The Golden Age of Basketball

Gan Guoyang's understanding of defense had long surpassed that of many contemporary college and even professional basketball players.

He always focused on the bigger picture rather than the gain or loss of a single position. In this respect, even Beelman felt inferior, considering Gan to some extent his defensive philosophy mentor.

Although Beelman agreed that Gan Guoyang was right, he still had him sit out for a rest.

But Gan Guoyang had barely sat on the bench for a minute before the audience, who had come to watch the game, grew restless.

Today, in addition to students from Gonzaga University, many citizens of the City of Spokane had come to Kennedy Gymnasium.

In an era before the internet and when NBA live broadcasts were a mess, local fans had never seen a player like Gan Guoyang, who played with such passion and violence. They had never seen anyone slam five baskets in just 10 minutes of play in their school's history.

Spokane had no NBA team, and it was a significant expense to go to Portland or Seattle. Many ordinary people would not have the chance to watch a game there.

Gan Guoyang's 10 minutes of performance had already conquered the fans of Spokane, making them feel that "Sunny Gan Memorial Day" truly had significance.

"Put Gan back in!"

"We want to see Gan!"

"Gan should play, otherwise what's the point of the match."

In the spectator seats behind the Gonzaga bench, people kept shouting for Gan Guoyang to play.

Beelman had no choice but to put Gan Guoyang back in during a dead ball opportunity.

Gan Guoyang promptly returned to the court, and seeing this, Mu Ligen on the opposite side also had Stockton, who had just taken a rest, get ready to go back in.

Stockton's butt hadn't even warmed the seat. He had just left the court to compose his disordered emotions when he had to go back in again.

"Fuck..." Stockton didn't dare to contradict his coach, so he could only curse silently in his heart.

After 10 minutes of play and confrontation, he had already felt that he and Gan Guoyang were on completely different levels.

Stockton was a typical 1980s White center: tall, strong, slow, with decent skills limited to the inside. He barely had any mid-to-long range shooting ability (as seen from his free-throw percentage, which was only fifty percent).

In college games, his 6-foot-10 height and decent wingspan and weight were enough for him to handle most undersized power forwards.

But Gan Guoyang was taller, stronger, and faster than him and had better skills, plus Gan Guoyang's style of play was something Stockton had never confronted before and couldn't find a defensive groove.

When Gan Guoyang returned to the court, he chose to catch the ball at the top of the arc. Thinking of Gan Guoyang's successive dunks at the start of the game made Stockton panic, so he backed off a few steps to defend.

As a result, Gan Guoyang raised his hand and shot from a distance, hitting it directly.

When he shot, Stockton even looked back for a moment, and when he saw the ball swish through the net, he lowered his head, shook it, sighed and went to the baseline to inbound the ball.

"Hahaha, this guy can shoot from distance too! Damn, he really is a genius, cough cough cough!"

Fitzgerald laughed so hard at the sideline that he started coughing, always an outspoken and cheerful person.

Coach Delong said, "He's not here for the first day at Gonzaga, didn't you see him practicing long-range shots every day?"

"Practice and official games are two different things! Besides, I thought his feel would get worse after bulking up."

"It does get worse, so he's been increasing the number of shots he takes in practice every day."

Right now, all Stockton could think about was when this game would end.

How do you defend this number 11? He can dunk if he drives in, and shoot from long range if left open.

What other skills hasn't he shown? Just bring it all on, I'm already riddled with holes, a sorry figure.

Gan Guoyang still had skills he hadn't shown off, but he didn't plan to reveal all the weapons he'd honed over the past year in today's game.

Nearing the end of the first half, Gan Guoyang delivered his second block of the half on defense.

This time he swatted the ball directly into Stockton's hands, who immediately dashed toward the frontcourt to join the team's fast break.

The Anteaters' defense was retreating quickly, but Gonzaga's fast break did not stop because there was no time left.

Stockton made a precise bounce pass to Gan Guoyang, who caught the ball at the top of the arc, dribbled hard into the paint, stretched out his long legs, and launched into the three-second zone to jump.

Three players from the Anteater team came up to surround him, and Sodun anticipated that Gan Guoyang would take off with his left foot and shoot with his right hand, so he rushed from behind Gan's right side to block. He adjusted his steps, hoping to get a block in.

However, Gan Guoyang took off with his left foot and switched to a left-handed layup, leaving Sodun grasping at air. The ball nimbly went through the net, securing two points just as the buzzer sounded, ending the first half.

The score, 51:32, Gonzaga University was leading the Anteaters by as much as 19 points, so it could be said that the outcome of the game was almost beyond doubt.

Gan Guoyang's improvised same-hand-same-foot layup was just one of the minor skills he'd been diligently training over the past year.

Seeing Gan Guoyang's unpredictable scoring method, Sodun left the court with his hands on his hips and his head down, heading to the locker room. It was truly a demoralizing half for him.

What was terrifying was that there was still another half of the game to go.

Since it was Gan's first game after joining Gonzaga and it was also Sunny Gan Memorial Day, even when they were 19 points ahead at the start of the second half, Gan did not relax and play carelessly. Instead, he continued to play seriously, dunking whenever he could.

After being dominated for most of the game, Sodun slowly regained his energy and started to fiercely challenge Gan, even trying to stop him from scoring with brutal fouls twice.

This was the difference between college and high school basketball. College players, especially juniors and seniors who are starters, are well-refined young talents, having gone through a major selection process. Their determination and competitiveness are much more robust and tenacious than when they were in high school.

But Sodun's struggle, aside from not conceding in spirit, was of no use; he fouled out after five fouls and was sent off, bringing an end to this top-level torment in the new season's beginning.

Gan Guoyang stepped up to the free throw line, made both shots, and scored a total of 35 points with 12 rebounds and 4 blocks.

In college games, it is very difficult for a player to score 35 points.

With only 20 minutes for each half, no offensive time restrictions, allowance of zone defenses, a slow-paced game, no three-point shot, and natural difficulties for centers in ball distribution.

Last season's NCAA top ten scorers were all guards and forwards.

The last center in college basketball who could easily score 30 points in a game was Dan Issel from the University of Kentucky.

Since 1970, no center has averaged 30 points per game in college, and it's rare to see a center in the top ten scorers.

Coaches use centers primarily as defensive lynchpins and supplementary offensive pieces. After all, in a college game dominated by zone defense, it's much more difficult for centers to score than in the NBA where only man-to-man defense is allowed.

After the free throws, Beelman subbed Gan out.

The entire crowd gave him a long and unending round of applause, cheers, and whistles that never ceased.

Gan waved to the fans as the final buzzer rang out, and the cheers did not stop completely.

100:77, the Gonzaga Bulldogs achieved a resounding victory, crushing the same opponent they had suffered a bitter defeat against last season.

Gan Guoyang had a perfect debut.

After the game ended, the mayor of the City of Spokane delivered a brief speech and presented Gan with a commemorative medal, cementing "Sunny Gan Memorial Day" as an unshakable fixture in Spokane.

Amidst the applause, Gan accepted the medal, looking at the bronze medal engraved with his name and the number 11 jersey, he felt as if he were about to retire.

Later, Gan slowly learned that naming local commemorative days after individuals was a common practice throughout America.

The main purpose of the memorial day was to provide a pretext for social events.

He also learned from Bernard King that when the University of Tennessee was recruiting him, the local town had arranged a "Bernard King Memorial Day" for him. King was so moved that he decided to stay and play basketball in Tennessee.

Gan had "fallen for" the same trick, but fortunately, he was quite satisfied with Gonzaga University and the Bulldog team.