After experiencing the spiritual "ups and downs of life" on the weekend, Gan Guoyang took an intercity bus with Gan Guohui and Chen Xing early in the morning on Monday to go back to Palo Alto High School for classes.

The current high school curriculum is really easy for Gan Guoyang. Not to mention mathematics, physics, chemistry and so on, his knowledge has long exceeded the curriculum. The biology is slightly more difficult, and it is not a problem for Gan Guoyang to spend some time. And like English literature or something, in the words of Gan Guohui: "The eldest cousin is already half a troubadour." ”

The only thing that is more troublesome is the history class. The history of the United States is only two or three hundred years, but American history lessons are really not sloppy at all. It is precisely because of the short history that he studied very carefully and seriously, which made Gan Guoyang, a student from China with a long history, dizzy.

"In the history of the United States, there have been 40 presidents so far, and there have been many great presidents, but there has not been a single president of color so far."

The history teacher is going to talk about race in the United States today, and he began to use the topic of the president of the United States to introduce it. This topic has always been the top priority of American history courses, and it is also the focus of American society.

"Someday there will be a ......," Gan Guoyang said, sitting down and holding his cheeks. He was thinking about the afternoon team practice, and vaguely heard the teacher talking about the issue of people of color becoming presidents, so he blurted out.

"Gan, why do you think there will always be people of color to become presidents?" The history teacher asked when he heard Gan Guoyang's words.

"Huh?" Gan Guoyang regretted it as soon as he said it, what should he say? Say that he comes from a later generation, and in 2008 Omaba was elected president of the United States, becoming the first president in American history to be held by a person of color?

Gan Guoyang was stunned for a moment, racking his brains to search through all the information about racial issues and presidential elections in the United States, and put together an explanation. And boldly predict that the first black president will be born at the beginning of the 21st century.

"Yes, Mr. Gan, your explanation is very unique, it seems that you have drawn a lot of wisdom from the long history of your country."

In this way, Gan Guoyang was confused. And the day's classes ended quickly, and Gan Guoyang couldn't wait to go to the basketball stadium to train. After two days of no training, he felt itchy all over his body.

"Hey, Gan, I heard there's going to be a warm-up game in a few days." It was Dippenbrock who spoke, and he was now in the locker with Gan Guoyang to change clothes and then go to training together.

"Really? When? And which school? Gan Guoyang was very excited to hear the news, and he was finally able to play.

"I don't know, Coach Bellman will talk to us about training today. Let's go. The two changed their clothes and prepared to go to the stadium for training.

"Look, look, who is this? Wearing a basketball team uniform? It's really human-like and dog-like, yellow-skinned monkey. Before the two had left the school building, they met an "old acquaintance" in another locker closet, Gary Halek of the rugby team.

"Hello, Halek, don't you think you look a lot like a gorilla in a football suit?" Gan Guoyang did not hesitate to fight back. Rugby has two large shoulder pads, so it does feel like a gorilla when worn on the body.

"Hey, stinky boy, you know I don't like you. One, you're a yellow-skinned monkey, and two, the basketball team is all waste. I advise you to walk more leisurely in the future, and be careful that one of your heels falls off your teeth, sunny fool. ”

Halek posted it and looked up at Gan Guoyang and said. Although he is a big man of 6-foot-3, now Gan Guoyang is 6-foot-7, and Halek has to be a head shorter in front of Gan Guoyang.

"Thank you for your kindness, but you'd better mind your own business first. When I win the state championship, I'll invite you to the basketball team to celebrate. ”

"Wow! Oh my God, are you really an idiot? State champions? Did I hear it wrong? Are you sure you can make it to the state tournament? Hahahaha! ”

"Hey! Hey! Listen, everyone, this yellow-skinned monkey said that he would take the Vikings to win the state championship! State champions? Sunshine Fool, if the Buccaneers can win the state championship, then I, Gary Halek, will crawl around the playground of Palo Alto High School! ”

Halek said loudly, in front of many people.

"However, if you can't win the state championship, then, please hang a 'yellow people are pigs' sign on your body for a day!" At this time, the true colors of Halek's racist were unmistakable.

"No problem, I advise you to practice your crawling skills well, and remember to wear knee pads on your knees, don't make people think that you are kneeling on the bed and letting people you." After several months of English practice, combined with his already sharp language ability, Gan Guoyang's mouth can be said to be poisonous to a certain level.

A trash talk made Halek angry and wanted to go up and beat him, but Gan Guoyang, who took advantage of him, didn't bother to pay attention to him, and left with Diepenbrock without looking.

"Hey, Gan, is that okay? As hateful as that guy is Halek, it wasn't that easy to win the state championship. And the Vikings haven't been in the state championships for several years. ”

"No problem, it's a big deal to write Chinese on the sign when the time comes, anyway, few people can understand it." Gan Guoyang didn't know the bottom in his heart, but he thought of an alternative.

