Updated: 2013-10-22

(Ask for collection, ask for reward)

Nebraska, a state in the middle of the United States, is located in the very center of the United States. If a dividing line were drawn to divide the United States in two, it would almost cut Nebraska in half.

As a result, time in Nebraska is also split in two, with the West using US Mountain Time and the East using US Central Time.

However, despite its geographical location in the center of the United States, it is far from the center of the United States in other respects.

This plain state through which Mississippi flows, fed by this great river, is blessed with beautiful natural landscapes and abundant agricultural resources.

As a result, it is one of the most important agricultural producing states in the United States, along with the surrounding states of Wyoming, Iowa and Kansas, where corn, soybeans, pigs, and cattle are the most important products.

And this time, the Gonzaga Bulldogs crossed half of the United States and ran to Nebraska just to play an ordinary invitational tournament.

Gan and his teammates and coaches were on a plane heading to that faraway place, and their destination was Omaha, Nebraska's largest city.

"Why the fuck are we running to this place where birds don't shit? Just to get beaten up by the home team away from home and then roll back to Gonzaga? As the plane was about to land, Gan Guoyang looked down, and except for the city of Omaha, almost all the surrounding places were large tracts of farmland and woods.

"It's a place where birds don't, but we don't necessarily get beaten up by the home team, maybe we beat him." Bellman, who was next to Gan Guoyang, sat in his seat with his eyes closed and said.

"But I still don't understand, we're not an NBA team, come all the way to win a win, and then what? Will President Reagan send me an award? ”

"I don't know if President Reagan will give you a prize, but the person organizing this contest might give you a prize. Of course, I don't know who is so boring to put Gonzaga University and Clayton University together, and the can't collapse one school to have a game. Bellman was obviously acting on orders, and he couldn't figure out what was behind it.

The plane landed at Blair Municipal Airport in northwest Omaha, which is located in the northwestern suburbs of Omaha, far from the city, so when the group got off the plane, they were surrounded by a vast sky and no buildings.

"Holy, this is a hell of a place." For Gan, who played in Los Angeles, Omaha is really like a big rural village.

"Let's just come here for an outing." Stockton was also a little speechless, in fact the whole team was a little confused.

On the West Coast, they were in a hot state, and they were suddenly pulled to the central plains, and they didn't know why, and no one could figure out what was going on.

After getting off the plane, you still need to make a car to get to your destination, and Clayton University has sent a special bus to wait for these opponents from afar at the airport gate.

As the largest city in Nebraska, Omaha is home to the farm's big warehouse and processing plant, and you'll find a variety of large warehouses along the way, as well as a number of meat processing plants.

At the same time, as a plain state, the boundaries here are almost endless flat, and it seems that the car will never reach the end when driving in such a place.

Thankfully, after an hour of driving, downtown Omaha appeared in the southeast skyline.

American cities really have no characteristics, they are all carved out of a mold, and Gan Guoyang has long been accustomed to this.

However, the hotel where the bulldogs stayed was indeed the best hotel in Omaha, and when the group got off the bus at this big hotel, Gan Guoyang thought that the city was still a city after all, and even if it was a city in an agricultural state, there were good places.

On the other hand, he wondered even more about who had paid so much to bring such an obscure team like the Gonzaga Bulldogs to distant Omaha to play and give them the best hotels in the area.

They're not the Los Angeles Lakers!

Anyway, I heard Bellman say that the cost of this competition is not paid by the school, let alone by the students, so the group honestly and unceremoniously stayed in a luxury hotel to rest and prepare for the competition that will come tomorrow.

Because he continued to fly outside to play away games, it was almost the same as an NBA professional team, so Gan Guoyang and other players had not returned to school for more than a week, and Gan Guoyang naturally did not see Wang Fuxi for more than a week.

The luxury hotel is different from other hotels, the rooms are large, the facilities are complete, the decoration is luxurious, not to mention, the long-distance telephone inside can also be used for free and unlimited.

In the era when there were no mobile phones, Gan Guoyang could only use these old-fashioned phones to confide in Wang Fuxi.

