The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 119 - 22 Little Quiz

Before going to Portland, Gan Guoyang made a trip back to San Francisco to visit his father and his uncle’s family, enjoying a few dishes his dad had prepared.

He also took the opportunity to visit Sermonde and Cap Raven, both of whom were impressed and surprised by Gan Guoyang’s performance in the Olympic Team vs All-Star game.

Sermonde openly said, "Your progress is so rapid I feel I couldn’t beat you since our first one-on-one ended."

Cap Raven invited Gan Guoyang to play basketball at Rochambeau Court, and even without informing others, more and more residents and fans gathered to watch Gan Guoyang play.

San Francisco’s basketball scene had been rather bleak over the previous two years. The University of San Francisco’s basketball program was cut, and Cap Raven’s son, Steve Raven, had spent two years there before preparing to transfer to Chapman University.

Former elite players from University of San Francisco had graduated or transferred with no new talent to replenish, leading to the decline of the school’s basketball program.

In the high school basketball scene, after Beiqiao Shui Zhong won the first California championship, the subsequent two Division 1 championships were won by Southern California teams.

In the 1984 CIF finals, San Francisco’s St. Ignatius College Preparatory won the Northern California championship but was defeated by Long Beach Polytechnic from Los Angeles.

As Cap Raven wrote in his memoir article, "When Ah Gan left San Francisco to go to college, the sun in the Bay Area’s basketball sky set with him, plunging into darkness."

Cap would often lament much later that if the University of San Francisco hadn’t made the foolish move to shut down its basketball program, Ah Gan would have definitely attended, and NCAA history would have been rewritten.

As an important guide on Gan Guoyang’s basketball journey during high school and college, Cap Raven still cared deeply about Gan Guoyang’s basketball career and offered him valuable advice.

Recently, Gan Guoyang’s signing with the Portland Trail Blazers and a one million US dollar contract with Avia, as well as his performances in the Olympic All-Star game, had made him a hot topic in public discourse.

Raven reminded Gan Guoyang, "Don’t forget to improve your skills and physique, as on-court techniques and condition are the foundation... Of course, I believe in your talent and effort. You’re about to head to Portland, and I can’t help much in the professional basketball circle. However, I know someone with the Trail Blazers, Dr. Bruce Ogilvie, an alumnus from University of San Francisco. Once you’re in Portland, try to meet him; he might be able to help you."

Gan Guoyang took the business card Raven handed to him, which read "Sports Psychologist Dr. Ogilvie," along with his phone number.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Kap, you’ve been a great help to me."

"God helps those who help themselves, Ah Gan, remember, more people will want to help someone who is strict with themselves and has great aspirations," Cap said.

Gan Guoyang took Cap’s words to heart; he indeed had received a lot of support along the way.

Ultimately, it boiled down to the fact that he was worth the help and investment, so he never forgot to improve his core abilities.

After spending two days in San Francisco, Gan Guoyang flew to Portland.

July in California was sunny and bright, but Portland in July was rainy.

Stepping out of the airport, from the sky to the ground, everything was drenched, and Gan Guoyang’s height attracted a lot of attention.

Some people recognized Gan Guoyang, after all, his Chinese features were quite distinctive.

But on the way to the parking lot, the looks from passersby were not very friendly, only a few children ran up to ask for Gan Guoyang’s autograph.

It seems that Gan Guoyang’s contract negotiations with the Trail Blazers and his interference with the medical team had not left a good impression on the Portland people.

In the parking lot, the Trail Blazers’ COO, Harry Glickman, personally came to pick up Gan Guoyang. The Trail Blazers’ veteran greeted Gan Guoyang with a warm smile and hug, which brightened up the dreary rainy weather a bit.

"Welcome to Portland, Ah Gan."

"Thank you, but it doesn’t seem like the weather is very welcoming."

"Rain is the norm in Portland; perhaps it’s not very welcoming to anyone."

Portland is a city known for its plentiful rainfall, with nine months of rain each year. The weather is often gloomy and damp, not the most conducive for an athlete’s recovery.

Glickman took Gan Guoyang directly to the Trail Blazers headquarters at Memorial Coliseum by the Willamette River, where the Trail Blazers’ general manager Stu-Inman, owner Larry Weinberg, Gan Guoyang’s agent Fleisher, head coach Jack Ramsay, and others were waiting in the office for him.