Soon the two arrived at the basketball hall, where Coach Bellman was already waiting early.

"Hey, ladies! Please hurry, when will it be? Do you have to wait until it gets dark to start training? Bellman yelled loudly, but it was only three o'clock.

All fifteen members of the Vikings gathered in the middle of the basketball court, and Coach Bellman began his routine lecture.

"A new week has begun, and I wonder if the weekend has given you enough rest. Because we're going to be really busy this week. ”

"First of all, it's the warm-up game, I think some of you have heard some of it. That's right, we're going to play a warm-up game against McCrawmond High School on Friday, and it's going to their home stadium. ”

"Wow, McClaude High School?" "They're pretty good." "They've won the state championship!" The players below began to whisper, and it seemed that he was no stranger to McClaude High School.

"All right, ladies, shut your mouths! We won't meet McClaude High School at the state level, but that's why we've had such a great opportunity to meet this powerhouse and work out for you. ”

McClaude High School is a school in the Oakland District of California, and Palo Alto is a school in the Central Coast District, and the two are not in the same division and will not meet in official competitions.

"Alright ladies! Next, I think it's time to torment you! If you're still chattering after training, it's a remiss on my part. ”

Amid Bellman's shouting, the half-vanished pre-training warm-up began. For ordinary people, it takes half an hour to warm up, which is simply dead. And for basketball players, it's just a drizzle.

Gan Guoyang ran around with the team while listening to Bellman's chatter. Everyone on the Vikings team has long been accustomed to Bellman's noise, and if he doesn't scold in his ears one day, the players will be very unaccustomed to training.

The team's main training session today was tactical drills in preparation for Friday's warm-up game.

"Hey, Virgin! Pay attention to where you stand, the time of day! Don't take three seconds! ”

"Run, run, run! Don't force me to rush up and whip you! ”

"Pay attention to the ball, pay attention to the ball, don't stop casually, it's you Dippenbrock."

"Very good, this is a good run, very good."

…………

"Okay, Gan, don't be so excited, give them a chance to perform. You can't score on the other side like this. Pause, pause! Substitution, willing you down, Bromos you up. ”

Bellman replaced Gan Guoyang from the field, not because he didn't perform well, but because when he was there, other people, especially the people opposite, couldn't play at all. His strong control of rebounds and wide range of pressing defense make it extremely difficult for the opposing side to score a ball.

His style of play came from his mentor, Nate Thurmond, who was known for his fierce and domineering play.

"Gan, you seem excited? Playing more aggressively than usual, your teammates don't have a chance at all. ”

"Yes, it's going to be on Friday and I want to be at my best."

"But I think maybe you're a little too nervous, and I think my arrangement will calm you down a bit."

"What, coach?"

'I'm going to put you on the bench because you won't get a chance to play in the first half and that's when you show your skills in the second half.

"Substitute?" Gan Guoyang didn't expect the coach to do this, but after thinking about it, he decided to respect the coach's choice.

"Okay, Coach Bellman. Hopefully my team-mates don't fall behind too much in the first half. ”

"Don't be overconfident you idiot, training is not the same as competing. Okay, you can do strength training, right now, right now, right away! ”

Under Bellman's urging, Gan Guoyang had to leave the bench and go to the gym in the hall to do strength training.

…………

Four days flew by, another Friday arrived, and tomorrow was another weekend. But for the Palo Alto Vikings players, it's not the time to think about where to go on the weekend.

Today, they're going to McClaude High School for the first warm-up game of the new season.

Gan Guoyang is quite relaxed in his heart, McCrow High School is in Oakland, which means that he can go back to San Francisco directly after the game, which is really a perfect trip.

The whole team, including 16 coaches, plus the school doctor and a teacher, a total of 18 people, drove towards Auckland.

The group arrived at the basketball arena at McClaude High School at just around one o'clock in the afternoon. In Gan Guoyang's eyes, this basketball hall is not so much a court as a library. Because judging from its boxy shape and three large floor-to-ceiling glasses, it is full of academic atmosphere.

When they entered the gymnasium, they found that it had become a sea of orange.

The main color of McClaude High School's jersey is orange, and many students know that there is a warm-up game today, so they wear orange clothes early to the gymnasium and take a seat in the gymnasium and wait for the game to start.

"Damn, the first game was an away game, and it was still an orange army." At this time, Gan Guoyang began to understand a little bit of what Coach Bellman said: "Training and competition are different. ”

Seeing so many uniform home fans and the state championship flags (1980, 1976) hanging in the stadium, he couldn't help but drum in his heart, his calves and stomach were still a little shaky, and he didn't seem to be able to walk easily.

"Everyone! Go to the locker room to change your clothes, then assemble at the stadium to prepare for the warm-up event. ”

When it comes to the visiting locker room in the stadium, it is really narrow and small, and it seems that the NBA visiting team locker room is exceptionally poorly built, and this tradition is carried forward in various basketball fields.

