The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 231 The Secret of the Golden Turnaround Jump Shot
Over the next week, the Chinese national team played against the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, and Washington Bullets, experiencing firsthand the intensity of the games and the level of the players in the basketball world.

The Chinese team didn't win a single game. The NBA teams didn't even send their full starting lineups; they just played a token role in the games, yet they still managed to overwhelm the Chinese team, leaving them with no chance to fight back. The gap was comprehensive.

When Song Tao faced Michael Jordan for the first time in a game, he found that, just like when he faced Gan Guoyang, his opponent didn't exert much effort, yet he couldn't stop him.

Song Tao also took a photo with NBA legend Bill Russell. Russell asked him if he could become the next Forrest Gump. Song Tao quickly shook his head, but said, "I will do my best. He is my goal and role model."

Under Gan Guoyang's guidance, the young players on the Chinese team gradually adjusted their mindset. On the one hand, they gave their all in the game, and on the other hand, they took every round seriously with a learning attitude, drawing experience and inspiration from the most advanced level of basketball in the world.

During this period, Song Tao received a lot of guidance from Gan Guoyang. Gan Guoyang discovered that Song Tao was very smart, quick-witted, and had a strong will and a lot of ambition.

Gan Guoyang wondered, "Why haven't I heard of this person before? Why didn't he make it in the national team and become a pillar of the inside? Is it because it was too early in the season?"

Gan Guoyang didn't know Song Tao's future fate, but he reserved a place in his heart for this bespectacled, intelligent, and courageous peer.

At the end of August, the national team left the United States with a record of 7 wins and 1 loss in 8 games, embarking on their journey back to their homeland with a wealth of achievements—the only victory was against an NCAA Division III school in Queens, New York, which salvaged some face.

Gan Guoyang exchanged contact information with the national team players and coaches, telling them they could contact him about anything related to basketball.

After concluding his visit to the national team, Gan Guoyang spent a few more days in New York to complete his training there.

In the 80s, New York was the central hub for NBA players' offseason training, boasting the most and best basketball arenas and advanced training facilities, as well as high-quality professional training and medical personnel.

How players train and with whom they train depends mainly on their own wishes and personal plans. Teams generally don't interfere with players' individual training, except for young players who have just joined the team, in which case they might organize summer training camps and play in the summer league.

The training matches against the Chinese national team are part of the summer league, and the players participating are all young players from the team; the veteran starters will not play.

Therefore, some veteran players don't train properly during the offseason, instead indulging in all sorts of fun and games, resulting in a decline in physical fitness and a loss of technical skills, making it easy for them to experience a slump in form in the new season.

There are also some exceptionally talented players who practice casually during the off-season, spend most of their time indulging in pleasure, and then use training camp and the regular season as practice to gradually find their form and eventually play quite well.

Gan Guoyang certainly wouldn't waste his time on debauchery; honing his physique and basketball skills was something he found far more enjoyable than eating, drinking, and having fun.

On August 27, he left the InterContinental Hotel in New York early in the morning and drove to the Bernard King home in New Jersey.

During his time in New York, Gan Guoyang would visit Bernard King every two to three days, firstly to check on his condition, and secondly to accompany him during his rehabilitation training at the gym, while also seeking advice on offensive techniques.

Bernard King underwent ACL repair surgery on April 1, 1985, after suffering a severe knee injury. For a basketball player who relied heavily on his legs, knee surgery was painful and cruel.

His knee was secured with 41 metal pins, and he took painkillers to relieve the pain, which caused him to hallucinate. He saw a tiger crawling out of the wall.

Bernard King tried to get up and run away, but was caught by the paramedics and put back on the bed; otherwise, his knee would have been ruined. King later said he believed the tiger was Forrest Gump in disguise.

Because of this incident, Bernard King refused to use painkillers anymore and simply endured the pain of the surgery.

The pain came not only from the surgery. In order to return to the field in the future, the medical institution used a huge CPM machine to bend his tendons and used another TENS machine to send electrical pulses to his legs to make the muscles expand and contract to strengthen them, so as to ensure that the muscles would not atrophy after the surgery, while breaking down scar tissue.

These treatments exacerbated the pain, reportedly comparable to childbirth pain, which he endured for over a month.

After spending two weeks in the hospital following the surgery, Bernard King returned to his home in New Jersey to begin a long recovery.

At first, he spent all his time lying down or sitting, and when he was thirsty, he couldn't even get water from the refrigerator himself; he had to have someone bring it to him.

One night he was very thirsty. His wife was already asleep, and he didn't want to disturb her, so with his legs secured, he used his arms to climb to the water dispenser and drink a glass of water.

By May, he had a brace fitted on his leg and could walk around with the help of crutches. By the end of May, he was able to walk without the crutches.

At that time, Gan Guoyang was in the midst of a fierce battle with the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Bernard King watched all the live games on TV and was amazed by Gan Guoyang's performance.

Bernard King knew that the playoffs and the regular season were completely different; the players' form and the team's tactics were on two different levels.

Young players, especially those playing in the playoffs for the first time, may fall into deep self-doubt when facing teams they've played against in the regular season, as they struggle to adapt to the intensity and tactical changes.

The warm and entertaining veil surrounding the regular season has been lifted, revealing fierce competition and targeted tactics that caught everyone off guard. The achievements of the regular season turned out to be just an illusion.

But Forrest Gump didn't. Forrest Gump caught his opponents off guard, and Bernard King was extremely disappointed that he hadn't been able to face the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump in the regular season.

