Chapter Forty-Eight: The Ball-Possessing Center
Falck, a smart, cunning, mercenary Jew – is labeled as hardworking and brave as the Chinese.
Born in New York, he grew up in a traditional Jewish family.
His father was a pork shop owner who didn't graduate from high school, while his mother was an intellectual woman who was fluent in six languages and had two degrees.
The mother worked as a Latin translator for Nelson Rockefeller, the grandson of an American oil tycoon and then Vice President of the United States, during World War II.
As the second son of this strange family, Falck has neither the attention of the eldest nor the pampering of the eldest child, so all he can do is do everything to gain the approval of his parents.
For Frank, one of his mother's most influential words on her second son was "Always aim for the first, not settle for the second." ”
Unfortunately, there are some things that you don't have to work hard to get the results you want, like baseball, which he loves.
Athletics require talent, and the Jew often has no athletic talent, and during his four years of high school and four years of study at Syracuse University, he was never selected to a single athletic team.
But after studying finance in college, he eventually got involved in sports and became a scout and agent for an agency.
After a disdainful effort and hard work, he is now a well-known name in the basketball world, and in 1976 and 1981, he signed the company's top picks John Lucas and Marco Aquili respectively.
Right now, his most important job is in North Carolina, where he is the NCAA champion this year. There are two geniuses waiting for him to pack and unearth.
But now, he was fooled by an old friend into going to Los Angeles, saying that he might be able to find a few basketball rookies here, maybe the next NCAA star, the next NBA superstar.
Falck, whose career is in the pioneering period, is unwilling to give up any opportunity, not to mention that he also wants to sell his friends a face.
As a result, when he rushed from North Carolina to Los Angeles, where the finals were held, he didn't expect that on the streets near the Great Western Forum Arena, there was only such a group of trash fish that were not at all high-grade.
That's right, it's a school of trash fish.
While their dribbling looks versatile, their shots are accurate, everyone can jump more than two feet high, and everyone looks strong.
But they are still trash fish.
As a scout, it's not about a player's current performance on the pitch, it's about their future performance, which is their potential.
This group of guys played extremely the court, it can be said that they did their best, once they got the ball, it was like grabbing a treasure and refusing to let go, desperate to send it to the basket.
Nobody wants to share the ball, no one is serious about defending, no one is good at rebounding, no one is covering, no one shows even the slightest bit of star temperament.
They are just a bunch of ordinary "streetball masters" who are suitable for mixing on the street court, and they can't be a real professional player, and they can't even go to the Baker and Rock streetball leagues on the East Coast.
Just as Frank was disappointed and was about to leave for North Carolina to greet the two future superstars, a guy who caught everyone's eye appeared.
"I know, he's a 'butter bomb.'"
"Butter bombs?" Frank muttered in his mind that the name was a bit like the nickname "Chocolate Bomb" by 76ers center Darryl Dawkins.
"Another guy who can't do anything but dunk?" Frank thought.
But when he saw the face of this "butter bomb" clearly and found that this guy was a yellow man, he was surprised again.
"Who is this guy? How could a yellow man come to Inglewood's court? The fat black uncle asked.
"He came last night and said he was going to play here, and Slater went head-to-head with him and only played two balls... But the loss was miserable. The man on the side replied.
"Only two balls? How can you lose so badly? "The fat black uncle felt weird.
"Uh... I don't know what to say, anyway, after the fight, we all felt that Slater was lost, and there was no need to continue. ”
"Slater? That guy is one of the best players here, and he's shooting accurately. Mr. Falck, you see, it's the guy on the court who wears the number 31, look at his shot! "The black fat uncle is still sparing no effort to promote these trash fish on the field.
Falck didn't bother to listen to the nagging of the fat man who used to be a miscellaneous fish, but instead focused on the butter bomb.
As a scout who has worked with two top picks, Falke knows that the difference between an average talent and an average player can be seen in just one game.
The difference between the average player and the mediocre will take a few rounds to tell.
And between the real genius and those mediocre talents, it only takes one round, one ball, to make a decision.
The No. 31 Slater that the fat uncle praised in his mouth is not even an ordinary player in Falke's eyes, he is just a mediocre talent.
While his shooting is good, he doesn't have the slightest sensitivity to his position on the court, which is unforgivable for a pitcher.
At the same time, he couldn't prove that he could shoot those mid-range shots with a higher intensity of defense.
The defense here is as thin as the air on the Colorado plateau.
However, from the body of the "butter bomb", he seemed to feel a hint of a different aura, which was not a special function, but the sensitivity necessary to be a good scout.
Falck left the fat black uncle who was still chattering, walked over to the tall yellow man standing on the sidelines, and looked up at him, just as he also looked down at Falck.
"Hello, I'm David Falck, the company's scout and agent, from New York, nice to meet you." Falk stretched out his hand and said in a friendly voice to the giant tower in front of him.
"Hello, I'm Gan."
There are no superfluous words, no superfluous expressions, no superfluous movements, this is the impression Gan Guoyang left on him when he met Falke for the first time.
