The Golden Age of Basketball.

Chapter 97 Draft 1
After the meeting with the president, Gan Guoyang and his teammates will go their separate ways.

Everyone took a group photo at the White House, and the photographer gave each person a copy of the negative as a souvenir.

A Sports Illustrated reporter hoped that Gan Guoyang would visit the White House again after the election, if President Reagan were elected, to take a photo with the president as a form of publicity.

Gan Guoyang refused, saying he would only meet the president when he was a member of the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

"Don't rush, even NBA champions have to meet the president, right? If Mr. Reagan is elected, I won't keep him waiting too long," Gan Guoyang said confidently, and the reporter took notes.

As we were about to part ways with our teammates at the hotel, not knowing when we would see each other again or what our circumstances would be like when we did, we couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Gan Guoyang felt terrible. The two years he spent in Gonzaga were a precious experience in his life, but now they are just memories to cherish.

But the ever-optimistic man mustered his spirits and told everyone, "You are luckier than me. You will see me on TV often in the future, but I will hardly see you. If you are my fans, remember to write to me!"

Everyone burst into laughter, but soon fell silent, and after a short while, some people's eyes reddened.

Gan Guoyang didn't linger any longer. He didn't want to shed tears, so he took his luggage and was the first to get to the airport. He needed to get back to Indianapolis as soon as possible to participate in the training camp, and there were still warm-up games waiting for him.

He arrived safely in Bloomington that evening. After the final round of selection, the U.S. Olympic team for the Los Angeles Olympics was finalized, consisting of 12 members.
Centers: Patrick Ewing, Joe Klein, Jon Concord.

Forwards: Sam Perkins, Jeff Turner, Weyman Tisdale, Chris Mullin.

Guards: Michael Jordan, Alvin Robertson, Steve Alford, Leon Wood, Wayne Fleming.

After building the core of players like Ewing, Jordan, Mullin, and Perkins, Knight primarily focused on players with strong outside shooting, defensive mobility, wingspan, and running ability when selecting players.

Players like Malone and Barkley, despite their exceptional talent, lacked a place in Knight's system.

Dell Curry and others have good shooting skills, but Knight is not very satisfied with their defense.

Of course, there were also people with connections like Alford, whom Knight found easy to use and familiar with his tactical system, so he kept him on.

Gan Guoyang had just arrived in Bloomington and settled into his dormitory. Seeing that it was still early, he went to the gymnasium.

Training had temporarily ended, but Jordan, Mullin, and Alford remained in the arena, and the three of them were playing Horse.

As soon as Jordan saw Gan Guoyang return, he immediately got excited and said he wanted to play Horse with him.

Gan Guoyang put down his gym bag and said, "You've been itching for a beating while I've been gone, haven't you?"

"Stop talking nonsense, I'm going to win $100 from you. The loser has to buy supper tonight."

After a short warm-up, Gan Guoyang said, "I've never lost a game of Horse. Let me show you what a Horse master is all about."

On the first shot, Gan Guoyang stood at the free-throw line and took a shot with his eyes closed, and the ball went in accurately.

Jordan also tried, but he missed. Mullin also missed, but Alford made a shot with his eyes closed.

Alford's shooting is indeed excellent, and Knight's decision to keep him over Stockton makes sense.

Jordan then tried some shooting moves that he thought were difficult, but they were a piece of cake for Gan Guoyang. He had seen far too many bizarre shots.

When he unleashed the same spinning backflip hook that defeated Rick Barry, all three men were completely bewildered, unable to comprehend how Gan Guoyang had executed the move.

"Fuck, that move of yours is so ugly, Gan. You don't usually play this badly." Jordan couldn't imitate it, so he could only attack Gan Guoyang aesthetically.

"Don't worry about whether I'm ugly or not, just get the action done. I told you, you can't beat me, your imaginations are too limited."

As he spoke, Gan Guoyang stood behind the backboard and made a high-arc shot that went over the backboard, hitting the target accurately.

Unwilling to give up, Jordan pulled Gan Guoyang along, wanting to keep playing until he was satisfied.

Mullin and Alford gradually couldn't take it anymore and surrendered, watching from the sidelines. Gan Guoyang demonstrated all sorts of strange and unusual ways to play: holding a chamber pot, shooting with one foot, shooting with his back to the basket, shooting while spinning in place, shooting with his left hand, hooking with his left hand, and even slamming the ball on the floor to bounce it into the basket. He could do all of these things perfectly.

