The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 926 Seed
The American Basketball Academy is located in a mountainous area surrounded by forests and lakes. With fresh air and a beautiful environment, it is an ideal place for closed training.

To better prepare for the Olympics, the center provided the national team with excellent accommodations and meals, with everyone living in small wooden villas.

Each villa has two floors and includes a living room, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen fully equipped with all kinds of kitchen utensils.

If the players do not like the food provided by the center, they can buy their own ingredients and cook for themselves in the villa's kitchen.

Each villa can accommodate three people. Gan Guoyang lives with his good friends Charles Barkley and Sabonis. During the closed training period, Gan Guoyang cooked for Barkley, Sabonis, Curry, Porter, and Mullin next door every day.

This was one of the conditions the veterans agreed to be sparring partners for the Chinese national team: Agan would personally cook for them.

Therefore, during the closed training period, Gan Guoyang had to cook for his old teammates every night.

Just like Clementa, while being the boss, he also had to cook for his underlings and take care of their lives, otherwise who would do things for him?
Every morning when Barkley wakes up, the first thing he does isn't to go for a run to warm up, but to think about what to eat that night and make a menu for Gan Guoyang.

The Trail Blazers' veterans have either retired or are enjoying their retirement, so he's spending his time helping out with practice while also taking a vacation, living a very comfortable life.

But for the Chinese national team players, the beautiful and well-equipped training center quickly became a torturous hell.

Initially, the players referred to this place as "Yangkalun Lake," comparing it to the Kalun Lake training base in Jilin.

However, in just three days, the national team players, especially the young players, privately complained that this Yangkalun Lake was much more terrifying than the Chinese Kalun Lake.

In China, the training program and intensity were all arranged by Coach Jiang Xingquan. As an old-school coach, he resolutely implemented the "three strict rules and one big principle," and the players' physical fitness and basic skills were quite good.

Upon arriving in the United States, the training plan was discussed and formulated jointly by the Chinese coaching team and the American team, with Gan Guoyang's opinions playing a decisive role.

Gan Guoyang did not deliberately increase the amount and intensity of training. Based on his many years of experience, he knew that simply increasing the intensity before a major competition would not be beneficial for maintaining the players' form.

On the contrary, low-to-medium intensity training has a more positive effect on improving performance in major competitions.

However, Gan Guoyang requested that a large amount of tactical combat training and cultural learning be incorporated into the training program.

During the first day of the competition, Gan Guoyang realized that the current Chinese players no longer have weaknesses in basic skills and physical fitness, and their shooting is even quite outstanding, ranking among the best in the world.

This is all thanks to Gan Guoyang's good start in 1992, which set a benchmark for the development of basketball in China. Now, basketball training in China places great emphasis on strength and physicality, and the basic skills are very solid.

On the Asian stage, the Chinese men's basketball team easily defeated other teams, securing their Olympic qualification without any suspense.

However, the Chinese women's basketball team actually regressed, losing to the South Korean team and losing the only Asian spot to qualify for the Sydney Olympics.

After addressing issues of physical fitness, strength, and fundamental skills, the Chinese men's basketball team needs to further improve its "soft skills" if it wants to go even further.

During the first day of scrimmage, Gan Guoyang discovered a major problem with the Chinese team: over-reliance on their inside game.

Given the presence of Gan Guoyang, coupled with the rise of a group of "Great Wall of China" players such as Wang Zhizhi, Battier, and Yao Ming, it is a very normal choice to build the team around the inside.

In Asian competitions, the Chinese team's powerful height in the paint is a game-changer against other countries. With players like Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi standing inside, it's easy to see why the team is already leading 15-0 before even scoring a single point.

However, Gan Guoyang is considered the best center in history precisely because he was more than just a center.

Gan Guoyang was well aware that the blurring of positions on the basketball court and the increasing versatility of players were the major trends in the development of basketball.

This will not change because of the emergence of a particular player; at most, it will be delayed, because basketball is, after all, a team sport.

Gan Guoyang's great achievements in the NBA are due to his own strength, but another reason is that he has always followed the trend and the laws of sports development.

Teams like the Chinese team, which focus all their tactical emphasis on the inside, can indeed achieve good results quickly by relying on the emergence of a few talented players and their physical dominance over other countries.

However, Gan Guoyang will retire, as will Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi. In the future, the advantage of big men in the paint will become smaller and smaller, and the trend of larger perimeter players and more versatile interior players will become more and more obvious.

