The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 126 - 28: The Warmth of Red

During the timeout, Adelman came over to Ramsay and said, "Jack, I think we should end this game early. Let’s not play anymore."

Ramsay crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, responding, "What do you mean? Are you worried the main team will lose?"

Ramsay had the most expressive eyebrows in the League, and when he raised or furrowed them, it always conveyed certain messages—mostly unsettling ones.

Adelman had worked with Ramsay for many years and knew that Dr. Jack’s biggest flaw was his emotional temperament; he was too easily agitated.

Even after more than two decades in the NBA, with championship titles and honors to his name, negative emotions could still easily get the better of him.

When he was younger and coaching at St. George’s University, Ramsay would often yell and scream in the locker room after a loss, accompanied by kicking lockers and chairs in violent outbursts.

During games, he would frequently turn red with anger, pacing back and forth on the sidelines, and if he couldn’t stand the players’ performance, he would take off his coat and throw it away or even tear it.

In his years of coaching in college, Ramsay might have set a record among college coaches for the number of jackets he’d destroyed.

Behind his extreme emotional responses was Ramsay’s competitive spirit; he loved to win.

In fact, anyone who stood their ground in the NBA was more or less a competitive fanatic.

But Adelman believed Ramsay was channeling his competitiveness in the wrong direction today; he wasn’t thinking about unifying the team and moving towards their goal but rather looking to pick on Gan Guoyang.

He wanted to see the Rookie Team lose and then critique Gan Guoyang, taking the opportunity to correct what he perceived as "flaws" in Gan and gradually mold him into a great center.

Adelman had been with the Trail Blazers since their foundation and had worked with Ramsay for many years; he understood Ramsay and sympathized with his mindset.

"It’s not about that, Jack. Winning or losing isn’t what’s important, the key is to unify the team through training camp and find the most suitable way to win," Adelman said.

"Who told you winning or losing isn’t important? This is about building their winning mentality, letting those rookies experience what NBA standards are. Only by experiencing failure will their desire for victory grow stronger," Ramsay didn’t heed Adelman’s advice and let the game continue.

When the timeout ended and both teams took the court again, just as Gan Guoyang anticipated, the main team began to strike inside.

Gan Guoyang dominated the paint; his shot-blocking ability was second to none. Although he couldn’t block every shot like he did in high school, his ability to disrupt the offense remained extremely strong. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Vandeweghe tried to drive through three times, only succeeding once; his two layups and one shot attempt were all off the mark under Gan’s interference.

Gan’s strength was the foundation of his outstanding defense; he could withstand the speed of outside players and no one could overcome him in mid-air battles.

On offense, Gan played flexibly, alternating between low and high pick-and-rolls, never allowing the opponents to get the hang of his defensive rhythm.

He scored with a turn-around jumper and another score with a move hook—the main team’s defense was on the verge of collapse.

At that moment, Adelman called a foul on Gan while he was defending Drexler, sending Drexler to the free-throw line.

The score was now 20:26, with the Rookie Team leading by six points.

Gan was decidedly unhappy with Adelman’s call, insisting he hadn’t committed a foul on defense.

Adelman was explaining the call while giving Gan meaningful glances.

Drexler hadn’t scored in this confrontation yet.

On one hand, his form wasn’t good, and on the other, Gan was targeting him particularly.

Setting a solid defense in the paint and allowing no breakthrough, Drexler’s shooting was cringe-worthy to witness.

His two attempts at driving had been intercepted by Gan, and this third one was a deliberate whistle by Adelman.

"You did that on purpose, didn’t you, Rick?" Gan didn’t go for the rebound but spoke quietly with Adelman.

"You know, Clyde is proud. Don’t do this."

Gan smiled and said, "This is my punishment for him being late. Tell him if he’s late again, I’ll keep targeting him until he cries."

Adelman looked at Gan with a horrified expression and asked, "Are you the devil?"

"That’s what they used to call me in high school."

Drexler missed the first free throw but made the second.

He looked unhappy, having assumed he would easily win this game.

But he had been too relaxed at the start, and as the game went on, the Rookie Team gained confidence, while Drexler was completely out of form.

Without a coach’s guidance, without a halftime break for relaxation and adjustment, Gan began to become an unsolvable bug in the game.

He deployed an utterly illogical yet heart-wrenching simple weapon called "offensive rebound."

Taking advantage of the fact that the main team was shorter and had average rebounding abilities, Gan began to continuously seize second-chance opportunities in the paint.

With Gan’s support on the offensive rebounds, Kolter and Bernard-Thompson from the Rookie Team started shooting with more decisiveness.

Bernard-Thompson, this year’s number 19 rookie, was a shooting guard, a left-hander skilled at shooting.

He was considered Drexler’s backup, someone who could step in if the team decided Drexler was no longer fit for the role of shooting guard.

This was the normal competitive mechanism of a professional team. With rumors that Drexler wanted to be traded, the team needed to cultivate a replacement.

If Drexler stayed, Thompson’s presence would also force him to improve himself, especially in shooting—as Coach Ramsay said, Drexler’s shooting form changed every time, showing off a variety like a showcase of human shooting postures.

