With Jinguji Budo's pull-up shot from beyond the three-point line, the tone for this percentage test between him and Rukawa was officially set.
From the beginning, Budo's purpose of proposing a percentage match was to give Rukawa Kaede a good blow to his arrogant temper. At the end of the semester, he was going to study abroad for a while. After he left, no one in Xiangbei High School could suppress Rukawa Kaede's rise.
It is foreseeable that when Mitsui Hisashi, Akagi and other main players return to the team and participate in team training, everyone will be surprised to find that Rukawa Kaede, who is only a third-year junior high school student, has the level to compete with these main players.
As the team gets better and better, Rukawa's talent and ability will be recognized and acknowledged by more and more people. When Rukawa finishes his junior high school career and enters high school, he will be immediately selected by Coach Anzai to be one of the starting players of the Xiangbei High School basketball team, and he is active on the court as a main scoring player.
Rukawa Kaede, who has always been smooth sailing, will continue to be smooth sailing even after entering high school. The smooth sailing will make Rukawa Kaede overestimate his own abilities. Although he is not arrogant, the pride surrounding him cannot be dispelled no matter what.
It is already October, and the next IH will start soon. Budo needs Rukawa Kaede to be a combat force that can directly integrate into the team when he joins the team, and can play without the ball and with the ball.
Instead of a ball-possession black hole who can only play with the ball, not without the ball, and occasionally passes the ball to an open space.
Wu Dao's idea was very simple. Before leaving, he left Rukawa a goal that would be enough for him to achieve for half a year, so that he would know that in the high school arena, there were indeed players who were so strong that he could not surpass them no matter what.
Withdrawing his thoughts, Jinguji Budo stood outside the three-point line and received the basketball thrown by Mitsui Shou at the baseline, preparing to start a new round of offense.
And from now on, he will never hold back!
"Rukawa Kaede, if you want to become the ball-handling ace of Shohoku High School, then do your best and strive to surpass me!"
"I hope that when I see you next year, you will be able to fight me."
While Budou Jinguji was speaking, he broke through with the ball, and when the defense was following up, he made a sudden stop and shot a long shot. As the basketball fell into the net, Rukawa Kaede had 30 minutes of hell.
Not to mention, Rukawa Kaede's strength is really good. It will take some effort for Wudao to deal with this kid.
...
As the sun sets, the red clouds in the sky have disappeared, leaving only a hint of fiery red at the horizon. The sky above the Xiangbei High School basketball stadium has been shrouded in darkness, and the moon hanging in the sky looks a little pale.
“Rip!”
The door of the Xiangbei basketball arena was opened, and Jinguji Takeshi walked out of the arena wearing a sportswear and carrying a small bag. After standing at the entrance of the arena for a few seconds, Takeshi slightly tilted his head to look back at the arena, and then walked out.
In the stadium, Akagi Takenori and Kogure Mitsunobu had already stood up from their seats, walked to Rukawa Kaede one after another, patted Rukawa Kaede's arm to comfort him, and then left the stadium together.
At this time, Rukawa was standing under the basket, looking down at the floor, breathing heavily, as if he was unaware.
101:16.
It was the first time that Rukawa had suffered such a heavy blow since he started playing basketball. When the game was over, Rukawa's mind went blank and he tried to escape from this cruel reality.
Mitsui Shou sat next to the basketball hoop, looked up at Rukawa Kaede, didn't say anything, but didn't leave either. He was waiting for Rukawa Kaede to complete his self-adjustment.
Ten minutes later, Rukawa's breathing gradually became smoother. After a heavy breath, he finally raised his head, looked towards the entrance of the stadium, and suddenly asked:
"He is only one year older than me. Why is there such a big gap between us?"
Mitsui Shou heard Rukawa Kaede's words, and his heart finally fell back. He was still able to ask such a question now, which showed that Rukawa Kaede was not desperate after being beaten. It was good that he was not desperate!
"Maybe... ..it's because of talent."
"As for the technique, to be honest, it's pretty good that you can score in front of him. The technique is pretty good."
"If I work hard on my physical fitness, improve my shooting ability, and develop one or two offensive skills that can win the game, I will be able to compete with him."
Mitsui Shou sighed and said softly. To be honest, from his perspective, he really didn't know what kind of guy could defend against someone like Jinguji Budo in a one-on-one environment.
