"If we meet the Mountain King... it will be very dangerous!"
Jinguji Budou glanced at the magazine briefly, frowned slightly, and was full of worry about the future of Shohoku.
Although Xiangbei High School lost to Ryonan in the county competition, Budo's goal has never wavered. Entering the national competition and winning the national championship is his current goal.
To this end, all enemies standing in the way of Xiangbei need to be cleared out.
In addition to Ryonan High School, which is also from Kanagawa Prefecture, it is undoubtedly a high mountain that Xiangbei must climb on their road to progress.
From the known information about Sannoh players, Xiangbei is actually at a disadvantage. The back line and center are the top priorities of a team. Once Akagi Takenori is suppressed in the game, Xiangbei will repeat the defeat in the Ryonan game.
Sanno Industrial's inside strength is probably even better than Ryonan's. At the very least, Ryonan High School relies on Shinomiya Tano and Sendoh to launch the offense, while Sanno Industrial's team composition allows them to launch the offense from the inside. In terms of offensive power alone, Sanno will only be more difficult to deal with than Ryonan.
"Budo, why are you frowning?"
"Although these Sannoh players are very good, it's not time for you to be sad, right?"
Mitsui Shou stood beside Wudao, patted Wudao on the shoulder, and suddenly said with a smile.
"Let's not talk about whether we can meet Sanno Industrial in the national competition. Even if we do, with your ability, this Zebei Rongzhi should not be able to stop you, right?"
Mitsui is in a good mood. He is very happy that Xiangbei High School can enter the national competition this year. This year, Xiangbei has taken a big step towards the goal of dominating the country. He believes that through his own efforts and the efforts of his teammates, his goal can definitely be achieved.
"My sadness is not because of me, but because of the team."
“There are not many excellent centers in the county, but there are many excellent centers on the national stage.”
"Akagi has some potential, but if he meets opponents from all over the country, he may not be able to cope with it."
"Our Xiangbei offensive style actually relies heavily on the performance of the center. If Akagi is suppressed, it will be difficult for us to play."
Wu Dao said, closed the magazine, and returned it to Mitsui Shou. Hearing this, Mitsui Shou narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled. He was not worried about this situation at all.
"Akagi will be suppressed. This is not possible, but inevitable in future games!"
"So, Budo, you need to have a strong ability to attack the basket. Only in this way can Akagi not be crushed by a center who is stronger than him in the game!"
"Isn't Ryonan the same as us? Their Uozumi, in my opinion, is actually not as good as Akagi in terms of skills, except for being a little taller."
"But in the match between us and Ryonan, why were we so badly suppressed in the interior by them?"
"It's all because of Shigong Tianye's ability to attack the basket."
"If you have time to worry about Akagi, you might as well train well and help him share some of his attention."
After Mitsui Shou finished speaking, he stuffed the magazine into his backpack and walked to the rest area to change clothes. Wudao glanced at Mitsui Shou, rubbed his temple, and a smile appeared on his face.
Indeed, there is no point in worrying about this or that. Basketball is not a game where victory or defeat can be determined by comparing the abilities of five players.
We will only know after the game. Back then, Yao Ming was able to drag the Lakers into a game 7 alone, and Jeremy Lin was able to score 30+ in front of Kobe. Before the game started, could anyone have thought of this
Wudao put aside all distractions and took advantage of the time when Sakuragi Hanamichi was running in circles to practice mid-range jump shots. Although he was strengthening his ability to attack the basket, he still couldn't give up his mid-range shooting skills.
The mid-range pull-up jump shot is known as a superstar technique. It is both entertaining and practical. The more explosive a person's physical fitness is, the more difficult it is to solve the mid-range pull-up jump shot. Such a technique cannot be abandoned in martial arts.
After changing into his equipment, Mitsui Shou also joined the shooting training. After Sakuragi Hanamichi finished running laps, he started playing one-on-one bullfighting with Takeshi. Sakuragi Hanamichi defended very seriously. Although Takeshi was still relaxed when breaking through, it was obvious that Sakuragi's reaction and amount of exercise were terrible.
Mitsui Shou was also excited to see the prey, and took the basketball from Wudao's hand and asked Sakuragi to defend him. Facing Mitsui Shou, Sakuragi Hanamichi's defensive effect was even more prominent.
Mitsui Shou does not have the height and jumping ability of Jinguji Budou. Although his explosive power is good, his attack speed is actually not as fast as Budou.
Sakuragi Hanamichi couldn't keep up with Wu Dao's speed, but he was able to keep up with Mitsui's breakthrough in the first time, which put Mitsui's offense under considerable defensive pressure.
Fortunately, Sakuragi Hanamichi was a rookie with little basketball experience. Mitsui Shoujian could not overpower Sakuragi Hanamichi with his speed and burst, so he used simple front-body changes and fake dribbles to get past Sakuragi Hanamichi and scored a few goals.
