After a number of third-year players including Mitsui Hisashi and Akagi Takenori announced their resignation, with the support of Coach Anzai, Jinguji Takeshi was successfully appointed as the new captain of Shohoku High School.
At the same time, Miyagi Ryouta, who was in the same sophomore year as Budo, was also appointed as the vice-captain. However, Miyagi Ryouta, Sakuragi, and Rukawa Kaede were attending the youth training camp and were not at the stadium.
Therefore, he has not taken up the position for the time being. Today's training of Shohoku will be fully led by Jinguji Budo.
Today is the first training session after the reorganization of Xiangbei High School. The third-year players have announced their retirement, and several first- and second-year players have also gone to participate in the youth training camp. Therefore, the number of players in the entire Xiangbei team is much smaller today.
At the side of the stadium, Mitsui Hisashi and Akagi Takenori, who were wearing casual clothes, sat on the bench and watched the Xiangbei players train. Coach Anzai also sat with the retired players, holding a cup of tea in one hand, and quietly watched the players train.
“Time flies by so fast!”
"In the blink of an eye, our summer is about to end!"
Akagi Takenori looked at the sweaty Xiangbei players in the atmosphere, folded his hands in front of his chest, and couldn't help but sigh softly. It felt strange to sit on the sidelines and watch the younger students train. After Akagi Takenori's identity changed, when he watched the players train, he didn't know why, his body always had a subtle urge to play basketball.
He still hasn't completely transformed his identity.
Akagi's words resonated with Mitsui Hisashi, Kogure Konobu and others. Although it was part of the plan, when they really announced their retirement, they still felt a little reluctant.
"Everyone grows up. We can't stay in high school forever."
"I'll leave Xiangbei High School to Budou and the others. We have our own path to take."
Mitsui Shou sat on the sidelines and watched the players' training for a while, then picked up his bag and prepared to leave. Akagi, Mugure and others saw Mitsui Shou preparing to leave, and they all looked at Mitsui Shou strangely.
"Are you leaving so soon?!"
"Won't you watch it for a while?!"
"No matter what, you were once the captain of Xiangbei High School. Don't you want to see whether Wudao is qualified to be the captain?"
"If there is something he doesn't know, he can ask for advice from the side."
When Kogure Konobu saw Mitsui Hisashi preparing to leave, he immediately called out to stop him.
However, Mitsui Hisashi had no intention of stopping because of Kogure Konobu. He turned his head slightly, glanced at the court with his peripheral vision, and then replied to Kogure Konobu:
"That's not necessary. He's no rookie in martial arts."
"I feel relieved to leave Xiangbei High School in his hands."
"Besides, isn't Coach Anxi here?!"
"I have other things to do. I will be going to the United States soon, and I have a lot of preparations to make."
"When the time comes, you will come and see me off, right?"
Mitsui Hisashi said with a smile to Akagi Takenori, Kogure Mitsunobu and others. Although Mitsui Hisashi was smiling at this time, his smile was really too bitter.
"Yeah, it will come!"
"When you go to America, can you write to us?"
"After we separate this time, it will probably be very difficult to see each other again!"
Kogure Konobu showed a gentle smile on his face, stood up, walked in front of Mitsui Hisashi, and spoke to him.
"Yes, of course."
"We will have a chance to meet, just watch TV!"
Mitsui Shou said with a smile, his tone full of confidence in himself.
Upon hearing this, Akagi Takenori did not mock Mitsui Hisashi. He and Mitsui Hisashi had been arguing for more than two years, and it was time to part. Akagi was full of thoughts at the moment.
Seeing Mitsui's state, Akagi Takenori couldn't help but kindly remind him: "It's different over there than here, Mitsui, you have to take care of yourself."
"Don't be too proud. You may be ace here, but when you get there, you still have to be humble."
Akagi Takenori, who has a steady personality, said this earnestly. If the former Mitsui Shou heard similar words, he would definitely refute Akagi and say something like "Can you teach me?!"
But today, after hearing these words, Mitsui Shou nodded and responded, "I will."
"Goodbye, I'll come to the gym before I leave."
As he spoke, Mitsui Shou walked up to Coach Anzai, bowed deeply to him, and said, "Coach Anzai... Thank you for taking care of me over the years."
"I'll take my leave first."
Coach Anzai looked at Mitsui Shou in front of him, and a gentle smile appeared on his old face. He slowly stood up, patted Mitsui Shou's arm, and said with a smile: "Well, keep working hard in the future, Mitsui."
"I'm looking forward to seeing you on TV!"
"Of course, it doesn't matter if you can't do it. When playing basketball, the most important thing is to have fun."
"Also, Mitsui, you must not neglect the training of basic skills. This is the foundation, the basis of everything!"
