"This is the future of our Xiangbei!"
When Jinguji Budo said this, the hesitation on Akagi Takenori's face disappeared immediately. Today, Akagi Takenori is no longer the naive boy who only shouted the slogan "Dominate the country". After entering high school, Akagi has truly seen what a strong national team is.
He knew very well what kind of efforts Xiangbei needed to make if it wanted to dominate the country. Cultivating reserve players is very important for a team.
Akagi could imagine that if Shohoku didn't have the two freshmen Jinguji Budo and Miyagi Ryouta joining them this year, they would have been in a tough match against Shoyo. It would have been a question whether they could break through the top eight and advance to the semifinals.
Akagi has already begun to look at the whole country. He doesn't know what kind of opponents there are on the national stage, and he doesn't know whether Xiangbei can make it in the national competition. It is very important for Xiangbei to cultivate potential junior high school students in advance.
"In that case, I agree!" Akagi Takenori nodded and agreed to Wudao's request.
At this time, Sakuragi Hanamichi was still confused and his head was still a little painful. Just now when Takeshi was talking to Akagi, his attention was all on Akagi Haruko, and he didn't listen to the conversation between Takeshi and Akagi at all.
Seeing the confused look on Sakuragi Hanamichi's face, Jinguji Takeshi patted Sakuragi Hanamichi's shoulder and said, "Hanamichi, although your slam dunk just now didn't score, your talent has been fully demonstrated."
"You are undoubtedly a genius!"
"I think you have the potential to be an excellent basketball player, so I decided to spend time training you."
"From now on, if you don't have anything important to do from Monday to Friday, you can train with me."
"On Saturday and Sunday, I will train with Akagi."
Takeshi Jinguji was talking to Hanamichi Sakuragi about the future training arrangements, and at the same time he flattered Hanamichi Sakuragi subtly. When Hanamichi Sakuragi first heard that he would have to train from Monday to Friday, he subconsciously showed a look of resistance on his face.
Training? Training for such a long time? Sakuragi Hanamichi felt that he had no free time, so he showed great resistance on his face. When he heard that he had to train with Akagi on Saturdays and Sundays, his brows were already furrowed.
Akagi Takenori's first impression of Sakuragi Hanamichi was not good, and Sakuragi Hanamichi's first impression of Akagi was also not good. For martial arts, Sakuragi had some "repayment" in it, but for Akagi, there was no such emotion.
Wudao saw the rejection on Sakuragi Hanamichi's face.
Gently holding Sakuragi Hanamichi's shoulders, Takeshi led Sakuragi back a little and whispered in Sakuragi Hanamichi's ear: "Hanamichi, Haruko and Akagi Takenori are siblings. They live with their parents."
"You can train with Akagi Takenori on Saturday and Sunday, and then you can see Akagi Haruko!"
Jinguji Takeshi's words made Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes brighter. He originally looked reluctant, but now he nodded frantically at Takeshi, looking like he couldn't wait.
Seeing Hanamichi's expression, Jinguji Takeshi smiled slightly, feeling that everything was under control.
"Brother, can I also train with Brother Akagi from Monday to Friday?!" Sakuragi Hanamichi glanced at Akagi Haruko and asked in a low voice. Sakuragi's words made Jinguji Takeshi's smile freeze on his face.
"... ... ... "
"I even changed the way I address Akagi... This bastard, didn't he think that I asked him to play basketball with Akagi just to pick up girls?!"
Jinguji Takeshi cursed in his heart. After a brief silence, a gentle smile appeared on his face again, and he whispered in Sakuragi Hanamichi's ear:
"Hanamichi, I understand what you're thinking."
"Haruko is a very good girl. I can understand why you fell in love with her at first sight."
"But, Hanamichi. Haruko really likes people who are good at basketball. Although Akagi Takenori is quite capable, it's more than enough for him to teach you, but if I teach you, you will improve even more."
"Think about it, every week when you meet Haruko, she sees your progress. Will she have some admiration for you?"
"If you see each other every day, your growth will easily be overlooked."
Wu Dao said some nonsense that he himself did not believe, and deceived Sakuragi Hanamichi. Fortunately, Sakuragi Hanamichi was a simple kid, and he actually thought that what Wu Dao said was right.
"I see! Big Brother, in order to get Qing... to become an athlete, I am willing to train."
Even though Sakuragi Hanamichi was a little out of his mind, he was not completely stupid after all. He managed to conceal his innermost thoughts to some extent and said something more plausible.
