Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 249 Logo Men's Value
"Sakuragi, you can't block this ball..." Himuro Tatsuya said while looking at Sakuragi Hanamichi with a smile, "This is the quiet skill that I have been practicing for a long time!"

"Oh, is it so?"

Just as Himuro Tatsuya was looking at the basketball flying in the air with full confidence, a playful voice suddenly sounded in his ears.

"Kaneki?" Himuro Tatsuya's pupils shrank slightly. As he looked at the figure in his peripheral vision, his hair stood on end, as if he was being stared at by the vertical pupils of a giant dragon.

"boom!"

Just when Himuro Tatsuya was shocked by Kaneki Ken and had not yet reacted, the sound of a big hand slapping a basketball brought Himuro Tatsuya back from his daze.

"How is this possible?" Himuro Tatsuya muttered to himself in shock as he looked at the basketball that was blown out of the court due to fasciitis.

"Is it difficult?" Kaneki Ken said with a chuckle, "The so-called Kagerou shooting... is nothing more than a trade-off forced upon us due to our lack of ability."

"..." Himuro Tatsuya was silent for a moment after listening to Kaneki Ken's comments, then walked to the baseline with an expressionless face, ready to start the next attack.

"A choice forced by lack of ability?" After hearing what Kaneki Ken said, Kagami Taiga, who was standing in the audience, looked at Alex Garcia with some confusion and asked, "What did Kaneki just say?"

"The so-called Sunfire Shoot... is actually throwing the ball upwards when jumping, catching the falling basketball at the highest point, and then completing the second shot..." Alex Garcia said with a complicated expression, "This move was my secret weapon when I dominated the WNBA court, but if I had to choose, I would rather choose to be able to fly and dodge like Michael Jordan..."

"Ah..." Kagami-sama, I asked in confusion, "What does this have to do with Yangyan's basketball shooting?"

"Ah..." Alex Garcia shook his head helplessly and said, "The so-called Kagerou shooting is actually a simplified version of the aerial lever shot. It uses a fake shooting action to confuse the opponent, thereby achieving an effect similar to the lever shot in avoiding the opponent's block. But if you really compare them, the lever shot has much more freedom in dealing with the opponent's defense than the Kagerou shooting..."

"Then why not just use the pull rod?" Kagami was even more confused.

"Do you think everyone has the extraordinary physical talents like the Generation of Miracles?" Alex Garcia rolled his eyes at Kagami Taiga and said, "This is just a trick we have to resort to when we are out of help..."

On the sidelines, Kagami Daizo was whispering with Alex Garcia, while Himuro Tatsuya had already received the sideline ball and started a new round of attack.

"Shizai, this way!"

Just as Himuro Tatsuya made a triple threat move, trying to find a loophole in Rukawa's defense, Murasakibara Atsushi on the side couldn't wait to reach out for the ball lane.

"Has little Murasakibara finally lost his temper?" Huang Lai Ryouta raised his eyebrows in surprise and said, "It's really hard to imagine. First it was little Akashi, then Kaneki. Little Murasakibara, who was the most obedient in junior high school, actually had the courage to face these two big bosses directly..."

However, contrary to everyone's expectations, Kaneki Ken did not hinder Murasakibara Atsushi from catching the ball. Instead, he honestly followed the position on the court and stood in the bottom corner with Mike Okita.

"Ken-chan..." After receiving the ball, Murasakihara Atsushi glanced at Kaneki Ken in the corner, then turned his gaze to Kabaji Shigehiro and said in a cold voice, "Kabaji, I'm coming!"

"Come on!" Kabata Shigehiro's face darkened and he said while pursing his lips.

"It's coming..." Chris Bane said solemnly as he looked at the two giants on the field, "Just from the static talent point of view, these two kids are probably not inferior to the little guy that Coach Smith told us to pay attention to..."

"Yeah." Jerry Bob nodded, raised the notebook in his hand and said, "I've opened a separate page for these two children... and the red-haired one."

