"Watch your step! Be steady, don't have small steps! ”

"Shoulder, your shoulder! Make reasonable use of your shoulder shake to confuse me! ”

"Don't loosen the plate! At all times, you must ensure that the next plate is stable! ”

"Okay! Very good, this hook is beautiful! ”

"Yes, your back feels better and better."

Naturally, the owner of the barbecue restaurant, Mr. Nate Thurmond, said these words. He also continues to instruct Gan Guoyang in basket techniques.

"Mr. Thurmond, do you think I can play in the NBA?" Gan Guoyang asked.

Now, Gan Guoyang already knows that the one who has been coaching his basketball skills almost every day for more than a month is the famous NBA superstar, "Nate the Great" Nate Thurmond.

Gan Guoyang's mind came to Gan's surprised expression when he learned that he was playing ball training with the restaurant owner at Nate's Grill. Because in San Francisco, almost no one doesn't know that the owner of "Big Nate Grill" is former Golden State Warriors star Nate Thurmond.

Except for Gan Guoyang.

Of course, Gan Guoyang was also taken aback after knowing that the Giants boss was a former NBA superstar. After the giant boss personally confirmed it, he felt an inexplicable excitement.

This is simply the plot in a martial arts novel, and he hasn't fallen off the cliff yet, just came out for a meal, and met his predecessors.

I also received guidance from experts to teach skills. Then the next thing is naturally to study hard and practice hard, and the art will become a drama of going out of the mountain and killing all sides!

In fact, on the street court, he can really kill all sides. So now he simply doesn't bother to play on the streets, and there is no challenge anymore.

Therefore, he wanted to ask himself if he could enter the NBA, the highest temple of basketball.

“NBA？ Gan, you're still far from it. Thurmond shook his head, denying Gan Guoyang's illusions.

This is tantamount to a slap in the face for Gan Guoyang. Because he knows that there are many geniuses in later generations, who entered the NBA after graduating from high school and became superstars, such as Kobe Bryant and Garnett.

And now, he is about to enter the twelfth grade (junior year of high school), and he is still graduating in one year, but he is still far from the NBA, which makes him a little disappointed.

"Hehe, Gan, don't be disappointed. How much do you think there is still a gap between your strength and mine? Thurmond saw Gan Guoyang's loss and asked him.

"It feels far, far away......," Gan Guoyang said after thinking for a while. In his opinion, the distance between himself and this star uncle, who has been retired for many years, is almost endless.

"Haha, I'm already a middle-aged man in my forties, and I'm an old man on the basketball court. My body is degrading, and you are improving. I believe that one day you will reach the level I once was, and possibly even surpass me. ”

Thurmond's words surprised Gan Guoyang, he didn't expect the superstar to think so highly of himself. More than him? Gan Guoyang couldn't even think about it. But why did he say that he was still far behind?

Thurmond continued: "But, even with my ability, I haven't won a championship in my 14-year career and I haven't had a ring on my hand. "Not winning the championship is a lifelong regret for Thurmond.

"So, even if you can outdo me, it's very, very tough to really succeed in the NBA."

At this time, Gan Guoyang realized that what he said about "playing in the NBA" only meant entering the NBA, and Thurmond hoped that he could become famous and win the NBA championship!

"I... But, Mr. Thurmond, I don't even know if I'm going to make it to the NBA. ”

"Haha, Gan, with your talent, as long as you train well, you won't have much of a problem entering the NBA. However, there are too many talents in the NBA, like the gadfly on the Texas prairie. However, there are far fewer cattle. Too many geniuses have shone once, and too many geniuses have fallen in an instant. It's a brutal world. Thurmond sighed deeply.

As a fighter who has been fighting on the inside for 14 years, Nate Thurmond, who has always been fierce and domineering in his play, has to sigh fate after retiring. He was once as close as he was to a championship, but he ended up at the feet of his former idol.

"Monsieur Thurmond, only a cruel world can sustain great dreams." Gan Guoyang suddenly said this, and he felt in Thurmond's eyes the retired superstar's incomparable love for basketball and infinite desire for championships.

"Oh? Hehe, you're saying that. Your fat brother is not wrong to say that you are a linguistic genius. I hope you can go on with your own beliefs. ”

"Hmm. Mr. Thurmond, can I still play with you in the future? Gan Guoyang thought that it was already late August, and school was about to start. His cousin and aunt have already arranged a school for him, and he will go to Palo Alto Public High School in Palo Alto City with Gan Guohui and Chen Xing.

