The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 510 - 13 Where did the bucket come from?
Wang Fuxi came prepared this time; ever since they got married, they had never seriously considered the issue of having children.
Gan Guoyang was focused on basketball, and he had no immediate plans to have children.
His experience growing up in an orphanage had instilled in him a natural aversion to the idea of having kids.
The orphanage was full of children abandoned by their parents.
However, his new body and life were gradually breaking down this resistance.
Especially during the summer, when he returned to the island of his hometown, he knelt before his mother’s grave to pay his respects, and childhood memories of his mother would emerge.
Because his mother passed away early, those memories were very faint, but the image of his mother carrying him on her back and gazing at the starry sky over the sea at night was firmly etched in his mind.
His mother was a tall woman who loved cleanliness; although she lived by the seaside, she didn’t have the slightest fishy smell, always a faint scent of soapberries on her.
She often sang to Gan Guoyang, happy and melodious tunes that were rare for that era.
Latter she fell ill and died, and Gan Guoyang seldom heard anyone sing to him ever since.
On the way back to Gan’s Restaurant in San Francisco, Gan Guoyang said to Wang Fuxi, "Sing me a song, and I’ll agree to it."
"Really? If I sing to you, you’ll agree to have a child?"
"Yes. But you have to sing until I’m satisfied," he replied. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
"I’m not bad at singing. Just tell me what you want to hear, English, Cantonese, or Mandarin? As long as I can sing it, I will sing for you," she declared.
Wang Fuxi’s family owned a video and music store, and she knew and could sing many songs.
Gan Guoyang thought for a moment. In 1987, he had heard some songs—it wouldn’t be right to ask her to sing something that hadn’t been released yet.
"Since it’s winter and it’s snowing, just sing ’Approximately in Winter’," he suggested.
In 1987, Chi Qin released the album "Winter Rain," achieving massive commercial success, with the song ’Approximately in Winter’ becoming a timeless classic of that era.
Wang Fuxi knew this song but shook her head, "No, that song is about parting, and the first line is about leaving you. I don’t want that."
"We have to part ways often anyway. Tomorrow, after returning to Portland, I’ll have to rush to Cleveland to play an away game in the evening. I’ll be gone for a week. But in the end, we always end up together, right?"
Gan Guoyang consoled Wang Fuxi, who finally began to sing softly, "Gently, I’m going to leave you. Please wipe away the tears from the corners of your eyes. Throughout the long night and dear one, in the future days, don’t cry for me..."
Gan Guoyang didn’t cry, but Wang Fuxi herself started to weep as she sang.
Thinking about how they would again be spending more time apart than together once the season started, her tears uncontrollably flowed.
Gan Guoyang quickly embraced her, wiping the tears from her face, and said, "I promise you, if I win the championship this year, we’ll have a baby."
Wang Fuxi replied, "Do we have to win the championship first? What if you don’t win? You’ve won two championships already, but we don’t have a single child!"
"Trust me, I will definitely win this year. For your wish, I will do everything I can to take the title," he assured.
Wang Fuxi stopped crying, sang the rest of the song, and the two of them walked home hand in hand.
Quentin and the Feng Brothers sat in the car all the while, trailing behind slowly and providing light for the couple.
"Bro, are Ah Gan and sister-in-law shooting a movie or something? One minute they’re hugging, the next they’re crying," one brother remarked.
"You don’t understand a damn thing. That’s just love," replied the other.
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Christmas offered the Portland Trail Blazers players a great opportunity to rest, with no games scheduled from the 23rd to the 26th.
For the first time in many years, Jack Ramsey got to spend Christmas with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law, providing a much-needed respite for his weary spirit.
However, even at the Christmas dinner table, Ramsey couldn’t escape the grip of basketball.
Because his son-in-law Jim O’Brien had recently lost his job.
From the 1982-1987 seasons, he had been the head coach at Wellington Jesus University, a NCAA Division II league school.
After the ’87 season, his partnership with the school ended, and he was currently looking for his next job.
For a coach, such an employment gap could be unbearable.
Now with a soaring reputation in the NBA, it wouldn’t be a problem for Jack Ramsey to find his son-in-law a job related to basketball.