Wang Fuxi was still a freshman at Gunzaga University, and it was when there were various general education courses and heavy schoolwork, so Gan Guoyang could only call the phone at night and say a few words to Wang Fuxi in the dormitory.

Anyway, the communication between them is in Chinese, so no matter who Gan Guoyang lives with, he is always unscrupulous on the phone, and he can say whatever he wants.

Since the two had that first intimate contact, Wang Fuxi's feelings for Gan Guoyang have become deeper and more attached.

Unlike some American girls, especially those in Los Angeles, Wang Fuxi is a traditional Chinese girl at heart, especially when it comes to love.

Gan Guoyang, the man who suddenly appeared in her life, has left an indelible mark on her life, no matter what happens in the future, the two are destined to be entangled for a lifetime.

Of course, this is already an afterword, at this time, after making a sweet long-distance call, Gan Guoyang ran to the bathroom and took a cold shower in the winter.

Since starting his hard training at Gunzaga University, Gan has remained abstinent in order to devote all his energy to basketball.

And Wang Fuxi's soft and glutinous voice undoubtedly aroused the fire in Gan Guoyang's heart, and he had to use cold water to cool himself down.

After all, living with him was Anderson, a big black man at 6'8.

This time, Stockton didn't go to Gan's room to discuss tactics, because they didn't know anything about Clayton University, and the only thing two teams from different leagues who were far apart could only meet was the Final-Four, the NCAA Final Four.

But these two teams have struggled to even get into the NCAA national tournament in the past, let alone the final-four, so this meeting is really an accident within an accident, a coincidence within a coincidence.

The next day, Gan Guoyang, who had not slept well all night, had to get up early, and after breakfast, he went to the gymnasium of Clayton University with the team for adaptation training.

Compared to UCLA's stadium, Clayton's stadium is a little smaller, but it can also accommodate 4,000 spectators.

By the time the Bulldogs arrived at the stadium, the home team, the Clayton Blue Jays, had also arrived at the training ground, and the two teams met before the game had even started in the morning.

It stands to reason that home and away teams train separately or on the pitch in turn.

Apparently, the guy who organized the game did not understand these details and did not inform the pit bulls what time they should go to the gym to train, as a result of which the two teams collided.

But the two teams did not feel like their opponents were blushing at all, but came to the gymnasium early in the morning to occupy half of the field, and chatted with each other while warming up.

There is no grudge between the two sides at all, they are two teams that have nothing to do with each other, and they are inexplicably pulled together, and the players on both sides are confused.

Gan Guoyang is doing hook practice and shooting practice under the basket. When he saw that the other players were also practicing absent-mindedly, and even started chatting with the opposing players, Bellman stood aside in a daze and did not go to say a word to the opposing coach.

"Mr. Bellman, why don't you go and talk to the other coach?" Gan Guoyang asked. He remembers that Bellman used to talk to the opposing coach before the game, and according to Bellman, he wanted to learn from the other party's experience.

But Gan Guoyang very much suspected that Bellman was going to spray the other party's trash talk.

"Oh no, no, still don't need to, you hurry... Hurry up and practice your hook hand, you don't seem to be in good shape today? Bellman changed the subject.

When Gan Guoyang saw Bellman's appearance, he couldn't help but look at the other party's coach, only to find that the other party's coach was a black man, and he was a very tall black man.

Gan Guoyang looked over from half the field, and felt that this coach with a round face and cheeks bulging outwards looked a little like Corleone, and he should be about the same height as himself.

But his size feels obviously bigger than Gan Guoyang, maybe because of the fortune, but maybe this guy is a very strong person.

"Could it be that the coach of the Blue Jay is a former professional basketball player?" Gan Guoyang looked at it and wondered in his heart.

"Mr. Bellman, was the coach a former professional? It looks so strong. Gan Guoyang asked.

"You don't even know him... Well, I think that since you know Mr. Thurmond, you should know Willis Reed as well. Bellman glanced at Gan Guoyang, his eyes full of contempt.

"Willis Reed?" When Gan Guoyang heard this name, a word flashed - "the return of the king".