"If you are unfamiliar with the place, communicate more with your teammates. European and American players are extroverted and don't need to be tolerant and humble when encountering problems. On the basketball court, strength is everything."
Coach Anzai was originally a taciturn person, but when he saw the tall Mitsui Shou standing in front of him, he couldn't help but become talkative.
Coach Anzai vaguely remembers that when he first met Mitsui Hisashi, his impression of him was just a young man with a beautiful shooting posture, nothing more.
When Mitsui Shou first joined Xiangbei, his height was only a little over 170cm, but now, his height has exceeded 190cm.
Coach Anzai originally wanted to pat Mitsui's shoulder, but he found that he had grown a lot taller.
Obviously, he had watched Mitsui grow up over the years, but it was not until now that Coach Anzai realized that Mitsui had grown so tall.
The feeling of a child growing up is really amazing.
"Well, I'll keep that in mind."
"Goodbye, Coach Anxi."
Mitsui nodded, said goodbye to Coach Anzai again, and walked towards the entrance of the stadium.
On the court, Jinguji Takeshi, who was arranging his players for a two-on-one attack, also noticed that Mitsui Hisashi seemed to be preparing to leave.
He raised his eyes and looked towards Mitsui Shou.
Noticing Wudao's gaze, Mitsui Shou had no intention of disturbing Wudao. He smiled and waved at Wudao, then left the gym.
Shortly after Mitsui Hisashi left, Akagi Takenori, Kogure Konobu and others also sat for a short while and then left the stadium.
Just as Mitsui Shou said, they can't stay high school students forever, they have to look forward.
Both Kogure Mitsunobu and Chiba Oishi plan to take the college entrance examination route. The pressure of entering higher education is actually very heavy. Starting this summer vacation, they need to start preparing for the entrance examination seriously.
Even Murasakibara and Chiba signed up for so-called tutoring classes and sprint classes outside of school.
As for Akagi, he has a pretty good brain. Although he is a player on the basketball team, Akagi Takenori's academic performance is also very good. Whether he chooses the physical or literary recruitment route, Akagi is not afraid of anything.
He is considered a third-year student with less pressure.
The departure of the third-year players did not attract much attention. Most of the first- and second-year high school players in the gym had not yet realized that it would be difficult for them to play and train with Mitsui Hisashi and others in the future.
Compared to the third-year players, the first- and second-year players are still very immature.
...
It was August.
The midsummer sun tore through the earth's coat, and many of the green plants and vegetation on the Xiangbei campus were killed by the scorching sun.
In the afternoon, the Xiangbei stadium was like a steamer. Even though all the windows and air vents in the stadium were opened, the environment inside the stadium was still quite "stuffy".
"Squeak... squeak..."
The sound of sneakers rubbing against the floor kept coming from the gym. On such a hot summer day, the players of Xiangbei High School were still carrying out arduous training.
The retirement of the third-year players did not cause any fluctuations in the performance of the Xiangbei players.
On the contrary, because of the departure of the third-year players, the first- and second-year players of Xiangbei have become more diligent in their training.
What does it mean when senior players retire? ! It means a starting spot is vacant!
This is an opportunity for those first and second year players who have almost no chance to play!
An internal team practice match is taking place in the Xiangbei gym.
The team wearing yellow training uniforms is led by Kiyota Nobunaga. In addition to him, there are first-year Oda Ryumasa, second-year Kakuda Satoru, second-year Shiozaki Tetsushi and first-year Ishii Kentaro.
As for their opponents, it is a team led by Koichirō Nango and Ichiro Katsume. The team's point guard is the sophomore Yasuharu Yasuda, and the players in other positions are all sophomore players of Shohoku.
Among the second-year players of Shohoku, the only truly outstanding ones are Jinguji Budou and Miyagi Ryouta.
The rest of the players are not good enough to be called the “national champions.” These first-year players are very talented, but they are obviously still a little immature.
During the team's daily training, Jinguji Budo could clearly feel that the team's strength had declined!
“Pass the ball! Pass the ball!”
In the field, Kiyota Nobunaga dribbled the ball quickly into the front and back, and after approaching the three-point line, he quickly passed the ball to Shiozaki Tetsushi on the side. After passing the ball, Kiyota Nobunaga quickly cut into the inside, and at the same time shouted loudly to Shiozaki Tetsushi who had the ball.
Tetsushi Shiozaki's passing speed was a bit slow, and he and Kiyota Nobunaga did not cooperate very well. Kiyota Nobunaga had already entered the basket before Tetsushi Shiozaki passed the basketball.
When Kiyota slowed down to receive the ball, he no longer had the space to choose his offensive method. When he looked up at the basket, Nango Koichirō's big hand had already covered Kiyota's face.
