Chapter 39: The Ordinary Genius

The Warriors players who were doing warm-up training on the other side of the court all stopped what they were doing.

Their gazes were all cast toward the opposite half of the court, where Gan Guoyang had just cleanly blocked Bernard King's turn-around jump shot.

On that right-hand spin, King had tried to use body contact to bump Gan Guoyang away, hoping to throw the defender off balance before releasing the shot smoothly.

Generally speaking, even if a defender were a heavy and strong interior player, it would be difficult to remain completely unmoved when taking a hit head-on like that.

Unless it was a massive giant, a white heavyweight like Paul Mokeski who stood 7 feet tall and weighed 250 pounds—against whom King would use speed instead.

However, what King hadn't expected was that when the impact came, Gan Guoyang didn't brace for it with his chest head-on. Instead, he turned sideways, using his left shoulder and arm to absorb King's impact.

Turning sideways to brace with the shoulder makes a person's center of gravity much more stable. Following that, Gan Guoyang seized the momentum to leap upward, pressing his hand onto the ball before Bernard King could release it, swatting it down.

Al Attles watched Gan Guoyang's play with a solemn expression on the sidelines. He said to Nate Thurmond beside him, "Nate, I'm not kidding. Maybe next year we really can sign this kid."

Thurmond replied, "Don't even think about it, Al. He's still a work in progress, and Moses is a lesson. This kid won't do that; he's smart and rational. You could see that defense, couldn't you?"

"确实很聪明... It really was clever, stopping King's spin contact with a very subtle method. And Larry doesn't seem able to back him down either. Is this guy really an Oriental biochemical soldier?"

"How can you believe such nonsense? He's just an ordinary basketball genius."

"An ordinary basketball genius? Just how ordinary is that?"

"I'd say he's about as ordinary as Wilt."

"Well, that's just fucking ordinary."

Al Attles was not tall, standing around 6 feet, and he looked like a dwarf next to the towering Thurmond.

The two men—one tall, one short—watched with keen interest as Gan Guoyang, Bernard King, and Larry Smith practiced under the basket, and the other Warriors players slowly gathered around as well.

Flynn and Carroll began placing bets on whether Gan Guoyang could block King one more time, with the wager being who would treat everyone to late-night snacks after the game.

Being watched put pressure on both King and Larry Smith. They both grew serious, starting to treat the drill with a rigorous attitude.

King was not blocked by Gan Guoyang again. Having fought his way through the professional league for years, he understood numerous offensive techniques and details.

His spin footwork was not flashy, but it was swift and practical.

Even so, he still felt the pressure when facing Gan Guoyang's long arms.

Gan Guoyang's strength and physical solidity exceeded Bernard King's imagination. Because of this, King had to incorporate more techniques into the contact to evade the lockdown, even resorting to pump fakes.

"Shit, Gan, you're using too much force. If you play like this, the referees are going to call fouls on you!" King complained after missing two consecutive shots.

Larry Smith, standing nearby, chimed in, "That wasn't a foul at all. Your details are off, Bernard, your footwork is too crude."

"You're full of shit, Larry. There's no forward in the entire league with better offensive details than me; my ability to attack the rim is top-tier."

As a small forward, Bernard King had averaged 21.6 points per game the previous season, and his field goal percentage was 58%, higher than many interior centers.

King often had to face defenders taller than himself, and such scoring output and efficiency clearly required solid technique to back them up.

A professional player's competitive spirit was ignited. King began to focus wholeheartedly on offense and defense with Gan Guoyang, offering detailed coaching pointers to Gan Guoyang after every possession.

"A lot of people use the balls of their feet when spinning, but let me teach you a secret: I use my heels. That makes your spin faster while keeping you closer to the opponent, which helps with leverage and contact. It takes practice, and you have to master your balance, or you'll fall over."

"When I take a shot, I always aim directly for the rim, without ever considering the backboard. A lot of people like using the glass. Banking it in is useful sometimes, but it creates a problem: it makes you hesitate, forcing a choice between two options. At that split second, once you hesitate, your shot is affected. That's why some people end up hitting the ball right between the backboard and the rim, missing wildly. I choose to cut off the backboard option entirely—never use the glass, shoot straight for the hoop, so I never have to hesitate."

"I also have four different offensive mode selections depending on the defense, and I'll teach you if there's a chance. If you need them—though I suppose you'll be playing center or power forward in the future?"

