Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 349 Battle Against Farragut Academy
"Kevin, are you alright?"

Ronnie Fields looked worriedly at Garnett, who was squatting on the ground.

"No... I'm fine!"

Garnett took a full half minute to recover before he stood up from the ground.

His whole body was limp, except for his mouth, which remained stiff.

"I'm done fighting, you win! But you just wait, I'll definitely beat you next time!"

Garnett glared fiercely at Kogure, then turned and left, clutching his stomach.

He lost not only his substance but also his face.

Watching Garnett's departing figure, Kogure seemed lost in thought.

Whether it was a one-on-one duel with Garnett, a trash talk exchange, or a full-on punch, nothing could activate his title.

This means that Garnett's title can only be activated through other means.

"It might only be activated after the match!"

Kogure thought to himself, looking forward to the friendly match against Farragut High School.

Just then, Ronnie Fields broke the silence: "How about we play a round?"

His eyes gleamed with a challenge, and he appeared unusually excited.

Despite Kogure's complete defeat of Garnett, he was not afraid; on the contrary, it ignited his fighting spirit.

He longed to test his strength by clashing with Kogure.

"Ronnie, let's have our match during practice!"

Surprisingly, Kogure flatly rejected Ronnie Fields' proposal.

He did not underestimate Ronnie Fields; on the contrary, he took this fallen super genius very seriously and decided to face him in top form to avoid any possibility of an upset.

"All right!"

Ronnie Fields looked somewhat disappointed, but then, as if remembering something, he continued, "By the way, I have some questions about 'Kogure Kiminobu's extraordinary abilities.' Would you mind asking me?"

Because he was learning on his own and working in isolation, Ronnie Fields' progress in mastering the "Kogure Kiminobu" technique was extremely slow.

"If you want to learn, I'll teach you!"

Kogure's lack of self-conceit can expand the influence of "Kogure Kiminobu's extraordinary talent" in the United States.

This will be beneficial for his future playing in the United States.

Ronnie Fields was surprised by Kogure's generosity and, after a moment of surprise, quickly thanked him.

Soon, Kogure began to teach Ronnie Fields the secrets of "Kogure Kiminobu's Superhuman Skill".

He explained and demonstrated at the same time, breaking down each movement clearly to ensure that the other person could understand every detail.

Under Kogure's careful guidance, Ronnie Fields showed great enthusiasm for learning and began to try things out diligently.

Kogure kept correcting his posture, not missing a single detail.

Ronnie's progress has become evident over time.

In just one hour, Ronnie Fields was already able to smoothly execute this dribbling skill even without defense.

Of course, it takes time to accumulate experience before you can truly master it.

He was very talented, but he was ultimately just a genius, not a cheat code like Kogure.

After Ronnie Fields got a basic understanding of the situation, Kogure left the basketball arena, citing jet lag as an excuse.

……

The following morning, everyone began their daily training, thanks to Coach Taoka's wake-up call.

After their daily training, Kogure and several familiar Kanagawa players began to stroll around Farragut Academy.

Mitsui carefully examined Farragut Academy, clicking his tongue in amazement: "This academy is far too big. Compared to this, our Shohoku is like a chicken coop!"

They had been walking for more than ten minutes, but they still hadn't reached the school gate.

With his hands in his pockets, Kogure casually remarked, "There's nothing we can do about it. The United States has a much larger land area, especially since Farragut Academy is located in the suburbs. It's reasonable that it's so large."

Sendoh yawned and said lazily, "I heard that carp are rampant in America. I wonder if there are any lakes nearby?"

For this trip to America, Sendoh brought a fishing rod with him.

The abundance of wildlife resources in the United States is universally acknowledged.

For fishing enthusiasts, America is nothing short of paradise.

Beside him, Fujima shook his head and said, "Just find any small river. In this country, even small rivers can yield big fish."

"Sendoh, once you catch a fish, I'll cook it for you!"

Uozumi looked eager to try, as he rarely handled American specialty fish.

At this moment, Kogure, as the team leader, timely reminded us: "We'd better not act alone; the security situation here isn't very good."

Free America, shootings every day.

Among all countries, the United States has long held the world's largest number of civilian guns, with a huge number of legally owned guns and a large number of untraceable illegal firearms. On average, there are more than 120 guns per 100 people.