"Damn... This guy's height and speed are not as good as Brother Wudao's, but why can't I defend him?"
After allowing Mitsui to score two goals in a row, Sakuragi Hanamichi began to doubt his life. Seeing Mitsui pick up the basketball and walk outside the three-point line after a layup, Sakuragi Hanamichi's little brain started to work quickly.
"Hey, kid, what's the meaning of that unwilling expression on your face?!"
"Isn't it normal to be beaten by Mitsui Shou? You are a newbie. If you can defend me, then all my years of playing basketball would have been in vain."
Bullying a weak opponent makes people feel good. Mitsui Shou was in a good mood at the moment. When he saw Sakuragi Hanamichi's unwilling look, he teased him with a smile.
"What a cocky guy..." Sakuragi Hanamichi murmured softly, then pointed at Mitsui Shou with his right hand and shouted: "I'm a genius! How can I not defend against a pretty boy like you?!"
"Wha...what?! Little...little white face?!"
Mitsui Shou was stunned by Sakuragi Hanamichi's address. This junior high school student was not polite at all to his high school senior. Not only did he not use honorifics, he even dared to mock him? !
"Come on, pretty boy, I will definitely be able to stop you!"
The second-year Mitsui Shou's hairstyle is similar to that in junior high school, with a 3:7 split hair style. Although he has been playing basketball for many years and his muscles are quite developed, Mitsui Shou still has quite fair skin, and a handsome face with a very youthful look. It seems that he really deserves the title of "pretty boy".
Wudao was sitting in the rest area, and when he saw Sakuragi Hanamichi calling Mitsui Shou like that, he couldn't help but laugh.
Sakuragi is the same Sakuragi he knows. In his eyes, where is the so-called senior
"Then you come and try! I'm going to teach you a lesson, kid, so you know how to respect your seniors!"
Mitsui Shou yelled, looking very angry, but he was still quite calm when playing. After the restart, he did not give Sakuragi Hanamichi any chance to resist. He simply dribbled the ball forward, stood about two yards outside the three-point line, and shot a long three-pointer.
Mitsui was almost in an open position and it was almost impossible for him to miss the shot in such a situation, and the basketball fell directly into the net.
Mitsui Shou, who won three goals, came to Sakuragi with a cocky look on his face, pointed at the basketball, and did not ask Sakuragi to do any training. He just said calmly: "Pick up the ball! Keep going!"
"I'm going to beat you until you surrender!"
Sakuragi was not at all intimidated by the somewhat arrogant Mitsui Shou. He simply ran to pick up the basketball and continued to practice with Mitsui Shou.
These two people are actually arguing with each other...
The martial arts sparring partner was snatched away, and after watching a few balls, he took a basketball and went to the other half of the court to start his own practice.
Soon after, the players of Xiangbei arrived at the gym one after another. Although the players did not know Sakuragi who was practicing alone with Mitsui Shou, they were tactful and did not disturb them. They consciously started to warm up.
The sparring between Mitsui Hisashi and Sakuragi Hanamichi came to an end only after Coach Anzai arrived at the venue.
Coach Anxi didn't seem to be curious about why Sakuragi Hanamichi was on the court, so he naturally put him in the basic training group and let Sakuragi train with the team. It was as if Sakuragi Hanamichi was a member of Xiangbei from the beginning.
As for the starting players such as martial arts, they have their own intensive training to do.
Sakuragi Hanamichi naturally joined the training of the Xiangbei basketball team. Among the Xiangbei players, only Akagi, Takeshi and Mitsui knew Sakuragi's background, while the others were clueless and just trained together foolishly.
It was not until the break that the Xiangbei players asked about Sakuragi's situation and learned that he was actually a junior high school student.
At first, some team members were unhappy when they knew that a junior high school student had sneaked into the team. However, after they realized that Sakuragi was brought in by martial arts, and that there was a high probability that this kid would come to Shohoku in the future, the unhappy feeling in their hearts soon disappeared.
Coach Anzai also knew Sakuragi Hanamichi's background. During Sakuragi's basic training, he unconsciously paid more attention to Sakuragi.
Although it is basic training, one can still see some talent in the players. Some of the things that Sakuragi Hanamichi showed during the training have already aroused the interest of Coach Anzai!
Before the national competition, Xiangbei had no match arrangements. Coach Anxi did not take the team to play games or go on expeditions like Coach Tiangang of Ryonan. Instead, he let all Xiangbei players practice in the gym.
The intensity of training is also increasing little by little. At the same time, Coach Anxi also added a lot of running exercises during the training process.
Although the players were confused by these running exercises, they knew that Coach Anxi seemed to be making some tactical attempts. They just didn't know who Coach Anxi's imaginary enemy was.
However, Wudao, who has rich basketball experience, knows that the purpose of these running exercises done by Xiangbei is to break the full-court press!
... .
Time never stops.
During the fulfilling training, the players did not feel the passage of time at all.
Mid-July.
