Chapter 981: Chapter 23 Higher and Farther Places_2
Fitzsimmons sensed that this might be his last season with the Suns. The entire team was waiting for the end of this season, hoping for new and significant changes next season.
On May 16th, the Utah Jazz Team defeated the Phoenix Suns by an 8-point margin, 108:100, on the road, successfully advancing to the Western Conference Finals to meet the Portland Trail Blazers.
Compared to the fifth game, after winning tonight’s away game, Stockton seemed rather calm.
After a simple celebration with his teammates, he jogged back to the locker room and sat in front of his locker, letting out a big sigh of relief.
At this moment, he very much wanted to call Ah Gan. He was sure Ah Gan was watching the game live on TV.
Reporters squeezed into the visitor’s locker room to interview the Jazz players. In front of the cameras, Stockton was as reserved as ever, saying some polite remarks.
Actually, he was already quite excited on the inside; they had finally made it to the Western Conference Finals and could finally compete against Ah Gan.
The mobile phone in the locker rang, Stockton interrupted the reporters, took the phone from the duffle bag, certain it was Ah Gan calling.
"This is Sonny."
"I know it’s you, the game is over."
"Congratulations, John. Tell Karl to clean his ass and wait for me."
"Hahaha... It’s not going to be that easy for you, Sonny."
"You also know I’ll win, John. I won’t go easy on you... The day after tomorrow, come to my house in Portland for dinner, bring Nada and your son."
"I’d better not go, we’re opponents, I’m afraid it will affect the game."
"It won’t affect it, the results won’t change because of one meal."
Stockton didn’t describe Gan Guoyang as arrogant; the two had known each other for many years, and Stockton knew the true strength of Ah Gan.
The entire Western Conference had no team that could challenge the Trail Blazers, just like in the mid to early 80s, when no team could challenge the Lakers, the gap in strength was a chasm.
Entering the 90s, with the league’s talent diluted by new teams, this situation became increasingly pronounced.
The Trail Blazers, using the good draft pick of Ah Gan and the European draft dividends, established absolute domination.
Looking at the age structure of the Trail Blazers’ main players, it was clear, with the starters and key substitutes, not a single player was over 30 years old.
They’re all around 27, 28, at the peak age for athletes, like Lewis and Petrović, who are still on the rise.
The Jazz is a tough and tenacious team, but there is a class difference in hard power between the two sides, which Stockton was very clear about.
After much hesitation and under his wife Nada’s persuasion, he agreed to visit Ah Gan’s house before the Western Conference Finals.
Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi warmly welcomed the Stockton family. Their friendship started in college and has lasted till today, which is not an easy thing.
Also dining with them was Bobby Berman, along with the coaching staff of the Gonzaga University basketball team — Coach Fitzgerald, Coach Delong, and others who were still teaching at the school.
Compared to the frequent movement of professional player staff, university coaches indeed have much more stable jobs, especially coaches at non-prestigious schools, as long as they do their job fairly well.
One day, when luck is on their side, they might pick a gem, have a stunning season, and with that bit of experience, can make it last a lifetime till retirement.
Since the year Gan Guoyang and Stockton led the team to win the NCAA championship and created a miracle, almost 10 years have passed. Gonzaga University has made it into the NCAA national tournament twice, with no new achievements since.
In recent years, they have always been in a mid-to-upper position in the WCC conference, playing well every season, but always falling just short of the national tournament.
Compared to when they recruited Gan Guoyang many years ago, Fitz looks a bit older, thinner, with the same wild smile on his face, loves joking around with everyone, and still has a hot temper.
After the NCAA season ended in April, Gonzaga still did not make it to the national tournament. It is said that during a halftime of a crucial game, Fitzgerald threw a pizza box into the air due to the team’s poor first-half performance.
The pizza inside flew out and landed on a certain freshman’s head, everyone wanted to laugh but didn’t dare, then the whole team fought hard in the second half and won the game.
At the dinner table, when talking about this, everyone laughed heartily. Their feelings for each other were still great, without any barriers from the change in status; they were quite pure people.
During dessert time, Gan Guoyang pulled Stockton into his secret basketball base, and the two played a little basketball together, performing paired moves like in college.
Gan Guoyang set a pick for Stockton, rolled to the basket, received Stockton’s bounce pass, cut through the inside, and dunked with ease.
Compared to college, Stockton’s passing was more refined, Gan Guoyang’s roll was more natural, and the dunk was effortless.
Apart from Gan Guoyang setting picks for Stockton, Stockton could also set picks for Gan Guoyang. On the outside, giving a little nudge, Stockton stood in front to "shield," and Gan Guoyang cut out directly for a three-pointer.
The two didn’t need much communication, only needed a simple exchange to know what to do next, how to move.
There were no defensive players on the court, but the formation was in their minds; each step was precise, as if they were really playing a match.
Stockton could distinctly feel that Gan Guoyang’s positioning precision, his smooth catch was incomparable to Karl Malone.
Malone’s routes were relatively singular, with a few specific sweet spots. He excelled at attacking from the left side of the court; most of their pick-and-rolls started from the left wing.
Gan Guoyang was very balanced left and right, could execute pick-and-rolls at any location on the court, including beyond the three-point line, and his threes were very accurate.
Malone’s finishes were basically about driving in for a dunk, a layup, and mid-range from a cut, with basically no more choices — simple and rough.
Gan Guoyang was different; his attacks were graceful, gorgeous, spontaneous, driving inside allowed for floaters, finger rolls, dunks, and hooks.
In his basketball move dictionary, the word rigidity does not exist; he is as vast as the ocean, everything done naturally with ease.
If Malone and Stockton’s pick-and-roll was a well-practiced, methodically honed formal script, then the cooperation between Gan Guoyang and Stockton was a naturally crafted, suspensefully lofty artistic masterpiece.
In college, their cooperation was still somewhat immature and mechanical. After years of tempering in the NBA, the two are masters in their respective fields.
Though they haven’t collaborated on the court, or trained in private much, the natural tacit understanding between them, like wine, became more enriched over time.
After sweating a bit, Gan Guoyang asked Stockton: "John, do you think I can still improve?"
Stockton paused, put down the ball, and said, "How else do you want to improve, increase your shooting percentage to 70%?"
Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "No, shooting percentage shouldn’t be the thing I pursue. By focusing solely on one statistic, one’s playing style becomes increasingly narrow. For instance, to improve shooting percentage, you give up on some difficult shots and give up some daring opportunities — basketball shouldn’t be like that. Honestly, I don’t know either, John, I always feel there’s something greater, farther waiting for me."
Hearing this, Stockton knew Ah Gan wasn’t showing off; he was genuinely puzzled.
Stockton understood Gan Guoyang; he was never someone who overthought things on the basketball court.
He relied on feeling, liked experimenting, used extraordinary talent, and a unique sense of the game to dominate the era.
If this guy was starting to be puzzled, then it meant he was genuinely confused, not just whining — he truly had a new thought.
Stockton sincerely said to Gan Guoyang: "Sonny, at your height, there’s no second person besides you. So no one can answer your question, that greater, farther place only you can feel. Others will never sense it, never."
