Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 302: The Strongest High School Students’ Showdown (Part )
"The environment in Japan is still too small for a basketball genius like me..." Sakuragi Hanamichi muttered to himself while watching the game on TV.

"You little brat, you have to eat one bite at a time~" Father Sakuragi smiled and rubbed the top of Sakuragi Hanamichi's head and said, "Just like your good brother Takamiya Nozomi, he didn't become fat in one day, right? I'll buy you some more milk and eggs in a couple of days, you eat more and see if you can grow taller. You're just over 1.95 meters tall, if you really want to go to the United States, with your inside-focused playing style... it's still a bit of a stretch."

"Thank you, Dad." Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Sakuragi Dad with a touched face and said.

"Okay, stop talking nonsense." Father Sakuragi patted Sakuragi Hanamichi's shoulder with a smile and said, "You continue watching the game. I'm going to cook first."

"Go ahead, Dad." Sakuragi Hanamichi nodded heavily, turned his head and continued to watch the game on the TV screen intently, muttering to himself seriously, "Golden Flash... wait a little longer, I will definitely play with you in the United States!"

At this moment, Ken Kaneki certainly had no idea what Sakuragi Hanamichi was thinking. He was now standing outside the three-point line, staring at Kobe Bryant who was holding the ball in a triple threat posture, guarding against possible attacks.

"Hey, Michael." Charles Barkley pointed at Kobe Bryant on the court while chewing his hamburger. "I remember you said that this bald guy seemed to have learned most of your moves, right?"

"Of course, Charles, apart from that kid Kaneki Ken, this kid is the most like me on the court." Michael Jordan said with his hands folded in front of his chest, looking at the two people who were facing off on the court with a look of satisfaction.

"Fuck, even a blind man can see that the blond guy is more handsome than you. How dare you say he looks like you?" Charles Barkley looked at Michael Jordan with disdain and complained.

"I'm talking about the court, Charles." Michael Jordan looked at Charles Barkley speechlessly and said, "And am I not handsome? Do you know how many fashion magazines want to shoot my cover?"

"You're so handsome..." Charles Barkley curled his lips in disdain and said, "If I had 200 million US dollars, I'd be handsome too."

"Forget it. There are so many people here today. I don't want to argue with you." Michael Jordan shook his head speechlessly, turned his head and looked at the court and said, "Soon you will see... whether these two kids look like me on the court."

"boom!"

As if in response to Michael Jordan's words, Kobe Bryant on the court suddenly burst the ball and rushed towards Kaneki Ken's defense like an agile cheetah.

"So fast!" Amar'e Bailey said softly as he looked at Kobe Bryant's breakthrough figure with a shocked face, "This guy's speed... is faster than the last time we met!"

"You're really motivated, Kobe..." Kaneki Ken looked down at Kobe Bryant's swift figure as he broke through and said with a smile, "You really impressed me..."

"What do you know about you, a guy who has never lost since he started playing basketball..." Kobe Bryant said with gritted teeth, feeling the defensive pressure coming from Kaneki Ken, "You don't know how much effort I have put in to get revenge on you since I lost to you in the training camp!"

As Kobe Bryant's voice fell, a dark figure suddenly stopped in front of Kaneki Ken like a supercar that had stepped on the brakes, then pulled the ball, turned around and disappeared in front of Kaneki Ken.

"Do you think you can get rid of me like this?" Kaneki Ken moved sideways and stood in front of Kobe Bryant again, with a barely perceptible sarcasm on his face as he said, "Three years have passed, and you are still so naive!"

"Oh my god, it's you!" Kobe Bryant looked at the tall figure behind him, his eyes slightly condensed, and he shook his shoulders suddenly with his back to Kaneki Ken, raised his hand and aimed the basketball at the basket.

"Don't even think about shooting!" Kaneki Ken looked at the basketball held up by Kobe Bryant, and immediately raised his arms high. He moved his feet sideways and blocked the basketball between the basket.