Especially his long-range shooting, which Jordan truly admired.

During the year that Gonzaga didn't play any official matches, Gan Guoyang spent a lot of time thinking about these things to pass the time.

However, Jordan was very talented, and after dozens of possessions, his shooting was actually quite good, barely keeping up with Gan Guoyang's pace. Moreover, Jordan quickly discovered a way to deal with Gan Guoyang—that is, to perform high-difficulty dunks.

Gan Guoyang's dunks are pretty good, but as a center, there are some moves that are still difficult for him to complete.

Especially when it comes to dunking from the free-throw line, Jordan could do it easily, while Gan Guoyang, limited by his jumping ability and weight, could only complete the dunk normally by stepping inside the free-throw line.

If he steps on the free-throw line, he can only barely slam the ball into the basket, his fingers barely touching the rim.

Jordan said that kind of dunk doesn't count; you need to add a letter.

Gan Guoyang was unconvinced but there was nothing he could do, since there was no rule against dunking when the game started.

Thanks to the dunking bug, Jordan finally beat Gan Guoyang twice. Including the previous wins, it was a draw, with neither a win nor a loss.

Jordan finally calmed down a bit. He knew that playing like this wouldn't last forever, and the four of them finally ended the Horse game.

From then on, Mullin and Alford never played Horse with those two again. Once it started, it would take at least two hours to finish. They could wear themselves out by themselves, you two stamina monsters. They weren't going to play.

However, there was no definitive conclusion as to who won or lost the Horse game. Both of them insisted that they had won, otherwise why would they have agreed to end it?

On June 19th, the NBA draft was held in New York.

None of the players who were supposed to attend the training camp participated; instead, they watched the draft live on television.

Before the draft, Stockton called Gan Guoyang excitedly, saying that the Portland Trail Blazers were interested in him and that the two might be able to play together in the NBA.

"Portland is interested in you? What draft pick do they have?"

"First pick in the second round."

"Shit, you won't fall that far back!"

After learning of this news, Gan Guoyang called Fleischer and asked him if the Portlanders could consider trading up to the Trail Blazers and bringing Stockton to them.

It would be great to play with Stockton in the NBA.

But Fleischer said, "The Trail Blazers don't have a better asset than the No. 2 pick. Gan, once the draft starts, everyone has their own destiny. You have yours, John has his. Letting him be selected in the second round is actually unfair to him. He deserves a better draft position and a team that values ​​him more, doesn't he?"

Gan Guoyang thought Fleischer's words made sense, and besides, the Trail Blazers might not even pick him.

That evening, the televised draft began, and Knight gathered everyone at his house to witness the players' fate and future.

In addition to Gan Guoyang and Jordan, the players participating in this training camp for the 1984 draft included Alvin Robertson, Fern Fleming, Sam Perkins, Jeff Turner, and Leon Wood.

Others like Ewing and Mullin are preparing to participate in next year's draft, to see how their predecessors embarked on their professional careers.

Before the draft began, the atmosphere in the living room was tense. Coaches such as Knight, Donoch, Dean Smith, Thompson, and Newell, along with the players, were all staring at the small television screen, waiting for Stern to come on stage and announce the results.

This was Stern's first NBA draft, but at least a third of the top draft picks didn't show up.

He quickly announced the first result: the Houston Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon of the University of Houston with the first overall pick.

As expected, Gan Guoyang breathed a sigh of relief; he certainly didn't want to go to Houston.

Hakeem Olajuwon wore a black tuxedo with a red bow tie tonight, which looked a bit odd.

Stern then went backstage to give the Trail Blazers time to make a decision.

Gan Guoyang's heart pounded. Even though he was absolutely certain that he could play in the NBA, at this moment he still felt the immense tension that enveloped him as fate reached out, making his heart surge with excitement.

A moment later, Stern walked onto the stage with a white envelope, opened it, and read: "The Portland Trail Blazers have selected Sonny Gan from Gonzaga University with the second overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft!"

The previously tense and somber living room erupted in cheers as everyone came over to hug and congratulate Gan Guoyang on being selected and becoming a member of the professional basketball community.

Bob Knight came over and shook Gan Guoyang's hand tightly, saying, "Congratulations, Gan. Go call your family. Hurry up, there are others behind you."

(End of this chapter)