Helplessly, Kiyota could only pass the ball back to the outside, but his pass was seen through by Ichiro Katsume and was directly intercepted by Katsume.
“Hehehe!”
"If you're passing the ball like that, you might as well just give it to me!"
Katsume Ichiro sneered, then quickly dribbled the ball forward. Kiyota Nobunaga no longer cared about passing the buck, and hurriedly chased after Katsume Ichiro.
However, the place where he started was too deep, and Nango also saw Kiyota Nobunaga's intention and deliberately blocked him.
As a result, when Katsumi Ichiro launched a fast break counterattack, Kiyota Nobunaga was unable to organize an effective defense, and the other members of his team could not catch up with Katsumi Ichiro.
With Ichiro Kumi's layup, the score between the yellow and blue teams came to 16:33.
The yellow team led by Kiyota Nobunaga was suppressed by the blue team led by Katsume Ichiro and Nango.
"hateful!
”
Kiyota Nobunaga saw the opponent score again, scratched his hair in annoyance, adjusted his headband, ran to the baseline, picked up the ball and served it, and said to Tetsu Shiozaki who was late:
"Shiozaki-senpai, can you please throw the ball faster and more decisively?"
"Give me some lead time. If I get the ball near the free throw line, I can also observe the opponent's defense."
"When you get the ball under the basket, your offensive intentions can be easily seen through by your opponents."
"The Dye Monkey is taller than me, there's no way I can fight him!"
"Our center is not as good as the opponent, we have to play run-and-gun!"
Kiyota Nobunaga had no sense of being a junior at all. He passed the ball while talking. After entering the court, Shiozaki Tetsushi passed the ball back to Kiyota Nobunaga, who nodded silently and ran towards the front court.
Tetsushi Shiozaki had nothing to say in rebuttal to Kiyota Nobunaga, but others did.
The center forward of the yellow team was Oda Ryumasa. When he heard that Kiyota Nobunaga had put the blame on him, he said in an unhappy tone:
"What do you mean by the center is not as good as the opponent?!"
"Which center can get the rebound from a shot like that?!"
"Kiyuda Nobunaga, you took too long to hold the ball!"
"Pass the ball to me more often. If I get the ball, our team's score will naturally be higher!"
"It's not difficult for me to get through Nango Koichiro's defense. At least, it's much better than you blindly attacking with the ball!"
Oda Ryumasa said indignantly, not giving Qingtian any face at all.
Maybe it was because of the hot weather, the players were much more irritable when playing than before. Kiyota Nobunaga had a bad temper to begin with, and now he was hot and tired, and the score was lower than that of the opponent, so he was already very angry.
At this time, he heard that Oda Ryumasa, a "marginal person", dared to talk back, and he immediately became furious:
"You're a center, and you don't know what you should do?!"
"So far in the game, how many rebounds have you grabbed for our team?!"
"Can I count them on one hand?!"
As he spoke, Kiyota Nobunaga stretched out his left hand and pointed at the other party with his five fingers.
Oda Ryumasa did not respond, and continued to talk to himself: "It's because you wasted opportunities! I had several open positions, why didn't you pass?!"
Kiyota Nobunaga became even angrier when he heard this, and angrily said, "Empty seat? You call that an empty seat?!"
"Your shooting is not as good as mine. Do you think your mid-range shooting accuracy is higher than mine?!"
"Even if I shoot against defense, my hit rate is higher than yours!"
"You need to figure out your position. Are you qualified to get the ball in the mid-range?!"
Young people are hot-tempered. After a few words, Kiyota Nobunaga and Oda became hostile to each other. The other players on the field also looked at the two of them.
Training was paused.
Just as Oda was about to retort, Jinguji Budo's voice came from the sidelines.
"Shut up, everyone!"
"You're fighting like shit and you still have the nerve to argue?!"
"Is there a difference between shit and shit?!"
"You two, go off the field and take a break."
"Go take a shower, calm your minds, and think about your own problems! Think them through before training."
"Now, come down immediately!"
When Kiyota Nobunaga and Oda Ryumasa heard Jinguji Budo's voice, they subconsciously shut their mouths, looked at each other, and walked off the court angrily. Oda Ryumasa went to the rest area and sat on the bench. Kiyota Nobunaga walked out of the stadium and went outside to take a shower.
After replacing two players, Jinguji Budo looked outside the door, then glanced at Oda Ryumasa, ignored the two of them, and continued training.
When the old takes over from the new, problems of one kind or another always arise.
Fortunately, Jinguji Budou has enough prestige and ability to control all the players, and under his leadership, Xiangbei will not be in chaos.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... .