"You've been fooled, Kaneki Ken." Kobe Bryant's mouth curled up slightly, and his body turned left again with his left foot as the center. He faced the basket in the air and slowly pushed the ball out.

"So you are still naive..." Just as the basketball left the fingertips of Kobe Bryant's right hand, Kaneki Ken's slightly teasing voice rang in the ears of the players on the court, "Since you met me... have I ever been fooled by a fake move even once?"

"What..." Kobe Bryant looked at Kaneki Ken who was jumping in front of him with a shocked face, and his hand that had just completed the shot could not help but tremble.

"boom!"

With the sound of the basketball hitting the palm, Kaneki Ken slapped the basketball that was rising in the air. Amar'e Bailey, who was closer to the basketball, was quick to grab the ball before Kobe Bryant could regain control of it.

"Back to defense!" Kobe Bryant looked at Amare Bailey, who got the basketball before him, with an unhappy look on his face. He gritted his teeth unwillingly, turned around and ran hard towards the backcourt.

"Boss, run!" Amare Bailey looked at Kobe Bryant's speeding figure, a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and after a roar, he threw the ball heavily to the front court with his right hand. The basketball drew a towering arc in the air and flew straight into the penalty area of ​​Raul Merlin High School.

"I don't remember teaching you to make a long pass like this!" Kaneki Ken looked at the basketball flying in the air speechlessly and complained, "The quality of your pass is too poor. Sakuragi's pass is better than yours!"

"Doesn't this make you look like you jumped too high?" Amare Bailey said with a guilty smile, putting his hand behind his back while passing the ball.

"This ball is too high, it's impossible to catch it!" Kobe Bryant looked up at the basketball and shouted to Jack Thurman, "Remember to get in a good position. When the basketball hits the backboard, you must grab it!"

"Know it, Kobe, I'm already running..." Jack Thurman, who was running with bated breath, looked up at the basketball and responded with a red face. "Well..." Kaneki Ken shook his head helplessly and said to himself, "Since everyone wants me to make a big scene... then I will make a big scene for you to see!"

As he said this, Kaneki Ken, who had already rushed to the front court, stepped hard on the floor and jumped up. His body glided towards the basket like a rocket taking off.

"What is this guy trying to do by jumping from that position?" Kobe Bryant muttered to himself as he looked at Kaneki Ken's back with a shocked look on his face. "Is he trying to... do an alley-oop dunk from that position?"

"You guessed it right, Kobe." Kaneki Ken caught the falling basketball in mid-air, chuckled, glanced at Kobe Bryant and said, "As a reward, I'll let you see my true strength!"

As Kaneki Ken finished his words, in front of Kobe Bryant's shocked expression, Kaneki Ken caught the ball, swung the basketball with his right arm and slammed it into the basket at a height above his head.

"What the hell..." Kobe Bryant muttered to himself as he stared at Kaneki Ken who was slowly landing on the ground with his mouth wide open, "Is this... an alley-oop dunk that goes across the entire court?"

"Well done, Boss!" Amare Bailey came to Kaneki Ken with an excited look on his face, patted Kaneki Ken on the back, glanced at his teammates beside him with a smug look and said, "I told you a long time ago that the ball I just passed to the boss was a great pass, but you still don't believe it... If you are not good at it, just practice more, and don't always say that others can't do it~"

"Practice you, you big-headed devil!" Kaneki Ken slapped Amar Bailey on the head and said unhappily, "You are the one who really needs to be practiced, bastard! Go back and practice long passes continuously! If you throw the ball so high again next time on the boat, I will hang you there!"

"Okay, I know I was wrong, boss." Looking at Kaneki Ken's unhappy expression, Amare Bailey's momentum decisively dropped.

