The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 263 - 5 The Secret of King’s Turnaround Jump Shot

Chapter 263: Chapter 5 The Secret of King’s Turnaround Jump Shot

In the following week, the Chinese National Team scrimmaged with the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, and Washington Bullets, truly experiencing the intensity of the game and the level of the players in the land of basketball.

Naturally, the Chinese team didn’t win a single game. The NBA teams didn’t deploy their full rosters, and even with half-hearted attempts during the games, they easily overwhelmed the Chinese team without resistance—the gap was comprehensive.

Song Tao faced Michael Jordan for the first time in a game and found, just like when facing Gan Guoyang, he was unable to hold his ground even though the opponent didn’t seem to be trying hard.

Song Tao also took a photo with NBA legend Bill Russell. Russell asked him if he could become the second Ah Gan. Song Tao shook his head quickly, but still said, "I will try my best. He is my target and role model."

Under the guidance of Gan Guoyang, the young players on the Chinese team gradually adjusted their mindsets, putting their all into the games on one hand, and on the other hand, seriously learning from each play, drawing experience and nourishment from the most advanced level of world basketball.

During this time, Song Tao received quite a few pointers from Gan Guoyang, who found Song Tao to be very intelligent, with a nimble mind, and possessing a strong will and ambition.

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, how had he never heard of this person before? Why hadn’t he made a name for himself on the national team, becoming a pillar of the interior line? Was it because his era was too early?

Gan Guoyang didn’t know the future fate of Song Tao, but in his heart, he reserved a spot for this bespectacled peer who played basketball smartly and bravely.

At the end of August, the national team left America with a record of 7 losses and 1 victory, embarking on their journey home with a wealth of gains — their sole victory was against a NCAA Division III school in Queens, New York, which helped salvage a bit of face.

Gan Guoyang left his contact information with the national team players and coaches, telling them they could contact him about any basketball-related matters.

After the national team’s visit was over, Gan Guoyang stayed in New York for a few more days to complete his training there.

In the 1980s, New York was the off-season training hub for NBA players, home to the most abundant and best basketball facilities and various state-of-the-art training equipment, as well as high-quality professional training and medical staff.

How the players trained and with whom they trained mainly depended on their own wishes and personal plans. The team usually did not interfere with the players’ individual training unless it was for the newly recruited young players, who would participate in summer training camps and play in summer leagues.

Scrimmage games like the ones against the Chinese National Team were part of the summer league, and only the younger players from the team would participate. The mainstay veterans would not enter the court.

Thus, some veteran players who indulged and didn’t train properly during the off-season experienced declines in physical fitness and let their skills atrophy, often resulting in a slump when the new season began.

There were also those with exceptional talent who could just train casually during the off-season, spend most of their time indulging in pleasures, start playing games in the training camp and regular season as a form of practice, gradually find their form, and still play well in the end.

Gan Guoyang, of course, would never waste his time indulging in frivolous pleasures. To him, honing his body and basketball skills was more joyful than any form of leisure or entertainment.

On August 27th, he left the Intercontinental Hotel in New York early in the morning and drove to Bernard King’s home in New Jersey.

During his time in New York, Gan Guoyang would visit Bernard King every two to three days for two reasons, first to check on his health condition, and second to join him for rehabilitation training at the gym while seeking advice on offensive techniques.

After a severe knee injury, Bernard King underwent ACL surgery on April 1st, 1985, a painful and brutal ordeal for a basketball player who relied heavily on his legs.

His knee was fixed with 41 metal screws, and he used painkillers to alleviate the pain, which resulted in hallucinations. He saw a fierce tiger coming out of the wall.

When Bernard King tried to get up and run away, the medical staff caught him and put him back in bed; otherwise, his knee would have been ruined. King later said he thought the tiger was Ah Gan transformed.

Because of this incident, Bernard King refused to use painkillers anymore and bore the pain of the surgery.

The pain did not only come from the surgery. To be able to return to the court in the future, medical institutions used a huge CPM machine to bend his tendons and another TENS machine to send electrical pulses to his legs, causing his muscles to expand and contract to enhance them. This ensured that the muscles wouldn’t atrophy after the surgery and simultaneously broke down scar tissue.

All these treatments intensified the pain, said to be comparable to childbirth pain, and he endured this for over a month.

After spending two weeks in the hospital post-surgery, Bernard King returned to his home in New Jersey to begin a long rehabilitation.

At first, all his time was spent lying down or sitting, and he couldn’t even get water from the fridge when he was thirsty; someone had to bring it to him.

One night he was extremely thirsty, his wife was already asleep, and he didn’t want to disturb her, so he crawled to the water dispenser and had a drink while his legs were still immobilized.

By May, he had a brace on his leg and could walk around with crutches. Then by the end of May, he let go of the crutches and could walk.

At that time, Gan Guoyang was in the midst of an intense Western Conference finals battle with the Lakers, and Bernard King watched all the live broadcasts of the games, astonished by Guoyang’s performance.

Bernard King knew that the playoffs were completely different from the regular season; the condition of the players, the tactics of the team were on another level.

Especially for young players experiencing the playoffs for the first time, facing some teams they had played in the regular season could lead to deep self-doubt due to an inability to adapt to the intensity and tactical changes.

The tender sentiment that enveloped the regular season, veiled with entertainment, was lifted, exposing the ferocious confrontations and targeted strategies that caught people off guard. The achievements of the regular season turned out to be just an illusion.

