Basketball miracles

Chapter 179 [The Goal is to Dominate the Nation]

After Sakuragi Hanamichi finished his introduction, the second and third-year players from Shohoku also introduced themselves.

The only person who wasn't there was Miyagi Ryota. Xiao Tu knew he was still in the hospital and his injuries were much more serious than Mitsui Hisashi's. His first appearance in the manga was when he was pursuing a girl, and after being rejected, he was teased by the four members of Sakuragi's gang, almost leading to a fight.

Through his conversation with Yasuharu Yasuda, Xiao Tu confirmed that this was part of the manga's storyline and had nothing to do with the movie version.

The movie version is quite far-fetched; Ryota Miyagi becomes the main protagonist, and the story unfolds entirely from his perspective. This has confused and even angered many fans, with some jokingly referring to the film as "The Legend of Ryota Miyagi," indicating very low acceptance of the adaptation.

Ryota Miyagi, who scored 2 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 5 turnovers against Sannoh, somehow ended up playing in the US and even starting. The director clearly has no idea how good Miyagi is; does he even deserve the title?
At this time, there was also a butterfly effect caused by Xiao Tu. Akagi Takenori introduced himself: "I am the captain of Shohoku High School. I am Akagi Takenori, a third-year student. Nice to meet you."

In the manga, when Akagi introduces himself, he proudly refers to himself as "Commander." But with Xiao Tu around, Akagi is too embarrassed to use that term anymore and becomes quite modest.

Xiao Tu participated in three basketball team training sessions, and each time he utterly crushed Akagi Takenori, leaving him questioning his existence. Xiao Tu was a point guard, yet he could coach Akagi on inside game techniques, and his low-post offense was even better than Akagi's.

Xiao Tu was a star power forward for the Lakers in the 80s. He was very skilled at how to receive the ball and turn around smoothly, and how to use fake moves to quickly drive to the basket.

Akagi and Xiao Tu are incomparable because Akagi's offensive techniques are formulaic, and his movements are skillful but predictable.

Akagi's main techniques are actually just two moves: a step-back turn to the basket and a shot, and a fake followed by a turn and a shot towards the middle. His playing style is too predictable, and if an opponent with better physical attributes can keep him outside the paint, his shooting percentage will be reduced.

That's exactly what Masashi Kawata did. He was 3cm shorter than Akagi but very muscular. After Akagi's two moves were blocked, he was dumbfounded and started hitting the wrong balls like crazy.

In addition, Akagi's mid-range shot is not good. He was blocked by Rukawa during the team's practice games. Even if he was not blocked, he might not be able to make the shot.

Xiao Tu likes to fadeaway jump shots in the low post, something Akagi can't learn.

While Xiao Tu was relentlessly beating Akagi, he explained the tactical role of interior players and efficient playing styles to him. Xiao Tu used NBA games and star players as examples to broaden his horizons.

Whenever Xiao Tu mentions the NBA, whether it's true or not, Akagi will treat that style of play as a basketball bible because the skill level is so much lower. These are things that Akagi doesn't usually come into contact with; just hearing about them makes him feel like he can become stronger.

When it was Xiao Tu's turn to introduce himself, he said, "I am Sebastian Shaw, from Los Angeles, USA, and I am 17 years old. This semester I will be studying at Shohoku High School, representing the team in basketball games, and playing point guard. It's nice to meet you all."

Before the team's newcomers could react, a scream erupted from the sidelines.

A large group of girls from Shohoku High School became basketball fans, gathering at the sidelines to watch Xiao Tu. Only four members of Sakuragi's team were male fans, standing on the second floor. There were too many people; Akagi Takenori couldn't even hold a closed training session, as it would incite public outrage.

The cheerleaders "Rukawa Mikoto" from the manga, those three die-hard female fans have now become Xiao Tu's fans, which is particularly eye-catching.

They weren't beautiful, but they were bold and loud, which left a deep impression on Xiao Tu when he read the comics.

These three are incredibly powerful. They can knock the fat Anzai Mitsuyoshi flying with a single shove, and their sharp tongues drive Sakuragi to the brink of a breakdown, making his head throb with anger. They even single-handedly turned Ryonan's gym into Shohoku's home court.

They have a synchronized cheering dance, dressed in revealing clothing and performing high knee raises. Whenever Rukawa scores a goal, their shouts can echo throughout the entire stadium.

By the time Shohoku faced Hainan in the semifinals of the county, Rukawa had already developed into a large group, with the three girls becoming the managers, demonstrating truly exceptional organizational skills.

When it comes to Slam Dunk fans, Shohoku's Rukawa is the undisputed king.

Now that these three girls have witnessed Xiao Tu tormenting Akagi Takenori, they have become Xiao Tu's fans, and it probably won't be long before they form a "Xiao Tu fan club".

Unlike Rukawa Kaede, who is a reclusive and immature young man, Xiao Tu is happy to wave and interact with fans as long as they cheer for him.