Chinese teams have not fully grasped the trend in this regard. If they achieve another very good result in this Olympics, the idea of ​​"relying on the inside players" will become even more deeply ingrained.

Gan Guoyang should not only consider the results of this competition and strive to make history, but also have a long-term vision to contribute to and guide the future development of basketball.

This reflects Gan Guoyang's habits and mindset in dealing with people. He would never exhaust all resources, both present and future, for the sake of his own momentary brilliance, without considering the development of those who come after him.

With the Portland Trail Blazers, Gan Guoyang places great emphasis on the future of young players, striving for the championship while simultaneously building up the team's youth development. Only he can do this in the entire league.

In the 2000 NBA Draft, Gan Guoyang, as the team's draft consultant, left a small legacy for the Trail Blazers: he defied public opinion and did not select an inside player as his so-called successor in the draft, but instead selected guard Michael Redd with the second-to-last pick in the first round.

Reed was not favored in the draft, but just like when he insisted on drafting Finley and then insisted on trading Finley to draft Kobe, Gan Guoyang was quite persistent.

Larry Bird trusted Gan Guoyang's intuition and, without much hesitation, selected Reed in the draft to develop him as an excellent future wing guard for the team.

After acquiring Reed, Gan Guoyang resigned from his position as a draft consultant for the Trail Blazers, and then also resigned from his job as president of the players' union, devoting all his energy to the training and development of the Chinese men's basketball team.

Training is divided into morning, afternoon, and evening sessions, which are quite packed. In the morning, there is tactical training; in the afternoon, there is strength and sparring training; and in the evening, we watch videos to learn tactics and take cultural tests.

For the young players on the national team, the physical torment is bearable. After all, they started as athletes at a very young age and have been training their bodies and minds for so many years, so a little physical fatigue is nothing.

However, the tactical lessons and video studies in the evenings were really tough. They really put our brains to work, and a lot of FIBA-style tactics were crammed into us.

Gan Guoyang joined everyone in learning. Having played in the NBA for so many years, he also needed to adapt to and understand FIBA ​​rules.

One of the most painful things in the world is making sports students study academic subjects, even if those subjects are related to basketball.

The instructor was none other than Boston Celtics head coach Bobby Berman—a versatile talent proficient in both FIBA ​​and NBA tactics. Gan Guoyang's offer to Berman was that after the Olympics, he would go to Boston to coach Tim Duncan and comprehensively improve his abilities.

Since Berman isn't coaching the US men's basketball team this time, he wouldn't mind coming back to Portland to help Gan Guoyang out.

Although the two had just faced off in the Finals, they remained the best mentor and student after the series ended.

Bellman was extremely strict in class. Back in college, he forced Gan Guoyang, Stockton and others to memorize tactics as a fundamental skill.

The tactical systems and content that need to be memorized are at least several hundred sets. Only by memorizing all the routines related to basketball can one truly master them.

"Basketball tactics are a universal language in the basketball world. Only by mastering this language can everyone communicate smoothly and spark brilliant ideas. If you don't even master the basic language and only know the techniques, it's like you're a primary school student who can only speak a few words, or an illiterate person who can only speak but not write. In the future, your progress will definitely be very small."

Off the field, Berman is a gambler; on the field, he is a typical academic, describing tactics as a language and requiring everyone on the national team to learn from the basics.

This caused everyone a huge headache. Even the coaches, including Jiang Xingquan, had to learn it. Unfortunately, Berman spoke English, so even with a translator, it was still quite painful to learn.

The training camp lasted for a month, and for the players, the tactical lessons on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings were the most painful time.

Not only does Bellman know a lot about tactics, he also knows a lot of swear words. Several times the translator didn't know how to translate because he used such a rich variety of slang and vocabulary.

One evening after class, Berman left the classroom in a huff and went to find a place to smoke. It was clear that he was not very satisfied with the teaching results.

"Sonny, I can't believe how you led them to the Olympic finals, and by such a narrow margin! To be honest, I still underestimated you."

Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "Because we are united. You know, in basketball games, especially important ones, tactics aren't the most important thing."

"That's assuming we have players like you! Without superstars, tactics are crucial, especially in the FIBA ​​system where time is short and the pace is fast, amplifying the impact of details. To be honest, Chinese players have a very solid foundation, and strength is no longer a weakness, but... I didn't expect their tactical awareness to be so... so mismatched. I initially thought Hu's shortcomings in certain areas were due to his ability, but now it seems that's not the case. Rather, it's because he didn't receive the most formal and good basketball training in his early development, especially in terms of tactical habits."

