The Golden Age of Basketball.

Chapter 75 It's Better to Make the First Move

Back in his room, Gan Guoyang reported the incident to Fitz and Bellman.

After understanding the situation, the two summoned the players to their room for a meeting, reminding them that they were not allowed to move alone for the entire day the next day and could not give interviews to reporters without permission.

It's best to stay in the hotel room and not go anywhere else. When the match starts, go directly to the venue to warm up.

"Duke has the most outrageous fans in the country. They've come all the way from North Carolina, and some of them are staying at this hotel. Who knows what kind of outrageous things they might do to win?"

Berman told the players some stories about Duke fans, such as wearing a rubber hood to imitate the bald head of University of Maryland coach Leverti Dressel; throwing condoms and women's underwear onto the court when Maryland forward Herman Weir was accused of sexual assault; and setting up tents outside the arena days in advance to secure tickets for other schools.

If the two reporters who interviewed Stockton and McAfee tonight were also Duke students in disguise, and they caused the two to drink something unknown (who knows if there was any drug in the cups), affecting tomorrow's game, Duke fans will have another entry in their list of bad deeds.

Duke will remain number one on the "most hated" list for a long time among NCAA school fans across the country.

Dan Fitz added, "Bad fans will inevitably be matched with bad players. Johnny Dawkins, David Henderson, Jay Bilas, Mark Allari, Dan Miguel, and more than one school have complained about their dirty play."

Hearing Fitz say this, everyone's expressions became somewhat solemn. They had indeed all heard of Duke's infamous reputation.

Dean Smith of North Carolina and Sampson of Virginia both complained after games against Duke that Duke was a dirty team.

Their coach, Mike Krzyzewski, is also adept at putting pressure on referees, and the entire Duke team, from top to bottom, is willing to do anything to win.

"So what should we do? Should we fight back?" Stockton asked, biting his finger.

"No, I'm telling you this so you can be mentally prepared. No matter what happens tomorrow, we need to stay calm and win the game; that's the best response."

Dan Fitz and the coaching staff told the players to respond with basketball and not to be affected by the dirtiness of Duke fans off the court and Duke players on the court.

Gan Guoyang, however, disagreed. He shrugged and said, "To hell with them. We've already made it to the round of 16. Our mission is accomplished. Even if we go home now, we're still Spokane's heroes. If that's the case, why put up with their bullying on and off the court?"

"Since they might take actions against us, why don't we take the initiative and strike first before they do!"

Everyone stared blankly at Gan Guoyang, thinking that what he said made a lot of sense, but it didn't seem to fit the team's usual style. After all, they were all model students.

"Don't worry, just follow my lead. Don't feel pressured. I'll get the game into our rhythm. And John, don't pretend. You're dirtier than anyone else when you get dirty."

Everyone laughed when Gan Guoyang said that, and Stockton scratched his head, blushing a little.

Dan Fitz tried to pull Gan Guoyang aside to explain something, but Berman gestured with his eyes. After the players left the room, Berman said to Fitz, "Forget it, Fitz. Gan is right. We've made it this far, there's no need to care about anything else. Instead of worrying about Duke attacking us, let's just attack them first."

Fitz looked troubled and said, "I don't feel right about this. We've always had a very good reputation."

"That's why we couldn't make it into the national competition before."

"..."
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On the afternoon of the 23rd, the first match of the top 16 in the West Division kicked off.

Georgetown easily defeated Las Vegas University by a huge margin of 14 points, 62-48, at Poly Arena.

Georgetown held their opponents to just 36 points in their last game (while scoring 37 themselves), showcasing an exceptional defensive record that made the game ugly.

After the match, Georgetown players declined all interviews with reporters at the request of coach John Sampson.

From the start to the end of the game, this team, composed almost entirely of Black players, maintained a somber atmosphere throughout.

Throughout the entire season, they maintained their distance from the media, even harboring a dislike for reporters. Their defense against opponents was tight and ruthless, as if they wanted to tear apart every offensive attack, obsessively keeping both opponents and the ball away from their basket.

Nationally, Georgetown ranks second in opinion polls, behind only North Carolina, and is considered a favorite to win the championship.

Just yesterday, on the 22nd, North Carolina unexpectedly lost to Indiana University in the Eastern Conference Round of 16, failing to advance to the Elite Eight.

Therefore, Georgetown became the number one seed among the remaining teams, and they are one win away from Seattle. Georgetown showed no particular concern about whether their next opponent would be Gonzaga or Duke; they didn't linger at the Poly Arena and went straight back to their hotel to rest.

At 5:30, the Gonzaga bulldog, having finished dinner, changed clothes in the locker room and came to the Poly Stadium to warm up.

Fans are gradually entering the stadium, and it's easy to tell at a glance who are neutral fans, who are Duke fans, and who are Gonzaga fans.

Those dressed casually but sporting colorful outfits, scarves, sunglasses, and fashionable hairstyles are definitely local Los Angeles fans.

The group, dressed somewhat plainly and holding up bulldog cartoon figures, were undoubtedly Gonzaga fans who had traveled from afar. They were few in number but very united.

Those dressed uniformly in blue, with their faces painted blue, and who were already shouting and yelling in the audience, taking off their clothes and turning on the fans, were undoubtedly students of Duke Blue Devils.

While warming up with a shooting drill, Gan Guoyang carefully observed the Duke fan group and indeed spotted the couple from yesterday. They weren't reporters; they were Duke students.

Gan Guoyang put down the basketball, ran to the sidelines, and shouted at the two men, "Hey! You two! Are you reporters from Duke Media Group? Want to interview me for a bit?"

The two men who fled in disarray yesterday, now emboldened by the fan group, started spitting at Gan Guoyang and making obscene gestures.

Because Japanese cars entered the American market, some auto workers lost their jobs, and starting in 1982, a wave of discrimination and exclusion against Asians emerged in Detroit and other places.

A Chinese man named Vincent Chin was beaten to death by two unemployed white men who mistook him for a Japanese, but he did not receive the punishment he deserved.

Racial tensions have intensified, and friendliness towards Asians has declined. Duke students, known for their sharp tongues and arrogance, certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity to ridicule Gan Guoyang.

But Gan Guoyang remained calm and composed, engaging in a fierce debate with the group of scholars, gesturing as he spoke, seemingly afraid they wouldn't understand.

He invented some "Chinglish" trash talk, combined with San Francisco street slang, and the students didn't know how to respond.

The staff couldn't stand it anymore and came over to stop the argument, telling Gan Guoyang to go back and warm up properly.

A little while later, a large flag suddenly appeared in the stands of the Poly Stadium, fluttering in the air, with the four characters "Gan Family Restaurant" written on it.

"Cousin! We've come to cheer you on!"

Gan Guoyang looked up and saw Gan Guohui, Chen Xing, Wu Zhixiong and a large group of others. Many students from Beiqiao Middle School had come over.

"Are you here to cheer me on? Or are you here to support your family's restaurant?"

"I'd like to take this opportunity to advertise!"

"Hey, see that huge pile of blue bird droppings over there? Suppress them during the match."

"No problem, everyone we've brought today has a loud voice!"

"Duke! I'll fuck your mother!"

"Hey, hey, the competition hasn't started yet, don't be in such a hurry to shout."

"It's okay, I'll practice first."

During NCAA March Madness 2023, Duke University fans topped the poll for "Who's the Most Hated Fan," retaining their number one spot. Meanwhile, Gonzaga University led in total team fouls with 382 fouls.

—2023 WNCT Daily News, special report on college basketball.

Thanks to Bamboo Path and Grey King K for being the patrons, you guys are so foolish...

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(End of this chapter)