Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 304 Different Geniuses, Different Destinies

"These two kids represent the highest level of high school basketball in the United States right now!" In the audience seats on the sidelines, a Lakers scout muttered to himself as he watched Kaneki and Ken and the other player who were in a fierce confrontation with a serious look on his face.

"Try and block my shot! Kaneki Ken!" Kobe Bryant twisted his body in the air, raised the basketball high with both hands, and aimed at the basket.

"Just try if you dare!" Kaneki Ken became more serious than ever before, staring at Kobe Bryant who jumped up in front of him.

"Come on, Kobe!" Jack Thurman on the side shouted loudly, staring at Kobe Bryant who seemed to be floating in the air.

"Whoosh!"

As Kobe Bryant's right hand slowly pushed the ball towards the basket, the basketball drew a high arc in the air and fell straight into the basket with a sound of breaking wind.

"Shh!"

As the sound of a basketball hitting the net was heard, Kobe Bryant finally ran out of strength in the air and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Well done, Kobe!" Jack Thurman threw himself on Kobe Bryant with an excited look on his face, rubbing Kobe Bryant's bald head with his hands and roaring excitedly.

"Don't get excited, we're still behind." Kobe Bryant slowly got up, gently pushed Jack Thurman away, looked at Kaneki Ken's back with his hands on his hips staring at the basket, and said in a deep voice, "And this guy... after I scored a goal like this, he will definitely not give up."

"I understand, Kobe." Jack Thurman's expression became serious after listening to Kobe Bryant's words. "I will do my best to defend Lower Merion High School's basket, but as for offense..."

"Leave the offense to me." Kobe Bryant pursed his lips, glanced at his teammates and said, "You just need to grab the damn rebounds... and then shoot into the damn open space!"

"Got it!" the Lower Merion High School players responded loudly.

"It seems that what you said before is reasonable, Michael." Charles Barkley used his fingernails to pick the meat residue between his teeth, and looked at the back of Kobe Bryant who was returning to defense with a playful expression and said, "If that kid just now had put on a No. 23 Bulls jersey, I would have really thought it was you playing on the court."

"You're always so slow, Charles." Michael Jordan covered his face with embarrassment and cursed, "And...can you please stop picking at my teeth so rudely?"

"Who are you to order me around?" Charles Barkley rolled his eyes at Michael Jordan. "Sir Charles can do whatever he wants!"

"Don't take it too seriously, boss." Amare Bailey timidly came to Kaneki Ken's side, carefully observing his expressionless face, and tried to comfort him cautiously, "It was just a lucky goal just now. That kid can't score goals like this all the time."

"It's hard to say, Amare." Kaneki Ken narrowed his eyes and looked at Kobe Bryant's back and said, "It's just a magical shot. For this guy, it's completely normal... Very good, this kind of game is interesting."

As he finished speaking, Kaneki Ken chuckled and shook his head, not caring about the reactions of his teammates around him, and walked towards the front court on his own.

"Stephen, you know the boss better..." Amar Bailey approached Stephen Jackson with a puzzled look on his face and asked, "Do you think the boss was angry just now?"

"A little bit." Stephen Jackson said nonchalantly, moving his shoulders, "But I'm more likely to be happy."

"Happy?" Amare Bailey shrugged speechlessly and said, "Come on, I don't see him looking happy at all."

"This is the difference between us and the boss, Amare." Stephen Jackson said with emotion as he looked at Kaneki Ken's back, "When we are provoked on the court, we only feel angry, but talented players like the boss will only be excited that they finally have a qualified opponent... Open your eyes, Amare, the next game... may be the only game of the highest level that you can watch for free!"

……

"So I should charge you some extra money..." Just as the match between Kaneki Ken and Kobe Bryant was in full swing, in a street court in Sri Lanka, a tall man in a black jersey with blond hair and blue eyes looked at his opponent with disdain and said, "With your monkey-like basketball level, playing against us may be the highest level of competition you can see in your lifetime without spending money."

"Why are you wasting your time talking to these monkeys, Nash~" In the paint area of ​​the court, a tall and strong black man with a mocking smile on his face looked at the blond man outside the three-point line and said, "Hurry up and finish this game of bullying, and then go back to the hotel~ You know what, the skin of the women here is really good..."

"Don't worry, Jason." Nash Goldo Jr. looked at his nearly desperate opponent with a playful look and said, "If these monkeys don't play and completely give up basketball... How can I justify the disgust I had to suppress when I saw them playing!"

As Nash Gordo Jr. finished speaking, the rhythm of the basketball jumping on the ground suddenly became faster. Looking at the opponent who was dazzled by his control of the ball, Nash Gordo Jr. flashed a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth, and gently pushed the ball with his right hand. After hitting the opponent's head, the basketball bounced back into Nash Gordo Jr.'s hands.

"Then, let this ball declare your tragic defeat..." After taking the basketball, Nash Goldo Jr. lifted the ball with a listless look on his face, aimed at the basket, and slowly pushed the ball out facing the defensive player's defense.

"Shh!"

"Buzz~"

As the sound of the basketball hitting the net rang out, the buzzing sound of the timer next to the court also resounded throughout the stadium. "Game over~ 202:41, the Jabberwocky team wins!"

Looking at the local players who had lost their morale, the host hastily announced the end of the game and then said a few meaningless closing remarks, hastily ending this invitational tournament that had been hyped up for a long time.

"This money is really easy to get..." After the game, Jason Thibo laughed arrogantly on the bus back to the hotel, "All I have to do is get on the plane, and then go to the court to beat a bunch of monkeys who can't play basketball at all, and I can get green rice knives... For a day like this, I wouldn't change it even if I was given an NBA starting position~"

"Come on, Thibe. All the NBA starters are the chosen ones, earning tens of millions of dollars a year. We street basketball players can't compare to them." K counted the money in his hand and shook his head helplessly, saying in a self-deprecating tone, "I really don't understand you and Nash. You obviously have such outstanding talents, but you are willing to play some meaningless games with us..."