Ramsay knew his son-in-law had some ability, after all, he had achieved some success as a college coach.
But to be honest, he wasn’t particularly talented, and as a coach, his personality was average. Simply put, he had mediocre potential, good enough to make a living, but it would be difficult for him to become a top coach.
Still, unable to resist his daughter’s request and the rare opportunity to spend Christmas with family, Ramsay thickened his skin and called Buckwalter, asking him to arrange a position for O’Brien.
Buckwalter inquired if he could make O’Brien an assistant coach, but Ramsay quickly said no, O’Brien wasn’t ready for that. He suggested that O’Brien start as a trainer or video analyst, with the possibility of working up to a coaching position later.
After going for the interview, O’Brien felt that being a trainer or video analyst was beneath him. He was still seeking a head coach position, so he turned down the offer.
This put Ramsay in an awkward position, having arranged a job for a family member, only for it to be unappreciated.
In this respect, Bobby Beelman was different. Even when he achieved some accomplishments in college, he was set on making it into the NBA.
After arriving in the NBA, he was an unequivocal workaholic. For a tactic, a piece of data, or even a single movement, he would work late into the night watching videos, practically making the video room his home.
As a traditional coach, Ramsay initially scoffed at the idea of analyzing tactics through game videos. He believed it showed a coach’s lack of basic spatial imagination.
However, as video technology became widespread, its benefits became increasingly apparent.
Beelman would often join Little Spo in the video room, editing footage of current and past games, and meticulously analyzing both teams.
Ramsay was getting on in years and, while in good health, his eyes could no longer keep up; watching videos for extended periods was a strain.
Having decided to retire after the season, Ramsay began to consider who his successor should be.
While a coaching position isn’t exactly a throne of power that can be appointed by the predecessor,
generally speaking, unless one is fired, the outgoing coach’s opinion is very important.
Ramsay originally intended to have Rick Adelman as his successor, but the young man had left prematurely to coach in Golden State.
Bobby Beelman was relatively inexperienced, but he had a significant advantage: he was Ah Gan’s high school and college coach.
Gaining the support of the team’s leading player was crucial.
Thus, Ramsay gradually warmed to the idea of Beelman taking over.
After Christmas, he decided to focus on training Beelman, gradually delegating authority to others, and giving him more responsibilities.
On December 26th, the Christmas holiday ended, and the Trail Blazers gathered in the afternoon to fly to Cleveland, starting their first long Eastern trip of the season.
Since Larry Weinberg was relatively frugal, the twice-champion Portland Trail Blazers still had to travel by commercial aircraft for away games.
This displeased Gan Guoyang. With two championships under their belt, couldn’t they spend some money on a plane?
Their defeated rivals, the Detroit Pistons, already flew on a private jet.
Weinberg, smiling, said he’d consider buying a plane next season and told him not to worry.
Although they didn’t have a private jet, the Trail Blazers tried to purchase seats on comfortable, luxurious airliners and made sure the players could fly first class.
The plane arrived in Cleveland in the early morning; the team held a warm-up practice at 10 am the next morning and reached the Rifield submarine by late afternoon to prepare for the game.
Gan Guoyang somehow procured a bucket and threw in a roll of 10-dollar bills, declaring, "Let’s bet on tonight’s game to see if Gilmore and I can combine for more than 10 blocks. If we go over, he and I win; if not, you win."
In their third season of championship contention, victories and titles were less and less stimulating for the players.
The regular season felt longer and more unbearable.
Especially the distant Eastern away games, which came just once a year, there wasn’t much concern about winning or losing, especially against teams like the Cavaliers, whom they wouldn’t meet in the playoffs, the players lacked motivation.
At times like these, something else was needed to provide stimulation.
Betting small stakes in gambling was often a good motivator, and Gan Guoyang frequently used it.
However, this time everyone had their doubts; blocking was one of Ah Gan’s specialties.
"Make it 15 times!"
"I think 12 is enough to stake a wager, I’m in for 10 dollars."
"20 times!"
"20 times, and include Mitchell in the count."
"I’d better not. I might not block any, but I’m willing to bet. It makes the game more interesting."
"Ah Gan, where did you get this bucket from?"
