Chapter 47 Street Scouting(1/2)
(A reader mentioned the update issue. Because I am not a professional writer, my writing speed and writing time are limited. Moreover, even if I have a holiday, I need to spend a lot of time reading various NBA materials every day to find inspiration, so I can only keep the quality but not the quantity. Please forgive me)
Gan Guoyang never thought that he would have a hardcore fan in Los Angeles.
As the number one star of the Palo Alto Vikings, he won the big shot in Northern California and did not get a reputation that matched his strength and performance.
Because he is just a Chinese and has the lowest racial status in the American sports world.
His influence is limited to San Francisco's Chinatown and West Palo Alto - even in East Palo, he is just a "someone who plays basketball better."
If Gan Guoyang still lived in the 21st century, then the developed Internet would spread his game performance all over the world, and hundreds of millions of Chinese netizens would regard him as the hope of Chinese basketball as the successor of Yao Ming.
He will be very famous, there will be many media interviews, and there will be many people discussing his future.
But now, in 1982, personal computers just appeared, China had just reformed and opened up, and when Yao Ming was just born, he was destined to be a famous man - slightly better than an unknown man.
In this process, newspapers across California, USA can be said to have "impeccable contributions".
Since Gan Guoyang saw those nonsense newspapers in the semi-finals, similar remarks have never stopped.
Especially after the Vikings led by Gan Guoyang were defeated by Reggie Miller in the California Division II Championship finals, their ridicule and doubts about Gan Guoyang instantly reached their peak. Many small newspapers used "It's-over" to describe Gan Guoyang's basketball career.
Fortunately, some universities in the United States do not think so, and some universities still extend olive branches to Gan Guoyang.
In addition to Gan Guohui's mother, his cousin, and Qian Hui, who has a lot of social energy, he received a scholarship invitation from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles).
Before June 21, Gan Guoyang will go to UCLA with his cousin to go through the admission procedures. On the 21st, Qian Hui will appear in court to defend John Hinckley, the murderer of the Reagan assassination.
Therefore, except for occasionally meeting some children asking him for autographs in San Francisco and Palo Alto, Gan Guoyang is basically the same as an ordinary person.
The only thing that is unique is his height.
But he didn't know that the girl walking beside him at this time was his hardcore fan.
Wang Fuxi, a girl with mixed Chinese and American race.
She would get up very early every day, prepare breakfast at home, and then open the doors and windows of the electrical appliance store to open the doors and business.
After coming to the United States with her parents from Taiwan at the age of 10, because her mother was very busy at work and her father was not in very good health, she began to learn to take care of herself and even her father.
Only after everything was arranged was made, she would ride her bike to Inglewood High School alone.
Their storefront is located in the outer area of Inglewood, which is less black and safer than the central area.
However, Wang Fuxi is sometimes a little scared, afraid of the black people he meets on the road, and afraid of the hip-hop people who are exploding their heads carrying tape recorders or holding basketballs.
This is why when she ran out of the store in shorts that day, his father was so angry that she asked her to go back quickly. Such a beautiful figure would not be a good thing if she was coveted by the bad boy.
His parents wanted to transfer to Fuxi many times and send her to a better and safer high school in the area, but they were repeatedly delayed due to green card issues.
However, Wang Fuxi spent six years studying in Inglewood, but never encountered any unexpected events.
But the reason why she had to dress like that day she ran out of the store and "unreasonable" towards Gan Guoyang was because she had seen Gan Guoyang in the store, and she had known Gan Guoyang for a long time.
In the six years since he arrived in the United States, his height rose from 5 feet to 6 feet, and his speed was so fast that even Wang Fuxi himself was surprised.
The growing lines on her legs proved how fast she grew.
The growing height has caused her a lot of trouble, such as many favorite clothes that she likes will be difficult to wear after a month; but it also brought her a lot of fun, such as she fell in love with basketball.
In the United States, a basketball country, it is not uncommon for girls to play basketball. In fact, many girls have terrible basketball skills, such as Reggie Miller's sister, who abuses his younger brother on the court all year round.
So after Wang Fuxi came to the United States, he naturally fell in love with basketball, and because of his height, he was selected for the women's basketball team at Inglewood High School.
However, not every Chinese has special "talent" like Gan Guoyang. Although Wang Fuxi works hard, she is just an ordinary player in the team.
In comparison, his beauty and figure often make her the focus of the field. Among a group of black pearls, his white diamond looks particularly dazzling.
Some people even say that the reason why the team coach left Wang Fuxi on the team was because she liked to see her wearing shorts and her trembling figure while running...
Wang Fuxi didn't think much about it. She played in the basketball team purely out of her love for basketball, and her bold and generous personality was very compatible with a group of black girls.
Like most Los Angeles people, Wang Fuxi is naturally a fan of the Lakers and also regards Magic Johnson as his idol - knowing that she met Gan Guoyang.
To be precise, it should be that I learned in the newspaper that there was a Chinese player who was unstoppable in the California High School League.
Although the newspaper reported the game in Gan Guoyang with a sarcastic tone, Wang Fuxi, who is also half a Chinese, knew that a mixed-race Chinese and American genius like her had often been discriminated against on the court, let alone a Chinese like Gan Guoyang.
When she saw photos of Gan Guoyang in the newspaper, she became a die-hard fan of Gan Guoyang, collecting data and various reports on all previous games of Gan Guoyang. This is not easy without the Internet.
She also went to the scene to watch the Northern California finals and the Los Angeles finals.
When Gan Guoyang made the layup in the Northern California final and defeated Sacramento High School, Wang Fuxi and everyone in the stands flocked to the court, just wanting to touch his idol.
Similarly, when the Vikings were defeated by Reggie Miller, Gan Guoyang watched his opponent throw the fatal blow on his head, Wang Fuxi stood alone in the stands, looking at Gan Guoyang with a desolate look in the crowd, shed tears of sadness.