"The red-haired one?" Chris Bain said with some confusion. "The red-haired one's skills are very crude and his height is average. There's nothing to be concerned about, right?"

"You can't say that." Jerry Bob took out a magazine from his schoolbag and said, "This kid has the youngest playing experience among all the people here, but he is very good at rebounding, rim protection, and assisting defense - most importantly, he has also developed a mid-range shot. In less than a year, this kid has grown from 188 cm to 192 cm... You know, Sir Barkley was less than 198 cm..."

"Shit, are you saying that this red-haired kid has the potential to be on par with Sir Barkley?" Chris Bain said in disbelief.

"Who knows?" Jerry Bob shrugged. "It's always good to discover one more talent. Maybe Coach Smith will give me a raise because of this. Well, shut up, Chris, and let's just enjoy the game."

Chris Bain looked at Jerry Bob, who was concentrating on the court, curled his lips, and turned his head to look at the court. He saw that Murasakibara Atsushi took a simple tentative step and then started directly, and his shoulder hit Kabaji Shigehiro's chest hard. Kabaji Shigehiro felt a tightness in his chest, and he involuntarily took a half step back. Seeing this, Murasakibara Atsushi immediately quickened his pace and completely got rid of Kabaji Shigehiro's defense.

"Stop looking down on others, you purple-haired monster!" Seeing this, Sakuragi Hanamichi left Liu Wei beside him and moved to Murasakibara Atsushi's side. His long arm stabbed towards the basketball in Murasakibara Atsushi's hand like a sword drawn from its sheath.

"I knew you would come to steal the ball, Sakura!" Murasakibara Atsushi roared in a low voice with his eyes wide open.

"What..." Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Murasakihara Atsushi who easily passed him with one turn, and muttered to himself in astonishment, "This guy's speed is actually... faster than mine!"

"Ahhhhhh!! Thor's hammer!!" After Murasakibara Atsushi turned around and passed Sakuragi Hanamichi, he jumped up, swung the ball behind his head with both hands, stared at the basket, and used his long arms like the giant hammer of a hydraulic press to smash the ball towards the basket.

"Is this the power of the genuine Thor's hammer?" Kise Ryota exclaimed as he looked at the strong wind that was blowing up in the field. "It's as terrifying as a tornado destroying a parking lot..."

"You are very good, Murasakibara. Whether in terms of responsibility or ability, you have made great progress..."

Just as Murasakibara Atsushi was about to complete the slam dunk, Kaneki Ken's voice suddenly rang in Murasakibara Atsushi's ears: "But this shot... you can't make it!"

As Kaneki Ken finished speaking, Murasakihara Atsushi only felt a flash of golden light in his peripheral vision, and Kaneki Ken's figure appeared in front of him like a maggot on the tarsal bone. Kaneki Ken's big hand slammed on the basketball, like a wall of sighs suddenly rising under the basket, and was about to block Murasakihara Atsushi's dunk.

"Ken-zai..." Murasakihara Atsushi gritted his teeth and looked at Kaneki Ken's golden pupils, saying word by word, "I've already lost to Akazai once, this time... I absolutely don't want to lose again!"

After Murasakibara Atsushi finished speaking, he increased the strength in his arms again. Kaneki Ken felt as if a bomb exploded in the air in his hands. A huge repulsive force bounced his hands away, and then the basketball was stuffed into the basket by Murasakibara Atsushi.

"boom!"

As the wailing sound of the basket was heard, the basketball hoop suddenly became like an old man on his deathbed. Every screw made a creaking sound like a joint eroded by time.

"Bang~~"

As Murasakibara Atsushi slowly let go and fell back to the ground, the ball frame that was pressed to the lowest point suddenly bounced back to its original position, and the spring under the ball frame made a buzzing sound as if it could not bear the weight.

"Golden Flash, be careful!"

"Adon, be careful!"

Just as Murasakibara Atsushi and Kaneki Ken looked at each other, Himuro Tatsuya and Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at the crumbling basketball hoop and hurriedly reminded them in unison.

"Bang!"

At this moment, the screws connecting the basketball hoop and the base finally couldn't bear the weight and broke with a bang. The entire hoop also fell towards Kaneki Ken and the other person under the basket in front of everyone's astonishment.

"Beep beep~ Equipment damaged, official suspension!"

As the ball stand was completely destroyed by Murasakibara Atsushi's concentrated force, the referee on the sidelines also blew the official timeout.

"Too scary..." Chris Bane stared at the two teams' players who returned to the sidelines in amazement, "This kid's strength... can actually be compared to that shark from the Magic team?"

"Hey, Chris." Jerry Bob waved the notebook in his hand and said, "For $2000, I'll add your name to this scouting report."

"...Give!" Chris Bain gave Jerry Bob a speechless look, then said excitedly, "Fuck, Jerry! We're going to be fucking rich!"

"Fuck, Jerry, we finally found the Lakers' future inside and outside pillars!"

In the VIP box of Tokyo Gymnasium, Kupchak looked at Jerry West excitedly and said with red eyes.

"Call that guy Jerry..." Jerry West straightened the hem of his suit and said, "Don't fucking hang around in the Golden Club anymore. The team's roster is all in now, and we're doing everything we can to stockpile first-round draft picks for 16-18!"

"Even Axel and Jones, or even Divac, are all possible?" Kupchak asked hesitantly.

"Fuck, don't ask such stupid questions, Mickey." Jerry West said calmly, "As long as he doesn't want me and that bastard Buss, I'll agree to everything he asks!"

"Yes, Jerry..." Kupchak nodded, picked up his phone and walked out of the box.

"Damn, these two kids are simply a gift from God to the Lakers..." Jerry West couldn't hold back his excitement until Kubchak walked out of the box. With red eyes, he looked at Kaneki Ken and Murasakihara Atsushi sitting on the sidelines and muttered to himself, "Add that kid from Philadelphia... The Lakers will be great again!"

At this time, Kaneki Ken and Murasakihara Atsushi didn't know that they had been targeted by the logo man from the other side of the ocean. The two of them were completely focused on the game. "Well done, Atsushi!" Himuro Tatsuya smiled and sat next to Murasakihara Atsushi and said, "You really surprised me. You dunked over Kaneki Ken's head. Are you the first one?"

"That's right, maybe we can actually win today!" Mike Okita said excitedly.

"Better be careful..." Murasakihara Atsushi took a sip of the sports drink, turned his head and looked at Kaneki Ken on the bench of Shonan High School and said, "Ken...is not a good-tempered guy..."

"call……"

At this time, on the Shonan High School bench, Kaneki Ken was replenishing water as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, a complaining voice came from the audience seats on the sidelines.

"What is that big guy doing...it would be great if he could delay Murasakibara Atsushi's breakthrough just now..." a middle-aged male spectator wearing glasses whispered.

"That's right, he looks about the same height as Murasakibara Atsushi..." A young man nearby quickly echoed.

“Alas, this guy is really just an expert at bullying weak players… His statistics look scary, but he won’t be able to perform well in high-level games…” The middle-aged audience shook his head and sighed, “Sure enough, the showdown between the Generation of Miracles cannot tolerate interference from others…”

"An expert at bullying weaklings..."

"So weak..."

"I'm just a drag in high-end games..."

Led by the two, more and more people on the sidelines joined the ranks to denounce Shigehiro Karaji.

"Kakabachi..." Rukawa looked at Kababachi Shigehiro with an ugly expression thoughtfully. He understood that if it weren't for Sakuragi Hanamichi and Kaneki Ken's timely defense, he would have been hit by Himuro Tatsuya in a single shot and his fate would not be much better than that of Kababachi Shigehiro now.