The opening day of the national competition was finally approaching. Early in the morning, the players of Shohoku gathered at the platform in Kamakura City.
The national competition will be held in Tokyo. It takes nearly two hours to get from Kamakura City in Shonan to Tokyo by train. The competition will be held the day after tomorrow, which is three days later. However, Xiangbei will go to Tokyo early this morning to check in at the hotel and get familiar with the stadium. These tasks will take some time to complete.
Coach Anzai is the type of person who is always well prepared. By going to Tokyo early, he will have plenty of time to adjust the mentality and state of his players.
On the platform of the station, Coach Anzai, with a big belly, was wearing a white suit, a black tie, and a black round hat, dressed like "Inspector Kogure".
Mitsui Hisashi stood behind Coach Anzai, with a cylindrical sports backpack slung over his shoulder and a black briefcase in his hand. It seemed that the briefcase belonged to Coach Anzai.
Behind the two of them, the Shohoku students were wearing the red and black school uniforms of Shohoku, waiting for the arrival of the train.
"Hey, hey, hey, are you kidding me?! We are the ones who are B?"
"After all, we defeated Ryonan, a strong team! What the hell is this B?!"
"Ryonan actually has a B+? On what basis do they get that?! They are obviously on par with us, Xiangbei, so why do they get a B+?!"
"ah?!"
Miyagi Ryouta stood at the end of the team, holding a magazine in his hand, and was complaining. His voice attracted the attention of some team members, and they all turned their heads to look over.
Upon hearing this, Wu Dao walked over to Miyagi in two steps, put his arm around Miyagi's shoulders, and asked curiously, "What's B-level? Team rating? The IH special that Basketball Weekly produced?"
"Let me see, let me see!"
Before the national competition, Basketball Weekly magazine often publishes a so-called IH special issue, which records the basic information of the teams and players of all 64 teams participating in the national competition.
The editors of the weekly magazine will rate all participating teams based on each team's historical performance, current performance, and the players' lineup capabilities. Even some of the players of those participating teams will have special introductions and ratings.
All teams have team ratings, but not all players have player ratings. For any player with a rating, even if it is only a C-level, it means that the player's ability far exceeds that of other players, or that the player has very unique personal characteristics.
Because only famous players are eligible to be rated. Without fame, who would know you? !
Miyagi's shouting attracted a large number of Shohoku players. Except for the three relatively stable players, Mitsui, Akagi, and Mugure, everyone else gathered towards Miyagi after hearing the shouting. However, the best position was already occupied by the tall and strong Budo.
"Oh, it's really B-rank, hahahaha, not bad, not bad. I'm satisfied that it's not C-rank."
"By the way, who was our opponent in the first game?"
Budo glanced at the magazine in Miyagi's hand and asked with a smile.
"It's Changcheng High School. Its rating is the same as ours, also B-level."
"This year, our group is so-so. If we can beat Chang Cheng, we will face Toyoda High School. They are one of the two seeded teams in our group and have a bye in the first round. They are rated A and their strength should not be underestimated."
"If we make it to the round of 16, we will most likely face the Aiwa Academy in Aichi Prefecture, which is also rated A."
Miyagi Ryouta had done a thorough research on Shohoku's opponents, and was well aware of the opponents that Shohoku might encounter next. When faced with Wu Dao's question, he answered immediately.
"Speaking of which, Ryonan's grouping is very tragic. They are in the same group as Sanno Industrial. Even if Ryonan wins all the previous games, they will still face Sanno in the round of 16."
"Our opponent in the top 4 will most likely be Sanno Industries!"
Miyagi said this and pulled out a match list from the front of the magazine. This match list was the match list for this year's national competition, which also came with the magazine.
"Sanno and Ryonan. If it's the Ryonan team from the county tournament, they probably won't be a match for Sanno, but..."
Wu Dao didn't finish his words, but the team members around him could understand what he meant.
The bench strength of Ryonan High School is very weak, just like that of Shohoku, but Ryonan has strengthened its team. This year's Ryonan will be incredibly strong!
"It's hard to say. Even though Ryonan has become stronger, I still feel like he's still a little short of the mark when facing Sanwang."
"Speaking of which, Budo, look at this!"
Miyagi pondered for a long time after hearing this, and secretly deduced the match between Ryonan and Sanno in his mind, but there was no result, so he simply stopped thinking about it. He directly turned the magazine to the page about Xiangbei High School, pointed at the player information on it, and said to Wudao.
Two people from Xiangbei High School received the so-called player rating. Mitsui Shou was rated B. Next to Mitsui Shou's portrait, there is a six-dimensional diagram.
"Mid-range shooting 6, three-point shooting 7, defense 7, strength 7, speed 7, rebounding 3."
As Wudao watched, the smile on his face became brighter and brighter. He quickly called out to Sansui Shou: "Xiaosan, Xiaosan, take a look at your rating."
"Very, very la! Hahaha!"
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .