It's disrupting my rhythm by pushing it so quickly, so let's add more today. There are no competitions in this chapter, and it's a little boring, forgive me. In the next chapter, I will enlarge the trick and invite a little mystery man. ）

After the game, most of the Palo Alto High School players took the bus back to school. Only Gan Guoyang, because his home is in San Francisco, asked Bellman for leave and wanted to go back early.

Bellman was in a good mood because the team won the game, and Gan Guoyang was the first hero, so he didn't explode for the first time, so he agreed to Gan Guoyang's request plainly.

"Go back and get some rest."

For Bellman not to come up with a few words like "**" and "ass", Gan Guoyang is still a little unaccustomed. It seems that people are sometimes cheap, and they are usually scolded a lot, and they are not suitable for being nice to you all of a sudden.

In this way, Gan Guoyang took the bus from Oakland to San Francisco and drove on the highway connecting the two cities.

The race started at three o'clock and lasted more than an hour and a half, and by the time the bus reached the Eisenhower Bridge, it was already dark.

It's the end of October, and the 1981-1982 NBA regular season kicks off on October 30, and Gan is looking forward to his first official game at the Oakland Coliseum.

However, at this point he was not in the mood to think about Saturday's game in Auckland. He sat in the car and looked out the window at the night that hung over the vast San Francisco Bay.

The downtown area of San Francisco has begun to be brightly lit, and feeling the dazzling light and cold sea breeze, Gan Guoyang's mood has gradually calmed down.

The joy of victory and the shock of seeing Russell kept him in a daze, giving him an unreal feeling, as if he had traveled to the hotel in Shanghai on his first day.

Now his mind is seriously thinking about today's game and what Bill Russell said to him in his ear as he left.

'You had a good performance today, but you have to learn to control yourself and then you can really control the game.'

Russell's words came back to him repeatedly, but he never understood what it meant to be "in control."

Is it to control fouls, or to control your performance, to cooperate more with your teammates, or to control your emotions?

Gan Guoyang felt that he did not bad in these three things, and the three fouls in the second half were acceptable, and after taking the lead, he did not care about his own data but covered his teammates.

"Maybe he just said it casually." Gan Guoyang thought so.

Soon, the bus crossed San Francisco Bay and arrived in San Francisco.

After getting off the bus in Chinatown, Gan Guoyang went straight to Gan's restaurant with his bag.

Today is Friday, and the business of the restaurant is very good, and the Ganjia restaurant is no exception. Since Gan Youwei became the chef here, the restaurant's business has been getting better day by day.

Before Gan Guoyang entered the door, he felt the noise in the restaurant. Chinese eat is to be lively, even if foreigners come to eat, they must follow the customs.

As soon as you enter the door, it is even more noisy, the whole store is full, and the waiters are busy. At this time, Gan Youwei was naturally busy in the kitchen.

Gan Guoyang went upstairs to put away his things, then went downstairs into the kitchen to find Gan Youwei.

"Dad, I'm back."

Gan Guoyang stood in the kitchen with an unusually suffocating feeling, and now that his height had gone straight to 6'8, it seemed that it was not a problem to reach the game's 6-foot-10 before graduating from high school.

"Guoyang, I'm back! Have you had dinner? Daddy got you something to eat? Gan Youwei cared about his son, but his hands were not idle, and the vegetables in the pot flew.

"No, you're busy, I'll go to Mr. Nete's for some dinner in the evening." Gan Guoyang saw that his father was so busy, and he had some questions to consult Thurmond, so he decided to go to the Big Nate Barbecue Restaurant to eat some barbecue to replenish his energy.

"Come back early! Don't go to play basketball again after eating, play late! Gan Youwei watched his son go out with a basketball and instructed.

"Got it!"

When he went out, Gan Guoyang glanced at the TV in the restaurant, which was actually playing domestic news in China.

“…… The State Council approved the establishment of the first batch of special economic zones ......Shantou Special Economic Zone'

Gan Guoyang knows that reform and opening up is about to begin to completely change the face of the motherland, and the lives of many people will change. And his own life has to rely on his own struggle.

………………

"Mr. Thurmond, Russell really has... So... Isn't it impersonal? ”

After Gan Guoyang arrived at Thurmond's barbecue restaurant, the two dined together in a small private room. Gan Guoyang and Thurmond talked about this afternoon's game and meeting Bill Russell.

Thurmond naturally praised Gan's second-half performance, but he described Russell as "a brutal, ruthless NBA tyrant." ”

Gan Guoyang stuttered for a long time before using the word "unreasonable" to describe Russell, because Thurmond's evaluation of Russell made him a little difficult to accept.