The city of Palo Alto is about 60 kilometers away from San Francisco, which means that Gan Guoyang will definitely have to live on campus, and come back once a week at most.

"Absolutely. I heard you're going to high school in Palo Alto. Keep up your good work, you have to be on the basketball team so that you can apply for a basketball scholarship to college and then you can get into the NBA. Thurmond reminded Gan Guoyang.

"I understand! I won't let you down! Gan Guoyang also knew that he had to enter the school team and make a name for himself.

Because he had not studied in the United States before, although he was very confident in his homework, he needed to have enough credits to apply for universities in the United States, and the accumulation of credits in two semesters was definitely not enough.

In this way, he can only take another path, that is, to become a sports student, so that he can apply to better private universities instead of entering community colleges.

"I believe in you, Gan. Come on, let's keep practicing! ”

At sunset, two tall figures continued to practice on the small basketball court in the open space.

…………

"Hey, big cousin! Did you get Mr. Thurmond's signature? ”

"Got it! Here, his number 42 jersey. Gan Guoyang pulled out the No. 42 jersey that Thurmond had worn with the Golden State Warriors from his bag, along with his signature.

"Wow! And the original jersey! If you collect it, it will definitely be worth it in the future. Gan Guohui looked at this jersey and already thought that in another ten or twenty years it would become a lot of money.

"You guy, you want to sign jerseys just to make money for appreciation?" Gan Guoyang rolled his eyes at him.

"Otherwise! You didn't see this jersey so big, should I wear it properly? It's the same as a skirt. Of course, it's a collection, and it's definitely better to appreciate and make money~"

"It's really okay to take you." Gan Guoyang shook his head. I got it for him in the name of loving basketball, but I didn't know that this guy was thinking about other ways.

"We're in Palo Alto." At this time, Gan Guohui's mother Qian Hui said.

At this time, the three of them were sitting in Qian Hui's car, heading to Palo Alto High School. Today is the first day of high school.

Palo Alto is a small city in California, a satellite city of San Francisco, with a population of only about 60,000. But the most famous of these is Stanford University, which is located here.

Gan's mother, Qian Hui, is a master's student in law at Stanford University, and Gan's grandparents also live in Palo Alto.

Gan Guoyang looked at the small city outside the car window, clean and tidy. The city is not small, but there are very few people. In China, a population of 60,000 is a market town.

However, it is precisely because of the small number of people that he has a sense of calm and serenity, which is what Gan Guoyang has felt the most since he came to the United States.

Follow El Camino Avenue and head south to Palo Alto High School, which is located just southeast of Stanford University.

After entering the campus and getting off the bus, Gan Guoyang felt a completely different campus atmosphere compared to China.

Most of China's high schools feel simple and simple, which also reflects the characteristics of Chinese people who are down-to-earth in education and pay attention to basic knowledge.

Palo Alto High School, on the other hand, has a more artistic aesthetic. The unique school building, the large green space and trees, and the open campus, where there are no school gates, reflect the free-spirited nature of American teaching.

But for Gan, homework is not a problem in either a school in China or a high school in the United States.

Especially in American high schools, he has gone through the college entrance examination experience in China, and his grades are also quite good, which is equivalent to a rookie in the NBA* region. Now that I'm being thrown to the CBA to play, can I not be relaxed and happy?

His only concern was how to get into the basketball team in high school and make a name for himself. According to Gan, Palo Alto High School's boys' basketball team is not very good and has never won a state championship.

So Gan Guoyang thought that it shouldn't be difficult for him to enter the basketball team, although he is a Chinese and a twelve-year transfer student.

After that, a series of issues such as registration, student registration, and class arrangement were all smooth, and with Qian Hui, a barrister, there was naturally a proper arrangement a long time ago.

As for the dormitory, there are not many students in Palo Alto, Gan Guohui is just one, and their cousins live together! It couldn't have been more perfect.

"Hey, cousin, I'll take you out for a walk! Take a tour of our school! Gan Guohui proposed after settling down in the dormitory. His mom rushed back after all the formalities were done, and she was going to fly there*.

"Okay, you have to go to the basketball court!" Now Gan Guoyang's heart is almost only basketball.

