Chapter 663 - 51: Dark Nation·Dark Team_3

But when he became a 35-year-old veteran, that personality trait of his became an advantage.

He wouldn’t squat over the latrine without taking a dump, stubbornly occupying the starting position without budging.

Beelman was very tactful when he talked to Thompson, saying, "You’re not giving up the starting spot to Sabonis, you’re giving it up to Ah Gan, and Ah Gan is giving the center position to Sabonis to play."

Since it was for Ah Gan, Thompson had even less to object to. He cheerfully took his seat on the bench, ready to enter the game when necessary, as Ah Gan’s first substitute.

The Lakers’ starters were Kevin Duckworth, AC Green, James Worthy, Byron Scott along with Magic Johnson.

The Lakers still had strong competitiveness, and after Jabbar’s departure, their interior line tended towards a blue-collar, functional style.

But their backcourt had become exceptionally strong under Old Nelson’s coaching.

Besides Johnson, Scott, and Cooper, these three veterans, the Lakers signed Larry Drew and the once talented guard Quentin-Daly in the summer.

Both guards had played for the Los Angeles Clippers and were small players with strong offensive capabilities.

Quentin-Daly and Gan Guoyang had quite a history because if it weren’t for Quentin-Daly, Gan Guoyang would have likely stayed in San Francisco after high school to play for the University of San Francisco.

Originally, Quentin was the talented guard of the University of San Francisco, a homegrown star, and an All-America shooting guard.

But in 1982, he was investigated by the police for raping a dorm assistant. This case unearthed the University of San Francisco basketball department’s dark history, forcing the university to suspend recruitment and games for the basketball team. Thus, Guoyang missed the opportunity to join the University of San Francisco, otherwise, he would have been the second Bill Russell of the university. (Volume 1, Chapter 43)

The scandal at the University of San Francisco also caused Coach Cap’s son, Steve Raven, to transfer to Chapman University. By 1988, he had graduated, unable to enter the professional basketball world, but with the help of his father Cap’s connections, he became an assistant coach for the Purdue University basketball team.

And because Guoyang couldn’t join San Francisco, he went to Gonzaga and became teammates with Stockton, creating a legendary NCAA story.

It could be said that if it weren’t for Quentin-Daly’s criminal act of violating the dorm assistant that night, Guoyang might have taken a different path in basketball.

Although Quentin had a troubled past, he was indeed extraordinarily talented. In 1982, he was selected by the Chicago Bulls as the seventh overall pick in the draft.

But when he joined the Bulls, ready to compete, he faced protests from women’s groups.

They held rallies outside the Chicago Stadium, calling for fans to boycott the Bulls.

Daley’s teammates believed that "Daley might make mistakes again and assault women."

However, what truly led to Daley’s fall was not women but drugs.

The cocaine continually trafficked from Central and South America, particularly Panama, made Daley one of the fallen members of the NBA.

When Michael Jordan came to the Bulls, he saw a group of people openly snorting cocaine in the locker room, Daley among them.

And all of this was ironically connected to the CIA and the US government.

Nevertheless, Daley still managed to average 16 points per game. He was a talent in scoring, an incomparable catch-and-shoot shooter, and Jordan’s number one substitute.

In the 88-89 season, he played 25 minutes per game for the Clippers, still averaging 16 points, 2.2 assists, and 1.3 steals.

The Lakers signed him; they needed talent in the backcourt. Old Nelson pushed Daley to quit drugs in the summer and helped him keep his weight under 190 pounds—his weight had once reached over 200 pounds, and he was only 6-foot-3.

Old Nelson, if nothing else, really had a knack for coaching guards.

Tonight, Gan Guoyang would face the challenge of the Lakers’ backcourt firepower.

Before the game started, Bobby Beelman reminded Ah Gan to control his fouls.

"Tonight, you’ll be on the court for a long time, watch the fouls."

Hearing Beelman say this, Guoyang knew that as 1990 began, he was about to embark on another round of grueling behind-the-scenes work for a shady team.