Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Taoka Shigeichi felt a throbbing in his temples.

He stood at the entrance of Fuqiu Middle School, looking at the expressionless boy in front of him, his mouth agape, unable to close it for a while.

"Um, Coach Taoka, I'm really sorry, but I've already decided that I'll be going to Shohoku for high school."

When Rukawa Kaede said this, his tone was very flat, as if he were talking about something that didn't need to be discussed.

Taoka's mind was racing. Shohoku High School. A public school, its basketball team was relatively unknown; they hadn't even made a name for themselves in last year's prefectural tournament.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his agitation, and tried to keep his voice steady.

"Is it because of Coach Anzai?"

When Taoka asked that question, he already had the answer in his heart.

Mitsui Hisashi two years ago, and Miyagi Ryota last year, both went to Shohoku because of Coach Anzai. That white-haired, chubby old man seems to have a magnet, specifically attracting the players he sets his sights on.

Taoka's teeth itched every time he thought about it. This year, he deliberately acted early, dealing with Sakuragi before approaching Rukawa, fearing things might change if he delayed. But he was still too late?

"No. It's because Shohoku is close to home."

Taoka's mouth opened again. He stared at Rukawa's face for three seconds, trying to find a trace of a joke on that expressionless face.

It's because it's close to home. Not because of Coach Anzai, not because of the school's basketball tradition, not because of the facilities, not because of the scholarship. It's simply because it's close to home.

Taoka felt something blocking his chest, like a wad of cotton being stuffed down his esophagus, something he couldn't swallow or spit out.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the cotton ball in his throat blocked his voice.

Rukawa Kaede glanced at him, nodded slightly, and turned to leave.

Taoka stood there, watching the figure disappear around the corner of the street.

The year before last it was Mitsui Hisashi, last year it was Miyagi Ryota, and this year it's Rukawa Kaede.

Three years have passed, and one by one, the players he had his eye on went to Shohoku.

Mitsui and Miyagi are both because of Coach Anzai, and he accepts that. Coach Anzai is a national team player, a legend, and he can't compare to him.

But Rukawa Kaede did it because he lived close to home. Close to home. These three words were like three needles, piercing Taoka's heart one by one.

He turned around and walked towards the station. After a few steps, a thought suddenly popped into his head: thankfully, Sakuragi was still there.

Rukawa is gone, but Sakuragi is still here. Sakuragi accepted his offer, and he didn't refuse him because of reasons like "it's close to home".

Taoka's lips twitched slightly, a relaxed tremor of relief. He quickened his pace; he needed to get back to school quickly, Sakuragi's matter couldn't be delayed any longer.

In the chairman's office of Ryonan High School, the chairman sat behind his desk, his hands resting on the armrests. His stomach made his shirt look a little tight, his tie was tied neatly, and his expression was calm.

Taoka sat opposite him, his back ramrod straight, his hands resting on his knees.

He's been talking for ten minutes now, from Sakuragi's height and jumping ability to his rebounding instincts, from his rebounding instincts to his defensive awareness, and from his defensive awareness to his growth rate from zero to the semifinals of the county tournament in just two months.

He opened his notebook and laid it out on the chairman's desk, pointing to each of the densely recorded data.

The chairman remained silent throughout. He glanced at the notebook once, then looked away.

"Coach Taoka, you said the same thing when you proposed recruiting Sendoh last year."

The chairman tapped his fingers lightly twice on the armrest.

"As a result, in last year's county competition, our Lingnan's performance was only average, and we only made it to the top eight."

They finally made it to the semifinals of the county-level tournament that just ended this year. But they didn't even qualify for the national tournament.

Taoka pursed his lips. He wanted to say that it was already quite an achievement for Sendoh and Uozumi to carry the team into the semifinals, that Sendoh was still growing, and that the team's lineup needed more time to gel.

But he swallowed those words back. Because what the chairman said was true.

Results are results. Not making it to the national competition is not making it to the national competition. No amount of reasoning will change that.

"This kid named Sakuragi is different."

Taoka's voice was a little lower than before, but the intensity was not reduced.