In the first week of 2025, there were more than 200 fatal shootings in the United States, averaging more than 28 per day.

Upon hearing Kogure's words, Sendoh and the others' expressions became noticeably more serious.

They had heard about the security situation in America, after all, guns weren't banned here, and with Brother Ni running rampant, disorder was inevitable.

The morning was spent getting familiar with Farragut Academy.

At 2 p.m., led by Kongmu and the coaching team, everyone arrived at the Farragut Academy basketball court.

Soon, Coach Stephen of the Farragut basketball team warmly welcomed them.

This is a white coach, tall and burly, probably around fifty years old.

While they were talking, Kogure was also carefully observing the members of the Farragut basketball team.

The Farragut basketball team is mainly composed of Ni Ge, with only a very small number of white players.

Aside from Ronnie Fields and Garnett, Kogure didn't recognize any of them.

Besides, to Kogure, all the guys look pretty much the same.

Meanwhile, Zebei and the others were also sizing up the Farragut players.

"so high!"

A collective gasp filled the air as Farragut players, who were significantly taller and more imposing than their island counterparts.

Almost all of these Farragut players are over 180 cm tall, at least half are 190 cm tall, and many are over two meters tall.

Among them, Garnett is a towering 210 centimeters tall, exuding an imposing presence.

Compared to them, Farragut players are taller and more muscular, almost a size larger.

clap~
Not long after, Coach Stephen clapped his hands loudly.

The Farragut basketball team members quickly lined up and stood in front of Coach Stephen.

Meanwhile, Coach Domoto was also gathering the players.

Within the coaching team, the three coaches have clearly defined roles.

Coach Kawasaki Kazumi manages daily life, Coach Taoka is in charge of daily training, and Coach Domoto directs matches.

As for team tactics, they are jointly managed by the three coaches.

"We will now have a scrimmage," I'll begin by announcing the starting lineup!

The starting lineup was also the product of discussions among the three coaches. Center: Uozumi

Ohmae: Masashi Kawada

Komae: Zebei

Guard: Kogure

Point Guard: Fujima

With the starting lineup announced, some were happy while others were disappointed.

Kogure frowned slightly, because this starting lineup mostly came from different teams, and their coordination was questionable.

This may be the result of the three coaches checking and balancing each other!
As for why Uozumi was chosen as the starting center, it was mainly because Uozumi was the tallest.

Facing Garnett, who is 210 cm tall, Uozumi's height disadvantage is even smaller.

In contrast, Akagi and Kawata are almost a head shorter than Garnett.

After deciding on their starting lineups, both sides began warming up.

Swish swish swish~
Beyond the three-point line, Kogure picked up the basketball and shot, hitting consecutive three-pointers, drawing the attention of Farragut players.

In American high schools, the three-point line doesn't differ much.

The distance of the three-point line will only be increased when it comes to the NBA.

Farragut's players were only slightly surprised as they watched Kogure sink consecutive three-pointers.

Because someone on their team is capable of doing that too.

Bang~
On the other side, Ronnie Fields began to soar through the air, leaping high into the air and unleashing a tomahawk dunk.

His jumping ability was quite exaggerated; his head was almost level with the rim.

Even in the NBA, Ronnie Fields' jumping ability is top-tier.

In NBA history, Michael Jordan, Darrell Griffiths, and Wilt Chamberlain are tied for first place with a vertical jump of 1.22 meters (48 inches).

Darrell Griffiths was a Utah Jazz player nicknamed "The Slam Dunk Man," and he was primarily active during the era dominated by the "Black and White Duo."

This shows just how incredible Ronnie Fields' jumping ability is, and it's no wonder Carter didn't want to play with him.

Of course, this is also related to Ronnie Fields' low weight.

If Ronnie Fields enters the NBA, he will inevitably need to gain weight and increase his physical strength, but his jumping ability will likely be weakened to some extent.

At that moment, Fujima said to Kogure, "Kogure, do you want to have one too?"

Of all the players Fujima knew, Kogure's dunks were in a class of their own.

Kogure may not be as good at jumping as Ronnie Fields, but he is no less entertaining.

"never mind!"

Kogure waved his hand, declining Fujima's suggestion.

