Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 75: Project Flint
"Aomine..." As soon as Kaneki Ken entered the stadium and saw everyone whispering and looking at him, he knew that it must be Aomine Daiki, the big mouth, who sold him out again.

"…This floor is so dull…" When Aomine Daiki saw Kaneki Ken looking over here, he quickly lowered his head to look at his own reflection on the floor, not daring to speak.

"Okay, stop talking." Shirogane Kozo clapped his hands and said, "How's your training going? This weekend is the semi-finals of the county competition. Do you still have the heart to chat here? Everyone, go run laps!"

"...Hi..." For a moment, the stadium was filled with wailing.

"Kaneki-kun, come here for a moment." Just as everyone started running in circles, Shirogane Kozo called Kaneki Ken to his office.

……

"Come, sit down." Shirokane Kozo patted Kaneki Ken's shoulder, "I heard that Coach Domoto is looking for you?"

"...Yes, Coach Platinum." Kaneki Ken did not hide it and admitted it readily.

"Don't look like that. It's not Aomine who said that. I have my own sources." Shirogane Kozo adjusted his posture in his chair, looked at Kaneki Ken curiously and asked, "What do you think about this matter?"

"I don't really have any ideas." Kaneki Ken answered truthfully, "On the one hand, it's too early to think about these things now. I'm just a freshman in junior high school. On the other hand, to be honest, I think Coach Domoto is a bit arrogant."

"Oh? Arrogance?" Shirogane Kozo found it even more interesting. "Tell me more about it."

"Coach Domoto has been talking about how much they value me and what a powerful school Fenghuang High School is." Kaneki Ken said after a moment's silence, "He has been immersed in the pride of Fenghuang High School from beginning to end, but he has no expectations of me. I feel that if I really join Fenghuang High School, I will only be one of the many trump cards that continue Fenghuang High School's three consecutive championships, not the creator of history."

"To be honest, Kaneki, you surprised me." Shirogane Kozo handed over a document, "This is the information one of my seniors sent to me, just take a look at it."

"Some Constructive Suggestions on the Flint Project..." Kaneki Ken took the document and the words on it came into his sight clearly.

"Take your time to read it. I'll give you a brief introduction." Shirogane Kozo said casually, "The Flint Project, which is the domestic competition hosted by the Golden Arch Bridge this time, is actually jointly organized with the Sports Agency under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. It aims to select the strongest young people from all over the country to become the cornerstone player of Japan in the next 20 years."

"What do you mean?" Kaneki Ken looked at the author column on the cover page of the document, and looked at Shirogane Kozo thoughtfully.

"Yes, the one who recommended you was my senior, Coach Anton of Shonan High School." Shirokane Kozo stood up and walked in front of Kaneki Ken, half-sitting and leaning on the edge of the desk. "In fact, this selection was originally for non-youth team players over 16 years old."

"Over 16 years old...non-youth team players?" Kaneki Ken pondered.

"Yes." Shirogane Kozo said, "There is too much uncertainty for players who are too young, and their physical functions cannot guarantee that they can perfectly complete the Flint Plan, but Coach Anton chose you and recommended you as a special guest to participate in this selection against all odds at the committee meeting."

"Coach Anton from Shonan Junior High School?" Kaneki Ken was a little confused, "I seem to have heard of him." "A former Neon national player and former head coach of Tokyo Sports University." Shirokane Kozo briefly introduced him, and then said, "If you can really win the first place in this selection, you will be the only U15-level player from Neon to participate in this program. Not only will you participate in Michael Jordan's training camp in Las Vegas, you will also go to Dragon Country as an exchange student for two years of further study."

"Dragon Country?" Kaneki Ken was really shocked this time. "I was wondering why Coach Domoto gave me such lenient conditions... and I have to win a championship in the next three years... Isn't this just one year?"

"You can say that." Shirogane Kozo said with a smile, "So I asked you to come here today. Actually, I have a selfish motive. I don't want you to focus on other things just because of the recruitment of a big club. Because if you can't win the championship this year, it will be very difficult for Coach Anton who recommended you."

"I understand, coach, but you don't need to tell me so much." Kaneki Ken closed the file, slowly stood up and looked directly into Shirogane Kozo's eyes, "First, the so-called wealthy families have no appeal to me at all; second, even if you don't tell me, I will treat every training and every game with my heart, not out of fear of defeat, but out of the self-discipline of a strong person; third, my strength is absolute, and I, who have overcome everything, deserve everyone's preferential treatment."

"Hahahaha, I'm even more excited when you say that." Shirokane Kozo laughed heartily, "I've always believed in Coach Anton's vision, so I'm looking forward to you leading Teiko Junior High School to realize the dream of winning the national championship!"

"Yes, coach." Kaneki Ken bowed slightly.

"Okay, let's go for a run." Shirogane Kozo returned to his desk and sat down, waving his hand to signal Kaneki Ken to leave.

"Ah? I still need to run?" Kaneki Ken asked in surprise.

"Yes, because you were not paying attention in training today. If you don't run, who will? You should run five more laps." Shirogane Kozo didn't even look at Kaneki Ken again.

"...Yes, coach." Kaneki Ken curled his lips and took the order helplessly.

At his desk, Shirogane Kozo stared at the picture of Kaneki Ken on the scouting report sent by Coach Anton on the screen. "Player's strengths: explosive physical fitness, solid basic skills, balanced left and right hands, first-class basketball IQ, broad vision, good defensive habits, and leadership qualities; Player's weaknesses: other than being too young, no obvious weaknesses were found."

"You are really worthy of being me, Senior Anton." Through the computer screen, Shirogane Kozo seemed to see the white-haired and amiable face of Anton Mitsuyoshi.

"Ken-kun, are you okay? What did the coach say to you?" Momoi Satsuki looked at Kaneki Ken, who walked out of Shirogane Kozo's office with a serious expression, and asked cautiously with concern.

"Ah? Oh, it's okay. The coach asked me to run laps and told me that I must lead the team to win the championship this year." Kaneki Ken looked at the worried expression of Momoi Satsuki in front of him and did not elaborate.

"Oh, I'm glad you're okay." Seeing that Kaneki Ken didn't want to say more, Tao Jing Satsuki didn't ask any more questions. She just smiled and patted Kaneki Ken's shoulder and said, "I think the championship is not a problem for Ken-kun. I was really shocked to see Ken-kun look so serious."

"Don't worry, I'm the strongest." Kaneki Ken smiled and pinched Momoi Satsuki's cheek, then turned to look at the people running in the field and followed them, "Run faster, you want to play basketball when you're so listless!"

The basketball era of Dragon Country is set in sync with the NBA, which is exactly the golden generation and the time when the three centers were just starting out.

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(End of this chapter)