The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 229 - 115: The Return of the King

Barkley was taken off the court temporarily due to an "injury," and Bullets head coach Gene Shue subbed in backup power forward Rick Mahorn.

Coach Gene Shue was a rather unique presence among NBA coaches; he lost more games than he won, but he always had a job.

Not because he had strong connections, but because he often took over lousy teams and was good at pulling those total messes out of the rubble and starting to rebuild.

When Gene Shue coached teams like the 1966 Baltimore Bullets (4 wins, 21 losses), the 1973 Philadelphia 76ers (9 wins, 73 losses), and the 1978 San Diego Clippers (27 wins, 55 losses), the teams were desolate and battle-scarred.

In Baltimore, he successfully led the Bullets to the playoffs, and in 1971, they made it to the finals, where they lost to Alcindor and Robertson’s Bucks.

In Philadelphia, he took the 76ers to the 1977 finals, where they lost to the Trail Blazers.

In San Diego, by the second year, he had the Clippers fighting for a playoff spot with a record of 43 wins and 39 losses.

It was just that the Clippers’ owner, Donald Sterling, was a man with no vision or patience, and he quickly fired Gene Shue.

In 1980, Gene Shue returned to the Bullets, who had by then moved to Washington, and he replaced champion coach Dick Motta.

Bullets owner Pollin hoped the team could return to its glory days of the 70s under the leadership of Gene Shue, an old acquaintance.

Gene Shue quickly got the Bullets back to the playoff race, but they lost to the Boston Celtics twice.

Therefore, recently the Bullets have been frantically stocking up on forwards, hoping to block the Boston frontcourt cavalry in the playoffs.

Gene Shue valued Charles Barkley highly, seeing him as a hybrid of Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes, and he took great care in nurturing him.

As early as 1957, when Gene Shue was still playing basketball for the Fort Wayne Pistons, he proposed a view: "A team composed of players under 6 feet 5 inches can beat a team of players over 6 feet 5 inches."

At the time in the NBA, this view sparked widespread debate, and many famous players and coaches joined the discussion.

People like Dolph Shayes, George Mikan, and Carl Braun disagreed with Gene Shue’s view because height was too important in basketball during that era.

Only Bob Cousy beat around the bush, saying typically the shorter players would not defeat the taller ones, but there could be special circumstances. If it were a series, the short ones probably wouldn’t stand a chance, but in a single game to decide the winner, the short team might win.

Eventually, Cousy suggested that since it was uncertain whether the short or the tall would win, why not organize an annual "Short vs Tall" game, promote it through the media, and then set up a fund for the players’ retirement?

It was evident that Bob Cousy was racking his brains over the players’ retirement issues, not missing any opportunity to seek welfare and protection for them.

He founded North America’s first Players Union in 1954, serving as its inaugural president. Upon his retirement in 1963, John F. Kennedy sent him a letter commending his tremendous contributions.

Gene Shue brought his unique understanding of basketball to the court. As a player, he was adept at the stop-and-pop jump shot, which was a very advanced shooting technique in the 50s.

He also invented the 360-degree spin move and layup, which were groundbreaking at that time, and even the elegant playing Elgin Baylor was astounded by his quick spins.

As a coach, Gene Shue was adept at using short forwards, such as Unseld, Ruland, and Dawkins, who were not traditional big centers.

When the NBA introduced the three-point line, and traditional coaches like Ramsay resisted, Gene Shue was the first in the league to design a three-point strategy for his team.

Gene Shue also placed great emphasis on isolation plays; his core tactical approach in the 60s, when coaching the Bullets, was to create one-on-one opportunities for the players.

The Bullets players joked amongst themselves, "Our defense is so good because we get to rest while watching one person go against four on offense."

This approach was considered heretical at the time, and the tactical manual he wrote was dubbed the bible of basketball blasphemy, deviating from the norm but full of innovative ideas that prompted reflection.

Bill Walton was coached by Gene Shue during his time with the Clippers (though he only played 14 games) and described Shue as "positive, optimistic, imaginative, and extremely creative."

Gene Shue had a talent for coaching those considered outcasts by the league, the lost sheep in spirit, enabling undervalued players to showcase their strengths under his guidance.

Charles Barkley might have been the rookie most suited to Gene Shue’s taste that he encountered in his coaching career—a short power forward with a big behind, optimistic and enthusiastic character, from a poor background with child-like innocence, and enormous potential, more talented than Unseld, Dawkins, and others.

Therefore, when he saw Barkley being carried off the field injured, Gene Shue was very worried; he rushed to Barkley’s side to inquire and saw that Barkley looked pale, perhaps seriously hurt.

Rick Mahorn took to the court and held the fort in the paint until the end of the first quarter, with the visiting Trail Blazers leading the Bullets by 7 points at 30:23. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Gene Shue was always straightforward. During the halftime break, as Gan Guoyang was passing by the sidelines, Gene Shue shouted at him, "Do you always play this dirty? I heard Charles is your good friend, is this how you treat him on the court?"

