The Golden Age of Basketball.

Chapter 43 Childish
At the Rochambeau Stadium, Capo LaVine took the things Gan Guoyang handed him, looked at them, sighed deeply, and said, "Gan, you did the right thing. You shouldn't have accepted these things. You have excellent qualities, and your father is respectable."

Gan Guoyang said, "One cannot accept a reward without merit. If you take something from someone else, you must return it later."

Karp said, "You're right, the University of San Francisco is going to pay the price for what they did. Have you heard about Quentin Daly?"

"Quentin Daly? I don't know, what happened?"

"So you didn't know. I thought you were well-informed and knew before sending the things back. Anyway, you did the right thing."

Then, Cap-Raven told Gan Guoyang about a major incident that had recently occurred at the University of San Francisco.

Quentin Daly is the star player of the University of San Francisco, an All-American shooting guard, and the core player of the team.

However, just recently, Quentin Daley was reported to have raped a school dormitory assistant, and police came to the University of San Francisco to investigate.

What was originally a private criminal case began to spiral out of control after the NCAA Disciplinary Committee got involved.

First, there's Quentin Daly himself. He not only sexually assaulted his dormitory assistant, but also admitted to working for a University of San Francisco-affiliated organization, receiving a salary of $1000 a month without doing anything.

Then, because of this incident, the related organization behind it was implicated—the Dons Century Club (Dons is the name of the San Francisco basketball team).

This club was actually a player recruitment organization for the University of San Francisco basketball team. They invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to cultivate relationships with potential high school players and illegally conduct private recruitment.

Their misconduct included paying for players' families' daily expenses, reimbursing travel expenses, lending players money for entertainment, providing them with jobs without working, giving them expensive gifts on holidays, and giving them restaurant coupons, movie tickets, concert tickets, etc.

Furthermore, to ensure the players' academic performance was up to standard, they also helped them with exams and writing papers, guaranteeing that they wouldn't be suspended for failing grades.

The above information is just the tip of the iceberg of the investigation results. As an insider, Karp-Lavin understands that the investigation is still ongoing and much more information will be released in the future.

Gan Guoyang was shocked to hear about these things. He thought the NBA was a big melting pot, while college basketball, as an ivory tower, would be purer. He didn't expect it to be even more corrupt, especially since it was right next to the University of San Francisco.

This reveals their true purpose in giving Gan Youwei those gifts and coupons.

"What will happen next? How will it be handled?" Gan Guoyang asked.

"Last year, the NCAA issued a warning to the school. The University of San Francisco has been investigated many times over the past 10 years and has had problems. They have never stopped, and each time the coach has resigned to take the blame. I don't think it will be that simple this time. They may have to close their basketball department and be unable to participate in NCAA games anymore."

"Close? How long will it take?"

"I don't know, maybe one or two years, maybe two or three years, or even four or five years. Steve has already signed a letter of intent to study at the school, which will be a problem."

Karp's son, Steve, was scouted by the University of San Francisco early on and has already secured a spot on their basketball team.

However, Karl-Kemp did not receive any bribes or gifts from the Towns Club because he didn't need them. In American universities, if your father is affiliated with a particular university, he will most likely send his son to that school as well.

Even though he knows the University of San Francisco's basketball team is in dire straits, Karp, a former member of the University of San Francisco, still wants to send his son to the school.

As for how to play basketball in the future, or whether to transfer schools, that's a matter for later.

“The University of San Francisco is also very interested in you; they’ve always wanted to recruit you. It’s fortunate you didn’t make any promises to them. This place is no longer suitable for you; you should go to a better school,” Karp advised Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang is not Steve Rogers, his father is not from the University of San Francisco, there is no emotional bond between them, yet he insists on going to the Towns team.

"I'll focus on winning the state championship first. How's Steve doing lately? Are their games going well?"

"They've been doing really well; Drake High School hasn't lost a single year. But they'll most likely be placed in Division 2, while you'll be in Division 1, so you won't run into each other."

Steve LaVine's school, Drake High School, is located in San Anselmo, across the water from San Francisco. It belongs to the California North Shore Conference, which has many schools and a different schedule than San Francisco.

The two chatted about basketball for a while, and then Kap asked Gan Guoyang if he could consider having dinner at his place if his family didn't celebrate Christmas.

Gan Guoyang hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Karp, I already have appointments with friends. Thank you for your kindness." "Alright, it's alright. You should think about the school matter sooner rather than later. I will keep an eye out and consult with people for you. You're in high demand, but you should be careful when choosing a school, as it will affect your future path."

Gan Guoyang nodded, thanked Kapu, checked the time, and knew it was time to go to his appointment.

He hailed a taxi to the Philmore district, where Thurmond's former restaurant, The-Begining, was just around the corner.

Upon arrival, the taxi driver asked him, "Brother, are you Gan? Sunny Gan from Beiqiao Middle School?"

"That's right, it's me. I seem to have some fame. Can you give it to me for free?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I can't. But I can offer a discount. You're here to see Thurmond, right?"

"Yes, how do you know everything?"

"Ha, see that Rolls-Royce? Everyone in San Francisco knows that's Thurmond's."

Sure enough, on the opposite side of the road, there was a gleaming 1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud MK3 with the license plate "Nate42", custom-made by Thurmond.

Gan Guoyang paid the fare and ran to the other side of the street. The original sign for THE BEGINING had been changed and it had become a bar.

The entrance is decorated with a Christmas tree and wreaths. Stepping inside, you'll find that the restaurant layout has changed, with a bar and wine cabinet right at the entrance.

A tall man in a dark suit, holding a wine glass, stood in front of the bar, chatting happily with a female bartender.

He saw Gan Guoyang enter and immediately recognized him. "Hey, I know you! You Chinese idiot from San Francisco, you've finally arrived! Come on, have a drink!"

As he spoke, he pushed a wine glass filled with a pale yellow liquid that had been prepared beforehand onto the bar counter next to Gan Guoyang, saying, "This is for you. Do you know who I am, kid?"

Although Gan Guoyang didn't know much about the NBA stars of that era, he recognized the person in front of him.

Wilt Chamberlain, the basketball emperor, the Big Dipper, a magnificent and extraordinary man who could score 100 points in a single game, grab more than 20,000 rebounds in his career, and claimed to have had 20,000 romantic encounters.

But when the legend offered him the glass of wine, Gan Guoyang said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Chamberlain, I don't drink."

Chamberlain chuckled dryly and called inside, "Nate! He knows me! I'm definitely more famous than you!"

He then said to Gan Guoyang in a deep voice, "Very few people would refuse me."

Gan Guoyang said, "It's limited to women only."

The retort was quite aggressive, and Chamberlain's face darkened, the atmosphere becoming tense.

At this moment, the female bartender behind the bar winked at Gan Guoyang. Gan Guoyang looked at the drink and realized that the liquid did not seem to be alcohol.

After a brief standoff, Gan Guoyang finally picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

It wasn't alcohol after all, just ordinary lemonade.

"Hahaha, you fell for it. You still couldn't refuse me, dear Ms. Gan. Merry Christmas, young man."

Chamberlain laughed like a child, believing he had tricked Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang drank the rest of the lemonade, thinking that this emperor seemed a bit childish.

The moment I saw Gan, I knew he was a virgin.

—Excerpt from Chamberlain's autobiography, *A View of Above*, published in 1992.

(End of this chapter)