"Why...why has it been so long...I am still so weak!"

Shigehiro Karaji, who was feeling unwilling, had red eyes at this moment. The towel was tightly covered on his head so that others could not see his expression. Tears mixed with sweat dripped onto the floor one by one.

"Hey, I say, that young man and that old man..." Just when Kabaji Shigehiro was falling into endless self-blame, Kaneki Ken suddenly stood up, looked at the two whispering people seriously, and said in a serious tone, "Kabaji did a good job just now. I didn't make up for the defense in time for that ball just now... If you have anything to complain about, come to me. None of my teammates are dragging us down!"

As Kaneki Ken finished his words, the audience turned their eyes to the Shonan High School bench. The middle-aged man and young man who complained at the beginning also shut their mouths at the same time, and the entire venue fell into silence.

"Kaneki..." Shigehiro Karaji raised his head with a complicated expression and looked at Kaneki Ken. Under the light, Kaneki Ken's golden hair and pupils were like the halo of an angel, dazzling him.

"Please... don't look at me with such disgusting eyes..." Kaneki Ken smiled and shook his head, looking at Kabaji Shigehiro and said lightly, "I just didn't block that ball. I believe you will deal with Murasakibara Atsushi in a while... right, Kabaji?"

"Yes, Kaneki." Shigehiro Karaji opened his mouth, and thousands of words finally came down to the four words he said most often.

"That black boy seems to be very motivated." Chris Bane said in a playful tone, "Remember to write a sentence in the scout report that this golden boy has extraordinary leadership talent."

"Don't worry, I've written it all down." Jerry Bob said, waving the notebook in his hand.

As time passed, the damaged basket was finally replaced with the urgent work of the staff on the sidelines. A new round of confrontation began again, and Shonan High School got the ball.

"Glittering!"

As the referee blew the whistle, Sakuragi Hanamichi threw the ball hard and passed it to Kaneki Ken from the baseline.

"Don't worry about the ball just now, play it safe and score this goal first!"

Ken Kaneki officially took over the point guard position from Mitsui Hisashi. While dribbling the ball forward, he spoke to calm his restless teammates.

"What the fxxk?" Chris Bain said in astonishment, looking at Kaneki Ken on the court, "This kid is at least 6 feet 7 to 6 feet 8 inches tall, and he plays point guard? Who does he think he is? Johnson?"

"Stop talking nonsense, Chris. The kid with purple hair is coming. Let's see how he fights." Jerry Bob said with interest.

"Murasara, this is our first official match, right?" Kaneki Ken looked at Murasakihara Atsushi who was facing a formidable enemy and said with a smile, "I remember... I seem to owe you a month's supply of potato chips."

"Then use this match as a bet, Ken-zai." Murasakibara Atsushi said seriously, "If I win, you will owe me two months."

"Haha, no problem." Kaneki Ken said with a smile, "It's just that you may not be able to eat these potato chips!"

"boom!"

As the words fell, Kaneki Ken suddenly exploded the ball when Murasakibara Atsushi was caught off guard. He stepped heavily with his right foot and disappeared from the spot as if he had teleported.

"What the hell? Murasakihara's reaction nerves can't even keep up with Kaneki Ken's first step?" Araki Masako muttered to herself in astonishment.

"Don't underestimate me, Ken!" Just when everyone thought that Kaneki Ken was about to break through Murasakihara Atsushi's defense, Murasakihara Atsushi unexpectedly forcibly controlled his huge body and stuck to Kaneki Ken's footsteps of breakthrough.

"Haha, I knew such a simple trick couldn't break you." Kaneki Ken laughed, not feeling the pressure of being pressed by the defense at all. Instead, he said nonchalantly, "But this ball is not for me to take. Our Kabata... has a lot to say to you!"

"What?" Before Murasakibara Atsushi could react, he saw Kaneki Kenshin throw the ball behind his head, and the basketball brushed past their ears and flew towards the basket.

