Kuroko's Basketball: I'm not the boss?

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Haichang High School Basketball Club

Takeuchi glanced at the stack of club applications that Xiangyang had handed over, then put them directly into his drawer without even looking at them, and asked, "So, are there any promising talents this year?"

Xiang Yang found a sofa and sat down, saying slowly and deliberately, "If the promising talents you're referring to are like Yuki, then I can only say... no."

Takeuchi paused in his hand as he raised the water cup, rolled his eyes at Xiangyang, and said, "Why are you always spouting foreign languages? Of course, I don't expect to see players like you, Kise, and Yuki every year. By 'good prospects,' I mean players who are decent enough to be starters!"

Xiang Yang nodded in sudden realization: "That's true. It's probably because the team's performance is getting better and better. The number of new students applying to join the club is increasing every year, including many players who were already quite famous during their middle school years."

Hearing this, Takeuchi was relieved. He picked up his teacup, pretended to press the tea leaves, and took a small sip.

At this moment, Xiangyang seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "The only problem is... our team doesn't have any new players who can play the four or five positions this year."

"Pfft!!!"

Takeuchi spat out a mouthful of tea. He looked at Xiangyang, who had been hiding to the side as if he had expected this, and couldn't help but curse, "You brat, are you doing this on purpose? Why did you only say something this important now?"

Xiang Yang shrugged noncommittally and said, "You didn't ask either."

Seeing Xiang Yang's shameless behavior, even Wu Nei lost his temper. He angrily wiped the water stains from the corner of his mouth, picked up the application forms in the drawer, and flipped through them one by one.

"Position 1, Position 1, Position 1-2, Position 2, Position 2-3..."

The further down you scroll

The more he looked up, the uglier his expression became. When the last application still listed the position as number one, he couldn't hold back any longer. He suddenly looked up and asked Xiangyang, "Why are there so many people in our family playing the number one position? What's going on?"

Xiang Yang pointed to himself in surprise and asked, "Do you think I wanted this? Suddenly a large group of people have appeared to take my job, and I haven't even protested yet! I already had Yuki chasing after me, and now dozens more have suddenly appeared. Who am I supposed to complain to?"

Takeuchi was deflated. He knew he couldn't blame Xiangyang. He flipped through the application forms again, still not believing it, and frowned. "Of these nearly one hundred freshmen, only four play the power forward or center position? And three of them are power forwards. Our team can't even find a backup center?"

Xiang Yang thought for a moment and corrected, "No, if Ryota were still here, he could play center, and this freshman could be the substitute."

Takeuchi:…

Takeuchi clutched his chest, feeling as if something was about to burst from his throat. He looked at Xiangyang and asked in a trembling voice, "How is that new center's skill level?"

Xiang Yang raised an eyebrow and asked in return, "Who are you comparing him to? If it's someone like Murasakibara, then he's definitely not as good as him."

Takeuchi frowned and said, "How does it compare to Nebu?"

Xiang Yang decisively replied, "How about we do it?"

Takeuchi asked again, "How does it compare to Teppei of the Jōrin team?"

Xiang Yang hesitated for a moment: "Tie Ping before or after the injury?"

Takeuchi: "Can he compare after he's injured?"

Xiangyang: "No."

Takeuchi:

Seeing his coach looking extremely anxious, Xiang Yang quickly comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, Coach. Although you can't compare to those three centers, you're still better than that senior Kogoro from before..."

Upon hearing this, Takeuchi raised his head and looked at Xiangyang with hopeful eyes.

If this newcomer can be compared to Hori, then with proper training, he could be reasonably competent as a starting center.

Unfortunately... Xiang Yang smiled broadly and said, "Compared to Senior Koki, he is no match for him."

For a second, Takeuchi's expression froze.

"Could it be... that fate is against me, Haichang?"

Takeuchi rolled his eyes and lay back in his seat. Even a basketball novice knows how many problems and hidden dangers a team without a center would have, let alone Takeuchi.

At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind: Could Yuki be trained to play the number one position?

Seeing his coach looking like he was about to die on the spot, Xiang Yang whistled, took a notebook out of his pocket, and threw it onto Wu Nei's beer belly.

"Cheer up, coach. At least this year, we have plenty of guards, so we won't feel bad about using fouling tactics."

Hearing Xiangyang's nonchalant words, Wuwei looked up angrily, about to say something, but then saw the notebook on his stomach.

"what is this?"

Takeuchi picked up the notebook, opened it, and asked Xiangyang a question. The latter put his hands behind his head and walked out the door, leaving only a light sentence: "Take a look for yourself. This is... what I gained from my flower-growing journey!"

pat!

The office door rang, and Xiang Yang left Wu Nei's office.

At this moment, Takeuchi narrowed his eyes and began to read the contents of the notebook word by word.

Even though the workmanship was rough and the handwriting was a bit messy, Takeuchi could still tell that this was a new tactical system that Xiangyang had never shown before.

"Abandoning the traditional center-forward style of positional play...adopting a small and fast five-defender lineup...a ​​bombardment tactic?"

Chapter 227 The Enrollment Goes Wrong

"One two one, one two one..."

Haichang High School Basketball Club

The newly enrolled first-year students are doing endurance training around the basketball court.

According to Kaijo's usual team culture, new recruits are supposed to play a practice match against second- or third-year students. However, due to the unprecedented number of new recruits this year, the practice match had to be temporarily canceled.