"Hey, Gan, I'm a little nervous." Diepenbrock said as he changed his clothes.

"It's not your first time playing, what's the tension?"

"But I used to be the third substitute, either I didn't get a chance to play at all, or I was already garbage time when I played. Now I'm the second substitute and I'm going to get a lot of playing time. ”

"More minutes are better! Doesn't that give you a chance to perform well. ”

"But...... Aren't you nervous, Gan? ”

"Me? Me...... I'm not a starter anyway, I'm not nervous! In fact, Gan Guoyang's legs and stomach are weak, obviously he is very nervous.

When he really stepped on the venue and felt the fiery atmosphere around him, Gan Guoyang finally realized what a real arena is. And this is just a high school basketball warm-up game, Gan Guoyang doesn't know if he will be scared to pee his pants when he arrives in the real NBA arena.

"Start warming up and moving your muscles! Give me a little leisure, don't flash my waist. ”

After shooting a few baskets and trotting on the court for a while, Gan Guoyang felt much better. My heart beat normally, and my feet on the floor are solid.

The game was about to begin, and Coach Bellman gathered all the players together for the final set-up before the game.

"Remember, the opponent is better than us, so we have to disrupt their rhythm. Rely on strong defenses, disrupt their offense, don't value your stamina, you can stay in bed all day on the weekend. Offensively, hit the interior more often, Viciss, pay attention to rushing for rebounds. Stanley, pay attention to the number 9 who defends the opponent, that center is very good. ”

"Good boys, come on, come on, don't be afraid! Kick their ass hard! This time, Bellman didn't call the players "ladies," but encouraged the boys.

As the referee tossed the ball into the air, the first half of the game began. Gan Guoyang was pressed on the bench and watched his teammates fight the court.

The McCrowder Warriors (also known as the Warriors) in orange jerseys were the first to win the ball, and the center in the scramble was what Bellman called the No. 9 player.

The Warriors' point guard pushed forward quickly as soon as he got the ball, and the rest of the players were very fast. It can be seen that the training is well-trained, and the pace of the whole team should be fast.

But the Vikings carried through on the coach's intentions and began to stalk each other. Stanley, the center, in particular, desperately went around the front defense and did not give No. 9 a chance to receive the ball.

And the opposing point guard dribbled around a few times and found that there was still no chance, suddenly an acceleration, passed the point guard of the Vikings, rushed to the free throw line, a stop-up jump shot, the ball went in! 2：0。

No one on the Vikings' side could even react to disturb him.

"It's unlucky." Bellman shook his head, in his opinion, there was nothing wrong with the team's defense, and the opposing point guard was purely blind to success.

Switching offense and defense, the Vikings' point guard was obviously a little worse than the opposing one, rushing to pass the ball under pressure, but fortunately Vicges got the ball. After opening up a defender, he hit a jumper near the three-second zone. 2：2。

In this round, neither side played any tactics, relying on the individual ability of the players to score a goal each.

Bellman, on the other hand, felt that the opening of the game should be in his hands. Because he could see that the Vikings did not hesitate to defend physically and disrupted the tactical arrangement of the warriors, and some cooperation with the other party did not play. And the disorder of the offense also interfered with their defense.

Soon, the Vikings led 8-4 and the Warriors called a timeout.

"Good, keep up this defensive rhythm and don't give the opponent any chance! Even if you don't score, you will never allow the opponent to score! ”

But then, everything was out of Bellman's control.

On the opposite side, the Warriors brought in a No. 33 power forward, who is 6-foot-8 tall. This player, Bellman, who has never been seen with the rest of the team, should be a newcomer this year.

And when he got on the court, it had an immediate effect, and he began to constantly attack the Vikings' backcourt rebounds. Virgin and Stanley on the inside couldn't withstand the impact of No. 9 and No. 33, and were never able to protect the backcourt rebounds. The Warriors, on the other hand, relied on two consecutive points to catch up with the score and overtake. 12：8。

Once the defense was weak, the Vikings' offense also had some problems. Vygis, the team's number one singles player, faced the No. 33 defense and did nothing. And the others did not have the ability to carry the banner of attack alone, so they could only fight piecemeal.

As the 10 minutes passed, the score was 18:10, and the Vikings' offense and defense came to a standstill, and Bellman immediately called a timeout.

"Stanley, Viciss, focus on that 33, 9 can be put first. Be sure to protect your backcourt rebounds! Also, don't hit the inside line, pay more attention to the outside conduction, and try to look for opportunities on the outside. And, Diepenbrock, warm up and get ready to play! ”

"Huh?" Downbrock was taken aback, not expecting the coach to play at such a time.

"Don't be in a daze! Hurry up and get ready! I want you to play and straighten out the team's offense! ”

Dippenbrock ran to the sidelines to warm up, while Gan Guoyang was still sitting on the bench, carefully observing the situation on the field and the deployment of the coach, while quietly waiting for the upcoming opportunity to play.