Gan Guohui took Gan Guoyang to visit the school's church-like office building, the Persian-style auditorium, and the very unique classroom, the prefabricated room made of wooden planks, because of the earthquakes in California.

In the end, the two brothers went to the school's main gymnasium together, where the basketball team is said to have been training.

"Hey, we're here!" Gan Guohui pointed to a square-shaped building and said.

Gan Guoyang saw the mark of a green sailboat on the building, with Vikings written underneath.

"Vikings?"

"yes, it's the logo of our school basketball team, and the name of the team is 'Palo Alto Vikings.'"

The two approached the arena and had already heard the sound of "banging" the ball inside, and it seemed that someone was playing inside.

Upon entering, Gan Guoyang found that it was an old-fashioned basketball hall - of course, this was for the 21st century, and anything in the 80s was old-fashioned in Gan's eyes.

The stadium was a bit dim because the lighting was not well developed at the time, and the floor was dark brown. A group of players in dark green jerseys are practicing their shots on the court.

It was supposed to be a simple warm-up, the coach wasn't there and the players were loose.

"I'm sorry! Our team is training and it's better for the others not to come in. Someone saw Gan Guoyang and Gan Guohui enter the gymnasium, stopped shooting and reminded loudly.

"Oh, sorry, we thought it was a classmate playing here, so we came in and had a look. We'll be right away. Saying that, Gan Guohui pulled Gan Guoyang and wanted to leave.

"I'm sorry, but where's your coach? I want to meet him. Gan Guoyang suddenly opened his mouth and asked where the coach was.

"The coach hasn't arrived yet, do you know him? What are you looking for him for? Another asked.

"I want to join the basketball team." Gan Guoyang said.

"Haha", "Oh no," "What are you talking about?" "Yellow ......"

After Gan Guoyang said this, there was immediately a laugh on the court. Everyone stopped shooting and turned their heads to look at the yellow-skinned boy who came out of nowhere, and the playful eyes were clear.

"I think your brain must have been sunburned on a California beach." Someone said, and the others immediately burst into laughter.

Gan Guoyang was not angry, he knew that it was really impolite for him to break into the stadium recklessly, and he was ashamed to say that he wanted to enter the team. However, he was really eager to get on the basketball team, and he knew that if he didn't fight for it, the coach wouldn't be able to take a fancy to him, and he was already a 12th grader.

"I think with my quality, it shouldn't be a problem to get into this team." Gan Guoyang said that this is the truth for him, and he feels that according to his talent and strength, there is no problem in entering an ordinary high school basketball team.

But his words were more provocative in the ears of the Palo Alto High School basketball team players.

"What do you think the basketball team is? Can you get in if you want, yellow boy? The tall black man replied, looking 6'8 (2.03m). Judging from the figure, it should be an inside line.

'I just think I have what it takes to get into the team and give the team some help.' Gan Guoyang knew that his words had caused some misunderstandings on the other side, and he tried his best to adjust his wording.

"I don't think a yellow monkey who came out of nowhere can do anything to our team. Maybe you can be our team chef? Chinese cooking is quite good! Apparently Gan's words did not ease the tension, and the black man continued to make sarcastic remarks, causing the others to laugh.

"Then you might as well give it a try and see if I qualify for the team." Gan Guoyang didn't expect that his impulse would lead to such an effect.

His anger was also struck, especially when the black man called him the yellow-skinned monkey, and he had the patience to refrain from uttering the word "", which he knew would further exacerbate the conflict. And he's not a racist.

"Of course, if you're not afraid to leave the arena with a lime leg and few teeth." The black man is still very arrogant, and it is clear that he does not take this yellow man seriously.

If a black man enters the arena and says that he wants to join the team, he will be polite, after all, he is also black, and there are many basketball masters among black people. But the yellow race? Waste in the world of sports! They're only suitable for women's sports like table tennis, even if this guy looks quite tall.

"I hope you don't regret what you said." Gan Guoyang is still trying to restrain himself, but he wants to blow him up with his performance on the court.

"Come on, stinky boy. After a summer break, I felt my bones loosen. Let me use you as a screwdriver, and give me tight bones! ”

"Kill him! Vicis! "Give him some color!" "Virgin fucks him with your big ass!"

The other players saw that the bullfight between the two was on the verge of breaking out, and they all began to heckle.

Gan Guoyang walked to the basket with him and was ready for a heads-up.

"Then let's have an inside showdown."