After the game, Wang Fuxi returned home and felt sad the more she thought about it. She had never been so sad even if she lost in Inglewood High School.
Sometimes she herself thought that what she was really sad might be that she would never see the domineering "lamb" on the basketball court again - the nickname that Wang Fuxi gave Gan Guoyang in her heart.
But she didn't expect that one day, in front of the window of her store, she would see the tall figure again, her handsome and upright face and a hint of gloomy eyes.
She thought it was her own illusion, but she stared at him for more than ten seconds before she realized that the person who was staying at the door of the store was Gan Guoyang.
So, there was a conversation that Gan Guoyang was always puzzled.
Today, I went to school accurately early in the morning, but I didn’t expect that as soon as I opened the door, I saw that familiar figure and familiar face.
However, his eyes seemed to be no longer gloomy, but he had regained his past resilience, which made Wang Fuxi dare not look into the other person's eyes when he spoke.
Now, Wang Fuxi was sitting on the bicycle and slowly riding on the way to school, following Gan Guoyang, who was like a bodyguard, which made her heart beat a little and a little confused.
"Are you still in high school?" Gan Guoyang asked a very boring question.
"Well, this year it's eleventh grade, and it's about to graduate and go to college." Wang Fuxi replied.
"Oh, then I can go to college in Los Angeles from now on. I think I should study in Los Angeles too."
The chat content chosen by Gan Guoyang is so boring that he can only blame him for having too little experience in dating girls in this life and in the future. He lets him talk so much about it on weekdays, but he will still catch a blind eye when he meets girls.
But when he said this, Wang Fuxi's heart beat faster.
"What does he mean by saying these words? Could it be..." Wang Fuxi thought in his heart, not knowing how to respond to Gan Guoyang.
Women's minds are different from men's.
Seeing that Wang Fuxi didn't say anything and didn't care, Gan Guoyang started to talk to her about music.
This chat didn't matter, which scared Wang Fuxi. She didn't expect that her basketball idol in front of her had such a wide range of music knowledge. No wonder she was willing to spend 200 yuan to buy a walkman. This is not a small amount.
In fact, Gan Guoyang had a purely slight understanding of pop music, which can be seen from the fact that he didn't even know Michael Jackson.
But he was attracted by the Internet era and knew everything, his knowledge was wide but not deep, and he was complicated but not exquisite. He often made people who didn't know how to behave, for example, he often fooled Gan Guohui.
Fuxi in front of her is still very knowledgeable about music. In addition to playing basketball, her best position is playing the piano.
Gan Guoyang took advantage of the future, taking some future knowledge and music trends, making Wang Fuxi's eyes shine, full of admiration.
In this way, the two walked through the streets and alleys of Inglewood and slowly arrived at Inglewood High School.
"You go to school. After school in the afternoon, wait for me at the door." Gan Guoyang said to Wang Fuxi at the entrance of the school.
But as soon as he said that, he felt something was wrong, and he said it as if he was Wang Fuxi's boyfriend.
Wang Fuxi obviously heard a sense of ambiguousness in her words, but she didn't know what to say, so she just nodded and pushed the car into the school.
"What a girl who loves to blush~" Gan Guoyang thought to himself as he looked at Wang Fuxi's back and a touch of redness on his ears.
Next, Gan Guoyang began to wander around the streets and alleys of Inglewood without any effort.
Looking at the big and small shops next to Inglewood Street, there are coffee shops, restaurants, clothing shops, and fruit shops, Gan Guoyang suddenly felt that maybe this place is not as terrible as rumored.
After all, this is also Los Angeles, and people here also have to work and live. Most of them are actually ordinary citizens and live an ordinary life.
Gan Guoyang has a very good memory, otherwise he would not have been sent to be a data recorder by Bellman often - although partly because Gan Guoyang trains with others, other players will not be able to play.
So, he quickly recognized the street he walked past last night and the place leading to that court.
Unexpectedly, before he arrived at the stadium, he heard all kinds of noisy sounds again. Musical sounds, cheers, accompanied by the unique rap English of blacks, appeared faintly in Gan Guoyang's ears.
"The residents living here are really suffering. Did they start making trouble in broad daylight?" Gan Guoyang sympathized with the residents nearby and walked towards the stadium again.
However, the Inglewood stadium is not always like this, with gongs and drums and firecrackers.
The reason why there were a large number of people last night was because the "trash can" and "Blackthorn" competed for the right to use the venue next month.
And today a special person came to Inglewood, which was one of the reasons why the stadium battle was so fierce yesterday.
Because, a scout came to the street court in Inglewood.
For players who have been lying on the street for many years, scouts are the angels in their hearts.
In the United States, the development of street basketball is also good and bad. Not every city has a regular streetball league, which makes many outstanding players unable to make a name for themselves.
While the traditional strong streetball districts in the United States are mostly in the east, in Rock, in New York, Baker, in Philadelphia, and in the City League in Washington.
In comparison, Los Angeles’ streetball is not as developed as other entertainment industries. Although they have the Lakers, the NBA giant, the colorful entertainment capital is not a hot spot for streetball.
Of course there are many excellent players here.
Now, at this court in Inglewood, a scout came here, like an angel coming, bringing good news to these streetballers struggling on the brink of poverty and crime.
"Oh, fuck, what kind of basketball are they playing? Will they defend?" On the side of the court, among the black people, a white man wearing brown overalls, a white shirt and a brown suit, was staring at a confrontation game on the court, while muttering constantly.
"This is the fucking level of streetball in Los Angeles? It's really incomparable to the Lakers' status in the NBA. I fucked from North Carolina just to watch these fish perform circuses here?"
To be continued...