[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1306":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1444679,1896,"Chapter 1306 - 13: The First Shooting Guard (Part 2)","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1306",1306,"\u003Cp>Nash’s high school coach tirelessly wrote recommendation letters to American universities, praising Nash to the skies, but most schools lost interest upon seeing he was a 190 cm tall, skinny white guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until the coach of Santa Clara University in California, Dick Davey, decided to take a look at this guard’s performance and asked Nash’s high school coach to send a videotape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After watching Nash’s game and training footage, Dick Davey’s heart was pounding. He had only one thought: Absolutely no other school coach should see Nash’s performance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Dick Davey didn’t expect that he was already a step too late, as Gonzaga University, also in the WCC league, offered Steve Nash a scholarship invitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After weighing his options, Nash chose Gonzaga. Dick Davey, very unwillingly, called Nash to ask, \"Why did you choose Gonzaga? Was it because of Ah Gan?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nash replied over the phone: \"No, it’s because it’s close to home.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gonzaga University is in Washington State, through Seattle, and it’s about a 8-hour drive away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Santa Clara is in California, thousands of kilometers away from Victoria, taking four hours by plane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it was impossible to say Gan Guoyang didn’t make an effort behind the scenes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the start of the 1992 Summer Olympics, Gan Guoyang attended a \"Gan Guoyang Day\" event in Spokane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coach Fitzgerald kept pestering Gan Guoyang to recommend a good player to play at Gonzaga.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang first introduced Ma Jian, and Fitzgerald was satisfied, saying he could come to play after the Olympics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Fitzgerald immediately added that it would be better to recommend a guard, as Ma Jian alone wasn’t enough for the inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang looked around, and most of the guards from the China team weren’t willing to go to America to study and play basketball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were top players in their local teams and were not willing to leave easily or suffer in a foreign country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After much thought, Gan Guoyang calculated and advised Fitzgerald to check the mailbox for high school player recommendations, and he would help review them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, as they flipped through the letters, they found the recommendation letter from Nash’s high school coach. Gan Guoyang immediately pulled out this recommendation, saying there’s no problem recruiting this guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This guy will be the second John,\" Gan Guoyang remarked at the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fitzgerald also watched Nash’s video and agreed with Ah Gan, stating that he was definitely an overlooked excellent guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gonzaga and Santa Clara almost simultaneously extended offers to Nash, and ultimately Nash accepted Gonzaga’s invitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Northwest Pacific Coast Region, Gonzaga’s reputation and miracle stories have always inspired and influenced students there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The story of Gan Guoyang leading an unknown school to win the NCAA national championship undefeated has become a legendary aspiration for many high school students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But yearning aside, not many talented players actually wanted to go to Gonzaga to follow in Ah Gan’s footsteps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Choosing college basketball is not a child’s play; it’s about both passion and future prospects, so most players are rational.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The options Nash had were limited, as the difference between Santa Clara and Gonzaga wasn’t too big, and Gonzaga was indeed closer in Washington State.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, in 1992 Nash went to Gonzaga, becoming another outstanding white point guard at the school after John Stockton.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Gonzaga had an inside player with yellow skin from China, as if it was a replay of the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the following four seasons, Gonzaga entered the NCAA national tournament twice, with the best achievement being reaching the round of 32.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Except for the 1983-1984 season, this was the best NCAA tournament performance Gonzaga had achieved, and Nash’s contribution was indispensable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In March of 1996, senior Nash led Gonzaga to crush the University of Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament, successfully entering the second round.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although they lost in the second round, Nash’s four years at Gonzaga were successful, as he successfully entered the All-America view and was selected in the first round.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he entered the draft, people called him the second John Stockton.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But scouts and managers soon realized that calling Nash the second Stockton was wishful thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first glance, the two did seem similar, both being small white point guards with strong organizational and assist capabilities and precise shooting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, upon closer inspection, since college days, there have been significant differences between Nash and Stockton.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without discussing technical details, there were many differences. In terms of playing style, Stockton was more reserved and restrained, while Nash was more free and unrestrained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, Stockton’s defense was solid, although individual defense was limited by physical attributes and sometimes he got overpowered in games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overall, Stockton’s defense level was above the league average.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nash’s defense was unbearable to watch, and on his first day of training at Gonzaga, Fitz called Gan Guoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He complained, \"This guy’s passing and shooting are definitely fine, but his defense is fucking terrible!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nash’s poor defense was not only due to physical limitations, but also because his defensive awareness was just average; others might be half a beat slow on defense, while he was two beats slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some speedy small guards could pass him as if it were as simple as crossing the street in the morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no such thing as tenacious defense, and he wouldn’t make up with dirty play like Stockton when lacking physicality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Nash had this extraordinary quality, his mental toughness was great, with a strong sense of confidence, no matter what others said.\u003C\u002Fp>",919,"2026-06-06T01:41:52.877Z",1,"novelbin.me","6fed6bcb4af9b8a86dbaf3fa6929c7581dbdf2b59931f722ca5899bd8a652c66","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1307","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1156",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]