Gan Guoyang replied, "I wasn’t rough, just normal defense, and the ref didn’t call a foul. I never play dirty."

Gene Shue didn’t believe it, saying, "I just saw it. Charles looks very pale. If Charles is hurt, I will file a complaint with the league!"

Gan Guoyang admired Gene Shue’s integrity but he indeed did not play dirty; he always fought openly and fairly without resorting to injuring moves, and even made sure to protect the opponent in case of a fall, or else Lan Bi’er would have been ruined long ago.

But it was difficult for Gan Guoyang to explain to Gene Shue that it was unlikely Barkley was injured, but rather something else must have happened.

Ramsay came over and shouted towards Gene Shue, "Shut up, my players never play dirty, he fell because he’s too overweight, you should tell your players to lose some weight!"

Gene Shue and Ramsay had been long-time rivals. Ramsay was a traditional college coach who thought that one-on-one play on the court was "the most boring game."

The two met in the 1977 finals, where Gene Shue lost to Ramsay. At that time, Ramsay was praised throughout the All-America basketball community, while Gene Shue and his Philadelphia 76ers were considered outcasts in the basketball world, clowns, a circus, not real basketball.

Years later, the development of the NBA proved that Gene Shue was no clown; he was an innovative and remarkable coach. Ramsay was not purely an old-fashioned conservative; he too contributed to the development of basketball.

But at this moment, the two long-standing rivals stood in front of the technical desk passionately arguing for their disciples, and Guoyang had to pull Ramsay back to prevent the old man from rushing up and starting a fight with Gene Shue.

Rick Mahorn also came over to keep the peace, positioning his broad body between the two coaches, while saying to Guoyang, "Let’s talk things over; there’s no need to fight. I believe it wasn’t intentional."

Back when it was the Olympic Team vs. the All-Star Team, Mahorn had had verbal confrontations with Guoyang, but now he was playing the wise man, becoming a peacemaker.

Clearly, Mahorn was not an obstinate youngster like Olajuwon; you could tell that he was a very savvy, clear-headed fellow from the way he always attacked smaller guards on the court.

Eventually, the referees stopped the conflict between the two coaches, and Guoyang pulled Ramsay back to the bench, saying, "Coach, don’t be so angry. I think Charles isn’t hurt; he will be back soon."

Ramsay responded, "Not hurt? Did you skip dinner?"

"..."

As the second quarter began, Guoyang sat on the bench resting, while the substitute players from both teams took over on the court.

After playing for a few minutes, the Trail Blazers maintained a lead of more than 5 points, and Ramsay wasn’t in a hurry to put Guoyang back in immediately.

Toward the latter part of the season, as fatigue accumulated, the chances of players getting injured increased.

Ramsay had learned his lesson and didn’t want to see his disciples troubled by injuries any longer.

Suddenly, cheers erupted from the previously subdued arena, starting from the players’ tunnel and spreading to the other end of the court.

On the giant color screen hanging above the court, Charles Barkley in the No. 34 jersey appeared on the sidelines.

He was back!

The fans began to stand and clap. Just when everyone thought Barkley might be injured, he quickly returned to the game.

Gene Shue came over to inquire about Barkley’s condition, and Barkley said he was fine and could play immediately.

A dead ball occurred on the court at just the right time, and Gene Shue patted Barkley, signaling him to re-enter the game.

Barkley, back on the court, played fiercely, immediately driving to the basket for a successful layup and even drawing a foul from Kenny-Carl.

After making the additional free throw, Barkley then blocked Kolter under the basket, grabbed the ball directly, and dribbled the length of the court for a thunderous dunk!

The entire Capital Center was in an uproar, Barkley’s return of the king!

The live commentator shouted, "It’s like Willis Reed’s comeback in 1970; he’s bringing victory!"

When Barkley hit another mid-range shot from outside, scoring 7 points in a row and tying the game, Ramsay had no choice but to call a timeout.

Guoyang took off his tracksuit and said to Ramsay, "I can handle him! That faker..."

As the timeout ended and the starters from both teams re-entered, Guoyang approached Barkley and asked, "Charles, are you okay? You recovered so quickly?"

Barkley avoided Guoyang’s gaze and said, "I’m fine, just knocked my knee. It’s a bit sore, but really, there’s no issue."

"Knocked your knee? Then why were you holding your butt?"

"When did I hold my butt?"

"Fuck, why are there dirty yellow stains on the back of your pants?"

"You’re farting, I changed pants..."

Suddenly realizing something was amiss, Barkley seemed to let something slip.

"Charles, you hurt your knee, so why did you change your pants?"

Mid-conversation, Guoyang suddenly squeezed past Barkley, rushed to the basket to grab an offensive rebound, then elbowed Mahorn aside and dunked with both hands!

After scoring, Guoyang pointed at Barkley and said, "Charles, I know what’s going on now!"

While running towards the frontcourt, Barkley responded, "Sonny, please, let’s just play the game, alright? Don’t say anything."