After Wudao, Akagi, and Sakuragi Hanamichi reached a simple consensus, Wudao started today's training with Sakuragi Hanamichi. Since it was Sakuragi Hanamichi's first time to play basketball, Wudao planned to simply explain the rules of basketball to Sakuragi Hanamichi. Akagi Takenori and Akagi Haruko had nothing to do and were tired from their morning run, so they simply sat in the park to rest and watched Wudao's lecture.
However, when Wudao was explaining the rules to Sakuragi Hanamichi, he clearly noticed that this bastard Sakuragi Hanamichi looked absent-minded. He used his unskilled peeping skills to peek at Akagi Haruko and was not focusing on learning the rules of basketball at all.
Realizing this, Wudao simply stopped, walked to the sidelines, whispered a few words to Haruko and Akagi, and then asked Haruko to explain the rules of basketball to Sakuragi.
Haruko Akagi was also a member of the women's basketball team before, and under the influence of Takenori Akagi, she also loves basketball very much. It was really easy for her to simply explain some basketball rules to Hanamichi Sakuragi.
"This bastard... has come to Shohoku, I can't kill him!" Jinguji Takenori sat next to Akagi Takenori, looking at Sakuragi Hanamichi who was extremely serious in the "Haruko Class", and couldn't help but curse in his heart.
There is a huge difference between the teaching effect of Akagi Haruko and Jinguji Budou. Budou said a lot before, but Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't listen to a word! When Haruko taught Sakuragi Hanamichi, this kid could draw inferences from one example and became smart all of a sudden. This change really made Budou angry.
However, seeing the effect of Haruko's teaching, Budou also thought about how to train Sakuragi Hanamichi in the future. Teach Sakuragi Hanamichi the basics of basketball? Forget it. At this stage, Sakuragi Hanamichi plays basketball just to please Haruko. If Budou teaches boring basic training, it will be meaningless with twice the effort and half the result.
For things like this, it’s better to let Takenori Akagi teach on Saturdays and Sundays. With Haruko Akagi watching over it, the effect... hehehe.
"Akagi, all the basic training of Sakuragi Hanamichi about basketball is now in your hands."
"But after that, we at Xiangbei will have to prepare for the semi-finals. After the semi-finals, there will be the national tournament."
"Sakuragi Hanamichi's training cannot be neglected. At his age, it is the most critical time for him to improve his skills."
"I think you won't be free during the preparation period, so let Haruko teach Sakuragi Hanamichi basic training."
Jinguji Budou was thinking about Sakuragi Hanamichi's training, and casually talked to Akagi Takenori beside him, not noticing that Akagi's face had turned quite dark. By the time Budou realized this, Akagi was already at the critical point of exploding.
"Um... I mean..." Wudao noticed Akagi's expression and wanted to make amends, but he heard Akagi growl:
"Don't worry, I will do it myself! With him! Myself!" Akagi Takenori emphasized the word "myself", which made Wudou secretly worry for Sakuragi.
After teaching Sakuragi Hanamichi some basic basketball knowledge, at Takeshi's "request", Akagi Haruko began to teach Sakuragi Hanamichi how to dribble.
As for why Haruko was asked to teach? Isn't that obvious?! The effect is good!
Sakuragi Hanamichi is a genius, but dribbling requires a lot of practice. Even though Sakuragi Hanamichi studied very hard, he was still not very skilled at dribbling, with many mistakes in his posture and movements.
When Haruko Akagi watched Sakuragi Hanamichi dribbling the ball, she felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't tell what exactly Sakuragi Hanamichi needed to correct. For a while, the teaching progress slowed down.
At this time, Jinguji Budo finally slapped his thigh and stood up. He knew it was time for him to make his debut.
"Sakuragi, don't dribble the ball, that's wrong."
"When you dribble, your arms should follow the basketball's rise and fall, rather than waiting for the ball to come up and then slap it down."
"Pay attention, your arms should rise and fall with the basketball. This is dribbling."
"You are a beginner, so it is normal that your ball sense is poor. If you want to improve your dribbling, it is also very important to practice your ball sense."
Jinguji Takeshi walked up to Sakuragi Hanamichi and Akagi Haruko, snatched the basketball from Sakuragi's hand, and began to show Sakuragi Hanamichi how to dribble. Hanamichi was a little annoyed that his "alone time" with Haruko was interrupted, but when he saw that it was Jinguji Takeshi, Sakuragi Hanamichi's anger was instantly suppressed.
This is the benefactor who enabled him to meet Haruko!