"Ugh ahhhhhhhh!!!" Before Murasakibara Atsushi landed on the ground, he heard a roar of suppressed anger sounded in his ears behind him. A huge shadow covered the penalty area, and two long arms clamped the basketball in the air like iron clamps, and then, smashed it hard towards the basket.

“Damn it…” Murasakibara Atsushi had just landed when he turned around and took a step forward, then leaped up to meet Kabaji Shigehiro, “Don’t underestimate me, bastard!”

"I have never underestimated you, Murasakibara Atsushi..." Kabaji Shigehiro suddenly felt a lightness all over his body. His dark pupils gradually turned and turned into two whirlpools in Murasakibara Atsushi's shocked eyes.

"It's...Flow again..." Murasakibara Atsushi muttered blankly.

"It doesn't matter what it is, Murasakibara." A hint of relief was revealed in Kabaji Shigehiro's tone, "But you definitely can't stop this ball!"

"boom!"

With a loud bang, Murasakibara Atsushi was knocked out of the court by Shigehiro Kabaji. The basketball hit the ground heavily, bounced to the bottom edge of the basket, and then hit Murasakibara Atsushi's forehead.

"Well done, Karaji." Kaneki Ken took a step forward with a smile, patted Karaji Shigehiro on the shoulder heavily and said.

"Yes, Kaneki." The usually introverted Shigehiro Kabaji was made a little uncomfortable by Kaneki Ken's enthusiastic celebration style. He couldn't help but shrink his neck and said with a smile.

"Did you see that?" Kaneki Ken seemed not to notice Kabashi Shigehiro's uncomfortable reaction. He pointed at Kabashi Shigehiro and shouted excitedly as he passed by the audience, "Remove the prefix from Kabashi's code name... Kabashi is the strongest center!"

"Ken-kun is really..." Momoi Satsuki looked at the excited Kaneki Ken with a smile and complained, "Sometimes he is very reliable, and sometimes he is like a child..."

"Yanzi..." Murasakihara Atsushi slowly stood up and looked at Kaneki Ken's back as he continued to celebrate for Kabaji Shigehiro with a complicated expression. His nose couldn't help but feel a little sore, and his eyes gradually turned red, with a faint mist appearing.

"Don't cry, Atsushi. Kaneki has nothing to be blamed for..." Himuro Tatsuya looked at Murasakibara Atsushi's lost expression and couldn't help but come to Murasakibara Atsushi and comfort him, "This guy's desire for victory is simply abnormal... He will show no mercy to any opponent on the field... It's the same for everyone."

"Ah, I know, I just got hit on the nose by the ball." Murasakibara Atsushi shrugged his nose, lifted up his jersey, wiped it twice and said, "I'm going to be serious from now on..."

"Jerry, I'm back..." Kupchak, who had just finished a phone call, pushed open the door of the VIP room and walked in. He sat back next to Jerry West and said, "The boss said that all matters related to player inspections will be left to you... But please allow me to say one more thing. So far, there has been no precedent for Asian players to succeed in the NBA. Right now, the team's chemistry is very good..."

"Before Russell, there was no precedent for black players to succeed in the NBA." Jerry West calmly handed the phone to Kupjack and said, "I thought this kid was just a Jordan, but in fact, this kid is a Jordan with Johnson's playing style. Instead of being tepid all the time, it is better to start over. Only a champion is worthy of the glory of the Purple and Gold Army."

"Oh?" Kupchak took the phone with some curiosity. The screen showed the scene where Ken Kaneki assisted Shigehiro Kabaji in an aerial relay.

"What do you think, Mickey? Are you still questioning my opinion?" Jerry West was silent for a moment, waiting for Kupchak to finish watching the video on his mobile phone before asking.

"Hmm..." Kupchak watched the video again and again, and suddenly looked up at Jerry West and said, "I suddenly feel that Worthy can be sent out..."

(End of this chapter)