The Golden Age of Basketball

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At Rochambeau Court, Cap Raven sighed deeply after looking at the things Gan Guoyang handed him and said, "Gan, you did the right thing, you shouldn't have accepted these things. You possess very good qualities, and your father is a respectable man."

Gan Guoyang replied, "One should not accept rewards without rendering service. Anything taken from others must eventually be repaid."

Cap said, "You're right. The University of San Francisco is already starting to pay the price for their actions. Have you heard about the Quentin-Daly news?"

"Quentin-Daly? I don't know, what happened?"

"So you didn't know. I thought you were well-informed and that's why you returned the stuff. Anyway, you did the right thing."

Then, Cap Raven told Gan Guoyang about a major incident that had recently happened at the University of San Francisco.

Quentin-Daly was the star player of the University of San Francisco, a Shooting Guard on the All-America lineup, and the core member of the team.

However, not long ago, Quentin-Daly was accused of raping a female dormitory assistant, prompting the police to investigate at the University of San Francisco.

Initially, this was a personal criminal case, but as the NCAA Disciplinary Committee got involved, the issue started escalating beyond control.

For starters, Quentin-Daly not only sexually assaulted the dorm assistant, but also admitted that he had a role within an affiliated organization of the University of San Francisco, where he was drawing a salary of 1,000 US Dollars per month for doing nothing.

This led to implications for the affiliated organization behind him—the Dons Century Club (Dons is the name of the San Francisco basketball team).

This club was essentially a player recruitment organization for the University of San Francisco basketball team, investing hundreds of thousands of US Dollars to privately recruit high school players with potential, violating regulations by fostering relationships.

Their violations included paying for the players' family daily expenses, reimbursing travel cost, lending money to players for leisure spending, giving them no-show jobs, gifting expensive presents during holidays, along with restaurant vouchers, movie tickets, concert passes, and more.

Further, to ensure the players would qualify academically, they helped players with exams, wrote papers for them, and guaranteed they wouldn't be banned from games due to insufficient grades.

All this was only the tip of the iceberg regarding the investigation results. As an insider, Cap Raven knew that the investigation was still delving deeper, and a lot more information would be released in the future.

Gan Guoyang was shocked to hear all this. He had initially thought that the NBA was a big dye vat, but expected college basketball, being an ivory tower, to be somewhat purer. He didn't realize that it could be even more corrupt, especially right at the University of San Francisco, close to him.

From this, it was clear what the intentions were behind the gifts and vouchers that they had given to Gan Youwei.

"What will happen next? How will it be dealt with?" Gan Guoyang asked.

"Last year, the NCAA had already issued a warning to the school. The University of San Francisco had many issues during investigations over the past decade, and they never learned their lesson, always letting coaches resign to take the blame. This time, I don't think it will be that simple. They might have to shut down the basketball department and won't be able to participate in NCAA games anymore."

"Shut down? For how long?"

"I don't know. Maybe one or two years, maybe three or four years, even up to four or five years. Steve has already signed a letter of intent with the school, so this is going to be troublesome."

Cap's son Steve was picked by the University of San Francisco early on and had already secured a spot on the basketball team.

However, Cap hadn't received any bribes or gifts from the Dons Club, because he didn't need to; in America, if your father is at a certain university, you will likely be sent to the same school.

Now knowing that the University of San Francisco's basketball department was in jeopardy, Cap, still intending to send his son to the school as a former member of the University of San Francisco.

As for what to do about playing basketball and whether to transfer, that was a matter for the future.

"The University of San Francisco is also very interested in you; they've been wanting to recruit you. You are fortunate you didn't make any promises to them, as this place is no longer suitable for you. You should go to a better school," Cap suggested to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang wasn't Steve; his father wasn't from the University of San Francisco, and he didn't have the emotional ties necessitating him to join the Dons.

"I'll think about it after getting the state championship first. How has Steve been lately? Their games have been going smoothly, haven't they?"

"They've been doing very well. Drake High School hasn't lost a game yet this year. But most likely they will be placed in Division 2 while you'll be in Division 1, so you won't run into them."

Steve Raven's Drake High School is located across from San Francisco in San Anselmo, belonging to the California North Coast Alliance with many schools; their schedule is different from San Francisco's.

The two talked about basketball for a while longer before Cap asked Gan Guoyang if he would like to consider having dinner at his place if they didn't celebrate Christmas.

Gan Guoyang quickly said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Kap, I already have plans with friends, but thank you for the invitation."

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"Well, that's fine. You should consider school matters earlier, and I'll keep an eye out and consult for you. You're in high demand, but choosing a school should be done cautiously as it will affect your future path."

Gan Guoyang nodded, thanked Kap, and checked the time—it was time to honor his appointment.

He hailed a cab and arrived at the Fillmore District, where Sermonde's The-Beginning restaurant used to be, right on the street corner.

When he got there, the cab driver asked, "Brother, are you Gan? Sunny Gan from Beiqiao High School?"

"That's me. Seems like I've got a bit of a reputation. Can you let me off for free?"

"Oh, sorry, I can't do that. But I can give you a discount. You're here to see Sermonde, right?"

"Yes. How do you know everything?"

"Ha, see that Rolls-Royce over there? Everyone in San Francisco knows that's Sermonde's."

Indeed, across the street was a gleaming 1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud MK3, with a custom "Nate42" license plate—distinctly Sermonde's.

After paying the fare, Gan Guoyang crossed the street to find the former THE BEGINING sign replaced by a bar.

The entrance was adorned with a Christmas tree and wreath; pushing the door open, he was greeted by an altered interior where a bar counter and liquor cabinet stood just inside.

A towering figure in a dark suit, holding a glass, stood at the bar chatting lively with a female bartender within, both clearly amused.

Noticing Gan Guoyang's entrance, he immediately reacted, "Hey, I know you! The Chinese dummy from San Francisco, you've finally arrived! Come have a drink!"

As he spoke, he slid a glass that was already filled with a pale yellow liquid over to Gan Guoyang's side of the bar, saying, "This is for you. Do you know who I am, kid?"

Gan Guoyang may not have known much about NBA stars from that era, but he recognized this man.

The basketball emperor, the Great Dipper, Wilt Chamberlain—a towering figure who once scored 100 points in a single game, snagged more than twenty thousand rebounds in his career, and claimed to have had twenty thousand romantic encounters.

Looking at the legendary figure's offered glass, Gan Guoyang said, "Sorry, Mr. Chamberlain, I don't drink."

Chamberlain let out a hearty guffaw and called into the back, "Nate! He knows me! I am indeed more famous than you!"

He then told Gan Guoyang in a serious tone, "Not many people refuse me."

Gan Guoyang retorted, "Just limited to women."

The comeback, quite sharp, caused Chamberlain's face to darken—a tense atmosphere seemed to build.

At that moment, the female bartender behind the bar gave Gan Guoyang a meaningful look, and he glanced at the drink, suspecting that it might not contain alcohol.

After a brief standoff, Gan Guoyang still picked up the glass and took a sip.

It indeed wasn't alcohol, just regular lemon water.

"Hahaha, you fell for it, you still couldn't refuse me, dear Ms. Gan. Merry Christmas, young man."

Chamberlain laughed like a child, thinking he had tricked Gan Guoyang.

Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang finished the lemon water and thought to himself that this emperor was somewhat childish.

"[The first time I saw Gan, I knew for sure— he was a virgin.]"

—————— Excerpt from Wilt Chamberlain's autobiography "A View from Above," published in 1992.