The episode with Rick Barry did not affect Gan Guoyang's good mood during Christmas in 1983.
In fact, in the subsequent evening activities, Barry and Gan Guoyang got along well.
The main reason why Barry is so annoying is that he speaks without restraint. No matter he is a teammate or an opponent, a colleague or a boss, a senior or a junior, a fan or a friend, he speaks indiscriminately. Such a person will not go anywhere. It will be lovable.
Now that he is getting older, he has retired for a few years, and has found a commentary job in a television station. His temper has somewhat softened - but it is said that he still has a bad relationship with his colleague Bill Russell.
Gan Guoyang, on the other hand, has an open-minded temperament and is neither humble nor overbearing towards anyone. He never really takes any minor frictions seriously.
Barry rarely praised Gan Guoyang's shooting skills, and also discussed with Gan Guoyang on his face-to-basket offensive skills and three-pointers.
Barry was surprised that Gan Guoyang had a positive attitude towards three-pointers. You must know that when the NBA decided to introduce three-pointers in 1979, everyone from players to coaches to owners to fans was opposed.
By 1983, the three-point shot was still an alien and flashy thing in the eyes of most NBA coaches. Anyone who took a three-pointer without any force on the court would be scolded by the coach even if he made it.
Barry can be regarded as a pioneer of three-pointers. He went to the ABA to play for a few years and was not resistant to three-pointers.
In the last season of his career, 1979-1980, he ranked second in the league in three-point attempts and field goals. He was more confident in his long-range shots than Bird.
"I have long said that playing in the ABA is more interesting than playing in the NBA because of the three-pointer. The three-pointer is a great thing, but none of those old antiques care about it. They wish they could cancel all 24 seconds, preferably three seconds. We don’t want the area, just let some big men throw the ball into the basket like a monkey picking a banana, who will come to watch the game?"
After drinking some wine, Rick Barry began to speak indiscriminately again. "Monkey" and "banana" were all racially charged words, but good-tempered Nate Thurmond just shook his head after hearing this. Not angry.
He knows that Barry has this virtue. After all, this is a man who said in public that Bill Russell smiles like a watermelon. What kind of ivory can you expect him to spit out.
After the meal, Gan Guoyang wanted to go back early. Thurmond sent him out of the bar and said that he would never let Barry come to the Christmas party next time.
Gan Guoyang didn't plan to stay in San Francisco for too long. He took a flight directly to Portland the day after the holiday because he had to play a game on the 27th.
This is a 4-day "Far West Classic Basketball Tournament" held in Portland, with multiple teams participating, at the Memorial Coliseum, the home of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Before going, Gan Guoyang called Wang Fuxi and said he would be in Portland on the afternoon of the 27th.
As a result, Portland encountered a snowstorm on the 27th, and flights from various places to Portland were cancelled. Gan Guoyang had to postpone his departure to Portland.
Gan Guoyang was unable to play in the evening game against Morris University. At the same time, Stockton's roommate, the team's third leading scorer, and Stockton's good backcourt partner Les McAfee was also unable to play due to a fractured fibula.
The Bulldogs, who were missing two generals in the team, showed tenacious combat effectiveness in the game on the 27th, and did not surrender at all because they were missing their backbone and core combat capabilities.
John Stockton, who usually takes organization and passing as his first responsibility, showed his excellent offensive ability in this game.
In the game, he scored 25 points and 8 assists, and also contributed the most 4 steals in the game, helping the Bulldogs easily defeat Morris University, which came all the way from Moontown, Pennsylvania, 73:60.
This victory greatly boosted the team's morale. After returning to the hotel, Stockton called Gan Guoyang and informed him of today's game.
"Gan, I think you don't need to come. You can just go back to Spokane."
"Oh my God, you started to drift after leading the team to win a game? Tomorrow's semi-finals, I don't think you can do it without me."
"The semi-finals will be held at three o'clock in the afternoon tomorrow. Can you make it in time?"
"If it's not late, I should be able to make it to the second half. Oh, how is McAfee's injury? It's not serious, right?"
"It's not a big problem. Coach Deron said he can recover in about a month. You'd better come. I know your girlfriend is in Portland. You will come even if you can't play the game!"
Gan Guoyang did not deny it, but he and Wang Fuxi did not reach the stage of being boyfriend and girlfriend.
The relationship between men and women is very delicate, like pawns on a chessboard, they can only move forward but not backward.
We were friends at first, but then we took a step forward and became lovers. However, when we felt it was inappropriate, it would be difficult to go back and become friends.
The two of them are still the same pawns who have not crossed the river, unable to go left or right, but they still maintain the hope of moving forward.
On the 28th, Gan Guoyang went to San Francisco Airport in the morning and called Wang Fuxi before boarding the plane.
More than two hours later, Gan Guoyang saw Wang Fuxi waiting for him in the lobby of Portland Airport. She was wearing the pink peaked cap and could be seen at a glance.
Because she was worried that she would not be used to the sudden drop in temperature from San Francisco to Portland, she specially brought Gan Guoyang a long velvet blanket and a red scarf.
"This is for you." Wang Fuxi handed the scarf to Gan Guoyang, his expression as shy as ever.
Gan Guoyang took the scarf. He remembered that in the novel, the girl always knitted a scarf for the male protagonist, but usually before the scarf was finished, the two would either break up, or one of them would fall in love.
He tied the scarf around his neck generously and said, "Thank you, it's very warm."
"It's okay, my roommate knitted it for her boyfriend, but they broke up before the knitting was finished. I thought it was a pity, so..."
"Huh? We really broke up? Then you finished knitting the rest?"
"When will I knit a sweater? I can only program. I will help her with her homework and she will finish knitting the scarf for me. Wouldn't you mind?"
Gan Guoyang smiled and shook his head. He didn't mind at all. He admired Wang Fuxi's frankness and uprightness.
He believes that when two people get along, it is more important to tell the truth than anything else. When a man and a woman get along, they usually start with sweet talk, then they talk sweetly, then they talk sarcastically, then they talk harshly, and in the end they talk crazy, and finally they fall silent. It is really boring.
The two got into a taxi while chatting and rushed to the Memorial Stadium. When the car arrived, the game had already started for more than 40 minutes and it was the second half.
After getting out of the car, Gan Guoyang took Wang Fuxi's hand and ran towards the stadium, entering the locker room through the players' tunnel.
After quickly changing his clothes, Gan Guoyang came out and asked Wang Fuxi: "How are you doing? What's going on on the field?"
Wang Fuxi said: "I took a look, you are 20 points behind and there are 15 minutes left in the second half."
"15 minutes left? It's okay, okay, it's still in time."