This is the only impression that Gan Guoyang, a pseudo-fan, has of this name, that is, in the last game of the 1970 finals, Reed, who was seriously injured in the thigh, appeared in the players' tunnel with his barely able to walk leg after playing the lockdown.

His presence inspired all the Knicks players as well as the fans in the stadium, and he took the lead for the Knicks with two mid-range shots in the opening game.

Although he left the court due to a serious injury and only scored the opening 4 points in the game, the Knicks, inspired by Reid, defeated the powerful Los Angeles Lakers in one go and won the first championship trophy in Knicks history with a total score of 4:3.

Reed's "Return of the King" has also become an eternal classic in NBA history.

But Gan Guoyang's memory of Reed is limited to this, he doesn't know how tall and strong the other Reed looks, what their technical characteristics are, and what honors they have.

He didn't expect that the tall and chubby black coach on the other side not far away was the superstar in Knicks history.

"That's... So how did he end up coaching here? Gan Guoyang asked again.

"Don't ask idiot questions! It's normal for players to retire and become coaches, so let's go and warm up, we don't know anything about each other, so we have to prepare well. Bellman said.

Gan Guoyang understands now, it seems that Bellman is also afraid of the identity of the other coach, and he doesn't dare to go up and chat casually like usual.

But Bellman doesn't dare, doesn't mean Gan Guoyang doesn't dare, this guy and Chamberlain are good friends, not to mention Willis Reed, who is not as famous as Chamberlain?

Bellman asked Gan Guoyang to go to warm-up training, but the whole team did not have the spirit of training, and Gan Guoyang did not sleep well because he didn't sleep well and couldn't concentrate.

So, he actually took the ball and staggered to the opponent's half and walked to Willis Reed.

"Hi, good morning, Mr. Reed." Gan Guoyang said politely, after all, this is the top 50 superstar in the NBA.

"Hey, what's the matter, boy." Reed looked serious, but he wasn't rejecting people from thousands of miles away.

"Do you know why we're coming here to play with your team? I think we're all confused. Bellman didn't dare to ask, so Gan Guoyang asked.

Bellman watched Gan Guoyang go over his line to talk to the opposing coach, and he didn't know what to say about him, because all the players of the Bulldog were staring at Gan Guoyang, and it seemed that they had already recognized Reed.

Reed is also a little strange, since he retired as a coach, there have often been situations where rival coaches are deferential to him and dare not talk to him, and he is used to this.

However, this yellow-skinned and black-haired player actually came to chat with him instead of their coach?

However, the United States is not a country that pays special attention to dignity and inferiority, and the relationship between elders and younger generations is often more casual.

"Sorry, I don't know, but the organisers will come and watch tonight when we play, and you'll know by then."

It seems that Reed, the star coach, was also kept in the dark, and he didn't know who was organizing such an inexplicable game.

"You've got a good hook, but there seems to be some problems with your shot." At this time, Reed took the initiative to talk to Gan Guoyang.

This made Gan Guoyang a little flattered, and hurriedly replied: "Yes, Mr. Reed, my shooting was okay before, but then I did strength training, and my strength went up, but my shooting became worse." ”

"Is the sudden increase in power causing a drop in shooting percentage? It's all too common among athletes, especially interior players. But power and shooting aren't contradictory aspects, it's just that you're not making the most of your newfound muscles and power. ”

Reed's words made Gan Guoyang interested all of a sudden, and every time he received guidance from those superstars, Gan Guoyang was always able to get a lot of benefits from it.

For example, Thurmond's defense, King's turnaround jumper, Chamberlain's step-back jumper, and Abdul-Jabbar's sky hook.

And now that he has problems with his most basic technical shooting, in addition to the need for repeated practice, it is also very beneficial to be able to get the guidance of the masters.

And just when Gan Guoyang was about to have a good exchange with Reed about how to solve this problem, another person came to the gymnasium.

It's still morning, and no one else is allowed to come in except for two teams.

But Gan Guoyang looked at the person who suddenly came in through the player's tunnel, but found that it was his old acquaintance, the scout who had helped him a lot - David Falck.

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