"Hahaha, he is not an unreasonable and humane person, but the premise is that these principles and rules are formulated by him. You see, he's the real king of the NBA. He missed just one Finals in 13 years, won 11 championships, won eight in a row, and won two player-coach titles. ”

Thurmond recounted Russell's great achievements, and even though Gan Guoyang was familiar with them, it was still shocking to hear them from the mouth of an NBA center who played against Russell.

"I remember when I was a rookie, it was in 1963 and I first met Russell. He stood next to me and said, 'Hey kid, what are you doing here?' Don't your teammates pass the ball to you? Do you know what you are? Nothing. ’”

Thurmond ate the barbecue as he reminisced about the past, his face a little helpless. Gan Guoyang listened quietly as he recounted the story of the basketball ruler.

"Later, you know I was so angry, I got a frontcourt rebound under the basket, and I wanted to jump up and dunk the ball in the basket and prove to Russell that I wasn't good for nothing. Of course, Bill gave me a block and told me that I was really nothing in front of him. ”

"That's... Is he still like this now? Hearing this, Gan Guoyang really felt a chill in his back, and he didn't know what would happen to him if he met such an opponent on the field.

"Of course not. Any dictator, after stepping down from the altar of domination, his divinity will fade, and humanity will slowly recover. Thurmond said this as if Russell were a murderous dictator with no humanity.

"That's right, in my eyes, or in the eyes of almost all NBA players of that period, Beal was a tyrant dictator with no humanity." Thurmond added.

"What did he mean by saying 'learn to control yourself'?" Gan Guoyang never understood the meaning of this sentence, so he came to ask Thurmond.

"Haha, learn to be in control of yourself, Bill is not wrong at all."

"A lot of people think I'm a lot like Bill. Great physique, strong defense, ferocious play, and even worse offense. But there was a world of difference in what we accomplished, he had so many rings that he couldn't wear two hands, and I couldn't tell any of them. Thurmond said with regret.

"No, you are the best in my heart." Gan Guoyang didn't want to see Thurmond's loss.

"Haha, thank you Gan, but some things can't be changed by comfort."

"You have to understand that in high school, you can rely on your talent for success; In college, you need talent and hard work to be recognized; And in the NBA, you can only become a true king if you have extraordinary talent, unremitting hard work, extraordinary intelligence, and a little luck! Thurmond's eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Bill says you have to learn to be in control of yourself, and that's the first step to being superbly wise. Talent and luck are beyond human control, and hard work reflects a person's will, and only wisdom is the key to truly change your destiny! ”

"Why can't I compare to Bill? I used to think he was just lucky, with a good coach, a good manager, and a good group of teammates. Later I realized that it was because I didn't really control myself at all, I wouldn't shy away from my shortcomings, and I shot a lot; I can't bring a system, I'm just a good single defender; I'm obsessed with being fierce and tough, but I'm lacking flexibility. ”

"I can't control myself, so I can't control my teammates, I can't control my team, I can't control the NBA, I can't control my destiny."

"But Russell can, he's not only in control of his own destiny, but also the destiny of others. The only people who can stop him are God and those who are close to Him. ”

"Gan, you have to keep thinking, you have to know yourself, you have to understand the world, and then you can control yourself, and then you can control the world. The road will be extremely difficult, but you must understand that the road without thorns is often not the road to success, but the road to the execution ground. May God bless you. ”

On the way home, Gan Guoyang recalled what Thurmond had said to him, and his heart could not be calm for a long time.

For Gan Guoyang now, Thurmond's words are undoubtedly too profound and heavy.

Basketball life is still a comedy for him, the sweat and pain of training, the defeat and victory of the game, are just the necessary twists and turns of this comedy.

And Thurmond has experienced the ups and downs of basketball life, basketball is no longer a fun and interesting game for him, but "To-be-or-not-to-be", survival or destruction? From a champion's point of view, he went to destruction.

Thurmond's heartfelt words could not be truly understood by Gan Guoyang until much later, after experiencing many successes and failures.

…………………

The next morning, Gan Guoyang got up early, ready to help the restaurant do some work.

Since the father and son arrived at the Ganjia restaurant, business has been getting better and better, and Gan Youwei has become more and more busy. In addition, Gan Guoyang went to high school in Palo Alto, and the father and son spent a lot less time together.

Despite this, Gan Guoyang's feelings for this father have not been reduced by half a point. He knew that the reason why his father worked so hard was all for himself. The basketballs he carries and the basketball shoes he wears every day are bought for him by his father with money.

"Dad, I heard that China has started to build special economic zones, and it should be good if you stay in China to do business." Gan Guoyang told Gan Youwei the news he saw yesterday.