Bernard-Thompson received a pass on the outside and consecutively scored with his catch-and-shoot, an ability that Drexler lacked.

Drexler collected himself and began to adjust; he took over the playmaking duties from Valentine, using drives and direct passes to the wings to help his teammates tear apart Gan’s defense. On defense, he committed to the protection of the backcourt rebounds, not allowing Gan to continue to disrupt their paint.

With the addition of Adelman’s whistle, the starting team stabilized the situation. After all, they were a team with comprehensive advantages in talent and experience, and it was impossible for them to be easily defeated.

The state of both teams fluctuated like waves, at one moment you overpowered me, and the next I overpowered you.

Yin Man, Weinberg, and the other Trail Blazers staff were utterly engrossed, not expecting the game to be so intense.

As time ticked away, the Rookie Team’s advantage was slowly being eroded, and both sides’ stamina plummeted rapidly.

Twenty minutes of continuous play without rest or substitutions was a severe test of physical endurance.

The number of errors and missed shots from both teams increased.

The score reached 46:48, with the Rookie Team still ahead by two points.

It was Gan Guoyang who had fought for the offensive rebound under the basket to secure this.

The offense and defense of the Rookie Team were on the brink of collapse, neither endurance nor experience could hold up anymore.

But with only 30 seconds left until the end of the game, clenching their teeth and holding on, there was still a chance to win.

Adelman began to count down on the sidelines, wishing the game would end sooner rather than later.

Gan Guoyang was the team’s last stronghold, withstanding another charge from Drexler, but they lost the offensive rebound.

The ball was passed to Vandeweghe on the outside, and Vandeweghe, from the left 45-degree angle, shot a bold open three-point shot!

In an era where three-point shots were not yet popular, Vandeweghe was one of the few players in the League willing to attempt threes and had a decent success rate.

The ball went straight in!

After making the shot, Vandeweghe raised his arms high, and the rest of the training camp cheered.

A three-point lead reversal—such clutch shots were a rarity in those days.

Yin Man and Weinberg both stood up and applauded; such a performance made Yin Man feel the trade was worthwhile.

Only Coach Ramsey stood on the sidelines, pacing back and forth with his hands on his hips, watching Vandeweghe make a three-pointer with great discomfort.

What’s worse, it went in, they took the lead, and it looked like they were about to win against Ah Gan.

Gan Guoyang raised his hand and called the team’s final timeout.

The five of them were soaked with sweat, panting heavily from exhaustion.

All four looked at Gan Guoyang, who squatted down on the floor and quickly sketched out a tactic.

"This... is it really that simple?"

"Yes, just that simple."

Scheffler, who was arranged to take the inbound pass, asked and received an affirmative answer.

Scheffler, with many years of playing experience in Europe, was mentally strong.

Moreover, his tall stature and good vision made him suitable for inbounding the ball.

When the timeout ended, Adelman told both teams, "Last chance to attack. Once the ball is released, it’s over; there will be no next offensive play."

Man-to-man defense, Kossie, Gan Guoyang, and Thompson all gathered near the free-throw line, while Kolter lurked on the baseline.

Kossie set a pick and roll for Bernard-Thompson, who ran towards the right baseline corner.

Then, Gan Guoyang set a pick for Kossie, who cut to the basket.

Only Gan Guoyang was left standing at the elbow spot, with his back to the basket—a very poor position for attacking.

The defense of the starting team was drawn to Kossie and Thompson.

Yet Scheffler easily passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who was very close to him.

Gan Guoyang caught the ball, stepped forward, turned around, and from the elbow spot, let loose a hook shot.

Mychal Thompson wasn’t expecting Gan Guoyang to attempt a hook shot from there.

This was 15 feet away from the basket—a mid-range distance.

The ball traced a high arc and then, simultaneous with Adelman’s whistle, it dropped into the basket.

The ball scored, and the Rookie Team, in a 20-minute scrimmage, had snatched the victory from the starting team.

Jerome Kossie excitedly hugged Gan Guoyang, jumping and shouting as the rest of the gymnasium wore expressions of disbelief.

Yin Man held his head in his hands, while Weinberg nearby couldn’t stop laughing.

The five people on the starting team stood petrified, unable to believe they had lost.

Adelman looked a bit helpless, glancing over at Ramsey with hands on his hips.

Sure enough, Dr. Jack’s face reddened all the way down to his neck.

For him, it was a tough day, and this was just the first day of the training camp.

[In the 1984-1985 season training camp, Gan’s performance shocked everyone on the first day, especially in the afternoon scrimmage when he finished the main team with a long-distance hook shot, just after Vandeweghe had put them ahead with a three-pointer. Coach Ramsey showed the most helpless look on his face; he was red as a crab but could not get angry. I can understand his mentality towards Ah Gan because in 1978, he was deeply hurt by Walton’s case. We had the chance to build a dynasty, but we missed it. When such an opportunity presented itself again, human emotions can change, can get distorted; he wanted perfection right from the start. Fortunately, Gan later won everyone over with his performance.]

———— Excerpt from "The Long Hot Winter" written by Adelman, published in 1991.