As time goes by, the team practice matches at Xiangbei High School have entered a fierce stage.
There are outstanding players in both the red and yellow teams. Rukawa Kaede's individual singles combined with the assistance of Nango Koichiro and others can be said to be unfavorable on the offensive end.
Kiyota Nobunaga showed his advantage when facing Yasuda Yasharu's defense. Under the leadership of several of their first-year main players, the red team led by Rukawa Kaede, Kiyota and others quickly established an advantage.
Although the yellow team led by Sakuragi Hanamichi and Katsumi Ichiro counterattacked with all their strength, their offensive efficiency was not as high as their opponents.
The height conditions of Sora Kurutani and Yasuda Yasharu on the back line are really poor. Even though their team played a zone defense, they were still easily broken by the red team led by Rukawa Kaede and others.
Rukawa Kaede and Kiyota Nobunaga can easily score points in the mid-range without worrying about the yellow team's defense.
After all, the only outside player with good height conditions is Katsumi Ichiro. As long as he gets past Katsumi Ichiro, the yellow team's mid-range is no different from being undefended.
Although Sora Kurutani wanted to prove his worth on the defensive end, he needed to pay attention to Tetsuji Shiozaki, who had not touched the basketball for more than ten minutes in the game.
No one attacked the half of the area he was guarding!
There were several times when Kiyota Nobunaga broke through and Kuratani Sora tried to double-team, but Kiyota Nobunaga's court vision was very broad, and such an opportunity would not be given to Kuratani Sora.
This also resulted in Sora Kurutani being completely invisible on the defensive end, and his role was similar to that of Yasuda Yasharu.
On the offensive end, Sakuragi Hanamichi, Katsumi Ichiro and Oda Ryumasa almost cover the entire team's shooting opportunities. Except for Sora Kurutani, who played for more than ten minutes after the initial fast break, no other teammates passed the ball to him.
The red team played man-to-man defensive tactics. Tetsuji Shiozaki is a rigid guy. After Sora Kurutani entered the frontcourt, Shiozaki directly focused on Sora Kurutani. If there was no one on the outside to pick and roll, Sora Kurutani could He and Shiozaki opened up, but couldn't get out of the way at all.
Although Yasuda Yasuhiro does not object to passing the ball to Kurutani Sora, that is only when Kurutani Sora is open.
The little gap he ran out was simply not enough for Yasuda to risk passing the ball.
Sora Kurutani also tried to use air cuts to create offensive opportunities for himself. During the game, he did run into several open spaces. However, Yasuda Yasuda did not think that Sora Kurutani's height could be used in the interior and mid-range. There was nothing going on, so there was no pass.
Sora Kurutani felt a little frustrated in this practice match. He felt that he had many opportunities, and he also believed that he had the ability to seize such opportunities and score the ball. However, Yasuda Yasuhiro did not trust him at all. The targets are also Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede.
This made Sora Kuratani feel annoyed and at the same time deeply powerless.
No matter how good a player is, if his teammates don't pass the ball to him, his performance on the court will be limited. Especially for players like Sora Kurutani, because he has no rebounding ability, he has very few opportunities to get the basketball.
When the red and yellow teams were having a practice match, coach Anxi had already arrived at the gym. He did not disturb the players' game, but made himself a cup of tea, sat down on a chair on the sidelines, and watched the game on the court.
Coach Anxi watched for a while, and his vision was also attracted by Kuratani Sora's figure.
I saw Sora Kurutani constantly running back and forth with his teammates, trying hard to cover the opponent's breakthrough on the defensive end.
The way Sora Kurutani fought hard reminded Coach Anzai of his past self.
"Martial arts, come on."
Out of curiosity, Coach Anzai waved to Jinguji Budo, and after Budo came to him, he asked about Kurutani Sora.
"Martial Arts, who is that child?"
Coach Anzai pointed at Kuratani Sora on the court and asked Jinguji Budo next to him.
"The first-year transfer student is in the same class as Sakuragi. His name is Kuratani Sora."
"I came to the gym directly after class and wanted to join the Shohoku High School basketball club."
"On this point, I have already agreed."
"But this kid is very ambitious. He keeps saying that he wants to be the main force and become the first choice."
"I thought I would play a practice match anyway to test the abilities of the players after returning from the holiday, so I put him on the team to see what he was capable of."
"But...so far, no further value is seen."
"My personal ball-holding ability is very good. I think he is the kind of player who can hold the ball strongly. However, his height condition is really poor. In my opinion, he can't handle the ball."