"Well, Mr. Gan, are you also from Inglewood? Coming here to play basketball? Falke withdrew his hand, Gan Guoyang Gan Guoyang just shook hands with Falke as if he was a dragonfly, but it made Falke feel that these hands were incomparably huge.
A pair of big hands means that you can control the basketball better.
Falck was more interested in the tall yellow man.
"No, I'm Chinese, but I live in San Francisco now, and I'm just bored to come and see." Gan Guoyang's words finally had more.
"Well, look, I'm thinking about recommending a couple of basketball rookies for some colleges, maybe you can give it a try, maybe you can get some colleges and get a basketball scholarship." Falck gets straight to the point, he's always liked to get straight to the point.
Gan Guoyang felt a little funny when he heard Falke's words, because as a person who shined in this California basketball tournament, he had already received an offer from UCLA, and he would go to UCLA to register for the report in a few days.
It's a little ridiculous that this scout would want to look for a basketball star in a place where birds don't and there are piles of miscellaneous fish.
"Mr. Falck, I don't think you can find a bloodthirsty white shark in a school of trash fish." Gan Guoyang did not answer Falke directly, but said with a slight joke.
There was a look of embarrassment on Falke's face, and it was true that this place really didn't even have a decent player who could play some regular leagues.
However, Falke, who had made dozens of phone calls to his boss in order to find the agent scouting job, would not give up easily because of such a little ridicule.
He already sensed that perhaps this would be a windfall from his trip to Los Angeles.
"Although you can't find a white shark in the miscellaneous fish, you can attract a white shark, Mr. Gan, you may be the white shark I am looking for!" Falke took a big tall hat and put it on Gan Guoyang's head, just to see how many catties and taels Gan Guoyang had, and let him go to the field to accompany those miscellaneous fish.
"Mr. Falck, if you really need to see a basketball show, I advise you to remember to buy tickets in the future." As he spoke, Gan Guoyang took off the shirt he was wearing on his upper body, only wore a white vest, and walked off the stage happily.
"No problem, Gan, I can treat you to lunch as a ticket to the show, if you don't mind. Mr. Bloom! I want this Mr. Gan to give it a try and let him join in! Falck shouted from the side.
As Falke walked towards Gan Guoyang, the game on the court stopped, because they also saw the mysterious man "Butter Bomb" who bombed the basket last night.
"It's that guy again, I don't know what it is?"
"The scout seems to know him well."
"I don't know, I've never seen him before in Inglewood, and he's a yellow man."
"Look, he's coming, and he's got pretty good muscles."
Gan Guoyang has not slackened for a moment in two months, and at 6-foot-10, he has weighed nearly 200 pounds, which is the result of staying in the gym.
As a yellow man, his muscles can't be like those of a black man, and he can have sculptural lines without practice.
But anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is a huge amount of power under his body.
The 83 strength points that NBAlive gave him were already ahead of his time in the 80s, when the fitness program was not perfect.
The players of the two teams on the field wore white jerseys and blue jerseys respectively, and Gan Guoyang saw that he was wearing a white shirt and joined the white team directly.
And the people of the white team are a few players from yesterday's "trash can".
"Hello, Slater." Gan Guoyang greeted Slater like Slater who was "abused" by him a little yesterday.
"Hello." Slater didn't know whether he was angry or scared, and replied coldly.
"So we let Malvin go down, this, this Gump? Gump is coming to play center, we're still three points ahead, play well and we can win......" Ian is also in the white team and he is starting to allocate positions on the court.
"No, I don't play center, I want to play point guard." Gan Guoyang interrupted Ian.
Hearing his words, everyone else looked at him with surprised eyes, as if to say, "Are you crazy?" ”
However, they who had seen Gan Guoyang play yesterday didn't dare to say so.
"Oh no, even though we're leading now, we can't mess around, you know you're 6-foot-10......" Ian advised.
"Rest assured, the victory is ours and I just hope we can play beautifully." Gan Guoyang did not listen to Ian's explanation again.
"Oh, okay then, George, you go down first and let this 6-foot-10 gentleman play point guard." Ian was also a little unkind.
However, Gan Guoyang didn't care, he was already standing on the sideline and ready to receive the serve.
"What does this guy want to do? Did he think he was a magician? "When the timeout ended and the game continued, but it was Gan Guoyang who received the ball on the sideline, everyone was wondering what this guy wanted to do.
Although a few guys from the white team couldn't stand Gan Guoyang's "unreasonable" demands, they didn't dare to slack off, because Mr. Falke was still on the sidelines, and they all began to run actively.
At this time, Gan Guoyang, as the point guard of the white team, was dribbling on the perimeter to observe the defense of the blue team, although the blue team could not see any defense at all.
Similarly, the white team's offense was disorganized, and several people were doing some getting rid and running on the field purely based on experience.
In a five-on-five confrontation game on the street, the only two offensive tactics are individual singles and breakthrough points, and the only defensive strategy is man-to-man.
