Basketball miracles

Chapter 176 [The Frog in the Well]

Xiao Tu thought that Akagi Takenori wasn't a bad person, but he really had no knowledge and was commonly known as a "frog in a well".

He had a lot of enthusiasm, but no idea how to succeed.

Akagi's favorite catchphrase was "Dominate the nation." However, he had never played in the national tournament, nor had he ever watched one, so he had no idea how strong the top teams were.

Shinichi Maki, who led the Hainan team to the prefectural championship four times in a row, would invite his first-year junior, Nobunaga Kiyota, to other cities to watch top players compete, just to broaden Kiyota's horizons. In the manga, Hanamichi Sakuragi happens to meet them and goes along.

After the national tournament began, Sakuragi Hanamichi already knew that Moroboshi Dai and Morishige Hiroshi were formidable opponents, but Akagi Takenori, the team captain, knew nothing about it.

At the end of the manga, Shohoku suffered a crushing defeat in their third match against Aiwa Academy, led by Dai Moroboshi, and was eliminated from the competition. The fact that they couldn't perform like this without Sakuragi wasn't solely due to the players' poor stamina; another factor was that Shohoku's players knew absolutely nothing about Aiwa Academy.

Compared to Shinichi Maki, Takenori Akagi is not a qualified captain. He has technical deficiencies, mainly relying on low-post attacks to score, his jump shot is inaccurate, and his playmaking ability is also mediocre.

To put it bluntly, this guy bullies his peers with average strength because of his Black physique, and he can't carry his teammates.

The two stood on one half of the court, while the others stopped practicing and became spectators on the sidelines.

The group of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) spectators looked serious, barely daring to breathe, ready to provide commentary at any moment. The one-on-one bullfight between the two high school students created an atmosphere as if they were witnessing a showdown atop the Forbidden City.

"You go first, I'll defend you with all my might." Akagi was full of confidence, striking a pose like King Kong.

Kogure began his commentary: "Mitsui, Takenori is different from what he was two years ago. His impenetrable defense is even more formidable than his powerful offense; it's rare even among professional players..."

Yasuda said, "I still remember vividly how he gave a two-meter-tall fish a giant hot pot at last year's prefectural tournament."

Shiozaki exclaimed, "Ah, that's practically like a demon or a god."

Kogure: "His strength is probably among the top in the country..."

As they spoke, tears welled up in their eyes.

"It's all because we were too useless...we lost the first game..."

"Kogure-senpai..."

"Waaah, I'm sorry, Gangxian."

Xiao Tu didn't hear the commentator. He dribbled slowly and smiled as he gave Akagi a hint: "You need to be careful. This time I'm going to break through from your left side."

After Xiao Tu finished speaking, he dribbled the ball between his left and right hands, pushed off the ground, and took a big step with his right foot. With a simple change of direction, he swept past Akagi, and with his second step, he completely shook him off. Akagi was standing still and didn't react in time.

Akagi turned around and saw Xiao Tu easily make a layup. 1-0.

The audience was stunned. Xiao Tu was too fast, and his crossover step change of direction was incredibly smooth.

"It's your turn." Xiao Tu looked at the dumbfounded Akagi and passed the ball, switching positions to become the defensive team.

Akagi received the ball, took a deep breath, and began to drive to the basket.

Akagi could easily dribble past a complete novice like Sakuragi Hanamichi, but it would be impossible for him to face Xiao Tu and get past him.

Xiao Tu knew that Akagi had no shooting range, so he lowered his center of gravity to defend against drives but not shots, easily blocking the breakthrough route.

That's too slow. If Akagi were two meters tall with shoes on, he could only play shooting guard or small forward in professional basketball.

Unless he can grow another 5cm, he's too short to be an inside player, but he has the speed of a center when dribbling.

Akagi's attempt to force his way through failed, and his ball protection was inadequate. His center of gravity was high, and he was only dribbling sideways, failing to protect the ball with his back to the basket.

Xiao Tu seized the opportunity and suddenly took a big step forward, using his left hand to steal the basketball. He then rushed forward, much faster than Akagi, and retrieved the ball first.

Akagi was completely dumbfounded. He realized why Xiao Tu suggested a closed-door sparring session – it was to save him face.

Xiao Tu was too fast; he couldn't keep up at all. He could tell at a glance that Xiao Tu was faster than the 168cm tall Miyagi Ryota, who hadn't yet rejoined the team; his explosive power was terrifying.

"It's my turn." Xiao Tu dribbled the ball and stepped out from the three-point line, ready to attack.

"Come on." Takenori Akagi was fully focused and not about to give up so easily.

Xiao Tu started with another crossover step, followed by a series of crossover dribbles, before changing direction to the right, this time a bit slower.

Akagi thought he could keep up this time, but as soon as he took a step to the side, Xiao Tu pulled the ball up with his right hand and took a big step and turned towards the middle. His turn was fast and wide, completely getting past Akagi. After the turn, he jumped facing the basket and scored with a high-handed floater. 2-0. Xiao Tu was just playing around with Akagi Takenori, practicing his turnaround floater combo. If he plays in the NBA in the 90s, the floater will be an important scoring method for him.