"And compared to his offensive power, defense with such a height condition is really difficult."
"For us in Xiangbei, there is no way to use such players as regular players. The training value is too low."
Jinguji Budo stood next to Coach Anxi and introduced the young man named Kuratani Sora. At the same time, Jinguji Budo also expressed his views on Kuratani Sora. Coach Anxi listened and nodded slightly. recognized.
Jinguji Martial Arts has seen too many players, and Martial Arts has also seen many players who are not strong in height but can play high-end games.
But there are really too few people like that.
Miyagi Ryota's height conditions are already very difficult in high school basketball. In this year's national competition, there were not many opportunities to play.
The height condition is not as good as Miyagi Ryota, and even the muscles on the body are far inferior to Miyagi's Kurutani Sora. The martial arts is really not promising.
Although the opponent's crossover made martial arts shine before, the opponent's jumping was also terrifyingly strong. Even until now, the opponent is still full of energy and obviously very physically fit.
But even so, Martial Arts still doesn't think Kurutani Sora has any value in cultivating him.
It's cruel to say that in the sport of basketball, height is the entry barrier!
Corresponding to Sora Kurutani, there are these talented players from Shohoku High School.
Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede, who can easily destroy the basket, need athleticism and height. Although Sakuragi has not mastered many offensive skills, over the past year or so, the offensive skills he has mastered have become able to move proficiently, and he is full of threats on the offensive end.
Coupled with Sakuragi's terrifying brute strength, he is a complete inside killer in the high school arena.
Although Rukawa Kaede's body is not as powerful as Sakuragi Hanamichi, his explosive power is also quite powerful, his jumping is also very scary, he also has good coordination, and has rich offensive methods. He is completely unstoppable when holding the ball. The red team's Scoring basically depends on him.
In addition to the two of them, Nango Koichiro has good height and good defensive awareness, and is quite intimidating at the basket.
Although Oda Ryumasa's physical fitness is a little worse, with a height of nearly 190cm, it is very easy to dunk.
Katsumi Ichiro has outstanding personal characteristics, skilled outside skills, accurate shooting, and his height condition is also quite good. On a weak high school team, Katsumi's height can completely play center.
As for Yasuda Yasuhiro, Tsunoda Satoru and others, although they are a little mediocre, on the court, they can find their own position and provide support to their teammates.
Moreover, Kurutani Sora could see that these players in Shohoku were very physically fit. Unlike his original Kuzuryu High School, these players had undergone rigorous training.
Second-year Satoru Tsunoda has experienced the era when Mitsui Hisashi and Budo were in charge of Shohoku, and his physical fitness has long been developed.
Even those first-year guys who have been able to support the Shohoku High School Basketball Club for one semester are already accustomed to the team's devilish training.
It was in Shobei that Cha Gukong truly saw what it means to be powerful.
He was in Xiangbei, so he was too inconspicuous.
The game on the court is still going on. Hanamichi Sakuragi, Kaede Rukawa and others are still active on the court. Sora Kuratani tries hard to follow the footsteps of his teammates. While running back and forth, he can't help but envy that he can "fly" in the air. "Teammates.
The envy in his eyes lasted for a while, then turned into determination.
Coach Anzai saw everything in his eyes and suddenly said to Jinguji Budo next to him:
"Kurutani Sora-kun will grow into an outstanding player in the future."
"Martial Arts, try to let him play as a defender and hold the ball and see."
Hearing what Coach Anzai said, Jinguji Budo was slightly surprised, then nodded, walked to Miyagi Ryota, and whispered a few words in the other's ear.
At this time, the yellow team was launching an attack on the court. Hanamichi Sakuragi quickly cut inside from the bottom corner. Yasuharu Yasuda on the outside wanted to pass the ball to Sakuragi who cut through the air, but his intention was too obvious and was directly beaten by Kiyota. Nobunaga stretched out his hand to interfere.
The basketball deflected directly and flew out of the court.
When the ball was stopped, Miyagi Ryota also quickly blew the whistle.
The players on the court all looked towards Miyagi, and Budao also walked to the sidelines at this moment, clapped his hands, and shouted to everyone: "Take a rest."
"Adjust the lineup."
Under the instructions of Wu Dao, the players returned to the rest area and played for more than ten minutes. Everyone was somewhat tired.
Hearing that the game was suspended, Kurutani Sora reluctantly walked off the court and stood on the sidelines, clenching his fists and looking at the field in trance.
