Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

After the new members joined, and after several days of training and adjustment, every day after school when Takenori Akagi walked into the basketball court, he would tell himself, "Don't laugh. You are the captain. You must maintain your dignity."

He says this several times a day.

The urge to smile grew stronger every day because of the newcomers Sakuragi and Rukawa.

Moreover, the arrival of Rukawa and Sakuragi filled the gap in Shohoku's most lacking position: the forward line.

Akagi had mentally rehearsed the lineup many times. Last year's lineup included him in the paint, Kogure and Miyagi on the perimeter, but the forward line was empty.

The opponent's scorers can easily receive the ball on both wings, easily break through, and easily shoot, because no one can match up against them.

It's different now.

When Rukawa Kaede stands in the small forward position, that position is no longer a gap.

Sakuragi playing power forward was practically a gift from God to Shohoku.

Akagi had never seen any first-year rookie with such physical abilities. He was strong enough to wrestle with him under the basket, and his defensive instincts were as sharp as a wild beast that had caught the scent of its prey.

What pleased Akagi most was his rebounding. The instant the ball bounced off the rim, Sakuragi's body had already begun to move, half a beat faster than others.

That ability to judge where the ball will land isn't something that can be taught; it's innate, something ingrained in your bones. No one can take it away or learn it.

Although he didn't want to admit it, Akagi knew very well that this red-haired rookie could actually dominate him in the paint. He could defend him, but Akagi couldn't defend him. His offensive skills were very diverse, especially his accurate mid-range shot.

Akagi knew in his heart that Sakuragi was much stronger than Rukawa. Rukawa was strong on offense but weak on defense, while Sakuragi was strong on both offense and defense.

Moreover, the two's self-discipline in training saved Akagi a lot of trouble.

Especially Sakuragi Hanamichi. After every training session, when everyone else had left, he would stay in the gym to practice shooting, doing a thousand shots every day without fail.

One time, Akagi was leaving late and saw Sakuragi still practicing his shooting. He couldn't help but go over and say something:

"Sakuragi, your hard work deserves praise, but I personally think that with your height and physical attributes, you should first focus your training on your inside skills, such as positioning, turning, help defense, and finishing under the basket. These are the things you need to improve the most right now."

"Take your time with shooting, no rush."

Despite Akagi's advice, after making a basket, Sakuragi wiped the sweat from his face and gave a serious yet arrogant reply.

"Hey Captain Gorilla, you don't understand! Because my ultimate plan for my future in basketball is to play point guard."

Akagi's eyes widened upon hearing this, and he no longer cared about Sakuragi calling him a gorilla.

"Point guard?"

Akagi Takenori felt that his mind was a little slow to process what was happening.

A 1.88-meter point guard? In Japanese high school basketball, 1.88 meters is enough to play center, and in some teams, he's even the tallest player.

And now this 1.88-meter-tall red-haired guy says he wants to play point guard.

He's not a forward, not a center, he's a point guard.

A point guard is responsible for dribbling the ball across half-court, organizing the offense, passing the ball, and controlling the ball.

Sakuragi's gaze passed over Akagi's shoulder and landed on the poster on the opposite wall. The poster featured a silhouette of someone dunking, with the head resembling a dark, braised egg. And this braised egg had just won his first championship last year.

"That's because my ultimate goal is to make it to the NBA."

When Sakuragi said this, he had a confident and arrogant look on his face.

"With my height, playing inside in Japan might be fine. But if I want to play in the NBA in the US, my height only allows me to play on the perimeter. Point guard is the best option."

Akagi's mouth opened even wider.

He looked at Sakuragi's face, trying to find a trace of joking, a trace of boasting.

But he found nothing.

Although Sakuragi's expression was arrogant, the seriousness in his eyes was genuine.

In the year since he started playing basketball, and influenced by that strange dream, Sakuragi has bought many basketball magazines about the NBA.

He saw the height, weight, position, and stats of those NBA players in the magazine.

He discovered a pattern. Players with the height to play inside in Japan can only play outside in the NBA.

Michael Jordan was 1.98 meters tall and played shooting guard. Magic Johnson was 2.06 meters tall and played point guard.

Those who weren't much taller than him were dribbling, breaking through, shooting, and passing on the perimeter, doing things completely different from Japanese high school basketball centers.

He compared the data in the magazine with his own height many times, and every time he came to the same conclusion: if he went to the NBA, he could only play on the perimeter.

If you're playing inside, no matter how hard you train, you'll get destroyed against top centers like O'Neal, Robinson, Ewing, and Karl Malone.

Unless... his height can exceed two meters.

Most importantly, it's that dream I've been having all along.

In his dream, he is Kawamura Eiki, a short man of 1.72 meters, who plays in the NBA.

A Japanese man who is 1.72 meters tall can dribble, break through, shoot, and pass on the NBA court, and compete against black players who are 30 centimeters taller than him, even if he only sits on the bench and plays for a few minutes of garbage time.

If someone who is 1.72 meters tall can go to the NBA, then someone who is 1.88 meters tall should be able to play as a starter if he trains hard, instead of sitting on the bench and playing garbage time, right?

Looking at Sakuragi's serious face, Akagi didn't know what to say.

His goal was to lead Shohoku to the national tournament and dominate the country, while the other person's goal was to enter the NBA.

The gap between these goals and reality is... too big.

He has met many newcomers who, when they first joined the basketball team, all said they wanted to play in the national tournament, win the championship, and become the ace.

But no one has ever said they want to play in the NBA.

In the end, one can only sigh, "Young people these days are truly remarkable."

His goal is to make it into the national competition, but after two years, he hasn't even gotten close.

Just then, the gym door was pushed open, interrupting Takenori Akagi's recollection.

Then Ayako walked in first, and then she turned to the side to let the people behind her in. The beautiful figure that came in made the noise in the stadium a little quieter.

She was very tall, probably over 1.7 meters, wearing the Xiangbei school uniform, with long, straight legs and long, flowing hair that curled slightly at the ends and draped gently over her shoulders.

The basketball team members stopped what they were doing and looked over with curiosity. It was an incredibly cute girl, and what's more, she was tall, even taller than some of the basketball team members.

"ikebana!"

Yuri Yanai raised her hand and waved towards the direction of the basketball court.

Her voice was like a pebble thrown into calm water, the ripples spreading outwards in concentric circles, reaching every corner of the stadium.

Sakuragi Hanamichi heard the voice. His body reacted instantly, casually tossing the basketball in his hand to the side.

The ball flew in a flat and fast arc, grazing Kentaro Ishii's ear before slamming onto the floor with a "thud," bouncing twice, and rolling into a corner.

Ishii froze, his neck shrank back half an inch, and his eyes widened.

Sakuragi didn't notice any of this. With a bright smile, he quickly ran towards the entrance of the stadium, like a big dog that had just heard its owner's call, almost wagging its tail.

"What brings you here?" The voice that greeted them was a octave higher than usual, carrying an barely suppressed surprise.

Yanai looked up at Sakuragi's sweaty face, took out a towel from his pocket, stood on tiptoe, pressed the towel to Sakuragi's forehead, and slowly wiped away the sweat.

"I applied to join the basketball team for support work. Senior Ayako has approved it. I'm a member of the basketball team now."