It remains to be seen when he will be able to return to the court. The New York Knicks selected Ewing in the 1985 NBA draft, and Bernard King learned of the draft results while watching the lottery live on May 12.

The Knicks cannot afford to miss out on Ewing; after losing one king, the New Yorkers will welcome their new king.

After May 12, all season tickets for the Knicks' 1985-1986 regular season were sold out.

A new king ascends the throne, and the old king is naturally purged. That's the cruel reality of the NBA, with its constant comings and goings. To achieve immortality with a team, you need at least one championship, and King knows that's a long way off, a very long way off.

In July, Bernard King began water training, running in the water to help restore leg strength.

In August, Gan Guoyang returned from China and came to New York. Bernard King was very happy about Gan Guoyang's arrival.

When he was first injured, many friends and teammates called to inquire about his well-being and came to visit him, but soon everyone had their own things to do and could only check on him occasionally.

The New York media, which had initially been exceptionally enthusiastic about him, quickly shifted their attention to Ewing after reporting on injury-related topics, as he was the person New York fans cared about most.

The phone calls became increasingly rare; sometimes no one would call all day. He was accompanied only by his mother, wife, and a rehabilitation therapist named Dania.

Dania recently became pregnant and wanted to stay to help Bernard King recover, but King refused and fired her, telling her to go back and focus on her pregnancy.

During this period, Gan Guoyang spent the most time with him. When Gan Guoyang's gold Mercedes 300D (borrowed from Ewing) appeared at the corner of the road, Bernard King was sitting alone on the glass balcony, basking in the not-too-scorching August morning sun.

Gan Guoyang drove the car into the garage with practiced ease. He greeted Taylor, Bernard King's wife, who was making breakfast downstairs. He had brought some cooked food for Taylor and King, saying, "This was made by the David Stern family." (The Stern family used to sell cooked food.)
When he got to the second floor, he saw Jin sitting lazily on the balcony, gazing into the distance. He went over and said, "Bernard, I'm here. Why are you still looking into the distance?"

Jin sighed and said, "I'm not looking at you... Aldo and Florence haven't been here for a week... It doesn't make sense, the weather is getting warmer and warmer."

Aldo and Florence were two wild ducks that would come to Bernard King's balcony to mate almost every day when King was unable to get up and could only sit in a wheelchair.

Jin would wait for them to arrive, feed them some birdseed, watch them preen each other's feathers with their beaks, and then mate oblivious to their surroundings before flying away at dusk.

Gan Guoyang said, "Because they know you can stand up and start training, they won't come anymore. You no longer need their company."

Bernard King said, "But I can't play right now; I can only do rehabilitation training."

Gan Guoyang said, "You can watch me fight!"

"..."

Half an hour later, the two appeared at the gymnasium of Ramapo College, which has basketball courts, swimming pools and full training facilities.

The doctor said that Bernard King will not be able to start shooting practice until the end of September or October. Before that, he cannot touch the ball and can only swim, jog, walk sideways, and walk with his legs apart.

While Jin was undergoing rehabilitation training, Gan Guoyang was doing strength training and practicing shooting and footwork techniques on the side.

The sheer weight Gan Guoyang used in his strength training left Bernard King in disbelief. He asked Gan Guoyang, "Were you a crane in your past life?"
At the same time, Gan Guoyang maintains a very good shooting touch, and Jin Du is amazed by the amount of shooting training he does.

"No wonder you achieved such success in your rookie season. I was much lazier than you when I was young."

The most crucial part of the training is the turnaround jump shot. Gan Guoyang has been learning the turnaround jump shot from Bernard King since high school and has mastered many techniques.

However, Gan Guoyang believed that Jin was definitely holding back. When he watched the video, he felt that Jin's turn was smoother and more undefendable—truly undefendable, and the defender couldn't react at all.

Gan Guoyang's performance was relatively less smooth, which he believed was not due to his physique or explosiveness, but rather a matter of technique.

During their training together, King refused to reveal the secret of his turnaround jump shot. Gan Guoyang wasn't annoyed; he simply demonstrated and corrected King in front of him, then asked, "Bernard, is it like this?"

Jin always shook his head with a smile on his face. He would give Gan Guoyang pointers on some details, especially the turning and shooting choices while dribbling, as well as the application of techniques at different points.

But he just wouldn't reveal that little technical secret.

Today, after finishing his shooting and strength training, Gan Guoyang confidently told Bernard King, "Bernard, I've finally found the secret to your turnaround jump shot!"

Bernard King laughed and said, "I've heard you say this many times already, stop messing around, Gan. Your offensive skills are already better than many people's, and you can use the hook shot. The hook shot suits you better and allows you to play longer."

Gan Guoyang said, "I'm not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, I'm not that tall, and I don't have an absolute advantage in hook shots. I need to have faster, more accurate, and more reliable offensive methods."

As he spoke, Gan Guoyang dribbled the ball to the baseline with his back to the basket, faked a move, and suddenly jumped, turned, and shot!
The movements weren't particularly fast, but the overall flow was very smooth, almost giving the impression that the movements weren't finished.

"So, Jin, wasn't my method correct?"

Bernard King remained silent for a long time, then finally sighed and said, "Forrest Gump, why did you learn this trick? Look at my knees."

The first chapter was previously under review, but it has been restored after slight modifications. Also, some images in these chapters are currently under review and may not have been displayed when you subscribed; they will reappear in a couple of days.

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(End of this chapter)