"Shut up, Old K." Nash Goldo Jr. looked out the window with hatred in his eyes and said in a cold tone, "If it weren't for that monkey... who would come to this remote place to play basketball? But it's good, not having to play basketball with those self-proclaimed righteous hypocrites is also a kind of freedom..."

"Um..." Just as the entire player bus fell into silence, the team agent sitting at the front of the bus looked at his phone, turned his head and looked at the players behind him and said, "We received an order from Japan, asking us to play with a group of college players... It is said that they are the best college students in their country... It may be a bit difficult, should we take it?"

"College students from Japan?" After hearing the words of the team agent, Nash Goldo Jr. narrowed his eyes slightly, raised a dangerous arc at the corner of his mouth and said, "Of course I have to go... I want to see the place where the monkey was born... What kind of monkeys are playing basketball!"

……

"What? Playing against the Jabberwocky team?" In the gymnasium of Fukazawa Sports University, Mitsui Hisashi asked Kasamatsu Yukio on the other end of the phone with a confused look on his face, "Who is that Jabberwocky team? They actually need the best college students in the country to form a team to play together?"

"I don't know, but it is said that they are very famous in the American basketball world..." Kasamatsu Yukio flipped through the magazine in his hand and said, "The captain seems to be called Nash Goldo Jr., who was once one of the top high school students in the United States. The center of the team is Jason Thibaud, who is 10 meters tall and has extremely strong physical fitness. It is said that many NBA scouts have extended olive branches to these two guys..."

"Is this the player that NBA scouts are optimistic about? He is indeed not an ordinary player." Mitsuimon raised the corner of his mouth slightly, "Then I will participate in this game... It just so happens that I also want to see how far I am from the level of American basketball."

Similar conversations happened repeatedly today between the main players of major college basketball teams, as if an invisible hand was driving this exciting game.

"Hey, Sakuragi, have you heard?" In the gym of Xiangbei High School, Miyagi Ryouta excitedly said to Sakuragi Hanamichi on the other end of the phone while holding the phone, "The Jabberwocky team is coming to Japan to play!"

"Huh? What the hell is this Dragon Team?" Sakuragi Hanamichi was concentrating on watching the game broadcast on the TV screen. He said impatiently to Miyagi Ryouta on the other end of the phone, "They shouldn't be a big deal. After all, I haven't heard Gilgamesh mention them..."

"You can't say that..." After taking two deep breaths, Miyagi Ryouta finally suppressed his excitement and began to explain to Sakuragi Hanamichi, "The Explosive Dragons are one of the most famous street basketball teams in the United States. Rumor has it that the two main players of the Explosive Dragons have the strength of NBA first-round picks!"

"NBA first-round pick?" Sakuragi Hanamichi curled his lips with some disdain and said, "That's much weaker than Gilgamesh..."

"There are so many basketball players in the world, but how many are Kaneki Ken?" Miyagi Ryouta listened to Sakuragi Hanamichi's complaints on the other end of the phone and said with a bit of a smile, "Anyway, Mitsui Shou just called and said that all the major basketball clubs in the country are gathering their main players to form a Japanese representative team to face the Jabberwocky! What do you think? Sakuragi, do you want to go and watch it together?"

"Would you like to take a look..." Sakuragi Hanamichi picked up the calendar from the table, glanced at the schedule, and nodded, "Then take a look. Anyway, the match of Jin Shanshan is over today... By the way, when does the match you mentioned start?"

"The tournament preview says it's going to be in a week..." Miyagi Ryouta scratched his head uncertainly and said, "By the way, you're watching Kaneki Ken's match now, right? How's the match going?"

"The game was very intense..." Hearing Miyagi Ryouta mention Kaneki Ken, Sakuragi Hanamichi's expression became a little serious. He stared at the scoreboard in the lower right corner of the screen and said, "We're just halfway through the second quarter, 52 to 46, the difference between the two teams is less than ten points..."

"Oh?" Miyagi Ryouta said in surprise, "How could someone be able to hold out against Kaneki Ken for such a long time? It seems that there is also an incredible character in the opponent's team..."

"Yeah, that little bald guy... is the most annoying." Sakuragi Hanamichi said with some displeasure as he looked at Kobe Bryant wearing the black No. 88 jersey on the TV screen, "But when it comes to strength, this guy is really strong..."

……

"Kids nowadays... are really amazing!" Charles Barkley, who was watching the game in the audience, stared at the duel between Kaneki Ken and Kaneki Ken with his eyes wide open, "With this level of combat capability, they can stand firm even in the NBA..."

"I know what you want to say, Charles." Michael Jordan on the side also nodded in agreement, and said with a sigh, "But these two guys are out-and-out high school students, and they are even only in the first year of high school... When I was in the first year of high school, my height made me dare not even imagine that I would become a professional basketball player in the future..."

"Fortunately, I retired early, otherwise these two kids might not want to play basketball after entering the NBA~" Larry Bird said with a look of nostalgia in his eyes, "But Michael, it's true that the little bald guy does look like you, but I still think that the blond guy looks more like me."

"Fuck, why can't it be like me?" Charles Barkley asked unconvinced.

"Guys without championship rings, don't get involved in our discussion." Larry Bird glanced at Charles Barkley with disdain.

"Hmph!" Charles Barkley, choked by Larry Bird's words, couldn't help but shut his mouth. After a cold snort, he looked towards the court with an unhappy face. At this time, Kaneki Ken was slowly dribbling the ball across the midfield line and approaching Kobe Bryant who was ready for battle.

(End of this chapter)