This wasn’t Gan Guoyang’s first meeting with Stu-Inman, as they had been acquaintances at training camp, but back then, Inman could not have too much private contact with him.

Upon seeing Gan Guoyang, Inman was quite excited and said, "Waiting for you to come over was not easy, welcome to Portland!"

Inman seemed to forget that when they signed Drexler last year, they made Glider wait for four months. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Owner Larry Weinberg looked like a very friendly person, he didn’t talk much, and as the owner, he didn’t want to be the center of attention, instead standing and smiling quietly, as if none of this concerned him.

But those who knew him were aware that Weinberg had participated in World War II, had been seriously injured in France, made his fortunes in real estate after the war, and had once been the chairman of a large consortium organization, a political lobbyist brain traversing Washington—a plain exterior hiding a life full of rich experiences and strategies.

Gan Guoyang shook hands with Weinberg, who said warmly, "Welcome to the Trail Blazers, looking forward to our bright future."

On the other side of the office desk stood head coach Ramsay and assistant coach Adelman, both of whom looked much more serious, examining Gan Guoyang with an evaluative gaze.

It seemed they didn’t quite trust this tall man with yellow skin, and during the management’s decision-making process, the coaching staff’s opinion was not fully respected.

Overall, the atmosphere in the office was just like Portland’s weather, with sunshine mixed with wind and rain, a pleasant climate but also damp and cold, ready for a sudden change.

This fickleness was actually quite normal, after all, the Trail Blazers had paid a significant price to sign Gan Guoyang, and the old-timers on the team were more or less displeased at heart.

Especially the coaching staff, in the 1984 NBA, there was a conflict between "star-first" and "team-first", "team-first" was the principle most coaches adhered to, where a star is just the most prominent member of the team, but not above the team.

But in recent years, players like Bird and Magic Johnson had emerged, possessing enormous influence on and off the court, earning a lot of money for the teams and the league, attracting scores of fans.

The "star-first" trend was gradually overtaking "team-first", and with the new Commissioner Stern taking office, the 1984 draft was seen as a golden generation teeming with talent, rookies signing big contracts and being warmly welcomed by fans, seeming more important than the team without even having played an NBA game.

Coaches accustomed to "team-first", with the coach as the core, were naturally irked, as dominant coaches like Bill Fitch and Westhead lost ground in clashes with stars.

The Lakers had replaced with former player Pat Riley, and the Celtics had also switched to their own KC Jones; their labels were no longer a certain tactic, a certain style, but more like assistants to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, to match and help stars build systems and finish games.

Jack Ramsay faced the same dilemma, last season he and Drexler had mutual antipathy; he thought Drexler was too casual and didn’t meet his team requirements.

But the Portland fans liked Clyde, they liked Drexler’s gliding dunks, they came to the Memorial Coliseum to watch him, not to see an old man in a checkerboard suit shouting on the sideline.

Now here was Gan Guoyang, the most hotly debated center in all of America 1984, with a playing style and personality so prominent, Ramsay had already been deeply hurt by Walton, and he didn’t know what kind of results Guoyang would bring.

So, when Gan Guoyang shook hands with Ramsay, Ramsay pulled a long face with no smile, rather perfunctorily moving his arm.

Gan Guoyang, however, had a beaming smile, thinking to himself that he had encountered another coach who was not convinced.

After officially signing the contract, Gan Guoyang posed for a photo with everyone, finally becoming a member of the Trail Blazers.

"By the way, I wanted to ask, where is Dr. Bruce Ogilvie?" Gan Guoyang remembered the psychological expert Coach Cap had introduced to him.

"You know Bruce?" Inman asked.

"Coach Cap from San Francisco introduced him, they are alumni of the University of San Francisco, and Cap said I could seek his help when I come to the Trail Blazers."

Jack Ramsay and Stu-Inman exchanged glances, and Ramsay said, "See, I told you we should conduct a test, and the kid comes asking for it."

Gan Guoyang didn’t understand what Ramsay was saying, while Inman addressed Guoyang, "Ah Gan, would you be willing to take a psychological test? The kind that’s a little quiz."

(ps: I noticed some pictures of Adelman couldn’t pass the review, probably because AI identified them as the Fürher.)