeem Olajuwon ignored him, and he felt good at the start of the game, quickly getting into the game.

He watched the video of the Georgetown vs. Gonzaga match. Olajuwon was impressed by Gan Guoyang's explosiveness and superb attacking skills. He was worried that he might not be able to defend against Gan Guoyang's attack.

At the start of the game, Hakeem Olajuwon encountered a player who was his equal in strength for the first time in a college game, and he even felt that this guy was stronger than himself.

Gonzaga's outside shot missed, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the offensive rebound. Instead of forcing his way in, he continued to organize the offense for Stockton.

Gan Guoyang fought very cautiously against Hakeem Olajuwon. He could sense the enormous explosive power contained within the black panther, and any careless move would result in a kill.

Gan Guoyang began to position himself in the low post, occupying advantageous terrain to take down Olajuwon one-on-one.

His positioning remained dominant, and Olajuwon's headbutting was exceptionally fierce, but Gan Guoyang still managed to hold his position firmly.

Hakeem Olajuwon had never encountered such power and skill in college competitions. He recalled the feeling of his first match against Moses Malone during his college summer.

Back then, Karl Malone, the core player of the Rockets, would often train at the University of Houston and have Hakeem Olajuwon as his sparring partner.

Once Malone establishes a foothold in the low post, he becomes as firmly rooted as a tree.

Gan Guoyang did the same. He received the ball smoothly, dribbled with his left hand and turned to the right. Olajuwon spread his arms and pressed forward with his whole body, blocking the right side's path to the baseline.

But this was just a feint by Gan Guoyang. He only turned to the right, and after using his back to hold off Olajuwon's defense, he immediately turned to the left and attacked the front of the basket.

Hook!

Hakeem Olajuwon attempted to move sideways to continue blocking Gan Guoyang, but Gan Guoyang unexpectedly made a hook attack.

Sky hook!

"Swish!" Goal! Gonzaga scores two points!
This was the first direct confrontation between Gan Guoyang and Hakeem Olajuwon, and Gan Guoyang took the lead with his excellent positioning skills and skillful hook shot.

Gan Guoyang rarely uses skyhook in low-post positional play; he finds it troublesome and prefers to solve problems with turnaround jump shots.

But against Hakeem Olajuwon, he had to use his left hand to push aside the defense so that his right hand could be more comfortable.

Hakeem Olajuwon remained calm. On the offensive end, he didn't ask his teammates for the ball, but instead received it and set a screen for Michael Young.

Michael Young made a mid-range jump shot from the right baseline.

Before the game, Coach Lewis told Olajuwon not to compete with Forrest Gump in offense, and not to be fooled by his sweet talk. He should just play the way he usually does.

"He's more flashy, has a stronger attack, and better offensive skills. But that doesn't matter, as long as we win the game," Lewis told Olajuwon before the match.

Lewis and John Thompson have something in common: they both like to carry a tattered towel, but Lewis's is a red polka-dot towel. (Another coach with this quirk is Jerry Takachanen, coach of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who is nicknamed "Shark Tucker" for his habit of biting his towel on the sidelines. This year, they lost to Georgetown in the Round of 16.)
Hakeem Olajuwon remembered Coach Lewis's words and didn't take his personal match with Gan Guoyang to heart.

With eight minutes played in the first half, Gonzaga called a timeout after the referee blew his whistle.

Houston leads Gonzaga 17-12 by 5 points; the Bulldogs need some changes.

Gan Guoyang had an outstanding individual performance, scoring 8 of the 12 points, but Houston's overall performance was better. Their half-court offense was exceptionally patient, and their outside shooting was extremely accurate.

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 4 points. He hardly competed with Gan Guoyang in the low post, but instead focused on supporting his teammates' offense on the perimeter and devoted most of his energy to defense.

No matter how well Gan Guoyang attacked or how he tried to provoke him, Olajuwon remained unmoved, silent as a stone, and focused on what he needed to do.

Gan Guoyang sat on the bench, gulping down water. He thought to himself, "Olajuwon is a tough guy to kill."

Also, hasn't Fuxi arrived yet? Is she coming or not?

(End of this chapter)