After warming up, the players from both sides began to take to the field.

Farragut Academy
Center: Kevin Garnett, 210 cm
Power Forward: Michael Knight, 202 cm
Small Forward: Willie Farley, 198 cm
Percentile: Ronnie Fields, 190 cm
Point Guard: Arnold Johnson, 184 cm
Beep~
The interim coach for this friendly match was assistant coach Farragut.

At his signal, the two center forwards began the jump ball.

The next moment, the referee tossed the ball into the air horizontally.

As soon as the basketball reached its highest point, Garnett leaped up and easily won the jump ball.

When Uozumi jumped, the two were almost half an arm's length apart.

Uozumi stared in disbelief at the scene. He never expected that Garnett was not only taller than him, but also had such an exaggerated jumping ability.

Garnett immediately slapped the ball toward Arnold Johnson.

Fujima quickly moved forward, and Arnold Johnson controlled the ball sideways, taking the initiative to challenge him.

Fujima stumbled, losing his balance.

Despite Fujima's conscious efforts to improve his fighting ability, his slender frame determined his height.

However, instead of taking the opportunity to break through, Arnold Johnson passed the ball to Ronnie Fields.

According to the rules, the team's ace player naturally takes the first shot.

However, his intention to pass the ball was far too obvious.

slap~
Kogure stepped forward and took the initiative to confront Ronnie Fields.

No matter how hard Ronnie Fields tried, he couldn't avoid being suppressed by Kogure.

slap~
Taking advantage of his wingspan, Kogure quickly made the steal.

Ronnie Fields tried to steal the ball back immediately, but Kogure easily broke through his defense.

Kogure grabbed the basketball and quickly rushed towards the frontcourt.

"Oh no! Get back to defend immediately!"

At the same time, the Farragut players immediately retreated to defend as quickly as possible.

During this process, the speed difference between these players is clearly visible.

Among them, the fastest is Ronnie Fields, who not only has an exaggerated jumping ability, but also top-notch speed and explosiveness.

Following closely behind was Garnett, whose speed was even faster than that of point guard Arnold Johnson.

As Kogure stepped into the paint, Ronnie Fields appeared under the basket first.

On the other side, Garnett continued to close the distance with Kogure.

With danger looming ahead and behind, Kogure increased his speed once again.

The moment he stepped into the paint zone, Kogure fearlessly leaped up to meet Ronnie Fields.

Ronnie Fields also jumped up, forcefully slapping the basketball with his right hand.

He not only jumped higher than Kogure, but his jumping speed was also superior.

However, he clearly underestimated Kogure's ability to operate in the air.

Under Ronnie Fields' astonished gaze, Kogure, with his exceptional reflexes and exaggerated flexibility, straightened his back and used the mid-air lever to avoid Ronnie Fields' block.

Bang~
With a loud thud, Kogure slammed the ball into the basket with one hand.

Ronnie Fields landed on the ground, stumbling back two steps before finally stopping his retreat.

He finally understood Garnett's feelings, because Kogure's resistance was clearly superior to his.

Kogure released the basket and landed on the ground, glancing at Ronnie Fields with some surprise.

The system issued a notification as Ronnie Fields jumped up!
He never expected that Ronnie Fields would also have the added benefit of a title indicating disability.

This means that even those aspiring superstars whose careers faltered midway could still receive a title!
But thinking about it, it makes sense. If he hadn't been in the car accident, Ronnie Fields' future prospects might not have been any less than Garnett's or Carter's.

Ronnie Fields had a very promising future during this period. From 1993 to 96, he was selected to the All-American First Team three times in a row and was also selected to the McDonald's All-Star team once.

In 1993, he also became the first player to be able to enter Nike's All-American Training Camp twice.

That year's training camp included players such as Garnett and Allen Iverson, as well as Naismith Memorial Basketball Award winners Ron Metzer and Jarrod Ward.

A guard with the potential to become a superstar, and whose playing style is highly entertaining, is naturally highly valued by Nike, and it's no surprise that Nike has listed him as a key player for observation.

"Fuck!"

At that moment, Garnett muttered a curse.

Just as Kogure jumped, he was trying to block Ronnie Fields, but Kogure not only dodged the block but also caused it to land in empty air.

(End of this chapter)