Gan Guoyang is actually not talking nonsense. "Visualization" is what Bernard Jin told Gan Guoyang. It is a training method that just emerged in the professional basketball world in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The so-called visualization is to imagine yourself doing various technical actions on the field and simulating the game scene. Professional players have proven that this method is effective.
The premise is that the body must do a lot of training and be very proficient in various technical movements. Combined with visual imagination training, it can have a strengthening effect and allow players to maintain the sensitivity and stability of neuromuscular responses in high-intensity games.
However, this somewhat mysterious-sounding training method is only used by a small number of teams and players. Many people think that this is purely self-comfort, while some people think that players just need to self-comfort on the court to maintain their health. Confident and powerful.
Gan Guoyang's current level does not require this kind of metaphysical training method.
Since Bellman left the University of Notre Dame, he has been far away from the core area of basketball skills and tactics, so naturally he has not heard of this new training method.
Regarding the extra practice with the Warriors, Gan Guoyang did not tell Behrman. He was mainly worried about the bad-tempered guy's unbalanced mentality.
Behrman, who, like King, had just emerged from the shadow of alcoholism, was deeply invested in the Water Bells and Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang could feel that Bellman was very proud of the team and his own growth, and regarded it as the first step to restart his life.
If you tell him, "Your training can no longer satisfy me, I'm going to go to a professional team to start a small business," it is likely to be a blow to Bellman, who has just established confidence in his new life.
Gan Guoyang didn't want the coach to become frustrated just after the team's CIF campaign had just begun, so he simply used "visual training" to perfunctory Behrman.
A white lie, just to take care of the coach's emotions.
Bellman didn't care too much. Gan Guoyang was already someone he had difficulty controlling. As long as he could function normally on the court, that would be fine.
In the second half, Gan Guoyang played for more than ten minutes and was sweating. After scoring 33 points, 17 rebounds and 8 blocks, Bellman replaced him.
In the remaining minutes, Balboa High's players finally got some breathing room to get to the basket and score normally.
Enjoyed a little bit of basketball.
The first game of the Water Bell team ended smoothly. They easily defeated their opponent with 63:45, an 18-point advantage, and won their first regular season victory.
After winning this game, everyone from the coach to the players have confidence in the new season. At least they are not the worst team in the San Francisco League.
It is not easy to make a name for yourself in the California basketball league.
California has been, is and will be the place that produces the most professional players in the United States.
Only New York State in the United States can compare with California in terms of quantity and quality of players. They are two basketball treasures, one in the south and one in the north, one in the east and one in the west.
However, New York State is small and densely populated, while California is vast and divided into Southern California and Northern California.
Southern California is centered on the Los Angeles-San Diego urban agglomeration, and Northern California is centered on the San Francisco-San Francisco West-Sacramento urban agglomeration.
Over the past 60 years, due to inconvenient transportation and limited funds, high school basketball leagues in Northern and Southern California have been conducted separately and competed independently.
The California championship game was restarted last season. The format used was that the teams entering the playoffs were drawn and the two Oakland teams met in the finals.
In the end, Bishop O'Dowd High School defeated Castlemont High School, also in Oakland, and won the 1981 California championship.
This year's competition format has been changed, and the champions of Northern and Southern California will be determined first, and then the two champions will determine this year's California overall champion.
This North-South division competition system allows more teams to easily join the finals, and it also greatly enhances the topicality of the finals.
Regional rivalry has always been the most fascinating part of sports. Teams represent the talents of their respective regions and carry the expectations of the folks. Fighting to the death in the finals will definitely attract more attention than teams from the same city fighting each other.
The Oakland Division won the championship and runner-up last year, and its strength is obvious to all.
The San Francisco division where the Water Clock is located is also surrounded by strong enemies, and Balboa High School is just an appetizer.
On November 18th, the Water Bells faced the Lincoln Broncos in the game.
This high school named after U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, together with another high school named after President George Washington, are the two most powerful high schools in San Francisco.
They are both located in the West End of San Francisco. They are comprehensive public high schools with a large number of students, strong teachers, and strong rugby, football, and basketball teams.
The game took place at the Mustang Stadium of Lincoln High School. This was the most difficult game played by the Water Bells since its establishment. It lasted for more than two hours and went into two overtimes.
The Water Bell team led by 10 points in the first half, but in the second half, Lincoln High School chipped away at the advantage and chased points.
Although Lincoln High School could not prevent Gan Guoyang from scoring in the paint, they cooperated well on both ends of the offense and defense, and their overall strength was stronger than Fremont.
However, the Water Bell team was also extremely tenacious. Under the leadership of Gan Guoyang, they fought fiercely with the Broncos. In the second overtime, when everyone was exhausted, only Gan Guoyang still had his physical fitness tank remaining.
When the Broncos' defense was lax, he hit consecutive turnaround jumpers at critical moments, helping the Water Bell seal the victory.
At 77:75, the Water Bell team defeated the strong team Broncos after double overtime.
Gan Guoyang scored 44 points, 27 rebounds and 6 blocks in the first game.
The game against the Mustangs made him sweat a lot.
However, Gan Guoyang was not satisfied with his performance after winning.
Because in addition to his superior scoring and rebounding, he also made as many as 7 turnovers.
