Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 27 Starting Lineup
As Kaneki Ken ushers in a new wave of reinforcements, his status in the Teiko Junior High School team is also increasing day by day. Now he has become the true second person in the team besides Nijimura Shuzo.

After training one day, Shirogane Kozo did not let the players go home as usual, but gathered them together again to discuss the upcoming county competition.

"Everyone, pay attention. The schedule for the county tournament has been confirmed." Shirogane Kozo dragged a whiteboard over, pasted the schedule in his hand on the whiteboard, and patiently introduced it to everyone. "The selection schedule for this county tournament is divided into five rounds. The winners of each of the first three rounds will advance to the next round until eight winning teams are finally decided. These eight winning teams will have two more rounds of competition to finally decide the champion of the county tournament. The champion and runner-up teams of the county tournament will represent Tokyo District in the national tournament. Right now, the first team we are facing is Zhengbang Affiliated High School, the top four of the county tournament in the past few years."

"Is it very strong, Coach?" Kaneki Ken asked curiously.

"This is a team with very even strengths. There is no absolute strong point, but one thing worth noting is that Zhengbang High School is a team that emphasizes defense. They also have outstanding physical strength. In the past few years, they have made it to the finals and represented the Tokyo district in the national competition." Shirokane Kozo commented, seeming to be well aware of the characteristics of each team.

"Strong defense?" Aomine Daiki said excitedly, "That's exactly what I want!"

"Don't underestimate them." Nijimura Shuzo said coldly, "Although they don't have any absolute strong points, one thing we must pay attention to is that their center Hiromu Kosaka is known as the bankrupt version of Tiexin. Although he is not tall, he has a good hook shot and high pass ability. This game will be a game that requires constant running. So you must focus on strengthening your physical training next."

"Hi!" Everyone in the army responded in unison.

"Next, I will arrange the starting lineup for the first game. Number one: Nijimura Shuzo, this is a job you are good at." Shirogane Kozo looked at Nijimura Shuzo and said.

Nijimura Shuzo nodded slightly, with no expression on his face. You know, in the past year, Nijimura Shuzo relied on his strong physical fitness, unstoppable singles ability and outstanding passing vision. With a height of less than 27.7 meters, he averaged 10.1 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals and blocks per game, and was hailed as the top forward in junior high school. Now, he has come to the No. position, which is a dimensionality reduction strike for most middle school No. positions.

"Next is the number two, Shintaro Midorima," continued Shirogane Kozo.

When his name was called, Midorima Shintaro adjusted his glasses and a barely perceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. In all the training and practice matches since he joined the club, except for the rounds where he was directly facing off against Kaneki Ken, Midorima Shintaro has always made all three-point shots, averaging 32 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. Not only that, among all the players that Midorima Shintaro defended, except for Kaneki Ken, their efficiency declined to varying degrees. Therefore, it was no surprise that he was selected as the starting shooting guard by Shirokane Kozo.

"Number three, Aomine Daiki." Shirogane Kozo continued to select the players.

Seeing that he was selected into the starting lineup, Aomine Daiki seemed to be nonchalant as he fiddled with the basketball spinning on his fingers, but the cracked corners of his mouth fully revealed his excitement. In the past, Aomine Daiki's unconventional style of play and extremely efficient breakthrough success rate, especially the three practice games with an average of 27.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.2 blocks, made him the only choice for the starting number three position of Teiko Junior High School.

"Number four, Kaneki Ken. Looking forward to your performance." Coach Platinum, who is very frugal with words, rarely said one more word.

"I won't let you down, coach." Kaneki Ken held the basketball in one hand and responded with a cheerful smile. In Kaneki Ken, Shirogane Kozo saw a brighter future than Nijimura Shuzo. Stronger physical fitness, more unstoppable singles ability, and better passing perspective. The most impressive thing is that on the defensive end, Kaneki Ken seems to be able to predict the future. He never loses his position in steals and never commits fouls in blocks. All players who face Kaneki Ken, from the inside to the outside, have a hard time. In addition, as the second-best rebounder in the team after Murasakibara Atsushi, Kaneki Ken was placed in the starting power forward position by Shirogane Kozo.

"Number five, Murasakibara Atsushi." Shirogane Kozo looked at the naive guy with a smile.

"Murasara, say thank you." Kaneki Ken looked at Murasakihara Atsushi who was about to fall asleep while standing, and quickly patted him on the back to remind him.

"Ah? Oh, thank you, coach." Murasakibara Atsushi said in a daze.

Although Murasakibara Atsushi is a natural, one has to admit that he is a center who was chosen by God. His slender figure, broad wingspan, huge strength, and guard-like athletic ability made many seniors at Teiko Junior High School sigh that their basketball dreams were shattered.

Not only that, in the previous practice match led by the single core, Murasakihara Atsushi faced double-teaming and scored an amazing 40 points + 25 rebounds + 8 blocks + 3 steals, second only to Kaneki Ken's 46 points + 19 rebounds + 15 assists + 6 blocks + 6 steals. Therefore, he was also selected as the starting center by the discerning Shirogane Kozo.

"The substitute for the number one position is Akashi Seijuro, and the substitute for the number three position is Haizaki Shogo." Shirogane Kozo added, "The substitutes for the number two position, the substitutes for the number four position, and the substitutes for the number five position will be the original first team starters."

Akashi Seijuro bowed politely to show that he understood. In fact, Akashi Seijuro's performance is good enough to be in the starting lineup. In the past practice matches, he led the team to three wins and averaged 22.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 13.2 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. However, Akashi Seijuro's figure is still too thin and frail. For the sake of protection, Shirogane Kozo still put him on the bench.

As for Haizaki Shogo, he said before that his stats were not worse than Kaneki Ken's, which was not an exaggeration. Since Kaneki Ken did not finish the first game, his overall stats were almost the same as Haizaki Shogo's 28.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks - this is why Haizaki Shogo is so confident. After all, if Jordan played with Jordan as an elementary school student, the stats would not be too different.

As Teiko Junior High School was the absolute number one in the Tokyo District, their starting players were not weak either. Now, they were on the bench, led by Akashi Seijuro and Haizaki Shogo, and they were simply a dimensional strike against the benches of other teams.

"There are still five days left until the first county competition. In addition to the physical training that Nijimura just mentioned, you need to strengthen your tactical practice and complete the lineup adjustment as soon as possible. The meeting is adjourned!" After giving his final instructions, Shirogane Kozo dismissed everyone.

With the hard practice of Teiko Junior High School, the long-awaited county competition finally kicked off.

(End of this chapter)