Xiao Tu practiced for a month and his throwing accuracy improved.

He mastered all the technical essentials through initiation and wouldn't dabble in anything. He would slow down appropriately when releasing the ball, open his palm, and jump straight up and down to toss it high. He avoided drifting and avoided leaning his arm forward; as long as he did these things, his throwing accuracy was guaranteed.

When it was Akagi's turn to attack, he still couldn't get past Xiao Tu. This time, however, he wasn't intercepted and forced a jump shot outside the paint, which bounced off the screen due to interference.

Xiao Tu noticed that Akagi's shooting form was quite standard, but he didn't show much mid-range shooting in the manga. On the contrary, Sakuragi Hanamichi made several mid-range shots in the national tournament, showing that he had mastered them in a short period of time.

It was Xiao Tu's turn to attack again. He said from beyond the three-point line, "This time I'm going to drive to your left side, so watch out."

Akagi felt insulted, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

You've already told me everything, why would I let you go over there?
Holy crap, what is this...?

Xiao Tu dribbled the ball from his left hand between his legs to his right hand, quickly started moving down the right side, dribbled a step closer to Akagi and then took two big steps to completely shake off the defense, delivering a powerful one-handed dunk!

The audience was stunned. The moment Xiao Tu started, his lower legs were almost parallel to the ground, like a motorcycle entering a high-speed corner, it was "flying close to the ground"!
This requires a certain level of speed to do, and it's rarely seen even in the NBA. How could a Japanese high school student have ever seen this? After Xiao Tu developed his fancy footwork talent, he suddenly found himself able to do this one day, and he was able to better control his body balance.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, who knew absolutely nothing about basketball, stared intently at the court, unconsciously drawn to Xiao Tu.

Is this what basketball is all about?

Wow, that's amazing! How can someone who plays basketball be this handsome?!
Sakuragi turned his head and glanced at her. "Ah! Haruko!"

Haruko's eyes on the sidelines had turned into hearts, and her expression was blank.

Why does Haruko like Rukawa Kaede? Because he's handsome and has great basketball skills. Rukawa isn't the only one with great basketball skills, so it's mainly because he's handsome. Sendoh and Fujima are also handsome and have great basketball skills, so why doesn't Haruko like them? Firstly, she knew about Rukawa Kaede earlier, and secondly, Rukawa is on the Shohoku basketball team, and he's the only one on the Shohoku team who's both handsome and good at basketball.

Now, Shohoku has a player who is even more handsome and plays even better.

Ayako stared blankly at Mitsui Hisashi and asked, "What... what kind of breakthrough is this? Who is this friend of yours?"

Mitsui Hisashi said, "An American zaibatsu, a top-tier rich kid, is here in Japan for fun. He hasn't really made a move yet."

Kogure asked, "What if he gets serious?"

"I don't know if Akagi can score with his height advantage, but I certainly can't score against his defense," Mitsui Hisashi sighed.

He was consistently outmatched in one-on-one duels with Xiao Tu, the gap in skill level so vast it was despairing.

Xiao Tu could easily handle these high school students because he was a professional, and his advantages weren't just in terms of physique and technique.

Xiao Tu passed the ball to Akagi, and when defending, he stood very far back, waving and saying, "Try backing down me. You can't use your advantages on the outside."

Xiao Tu's voice has always been very pleasant, giving people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze, and is particularly reliable.

Akagi Takenori felt a chill run down his spine. The other party was actually letting him have his way, giving him a chance to showcase his talents.

Akagi easily dribbled the ball to the left low post at a 45-degree angle, where Xiao Tu began to defend. Despite a 12cm height difference and a 10kg weight difference, Xiao Tu felt confident he could defend.

Because he played power forward for the Lakers, he was always primarily a defensive specialist and had a lot of experience.

Akagi tried to withstand the attack twice, but lacking any strength advantage, he turned and drove to the baseline to force a shot.

Xiao Tu had seen this kind of low step move too many times. He deliberately didn't stay close enough to let Akagi turn around, and then jumped almost at the same time as Akagi. His jumping ability was superior, and he blocked the ball with a right-handed spike, sending it bouncing away.

Akagi Takenori was so bewildered that he questioned his existence because Xiao Tu was shorter than him.

Although Shohoku was eliminated in the first round of the previous two prefectural tournaments, Akagi was double-teamed by three players in the first year, and in the second year he defeated Ryonan's 202cm tall center Jun Uozumi, earning him a lot of praise.

To defend him, other teams would have to double-team him. Xiao Tu was guarding him one-on-one, but now he's making him struggle in his strongest area.

Xiao Tu smiled slightly, relaxed and cheerful. Although he had only just met Akagi Takenori, he understood his fighting style and weaknesses.

Akagi has a short shooting range and a limited playing style. If he can't even defend Akagi, his physique is simply not good enough for the NBA. He's gotten shorter, but his inside game remains.

(End of this chapter)