Lincoln High School's timely double-team troubled Gan Guoyang. This is a dilemma that almost every super insider has to go through.
When he tried to connect with Franklin or other teammates on offense, the toughness and agility of Lincoln players in defense made Gan Guoyang suffer.
When summing up after the game, Behrman reminded Gan Guoyang that if the passing effect is not ideal, it is better to play by himself.
Bellman is not a coach who is good at coaching offense. He focused on defense when he was at Notre Dame.
His irritable and passionate emotional character is indeed suitable for being a defensive coach.
The offense needs to be more rational, able to observe the situation calmly, see through the opponent's defensive strategy, and deliver a fatal blow.
Gan Guoyang is annoyed that he can see the opportunities of his teammates on the field, but cannot successfully convert them into passes and assists.
He realized that passing is a skill that is difficult to improve through hard training. You can gain technique and passing accuracy, but you cannot gain vision and experience.
These must be accumulated through years of actual combat competition, and also require some unique talents.
On November 23, in the third game of the regular season for the Water Bells, their opponent was changed to another presidentially named high school in the West District, Washington High School.
The game takes place at Washington High School's Eagle Stadium. Standing in the stands of the football field next to the stadium, you can overlook the red Golden Gate Bridge across the strait.
Kezar Stadium is at full capacity, forcing some games to be played in the school's own arena.
Beiqiao Middle School, which does not have a home stadium, can only suffer the disadvantage of playing away games continuously. They do not have their own home venue.
This time, the Water Bell Team and Gan Guoyang finally met their opponents.
The Washington Eagles are a well-trained team with complete personnel in all positions and strong personal abilities.
Their most powerful combination is 6-foot-5 forward David Bonner inside and 6-foot-8 center Quentin Stephenson.
Both are strong black players. Among them, Quentin Stephenson has a big body, a round waist, a slight stoop, and a round head that makes him look like a little Moses Malone.
The Eagles made full preparations before the game, and Gan Guoyang was severely double-teamed by the two during the game.
They did everything they could to defend inside, pushing, squeezing, chasing and intercepting, just not allowing Gan Guoyang to receive the ball.
Even if Gan Guoyang runs to the outside to catch the ball, Bonner will follow him closely, not giving Gan Guoyang a chance to make an easy long shot.
Everyone knows that this guy has long-range shooting ability.
This greatly disrupted the Water Bell team's offense, and more of the ball was in Franklin's hands.
In the first half, the Water Bells were able to hold on thanks to Franklin’s scoring.
In the second half, Franklin began to lack physical fitness, while Gan Guoyang was constantly entangled and could only rely on offensive rebounds to maintain points.
The Eagles' offense is also smart, with quick counterattacks and accurate outside shots.
The small point guard Harry Bobinho is only 5 feet 10 inches tall (178), but he can dunk with one hand on the counterattack.
Once Chen Xing breaks away from the team's zone defense and the protection of Gan Guoyang behind him, he can't guard his opponent one-on-one.
The game fell into the Eagles' rhythm from the first minute, and the exhaustion of chasing points eventually wore down the Water Bells.
In this game, Gan Guoyang grabbed 28 rebounds, including 9 offensive rebounds. He stood on the free throw line 10 times and scored a total of 34 points.
The performance was not bad, but the water clock was still 62:68, and the game was lost at Washington High School.
This is also the first game that the Water Bell team has lost since its formation.
On the way back to school, the atmosphere in the team was very low, and everyone was frustrated by the loss.
Gan Guoyang's arms were scarred with blood marks all thanks to Bonner and Quentin.
After the rise of Shuizhong and Gan Guoyang, more and more teams will study them, and there will be more and more targeted playing styles.
They must be prepared for this.
The next day, in the training hall of the underground skating rink at Fisherman's Wharf, Bellman summarized the lost game.
They will no longer meet the Hawks in the regular season, but if their goal is the playoffs, they will definitely meet the Hawks again.
In the absence of game video, Bellman could only rely on his memories to analyze the problems on the field.
Halfway through the analysis, Bellman asked everyone to sit on the floor, close their eyes, take a deep breath, relax completely, and then imagine playing against the Eagles.
"Our zone defense has been stretched, and their perimeter defense is very accurate. What should we do?"
"Shrink and let them shoot, that's the only way to go."
"Gan got double-teamed and made a bad pass."
"Maybe he should have caught the ball further outside."
"They are fighting back and speeding up! Keep up! But we have to slow down, we can't outrun them..."
"Franklin, your free throw, relax, stare at the basket, forget about your hands, imagine the ball in your hand, its leather, its weight, relax, shoot..."
Bellman used words to guide the players through recalling scenes from the game and then solving them in their imaginations.
When everyone opened their eyes, there was a trace of confusion in their eyes.
Gan Guoyang asked: "What kind of training method is this?"
Bellman said: "This is the damn visual imagination training you are talking about! I called a lot of people recently and asked, and they said that this training method does exist. Coach Jack Ramsey of the Portland Trail Blazers uses it, so I want to try it. How do you feel?"
Gan Guoyang said: "I'm just talking casually, why do you still take it seriously? But I think the solution you proposed makes sense."
"..."
Without the second half of the sentence, Behrman would have strangled Gan Guoyang to death and then committed suicide.