No chance. Here, he has no chance to express himself!
Just as Kurutani Sora was thinking about this matter in his mind, Jinguji Budo suddenly came behind Kurutani Sora and patted him on the shoulder.
Turning his head, Sora Kuratani saw that it was Jinguji Martial Arts. He immediately looked solemn, straightened his back, and greeted Martial Arts with honorifics: "Captain Jinguji!"
"relax."
"After the game restarts, you, the yellow team, will be in charge of the ball."
"Yasuda, Yasuda, you come off the field and take a rest. Shimamura, you replace Yasuda."
While Jinguji Budo was talking, he replaced Yasuda Yasharu and replaced him with a second-year Shohoku player. Shimamura Yuhei, about 180cm tall, is a player of the second team and is a small forward.
After several third-year students quit the club, this kid became the focus of martial arts observation.
"Yes!" Yasuda and Shimamura responded in unison, and Shimamura also began to do warm-up activities on the sidelines.
When Sakuragi Hanamichi and others saw this arrangement, they all looked at Sora Kurutani strangely and said nothing.
Sakuragi even walked up to Kurutani Sora, patted Kurutani Sora's shoulder and encouraged him: "Don't be afraid!"
“When you get on the court, you just have to find a way to pass the ball to this talented guy.”
"I will fight back the disadvantage!"
After making the arrangements, Budo didn't pay too much attention to Kurutani Sora, and went to Rukawa Kaede and the others to make some personnel adjustments.
Tetsuji Shiozaki was substituted and replaced Miyagi Ryota as the referee, while Budo put Miyagi Ryota on the court.
To test the strength of the new team member, of course, you must match him with a strong enough opponent!
Although Kiyota could be Sora Kurutani's opponent, Budo felt that Nobunaga Kiyota's height advantage was too obvious. And Ryota Miyagi happens to be suitable for the same type of player on the other side, so let Miyagi try out the depth of the other side.
After a short break, practice continues.
The ball still belonged to Sakuragi and his yellow team. Shimamura Yuhei stood on the sideline and gave the ball to Sora Kurutani.
After receiving the basketball, Kuratani Sora couldn't contain his joy at all, with a smile on his face and a look of high energy.
When Miyagi Ryota saw the other party's expression, he also curled up his lips and smiled:
"Hey, hello, new classmate!"
"My name is Miyagi Ryota, the vice-captain of the Shohoku High School Basketball Club, and the starting point guard of Shohoku."
"You said you wanted to be the main candidate, right?"
"If you beat me, you can be the right choice!"
Today, Miyagi Ryota's height has grown to 170cm. Although he is not tall, his advantages are fully demonstrated in front of Kuratani Sora.
Moreover, compared with Miyagi Ryota's tendons, Kurutani Sora looked very thin.
Hearing Miyagi Ryota's self-introduction, Kuratani Sora was startled. He didn't expect that the short player among Shohoku in front of him was actually the vice-captain?
"Distracted, kid!"
When Kurutani Sora was in a daze, Miyagi Ryota sensed the opportunity and took action decisively, directly hitting the basketball in his opponent's hand.
However, Kuratani Sora's reaction speed was also quite good. He put his body close to Miyagi, quickly turned around and passed over, then started to speed up, quickly passed Miyagi Ryota, and headed towards the inside.
The smooth passing movements are eye-catching.
"Successful!" Kurutani Sora, who successfully cut into the middle distance, murmured in his heart without daring to go deeper. He made an emergency stop and quickly took off, raising the basketball above his head and preparing to throw.
However, at this moment, Miyagi Ryota, who had been thrown away by him a second ago, suddenly appeared beside him, jumped up and blocked Detani Sora.
Sora Kurutani has excellent athletic ability, but Ryota Miyagi is not inferior to him at all!
"Bang!!"
The basketball hit the floor and flew quickly out of the court.
Jinguji Budo on the sidelines casually caught the basketball in his hand, looked at Kurutani Sora who was in a daze, and said with a smile:
"First grade, come and serve!"
"Basketball is a long road. You must first realize your own shortcomings before you can make progress."
"Playing with talented people will make you progress faster. Of course, you must be able to hold on!"
"Sa, come and serve!"
Jinguji Budo's words brought Kuratani Sora back to reality. Looking at Jinguji Budo holding the ball on the sidelines, Kurutani Sora nodded heavily.
"Shohoku High School."
"Captain Jinguji is right!"
"Playing with these outstanding talents will definitely make me stronger!"
(End of chapter)