In Sakuragi's mind, the favor that Budo showed him in introducing Haruko was as great as the favor that indirectly helped him save his father.
Sakuragi Hanamichi suppressed his anger and was soon attracted by Takeshi's dribbling. He keenly noticed that his "dribbling" just now was very different from Takeshi's dribbling. Even the dribbling when Haruko taught him before was not like Takeshi's current dribbling.
How to say it, Wu Dao's dribbling not only seems to be more handsome, but also has a wonderful sense of rhythm, which firmly captures Sakuragi Hanamichi's attention.
"Sakuragi, this is how you dribble normally in place."
“But for beginners, it’s best to dribble in the low post to improve your sense of rhythm.”
"Look, this is called a ball protector, protecting the basketball from being stolen."
As he spoke, Wudao bent his knees, raised his hand to protect the ball, and accelerated his dribbling rhythm. Looking at Sakuragi Hanamichi's serious expression, Wudao smiled and began to change his dribbling method.
"Look, Hanamichi, this is a low finger dribble."
"Look, Hanamichi, this is a low finger dribble loop leg."
"Look, Hanamichi, this is a cross-legged dribble!"
“Look, Hanamichi, this is a back dribble!
!
”
"look... ... "
Jinguji Budou didn't know why, maybe because of Sakuragi Hanamichi's "serious" expression, he became more and more excited as he demonstrated, and his voice became louder. In just a few minutes, he showed Sakuragi Hanamichi all kinds of fancy dribbling methods.
Standing next to Sakuragi Hanamichi, Akagi Haruko watched Jinguji Budo's various dribbling moves and couldn't help but exclaimed, "Great, awesome!"
It was this compliment that made Sakuragi Hanamichi's body tremble, and his eyes changed from serious to passionate and expectant.
"Brother! I want to learn this!"
Hearing Sakuragi Hanamichi's urgent voice, Jinguji Takeshi knew that his goal had been achieved.
"Hehe, everything is under control!" Wudao smiled slightly and said secretly in his heart.
...
Before I knew it, it was almost noon.
Takenori Akagi and Haruko Akagi went home for lunch. Before they left, they determined the time and place for training. After that, Takenori Akagi and Hanamichi Sakuragi had lunch in a nearby store, and then they returned to the park.
The training in the morning was very effective. Ever since Takeshi showed Sakuragi Hanamichi various dribbling techniques, which drew Haruko's admiration, Sakuragi's passion for basketball has temporarily become quite strong.
After lunch, Hanamichi Sakuragi took a break for more than an hour and began his dribbling practice. Although it was a basic movement, Hanamichi Sakuragi did not find it boring at all. On the contrary, he was full of freshness and interest in dribbling.
Wudao looked at Hanamichi who was dribbling the ball, corrected his posture, and then lay down on the grass next to him to rest.
I don’t know how long it took, but when Wudao woke up, Sakuragi Hanamichi was still tirelessly practicing dribbling on the court, and the sun was already overhead.
Seeing Sakuragi Hanamichi's clothes soaked with sweat, Wudao was a little surprised. Just as he was about to let Hanamichi take a rest, he noticed that Akagi Haruko was leaning against the basketball stand in the shadow, watching Sakuragi Hanamichi training, a little absent-minded. At Akagi Haruko's feet, there were 4 bottles of mineral water, two of which were empty.
The boy in the center of the court was sweating, and the girl next to the basketball hoop was staring at the boy training.
The summer wind blowing on this pair of young boys and girls must be hot.
Jinguji Takeshi watched this scene quietly, and for some reason, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Hanamichi, I'm going back first. See you after school tomorrow!"
After watching for a long time, Wudao shouted to Sakuragi Hanamichi and left the court.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was practicing on the court, looked up at Wudao, then turned around to look at Haruko on the sidelines, with a "happy" smile on his face, and continued his training.
At this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi felt very "happy". He had been rejected almost thirty times, but this was the first time that Sakuragi Hanamichi felt so "happy".
Innocent boys are so easily satisfied. Even if Haruko just stood by the court and watched him train, Sakuragi Hanamichi was already very satisfied.
...
The moon is bright and the stars are sparse.
Sakuragi Hanamichi lay on the tatami in the bedroom, unable to fall asleep for a long time. His mind was full of the figure of Akagi Haruko, and the sound of the basketball hitting the ground kept ringing in his ears.
The sound seemed to merge with the rhythm of his heartbeat, "thump, thump."
"Haruko..."
“I must become a basketball player!”
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