Today, he waved to the girls on the sidelines again and said loudly, "Hello everyone, thank you for your support!"

"Ahhh! So handsome!"

"Xiao! I love you!"

"Did you see? He replied to us, waaaaaah..."

Akagi Takenori and the others were exasperated, but they couldn't very well step in and kick them out, so they could only ignore it.

Mitsui Hisashi exclaimed, "You have this many fans in America too?"

"It's not that exaggerated," Xiao Tu said softly. "The people here are quite enthusiastic." These girls would be labeled as "brainless fans" in the internet age, but Xiao Tu, as the idol they admired, thought they were quite cute.

When people are young, almost everyone has an idol they're crazy about; some celebrities just can make people swoon. They're not afraid of ridicule and have a youthful passion that's passionate and devoted to love.

When Xiao Tu returns to the United States in the future, these girls will see the news of his NBA debut and will surely silently wish him well, creating a beautiful memory. They will realize that they didn't make a mistake in supporting him back then; their idol is even more outstanding than they imagined.

Moreover, they will never have the opportunity to get up close to superstars again.

Ayako arrived a little late. She didn't like wearing her school uniform, so she changed into a sexy t-shirt, leggings, and a baseball cap. She introduced herself, making the first-year students blush and their hearts race.

Ayako stepped forward and put her arm around Rukawa's shoulder, saying, "Rukawa, you're here. You've grown taller again!"

"Hmm," Rukawa Kaede replied calmly.

Ayako said to Xiao Tu, "Rukawa Kaede, like me, graduated from Tomioka Junior High School. He likes basketball and has a strong sense of pride, so don't be too harsh on him, like you were with Akagi-senpai."

Akagi blushed slightly. "Stop talking nonsense."

"Anyway, he'll soon find out how good Xiao is." Ayako laughed. "Rukawa Kaede, you can challenge Xiao to a duel often and have him teach you some powerful techniques."

Rukawa Kaede looked at Xiao Tu, seemingly lost in thought.

Akagi Takenori clapped his hands and said loudly, "Listen up, everyone. Before we begin practice, there's something I need to make clear. Our goal this year is to dominate the nation, so the practice will be very rigorous. You'd better be prepared!"

The newcomers were immediately intimidated by Akagi's imposing presence and felt immense pressure. Some joined the basketball club just to play for fun, without any intention of achieving anything significant, and were even less willing to train hard.

Mitsui Hisashi, Kogure, and the others thought to themselves, "Who are we supposed to be dominating the nation this season for? What are you getting all worked up about?"

Xiao Tu gave Akagi Takenori a thumbs-up as encouragement, saying that it's always good to have dreams.

After everyone warmed up together, Sakuragi Hanamichi was, as usual, handed over to Ayako to do basic training on the sidelines.

Xiao Tu wouldn't argue, because fundamentals are crucial in basketball, even in American basketball. Someone with poor fundamentals, no matter how good their physical attributes, will only have a limited potential and can only be a role player.

To play basketball well, players first need to understand what basketball is and develop their ball control. However, Xiao Tu didn't recommend that Sakuragi Hanamichi only practice dribbling; he also taught him how to shoot under the basket.

"If you can't dunk, when you get the ball under the basket, you can use your height and jumping advantage to shoot over the defense. Jump with all your might and gently put the ball into the basket."

Xiao Tu demonstrated the move, which Sakuragi Hanamichi then imitated. It was a very simple movement, but Sakuragi practiced it with great enthusiasm.

Sakuragi, a beginner, knew he had to score points in the game to stand out and attract Haruko Akagi's attention. He wanted to score more points, so shooting practice was enjoyable for him; he practiced endlessly without any prompting.

From now on, Sakuragi can practice shooting under the basket for an extra hour every day after the basic training.

Once his accuracy improves, Xiao Tu will teach him other techniques.

In the manga, Sakuragi had been playing basketball for over two months, and the Shohoku team had made it to the semifinals of the prefectural tournament, yet Sakuragi still couldn't shoot a basket. Xiao Tu thought this was an incredibly slow and idiotic rate of progress.

This didn't happen because Sakuragi lacked talent; it happened because no one taught him. Takenori Akagi limited Sakuragi's development by not allowing him to practice shooting. Coach Anzai's refusal to teach him is even more absurd; this isn't some high-level technique, it's basic basketball.

Rukawa Kaede challenged Xiao Tu to a one-on-one duel. "One-on-one, I want you to be my opponent, okay?"

“Okay.” Xiao Tu knew that Rukawa Kaede was someone who liked one-on-one battles.

In the manga, Rukawa Kaede challenges Sendoh to a duel, which lasts from afternoon until nightfall.

Everyone else immediately stopped practicing and ran to the sidelines to watch. The female fans were especially excited.

Ayako even called Sakuragi Hanamichi to watch. "Stop practicing for now, Xiao is about to perform."

Rukawa Kaede has been turned into a chibi version of a question mark face.

The performance... does that mean he hit me?
(End of this chapter)