So the point guards on both sides either singled themselves to the inside, basket or burst, or passed the ball to others for others to play alone.
But Gan Guoyang, who has received formal tactical training, will not do this, not to mention that his coach is Mr. Bellman, who attaches great importance to tactical training.
"Pull away, run to the left, to the left, don't all pile on the right! Watch for cover, cover for each other! Gan Guoyang dribbled the ball on the periphery, waving his arms and commanding loudly.
"Hey, what do you want to do, it's not that easy to break the ball." While commanding, Gan Guoyang also had to deal with the small point guard in front of him, and he kept thinking about taking Gan Guoyang's ball away.
Just when Gan Guoyang was always paying attention not to be robbed by the little man in front of him, an opportunity appeared in front of him.
Since several players from the white team were stacked on the right side, the blue team was also crowded on the right side.
So when Gan Guoyang directed his teammates to move to the left, Slater shook off his defender in the confusion and got an open opportunity in the bottom left corner.
The opportunity was clearly fleeting, as the opposing man had already found the missing Scottie and was ready to replace it.
But by this time, the ball was already in Slater's hands.
In fact, no one on the blue team expected that the big man of 6-foot-10 would play the ball so quickly, and his eyes didn't even look.
A quick overhead pass, diagonally over the BLU player's head from the right 45 degrees, was passed into Slater's hands.
Slater shot, hit.
A bland goal, the simplest shot from the open space, and there wasn't even a cheer from the sidelines.
But Falke's heart lit up, and he knew that his feelings were not wrong.
He can see from the ball just now, first, this Gan has solid basic skills, as a big man of 6 feet 10, he dribbles on the outside but is not broken by the opponent's small ball, and at the same time can also divide his energy to command and organize the attack.
Second, he has excellent tactical literacy, and he can see the chaos of his own side in the attack at a glance, and he runs out of scoring opportunities with two simple commands.
Thirdly, this is a very aura player, his height of 6-foot-10 is obviously an interior player, but he has to play point guard on the court. First, he doesn't look down on the players here, and secondly, it shows that he is confident in his skills.
Although his passing technique is a little rough, he has a keen sense of positionality for his players.
Self-confidence and arrogance are two different things, although the shadow of arrogance can be seen from this Gan's words and deeds, but a ball on the field can be seen that this guy is material.
In the United States, people who don't have self-confidence can never succeed.
"Pap~Papa~Pap~" Falke actually applauded, this was the first time he applauded in today's game.
The black fat uncle couldn't help but be stunned when he heard it.
"Defend and defend! Spread out! Are you all fucking sardines and like to huddle together? It was the white team's turn to defend, and Gan Guoyang once again commanded his teammates.
In addition to keeping an eye on the opponent you are responsible for, you should also observe the position and state of your teammates, keep an appropriate distance, and be able to support or receive support at any time.
The untrained wild players, on the other hand, are standing in a chaotic manner, and the opponent is there and he is there, and there is no formation at all.
"Go to the top of the arc! I've got it in the three-second zone! Gan Guoyang pushed his teammate who ran to the three-second zone and asked him to plug the gap at the top of the arc.
He himself sits in the three-second zone and is once again a center in defense.
Once Gan Guoyang devotes himself to defense, the opponent basically doesn't want to score again.
Their speed and ability to break through are sent to hot pot when they enter the three-second zone.
Sure enough, the opponent didn't have any tactics, the point guard took the ball and rushed in, and when he rushed to the three-second zone, he found that it seemed to have hit a wall.
The breakthrough route was completely blocked, and Gan Guoyang's long arms wrapped his opponent like vines.
As a last resort, the person who burst in had to pass the ball.
In the case that the opponent could not break through, the guide ball on the outside line could not create opportunities at all, because the white team's position was still decent under the command of Gan Guoyang.
"Phew!" The BLU player made a hasty shot, the ball hit the basket and didn't go in.
Gan Guoyang jumped up and easily picked up the rebound.
But when he was ready to stage a good trick and make a one-handed long pass to the fast attack, he found that his teammates were still in his own half, and he had no awareness of the fast attack at all.
"A bunch of......"
Gan Guoyang had to dribble through half the court by himself.
After a long period of training, as well as his own unique "street dribbling training method", Gan Guoyang passed the half without any danger.
When he stopped the ball to observe, he found that the opponent's defense had not yet been settled, and a large area was vacant on the right side.
Looking at the little point guard in front of him, Gan Guoyang turned around and changed from a basket to a basket.
He was like a mountain, suddenly overpowering the little point guard on the blue team.
Then, the point guard of the blue team was treated as a small trash can by Gan Guoyang, and he turned his back to live cleanly.
There was an empty space in front of you!
There is nothing to stop Gan Guoyang!
“Oh-my-god……”
"What do you see?"
"I saw another man flying."
"Bang!"
Gan Guoyang once again used a perfect dunk to announce the early end of the game.
"Mr. Gan, I think we should have a good talk."