King taught with great detail. He wasn't stingy with these skills because many of them were open secrets; the key to using them well was putting in tons of sweat.

Following King's instruction, Gan Guoyang practiced again against Larry Smith's defense.

Smith tried with all his might to block Gan Guoyang once, but aside from forcing a few missed shots, he didn't succeed.

Gan Guoyang was adept at body contact, and with a height advantage, it was extremely difficult for Smith to block him.

For Gan Guoyang, the truly difficult part was still the footwork—how to be as fast as King, how to quickly establish a pivot foot, and how to spin off the heels were all details that required deep contemplation.

For over half an hour, all three of them were drenched in sweat, and the intensity of the competition was evident.

Seeing Gan Guoyang's performance in offense and defense, Flynn egged Carroll on to go and play a few one-on-one rounds with Gan Guoyang.

Carroll shook his head, saying he didn't want to bully a kid.

Flynn mocked him, asking if he was afraid of losing face, noting that it would be embarrassing to get blocked just like King had.

Al Attles interrupted the three of them and said, "Warm-ups are over, we've still got a game tonight. If you keep playing like this, you'll burn through all your energy for today. Do you want to sit on the bench the whole night?"

Only then did King and Smith realize that their practice jerseys were completely soaked.

They had originally thought it was just a casual shootaround, offering a few pointers to teach a young rookie a lesson.

Who could have known they would get so invested, turning it into a real, hard-nosed competitive battle.

Bernard King shook hands with Gan Guoyang and said, "You impressed me. If you have any questions in the future, you can come ask me."

Having emerged from alcoholism and various troubles, King had grown very friendly, and he genuinely appreciated Gan Guoyang.

This 6-foot-9 big man possessed superior agility and an exceptional shooting touch.

His tough, fast-paced style of play suited King's taste perfectly; King didn't care for those tall but sluggish blockheads.

Gan Guoyang gained a tremendous amount. He sincerely thanked Bernard King and Larry Smith, and invited them to eat at his family's restaurant whenever they had free time—on the house, too.

By 7:30 PM, the Warriors' new season home opener got underway. Gan Guoyang sat in a seat fairly close to the court, looking up to see the empty seats soaring high above the Oakland Coliseum.

The Warriors' opponent tonight was the Utah Jazz. No wonder the opener lacked popularity; a team like the Jazz simply couldn't stir up much interest among Bay Area fans.

Their star player was Adrian Dantley, whose playing style was unappealing and hard for fans to love.

There were no cheerleaders before the game, no mascots, and the game routine was rigid and lacking in entertainment value.

Gan Guoyang didn't spot any television cameras on the sidelines, so he asked Thurmond if the game wasn't being televised.

Thurmond told Gan Guoyang that the broadcasting contracts that CBS and NBC had with the NBA expired this summer, and the two sides had yet to reach an agreement on a new broadcast deal.

Until a new broadcasting contract was signed, live broadcasts were out of the question—even taped broadcasts wouldn't be shown.

Fans wanting to follow the game could only listen to play-by-play commentary on the radio.

The game unfolded without dramatic waves, with the Warriors taking a 17-point lead by halftime.

In an era where the three-pointer was not yet prevalent, spacing on the court was cramped and player contact was fierce.

Furthermore, because zone defense was prohibited and the shot clock was 24 seconds, the pace of offense and defense on the court was extremely fast.

Perimeter players dribbled with great caution, accustomed to shielding the ball with their backs or sides.

Wing players all possessed a decent repertoire of post-up moves and close-range scoring techniques.

Long-range shooting was very rare; the Jazz attempted six three-pointers the entire game and missed every single one.

They clearly had no three-point tactics, resorting to wild heaves only when they were entirely out of options.

On the Warriors' side, Joe Hassett did sink two three-pointers, but those came entirely in garbage time.

By the end of the third quarter, the Warriors led the Jazz by 20 points, leaving no suspense for the fourth quarter.

In the end, the Warriors defeated the Jazz easily 106-91 in the season opener, securing a victorious start at home.

The warm-up battle with Gan Guoyang before the game had not affected King's condition; he shot 7-for-13 and easily notched 19 points.

Speaking to reporters in the player tunnel after the game, King said, "I felt good today. Unlike the last game, my warm-up preparations before the match were very thorough, which left my shooting hand hot."

From that day on, Gan Guoyang became a regular fixture at the Warriors' training camp.