"Shit, can this kid really fly?" Charles Barkley stared at Kaneki Ken who was returning to defense in the middle of the court with his mouth wide open. He didn't even notice that the hamburger in his mouth had fallen to the ground. At this time, Charles Barkley only had an expression of disbelief on his face and muttered to himself, "According to the height just now, this brat should be able to touch the top of the backboard, right?"

"You're done, Michael." Larry Bird's words were even more concise. "Win a few more championships before this kid enters the NBA! Otherwise, when this kid enters the NBA, I think it will be difficult for you to win championships again... unless you bring your talent to this kid."

"Fuck, why can't this kid bring talent to me?" Michael Jordan muttered to himself with his chin in his hand with an unhappy look on his face, "It seems that I have to put a lot of pressure on Krause when I go back... If I can really select this kid, maybe I can really surpass Bill Russell... and become the real Lord of the Rings!"

"Hahahaha, your Bulls' draft pick in these years is either 29th or 30th... and you still want to pick this guy, I think you might as well ask your boss to try to trade me..."

"He has explosive athletic ability, excellent defensive awareness, and strong offensive and defensive transition qualities... Combining the above, it is recommended that the team try their best to trade the lottery pick, and this player will not be picked lower than the tenth pick..." In the audience seats on the sidelines, a scout wearing a shirt with the Lakers logo, after seeing Kaneki Ken's explosive performance, casually wiped out the message he had left on his notebook and wrote with a serious expression.

"Are you okay, Kobe..." Jack Thurman looked at Kobe Bryant, whose face was ashen, and walked up to him carefully and asked, "It was just a shitty lucky shot, it doesn't mean anything. Your defense just now was already very good."

"That ball just now was not a defense problem." Kobe Bryant put his hands on his waist and looked at Kaneki Ken's back with a serious expression and said, "If there is no way to defeat this guy's defense head-on, there will be more and more scenes where we are forced to defend and counterattack."

"What should we do? Do you need us to help you with pick and roll?" Jack Thurman asked tentatively.

"That's not necessary." Kobe Bryant pursed his lips, shook his head and said, "Your pick-and-roll has no effect on Kaneki Ken, it will only create obstacles for me..."

Listening to Kobe Bryant's merciless speech, Jack Thurman lowered his head in shame.

"This has nothing to do with you. I was too reckless in that shot just now." Kobe Bryant patted Jack Thurman on the shoulder and said, "I wanted to score over that guy's head so badly that I was a little careless before I completely got rid of him... Of course, if there is a next time, I will still do the same shot."

"Kobe, why don't you try to pass the ball to your teammates?" Jack Thurman looked at Kobe Bryant in confusion and asked, "As long as we bypass that guy and Stephen Jackson, their other positions are not advantageous to us, right?"

"You don't know this guy well enough..." Kobe Bryant shook his head and said, "Three years ago, this guy's defense was enough to cover the entire half court. If I really pass the ball to you, you may not even be able to pass it back to me. This kind of pass that shirks responsibility is not my style... Don't worry, I will handle him."

As he spoke, Kobe Bryant gently patted Jack Thurman on the shoulder, turned around and ran towards Ken Kaneki in the frontcourt.

"I finally understand why you like this guy so much, Michael." Larry Bird said with a hint of surprise in his eyes, "Although this little bald guy was indeed suppressed by the blond boy, but at least this boy has the guts to not avoid the blond boy and fight... I think Auerbach will like this tough guy very much."

"Kobe, catch the ball!"

The point guard of Lower Merion High School passed the ball to Kobe Bryant just after crossing half court, and then gestured to his teammates to move away to make room for the confrontation between Kobe Bryant and Ken Kaneki.

"It seems that your teammates trust you very much~" Kaneki Ken said with a smile while looking at Kobe Bryant in front of him, "Even though the opponent made a defensive counterattack on the first ball of the game, they still dared to pass the ball to you."

"Because every time they gave me the ball before, we won the game without exception." Kobe Bryant said solemnly while sitting and taking tentative steps, "And this game... will be no exception!"

(End of this chapter)