"He's only been playing basketball for two months. To be able to play like this in just two months, if it weren't for the shoes, his school would have won the junior high school county championship this year. Chairman, think about it, give him another year or two, and see what he'll become."

The chairman's fingers stopped.

"Coach Taoka, our school isn't a charity. There are limited spots for special admissions, and scholarships are for students with good grades. I believe you when you say he's talented. But talent can't put food on the table, nor can it be used as tuition."

If it were baseball, to be honest, I could argue with the school board and try to squeeze in a special admission spot. But for basketball…”

The chairman picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and put it down. "Let's talk about it after he achieves some results."

Taoka sat in the chair, feeling a chill run down his spine.

He understood what the chairman meant: basketball is ultimately a niche sport in Japan, unlike baseball which has a large following.

The general public discusses Koshien more than the summer national basketball tournament or the winter qualifiers.

Furthermore, waiting for Sakuragi to achieve results is a clear rejection. Waiting for Sakuragi to achieve results is a matter for other schools.

When Taoka came out of the chairman's office, he felt like he had completely collapsed. He walked to the window at the end of the corridor, stopped, put his hands on the windowsill, lowered his head, and slumped his shoulders.

This year, all the goals I set my sights on have come to nothing.

Mitsui went to Shohoku, Miyagi went to Shohoku, Rukawa went to Shohoku, and he didn't get any of them.

Even Sakuragi, the only one who agreed to his request, couldn't get a special admission spot from the chairman.

He recalled Sakuragi's talent, temperament, and thirst for basketball; he had never seen another like him in all his years of coaching.

Taoka straightened up from the windowsill and paced back and forth in the corridor a few steps.

Should he pay out of his own pocket? Taoka quickly did the math in his mind: tuition, entrance fee, uniform fee, textbook fee, plus living expenses for a year at Ryonan University.

However, his salary as a high school coach was barely enough to support his family, leaving him with no extra money.

Every month, he has to pay his mortgage, pay for his child's tutoring, and cover all kinds of household expenses. The money on his payslip is gone before he can even hold it in his hands.

He'd pay for Sakuragi's tuition out of his own pocket? He'd even hesitate for ages before buying himself an extra jacket.

Taoka leaned against the wall, the back of his head against the cold surface, and closed his eyes. He didn't want to give up, but he didn't know how to continue.

A few days later, Taoka and Sakuragi met again near Wako Junior High School.

Taoka looked at Sakuragi's expectant face, and his throat felt like it was blocked by something. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitated for a long time, and finally spoke.

"Sakuragi-kun, the school still hasn't approved the special admission spot."

When he said this, his voice was half a tone lower than usual, and his speaking speed was half as slow as usual. He

Sakuragi was stunned, and the first thought that popped into his mind was that he couldn't go to the same school as Yanai.

Taoka watched Sakuragi's face quickly darken and assumed he was upset about not being able to attend Ryonan University and play basketball. He sighed inwardly, hesitated for a moment, and then made a decision.

"Sakuragi-kun, summer vacation is almost here. Our Ryonan basketball team doesn't have a vacation; we'll be having summer training. If you'd like, you can come to Ryonan and train with us."

Sakuragi's eyes lit up immediately.

After the prefectural tournament, the third-year students of Wako Junior High School were no longer allowed to train with the basketball team. Mr. Takeda had stated that the third-year students needed to prepare for their entrance exams, and therefore their activities with the basketball team were suspended.

Sakuragi had been worrying for days about not finding a place to play basketball. Now that Coach Taoka said he could train at Ryonan, he felt like someone who had been walking in the desert for a long time suddenly seeing a bottle of water.

"Really?" Sakuragi's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Okay." Taoka looked at Sakuragi's face, which had brightened up again, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Sakuragi nodded vigorously.

Taoka looked at his smile and sighed inwardly.

He will continue to try to secure the special admission slots. He will also try to negotiate with the chairman of the board again. If once doesn't work, he'll try twice; if twice doesn't work, he'll try three times.

He, Taoka Shigeo, never easily gave up on any player he had his eye on.