But not for Ah Gan, Ah Gan caught his opponents off guard, and Bernard King deeply regretted not having the chance to face the Trail Blazers and Ah Gan during the regular season.

Now, when he could return to the court was still an unknown. The New York Knicks had picked Ewing in the 1985 NBA Draft, and Bernard King knew the outcome of the draft when he watched the lottery drawing live on May 12th.

The Knicks wouldn’t pass up Ewing, and after losing one king, New Yorkers were about to welcome their new king.

After May 12, the New York Knicks’ season tickets for the 1985-1986 regular season were sold out.

With the coronation of a new king, the old one naturally had to be washed away; such is the cruel nature of the NBA, embracing the new and parting with the old.

To leave a lasting legacy with a team, at least one championship ring is required, and King knew this was very distant, extremely distant.

In July, Bernard King began aquatic training, running in water to help regain strength in his legs.

By August, Gan Guoyang had returned from China and came to New York, and Bernard King was very happy about Gan’s arrival.

When he first got injured, many friends and teammates phoned to ask after him, visited him, but soon everyone had their own affairs, only able to care from time to time.

The New York media, which had been exceptionally warm towards him, quickly turned its attention to Ewing after covering the topic of his injury. That was who the Knicks fans were most concerned about.

The calls became increasingly scarce; sometimes no one would call in an entire day. His only company was his mother, his wife, and a physical therapist named Dania.

Recently, Dania became pregnant. She wanted to stay to assist Bernard King in his recovery until he was healthy, but King refused. He dismissed Dania, insisting she go back and take good care of her pregnancy.

Gan Guoyang spent the most time with him during this period. When Gan Guoyang’s golden Mercedes 300D (borrowed from Ewing) appeared at the bend in the road, Bernard King was alone on the glass balcony, basking in the not too scorching August morning sun.

Gan Guoyang drove into the garage expertly, greeted Bernard’s wife, Taylor, who was making breakfast on the first floor, and had deliberately brought some cooked dishes for Taylor and King, adding, "This is made by David Stern’s family." (The Stern family used to sell cooked food.)

When he reached the second floor, he saw King lounging on the balcony, gazing into the distance, and approached saying, "Bernard, I’m already here. Why are you still looking out?"

King sighed and said, "I’m not looking at you... Aldo and Florence haven’t come for a week... It doesn’t make sense, the weather is getting warmer."

Aldo and Florence were two wild ducks that used to come to Bernard King’s balcony to mate. When King couldn’t get up and had to use a wheelchair, they came almost every day.

King would wait for them to arrive, feed them some birdseed, watch them preen each other with their beaks and mate without a care in the world before flying away at dusk.

Gan Guoyang said, "They know you can stand up now, that you can start training, so they don’t come anymore. You no longer need their company."

Bernard King replied, "But I still can’t play ball now; I can only do rehabilitation training."

Gan Guoyang said, "You can watch me play!"

"..."

Half an hour later, the two appeared in Ramapo College’s gym, which was equipped with a basketball court, a swimming pool, and comprehensive training facilities.

The doctor said that until the end of September or October, Bernard King could only start training for shooting; before that, he couldn’t touch a ball, only swim, jog, do side steps, and practice figure-eights.

While King was undergoing rehabilitation training, Gan Guoyang worked on strength training, shooting, and footwork techniques by his side.

The amount of weight Gan Guoyang lifted during his strength training astonished Bernard King, who asked him if he had been a crane in a past life.

At the same time, Gan Guoyang maintained a very good shooting touch. His volume of shooting practice amazed King.

"No wonder you achieved such success in your rookie season. When I was young, I was far lazier than you."

One of the most critical parts of the training was the turnaround jump shot. Gan Guoyang had been learning this from Bernard King since high school and had mastered many techniques.

However, Gan Guoyang felt that King surely had some tricks up his sleeve; he felt that King’s turnaround was smoother and more undefendable—truly undefendable, leaving the defender no time to react.

In comparison, Gan Guoyang’s turnaround wasn’t as smooth. He believed it wasn’t due to physique or explosiveness but a matter of technique.

During the time they trained together, King still refused to share that little secret of the turnaround jump shot. Gan Guoyang wasn’t upset, though; he just kept trying and correcting in front of King, then asked, "Bernard, like this?"

King always shook his head with a smile. He would point out some details to Gan Guoyang, especially the turn and shooting choices during dribbling and the technical application at different positions.

But he just wouldn’t share that little technical secret.

Today, after finishing his shooting and strength training, Gan Guoyang confidently said to Bernard King, "Bernard, I’ve finally figured out the secret of your turnaround jump shot!"

Bernard King laughed and said, "I’ve heard you say that many times. Stop fooling around, Gan. Your offensive skills have already surpassed many, and you have the hook shot, which suits you better and allows you to play longer."

Gan Guoyang replied, "I’m not Jabbar. I’m not that tall. I don’t have an absolute advantage with the hook shot; I must have a faster, more accurate, and more reliable method of attack."

Saying that, Gan Guoyang dribbled to the baseline facing the basket, with his back to his opponent, made a fake move, and suddenly turned around for a jump shot!

The move wasn’t particularly fast, but it was very smooth—as if he hadn’t even finished the movement.

"How about that, King? I did it right, didn’t I?"

Bernard King didn’t speak for a while, then finally sighed and said, "Ah Gan, why are you so set on learning this move? Just look at my knees."