"Kudo, I wonder how you see yourself right now. Would you be interested in going beyond Japan to see the talented players in other Asian countries?"
(I'm just writing about the golden generation of Chinese basketball. I'm not some Japan worshipper, and the protagonist won't join Japan's national team, much less disparage Chinese basketball. I'm begging you, dear readers, please don't flame me.)
Coach Anzai had genuinely come to cherish Ryota Kudo's basketball talent.
Takenori Akagi, Hisashi Mitsui, Ryota Miyagi, and Kaede Rukawa all had good basketball talent.
But to Coach Anzai, who had seen basketball on a much bigger stage, that was still not enough. At the very least, their current abilities were not enough.
Only Ryota Kudo and Hanamichi Sakuragi truly possessed that kind of talent. They were the two players Coach Anzai recognized.
Those words tempted Ryota Kudo. With a Chinese soul inside him, how could he not want to meet China's golden generation of basketball?
Ryota Kudo nodded and agreed without hesitation. "I do! If I get the chance, I'll definitely seize it."
"Good." Coach Anzai's expression then turned somewhat hesitant as he considered how to tell Ryota Kudo the realities of the basketball world.
The Japanese did not publicize news that reflected poorly on them, or they simply suppressed it.
Basketball was one example. Most Japanese people had always thought they were strong, unaware of the true standard of international basketball.
Coach Anzai then spent a long time telling Ryota Kudo about his experiences playing for the national team.
It could hardly be called a national-team career, really. It was more a diary of beatings.
Against the Chinese team, the South Korean team, and others of that era (the Korean team was very strong back then), he had suffered defeat after defeat.
He had not