In the basketball environment of this country, there is no player who is about two meters tall, has explosive jumping ability, and explosive speed, who can stop Jinguji Budou from pulling up or stopping and fading. Jinguji Budou's physical talent is the pinnacle of high school basketball. If his talent is not up to par, no matter how comprehensive his skills are, he cannot stop Jinguji Budou's attack.
Even when Ryonan High School's Shinomiya Tano and Jinguji Budou were fighting, they could only fight each other and could not stop Budou's attack. As for Rukawa Kaede, whose physical fitness was far inferior to Shinomiya Tano, there was no way he could win.
The winner of this competition was clear from the beginning.
"Talent..."
"Haha... talent!"
Rukawa Kaede murmured softly, and there was no trace of decadence in his eyes. Instead, there was a burning desire for victory.
Mitsui Shou could feel that Rukawa's aura had quietly changed. He originally wanted to say a few words of comfort, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.
He almost forgot that a guy like Rukawa Kaede will only become stronger the more he fights. Such a guy is not afraid of a strong opponent, but only afraid of having no opponent and no goal to pursue.
Mitsui Shou shook his head and laughed, stood up, dusted off his butt, and walked towards the locker room of the stadium. Before leaving, he shouted to Rukawa Kaede:
"Pack up and go home quickly, don't forget to turn off the lights."
Mitsui left, leaving only Rukawa in the gym. He did not pack up and go home as Mitsui said, but after resting for half an hour, he continued to train alone in the gym.
At this time, the last touch of red on the skyline has completely faded, and the night has become darker.
...
Takeshi Jinguji's study abroad plan was officially put on the agenda, and the number of times Takeshi Jinguji appeared in the Shohoku gym became less and less.
In order to prepare to study abroad, Takeshi Jinguji needed to do a lot of preliminary work. Fortunately, Takeshi Jinguji's family was well-off and his elders were very knowledgeable, so the document processing period was shortened to within one month.
However, the plan to go to Australia was ruined. There is no visa-free travel between Japan and Australia, and the document processing is very slow. Wu Dao did not intend to wait any longer and decided to go directly to the United States.
In early November, Jinguji Budo boarded a plane to the United States as an exchange student.
His destination was Oak Hill Academy, a boarding school in Virginia, USA.
Some people may be familiar with this school, while some may not, but when it comes to the players who came out of this school, I think most people will know them.
Kevin Durant, one of the creators of the Green formula, who wanted to drink Scarlett's bath water.
When he learned that the school he was going to was Oak Hill College, Wu Dao was also surprised for a long time. When he told his family about his study abroad plan, he gave several options. Although Oak Hill College was the first choice, it was only one of many options.
From the very beginning, Wu Dao actually didn't have any expectations of entering Oak Hill Academy. After all, this school is not that easy to get into. It is a legendary school in the United States and the top one in American high school basketball.
However, what Wudao did not expect was that his family only needed to use their connections to ask someone to write a letter of recommendation, and this legendary school opened its doors for him.
The reason why Jinguji Budou chose Oak Hill Academy as his first choice of school was very simple. His playing style and path were very similar to Durant. Oak Hill Academy, which was able to train a player like Durant, would definitely be able to give him a huge boost.
At the same time, as the top 1 school in the United States, here, Budo can be exposed to the highest level of competition in the country's high school basketball arena and can compete with the most talented high school students in the United States.
Only by gaining a foothold at Oak Hill Academy, he might be noticed by higher-level competitions!
...
After a shaking, the plane began to land.
The shaking of the plane as it landed woke up the sleeping Takeshi Jinguji. Taking off his eye mask, Takeshi opened the sun visor beside him and looked out the window. Charlotte International Airport came into view.
Oak Hill College is located at the mouth of Wilson River in Virginia. The entire school covers an area of more than one million square meters, including natural landscapes such as forests and lakes.
Although the school covers a large area, there are not many students in the whole school, only less than 200. This school adopts standard Western elite education, with only 8-10 people in a class, and the proportion of international students in the whole school reaches 20%.
The climate where Oak Hill College is located is not much different from that of Kamakura. Both are located near the sea and have a pleasant climate.
After the plane landed, Wudao picked up his bags in the turnover area and walked towards the exit. This time he traveled to the United States without any family members accompanying him. After all, Wudao was not a real teenager. It was just a trip abroad and it was not his first time.