When facing Gan Guoyang, Bellman remained reserved and didn't say anything too harsh.

He mentioned Hu Weidong, whose coach, Bellman, had been Hu Weidong's coach for several years, from the Lakers to the Celtics.

During the regular season, Berman gave Hu Weidong quite a few opportunities, and Hu Weidong seized some of them.

But there were some things Hu Weidong couldn't grasp, and he couldn't take any further steps forward.

But when he arrived at the training center and took classes with Hu Weidong's teammates and coaches, Berman realized that Hu Weidong was already the best one.

In terms of memorizing, applying, and understanding tactics, Hu Weidong is the best, second only to Gan Guoyang, followed by Wang Zhizhi.

Coincidentally, they had all undergone rigorous training in the NBA and experienced professional training, which made them stand out.

"And your coaching staff, to be honest, I don't think they're coaches. They're more like administrators, general managers, team leaders, or teachers. But not really coaches." Berman also criticized the coaching staff led by Jiang Xingquan. He was surprised to find that some of their tactical thinking and concepts were still stuck in the 70s and 80s.

"That's called the Chinese characteristic. Bobby, you know, a coach not only directs the game, but also manages people. In China, there's an additional skill involved: how to deal with superiors. Anyway, I hope you understand, and I'll try my best to teach you."

Gan Guoyang said that although he has not lived or worked in China since he was 20 years old, he still understands this land.

Jiang Xingquan is a very old-fashioned coach. The characteristic of old-fashioned coaches is strong management. Their first choice for developing combat effectiveness is often to focus on management.

In terms of tactics, they often rely on collective wisdom, with everyone developing a strategy and moving forward together. They are far less meticulous about details than American coaches.

The first thing a head coach has to do when forming a national team is to establish authority, balance the relationships between various forces, and ensure internal unity. Only then can tactical issues be addressed.

Of course, other national teams also have this problem, but China is a large country with a large population, and its players come from all over the country. Sports are more susceptible to interference from other factors, so management issues are often the head coach's biggest challenge.

For someone like Jiang Xingquan, who has taken over the national team from Gong Luming, the pressure to achieve results is immense.

The pressure of achieving results inevitably led to nervous tension, resulting in a conflict between Gong Xiaobin and Jiang Xingquan within the national team during training at Lake Karen.

Gong Xiaobin was very talented, but his free-spirited and unruly personality clashed with the upright Jiang Xingquan. In order to maintain the authority of the head coach and the stability of the team, Jiang Xingquan directly expelled Gong Xiaobin from the national team.

The two had only had a few verbal exchanges during training, which is common in teams. However, both were very strong-willed, and there had been some misunderstandings in their early years, which caused the small conflict to escalate into a major conflict that eventually spiraled out of control.

Even when Gong Xiaobin's mentor pleaded for him and asked him to apologize, Jiang Xingquan still refused to budge and did not bring Gong Xiaobin to the United States for training, which basically meant that the carefree king would miss the Sydney Olympics.

Gan Guoyang knew about this, and he didn't care. But in order to maintain the head coach's authority, he didn't say anything. He knew that if he spoke up, Gong Xiaobin would definitely come, but if he came, who would leave?

Interpersonal relationships are difficult to navigate anywhere, which is why Gan Guoyang still prefers to compete. When a competition starts, he can kill his opponent without any scruples.

"Sonny, you can't really teach anything substantial in just one month. Maybe in terms of ability, you can win gold medals because you're here. But... if you're not here, Yao and Wang will be the pillars, but they will never reach your level, and your level will drop significantly. Being number one in Asia is your ceiling," Bellman said bluntly.

Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "It's okay, Bobby. I don't expect them to understand everything and become the best players in this month. I just hope they can become seeds, bringing back the right ideas and direction, just like in 1992, bringing back strength and competition. This time, they should bring back science and ideas, and I think one day they should bear fruit."

Behrman stubbed out his cigarette, looked at Gan Guoyang, and said, "I really underestimated you, Gan. I didn't expect that after all these years, I would still be underestimating you."

"Stop flattering me, focus on your studies, I believe you'll be the champions next year."

"Really?"

"It's fake, I'm betting on the Lakers."

"XXXX!"

(End of this chapter)