Cap - LaVine, Cap is not his name, but his nickname - Cap.
His real name was Albert LaVine, and he was a well-known youth basketball player in the San Francisco area in the 1940s—there was no NBA at that time.
He later played for the University of San Francisco as a point guard and had a very accurate jump shot.
He once made 26 consecutive free throws in a free throw contest held in San Francisco, won the championship, and was awarded a honeymoon trip to Hawaii.
However, in the 1950s, it was difficult to support a family through basketball. Great players like Bob Cousy once hesitated between playing basketball and driving a taxi.
In order to support his wife and three children, young Lavin worked many jobs, selling cigarettes at a beach amusement park, working as an elevator operator at a public library, working as a Greyhound bus driver, and even going to nightclubs to win money playing pinball machines.
He later found a job as an English teacher, which became his lifelong career.
And this English teacher has a very large influence in the San Francisco basketball community.
He often played at Stade Rochambeau, 3v3, and he was once the number one star here.
Former San Francisco Mayor George Moscone was LaVine's best friend and the two were high school basketball teammates.
In the 1975 San Francisco city election, LaVine campaigned for his friend and arranged for Moscone and his staff to play a 3V3 game at Rochambeau Arena to attract votes from minorities who loved basketball.
Moscone was successfully elected. This liberal mayor who promoted urban tolerance and racial equality was shot dead by a radical former colleague in 1978.
Lavine delivered a eulogy at City Hall for the beloved mayor and best friend.
In addition to San Francisco, Kap LaVine has rich connections throughout the California basketball community.
He was very good friends with legendary UCLA coach John Wooden - Wooden was also a high school English teacher in Indiana.
Cap LaVine is 50 years old this year. He is still active at the Rochambeau Stadium and often brings his youngest son Steve LaVine to play games here.
Steve LaVine is the youngest of Kapp's six children and the one with the most basketball talent. He inherited his father's soft and precise shooting touch and serves as the point guard for the Francisco Drake High School basketball team.
He has been playing street courts with his father since he was a child. Last year, he formed a three-person team with his high school teammate Pittman and his good friend Eric White from Sacred Heart High School, named "Cancer", and almost swept the streets of San Francisco. court.
They are keen to challenge San Francisco's three-man team of experts, looking for fun while constantly improving themselves through competition.
In the past two weeks, rumors about a Chinese basketball trio in the San Francisco Arena have spread rapidly in the San Francisco basketball circle.
It is said that they are invincible on every court, especially one of the tall men. He has a very amazing influence on the defensive end and is a rare master among the Chinese.
After hearing the news, Steve LaVine inquired about Chen Xing's contact information, and then called to invite them to the Rochambeau Stadium for a discussion.
Karp has always been very concerned about the talented young players on the streets of San Francisco. He heard from his son that a Chinese teenager had recently emerged, so he came to the sidelines to watch the game with great curiosity.
Cap is an iconic figure at the Stade Rochambeau, and his arrival attracted more attention. Subsequently, the discussion between talented teenagers went viral on the streets, and more and more people came to watch the game.
While the six players were warming up on the court, the number of onlookers around the Rochambeau Stadium was still increasing.
Even the surrounding residents came to watch the battle out of curiosity when they saw such a big battle.
Chen Xing and Gan Guohui felt increasingly nervous, while Gan Guoyang was calm and excited.
He stretched his body methodically, grabbed the ball with one hand, took a run, took off, and dunked easily with one hand.
Every time he dunks, the scene will be filled with exclamations. His bounce is not particularly amazing, but his movements are stretched and generous. He has a pair of long arms, a big hand, a slender body, and is wearing a brown sports vest and dark blue basketball shorts. , wearing white Avia860 and tube socks given to him by Chen Xing on his feet, he looked like Dr. J Irving when he dunked.
Kap LaVine, who was watching the game from the sidelines, had a little more sparkle in his eyes.
This is the first time that Karp has seen an Asian player with such graceful figure during dunk.
In addition to being a basketball player and English teacher, Karp-Lavine is a literary enthusiast, author, and promoter of writing projects.
From a writer's point of view, this Chinese-American boy is undoubtedly a good target subject, and there must be stories about him worth writing.
Karp couldn't help but think of his late friend Mayor Moscone. He was a politician who paid great attention to minority groups and the integration of urban ethnic groups.
It can be seen that Karp is more concerned about the skin color of Gan Guoyang's three people rather than their skills.
Even though he is an enlightened white man, Garp still does not believe that the three of them have the ability to challenge "Cancer".
Steve is a very good defender among his peers. He inherited his father's shooting ability, and has a calm mind and excellent overall view.
He has been playing with his father since he was very young. He has rich experience on the court and is very competitive among his peers.
Pittman is Steve's teammate. The two have played together in junior high school and work well together.
Eric White of Sacred Heart High School is the real core of the Cancer trio and the most talented one.
Standing 6-foot-6, he serves as a forward and center in 3v3 games.
Although he is not a talented player, Kapp knows that this guy has an excellent body and solid skills.
The professional league has a basic threshold. If you are within the threshold, through certain efforts and opportunities, you have a chance to enter that world.
And if your physical talent is outside the threshold, even if you put in 200% effort, love basketball extremely and are good at it, the door of the NBA will not be open to you.
Among the three Cancer players, Steve and Pittman most likely have no chance of entering the NBA, but White is different. He is within the threshold.
The two teams flipped a coin to determine who would attack first. Karp's eyes were fixed on Gan Guoyang. He wanted to see what kind of performance this kid could perform against White.
Cancer team won the first offensive right.
The ball was in the hands of Steve LaVine. He controlled the ball skillfully, completely ignoring Chen Xing's defense and shuttled through the half court like a civet cat.
On the first ball, he used a realistic fake move and quickly got rid of Chen Xing's defense with a change of direction and went straight to the basket.
Gan Guoyang stepped forward to cover the defense, and LaVine pushed the ball behind him, making a clever and sudden behind-the-back pass.
The ball came into the hands of White who cut inside. After receiving the ball, he took a step forward and jumped high, trying to slam the frame with both hands!
But White underestimated Gan Guoyang's reaction speed. He turned around, jumped up at the same time as White, and blocked White's dunk in the air!
"A generous gift, Crab Te!"
The fans at the scene exclaimed.
The first goal in the game was such a powerful block.
The two collided head-on, and the ball was affected by two opposing forces. It was released, hit the ground heavily, and bounced high.
The two landed at the same time. Gan Guoyang took off a second time, picked the ball off with both hands, and passed it to Chen Xing on the outside.
The offense and defense changed positions, and Gan Guoyang successfully blocked the opponent's first attack.
Kap LaVine, who was sitting on the sidelines with his arms crossed, stood up.
He realized that this Chinese boy might not be as simple as he thought.