And schools like Oak Hill provide airport pick-up services.
Sure enough, when Wudao dragged his bags to the airport entrance, he immediately saw a sign with the word "Tao" written on it in a crooked shape among the sparse crowd.
Looking in the direction of the sign, Wu Dao's expression revealed a hint of surprise.
The person holding the sign was a fat middle-aged man with blond hair and a red face. It was unclear whether it was because he was drunk or for some other reason.
Behind the middle-aged man were two tall young men, one of whom was about 190cm tall, and the other was probably 2m tall. They looked about the same age as Wudao, and were black.
As for their age, it is not very clear. Wu Dao is not very good at distinguishing the age of black people. Just by looking at the condition of their skin, I judge that these two people should be young people.
The crowd at the airport was sparse to begin with, and this combination immediately attracted Wu Dao's attention. Wu Dao also instantly confirmed that these three people should be the ones sent by Oak Hill College to pick him up.
"Hello, are you a teacher from Oak Hill Academy?"
Takeshi Jinguji walked over dragging a lot of bags and greeted the three people. His eyes only glanced at the middle-aged white man and then fell on the two black men behind him. They were tall and muscular, and they looked like they should be players or coaches.
When Wu Dao walked over, these three people were also staring at him.
“Wu!”
When Wu Dao approached to ask questions, the middle-aged man immediately grabbed Wu Dao's hand happily and shook it enthusiastically.
The two black men behind him also looked at each other with surprise. Perhaps in their opinion, a physique like Wu Dao's was not something a yellow man should have.
"Hi, I'm the Oak Hill Academy basketball coach, Steve Smith."
"These two are members of our school's basketball team, Stephen Jackson and Adrian Brown."
"I hope you can get along well in the future."
Steve Smith smiled and introduced the two players behind him to Takeshi Jinguji, and his words confirmed Takeshi Jinguji's guess. The two black men following Steve Smith were indeed players, and they were even his future teammates
"Hello, Wu!" After being introduced by coach Steve Smith, Stephen Jackson and Adrian Brown greeted Wu Dao one after another. Wu Dao was not surprised by the way these two addressed him, and he did not correct their idea of addressing him. This way of addressing Wu Dao sounded quite pleasant.
After a brief acquaintance, Stephen Jackson and Adrian Brown looked at Jinguji Budo without any reservation. In addition to a little surprise, they were more curious.
The two of them came with the coach to pick up the passengers at the airport today. Before they came, they heard that the person coming today was an Asian, and from what the coach said, he would come to play for the team.
At first, the two of them didn't take it seriously, and even looked down on it. After all, Asians weren't very good at playing basketball. Oak Hill Academy wasn't some rubbish school, and not just anybody could come to play basketball there.
Before meeting Wu Dao, they subconsciously thought that the person coming today should be a squinty-eyed, yellow-skinned dwarf, and might even have a rat-tail-like hairstyle.
But after seeing the real person, it was still a bit surprising. Jinguji Takeshi was tall, even burly. He was nearly two meters tall, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and he was completely handsome. Even though they were black, they had a common aesthetic sense and knew that what they imagined at the beginning was too different from the real person.
As a result, the attitude towards martial arts has quietly changed.
"Hahaha! Wu, welcome!"
"I watched your match video in Japan a few weeks ago. I was really surprised! I didn't expect that there are young people like you in Asia."
"Don't worry, even though you are an exchange student, I will treat you equally in my team. As long as you have the ability, game opportunities and playing time will not be a problem!"
"Oh, by the way, Wu, these are our team's current starting small forward and shooting guard."
"You two are in the same position, so you should get in touch with each other in the future!"
After Wu Dao walked out of the airport reception channel, Steve Smith immediately grabbed Wu Dao's hand, pointed at Stephen Jackson behind him, and said with a smile.
As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Dao and Stephen Jackson both subconsciously looked at each other. Although it was the first time they met, both of them felt a little pressure from each other.
By now, Budo had recognized who Stephen Jackson was, who was following Coach Steve Smith.
One of the protagonists in the Auburn Hills Palace brawl, who once beat up fans together with Artest and was suspended - Wu Sheng!
"This teammate is not someone you can get along with easily..."
"We have to snatch the game opportunities and playing time from this guy..."
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