Corner of the stadium

Xiangyang sat on the yoga mat, stretching his leg muscles while watching the freshmen running in circles. As the current captain of Haichang, it was also his job to discover and promote promising newcomers.

Beside him, Takeuchi frowned as he looked at the notebook in his hand, which was the very notebook that Xiangyang had given him yesterday.

"Bombardment tactics... I'm not kidding, Xiangyang, is this really not something you just came up with to fool me?"

Takeuchi stroked his chin, looking at Xiangyang with suspicion, and said, "Abandoning the traditional center-forward style of play and adopting a smaller and faster five-defender lineup, you really dare to write that! If this were posted online, you'd see how many netizens would criticize you!"

It wasn't that Takeuchi didn't trust Xiangyang, but rather that the tactics he proposed were far too advanced for the current world of Kuroko's Basketball.

Xiangyang stretched out his arms, pressed his entire upper body down, and brought his head as close to his toes as possible. While compressing his ligaments, he explained to Wu Nei, "The five-defender formation is just a metaphor. The core concept of this tactic is actually to increase the speed of the four and five positions to improve the overall rhythm of the game."

"If we are quick and seize our opportunities well, then the opposing center forward will become a weakness on the field due to his lack of speed."

Xiangyang's tone was calm, and he did not panic in the face of Takeuchi's question. His confident demeanor left Takeuchi speechless for a moment.

"Then... then let me ask you, if you don't have a center at home, who will protect the rebounds and the rim on the defensive end?"

Even though he often slacks off at sea, Takeuchi's coaching level is still quite good, and the questions he raises are always to the point.

The biggest weakness of the five-guard offense is the significant reduction in defensive strength, as there will always be a lack of a big man to protect the rim.

Xiang Yang shrugged and replied, "Then there's nothing we can do but rely on the five of us short guys to fight our way to the rebounds."

Takeuchi:? ? ?

Seeing the grimaces appear on Takeuchi's face, Xiangyang slowly got up and stretched, smiling as he reassured him, "Don't be angry, Coach. I didn't bring out this tactic to tease you."

"In fact, this tactic is more suitable as a surprise move in the game, to catch the opponent off guard by suddenly changing the formation! This tactic was not developed for people to use as the team's basic tactic."

"But..."

Xiang Yang used one hand to hold Wu Nei's chin, turning his head towards the direction of the sports field, where dozens of freshmen from the school were doing running training together.

A question mark appeared above Takeuchi's head, clearly not understanding what Xiangyang meant. He was about to ask a question when Xiangyang's voice interrupted him.

"We may not have a choice now."

Xiang Yang sighed.

He pointed to the back of the group, indicating that Takeuchi should look there.

Following the conventional running principle, shorter people usually run in front and taller people follow behind, and normal formations create a wave-like pattern. However, the formation of the freshmen at Ocean University was somewhat different…

From the front of the line all the way to the back, the players were all roughly the same height. Although there were some differences between them, they were all in the same category.

Looking at the back of the team, four tall players stood out conspicuously. Even from that distance, Xiangyang and Wu Nei could tell who they were at a glance.

Xiang Yang cleared his throat and said, "Let me introduce you. The tall player standing on the left is Sato. He's from a remote village in the west. Because of the poor economic development there, there isn't even a basketball court. He's been playing with a ball since he was a child and has a great passion for basketball..."

"If you include today, then it should be exactly one month into his basketball career! By the way, he doesn't even quite understand the number of steps when he goes for a three-step layup."

Xiangyang's face showed a reminiscing expression. He recalled the first time he met Sato during the interview, and Sato's expression after reading the information on the application form was quite interesting.

Takeuchi's lips twitched a few times as he asked, "How did someone like this get into Kaisho? Don't tell me it was through a basketball recruitment program!"

Xiang Yang shook his finger and said, "This year, the Ministry of Education is going to carry out political poverty alleviation and encourage children in the mountains to go to the city. So, if students from there want to get into our school, they will only need to score about half of what they usually do."

Takeuchi:…

"next."

Xiangyang licked his lips, pointed to a tall guy on his right, and explained, "This is Maocun. He has been playing basketball for about two years, but he has a congenital heart disease and cannot maintain high-intensity basketball games. It is said that he had a big argument with his family when he wanted to join the basketball club."

"In short, he is a player who joined Haichang with a passion for the sport!"

"And that player, he's had a tough time too..."

……

"Look, that's the last one..."

"stop!"

Takeuchi, his face ashen, interrupted Xiangyang and asked first, "This time, is he from a poor background or is he seriously ill?"

Xiang Yang was taken aback for a moment: "None of them. In fact, among these people, I think he has the best chance of being Haichang's starting player!"

"Of course, this is on the premise that our goal is not to win the championship."

Takeuchi's eyebrows furrowed deeply: "What do you mean?"

Xiang Yang explained, "He started playing basketball in junior high school, but unfortunately he doesn't have much talent. Although he works hard in training, it would be too much to ask him to help Haichang win the championship. He can barely make do as a substitute, but he's not good enough to be a starter."

Hearing this, Takeuchi let out a sigh of relief, his voice hoarse, and said, "Weren't we four-time consecutive champions? Why is the quality of our new students so poor?"

"Oh! You're mistaken!"

Xiang Yang put his arm around Wu Nei's shoulder and pointed at the freshmen who were running, saying, "See that short guy? Don't let his height fool you, he's the champion of last year's National Middle School Basketball Tournament."

Ah! He's still in the starting lineup!