"Oh, it's still not easy to survive in China. It is not easy to truly change one's destiny in the course of reform. Gan Youwei has been with his son for a rare time recently, and he also chatted with him.

"Hehe, if we stay in China, I won't be able to play basketball."

"Cut, you kid, you know how to play basketball, it's really crazy!"

In his father's "criticism", Gan Guoyang was busy all morning, and it was difficult for him to wear around the store because he was so big.

"Uncle Cousin, Guohui hasn't come back yet?" Gan Guoyang asked about Gan Youtang's fat cousin.

Originally, Gan Guohui was going to take a car to Auckland to watch Gan Guoyang's game after class on Friday, but his mother came back from * and went to Palo Alto, asking him to go to his grandmother's house after class on Friday, but he didn't watch the game.

"Guohui's mother said that he came back with Guohui this morning, and it's past nine o'clock now, so it should be soon."

As he was talking, a wide figure appeared at the door, almost covering the entire gate, needless to say, Gan Guohui returned.

"Guohui! You're back! Gan Guoyang was very happy to see his cousin come back, and he wanted to talk to him about yesterday's game.

But Gan Guohui was in a hurry and impatient, and without waiting for Gan Guoyang to continue, he said: "Big cousin, the people from Golden Gate Park have come to the Coastal Stadium to smash the field!" I'm looking for you by name! ”

Gan Guohui's words startled Gan Guoyang, Golden Gate Park? Smashing the field? But it immediately occurred to him that it must be Pitman of the cancer team, who had come to get revenge.

"Let's go, let's go to the Marina Stadium!" Gan Guoyang immediately pulled Gan Guohui out of the door.

"Huh! Why are you going? Don't hit anyone! When Gan Youtang heard the smashing of the field, he thought it would be a fight.

"It's okay Daddy! We're going to play basketball! ”

After a while, the two men arrived at the Esplanade Stadium by bus. On the way, Gan Guoyang knew that as soon as Gan Guohui came back in the morning, he met Chen Xing, who was waiting for him near his house, saying that Pitman of the cancer team had brought several masters from Golden Gate Park to the Esplanade Stadium to find guns and roses to fight again.

Because Gan Guohui didn't go to Oakland to watch the game, his best friend and friend Chen Xing naturally didn't go either, so he went back to San Francisco first and went to the Coastal Stadium to play. That's what happened.

"Is it still three members of the cancer team?" Gan Guoyang asked as he walked.

"No, I heard Chen Xing say that there is a master from Auckland, who is a fat man......"

"Fatty?" The two had already walked to the coastal court, Gan Guoyang looked around, and saw his old acquaintance "Little Cousie" Pitman in the center of the field. As well as a fat man who is about 6 feet 4 tall, and a tall man who is 6 feet 10!

The coastal stadium was already full of people, and Pitman saw Gan Guoyang and Gan Guohui coming over, and pushed aside the crowd to greet them.

"Hello, Gan, long time no see."

"Long time no see Pitman."

"Gan, you must be very clear about the purpose of my coming here, I want to fight the Guns and Roses again."

"Are you the only one? What about George and Long Legs? ”

"No, no, no, I'm not taking revenge on behalf of cancer, I'm on behalf of myself. So I brought in two good friends. "Pittman was talking about the fat man and the big tall man.

"How? I didn't expect you to grow taller again, it seems that it is not so easy for me to get revenge. But after all, you have to give it a try. ”

Pitman said lightly, but Gan Guoyang hesitated.

It's not that he's afraid of losing, in fact, with his current strength, the average streetball player won't be his opponent at all, after all, this is not New York. The gap between wild players and professionally trained players is huge.

However, the players of the regular basketball team rarely go to the streets to play with people, one is afraid of injury, and the other is afraid of bad playing habits, especially for high school players.

Gan Guoyang thought that if Bellman knew that he was playing on the streets, he would definitely be sprayed to death by him. Just thinking about it makes people's scalp tingle.

"Speak, Gan, could it be that you are afraid? Could it be that the game of winning cancer was caused by doping? Then you should really go back and eat some more. Pitman began to sneer.

Just let Pitman get carried away, Gan Guoyang will definitely not be able to stand it.

At this point, he remembered what Russell had said to him, "Take control of yourself," is controlling yourself just to calm down and then back off? Of course not.

Thurmond said that only by controlling yourself can you control your teammates and control the game.

The last time Guns Roses won cancer by a big score, but Pitman was not convinced, just like Gan Guoyang was also unconvinced when he lost. But this time, Gan Guoyang decided to completely conquer the opponent, so that Pitman would not have the idea of revenge again, and used basketball.

"Come on bastard, I'll show you what fucking basketball is."