Training continued as usual at the Shohoku basketball gym, but the intensity was definitely increased. Everyone had a specific task, and no one could go home if they didn't complete it, not even Takenori Akagi. But even so, compared to other teams, Shohoku was still playing "happy basketball".
Don't believe me? Look at Ryonan next door. I heard they've made Kaede Rukawa sick from training. But he stubbornly refuses to admit it, insisting he can still have 100-Point Battle after training. Kaede Rukawa's training volume lately is indeed frightening. Besides Ryonan's hellish courses, he also has to go to the Base Camp at night to challenge Fujima to a one-on-one match. But the results are obvious, especially in terms of physical fitness. Now, having 100-Point Battle is no problem at all.
In contrast, the special training that Shinichi Maki Shin and Kiyota underwent was even more intense. Everyone was training like crazy because while you were improving, others weren't idle either. If you slowed down even a little, you might be overtaken, and there were probably more than one person overtaking you.
Even Shirasawa was secretly honing new moves. Coach Anzai chuckled and said to Kogure, "We have a group of guests coming today, Kogure, you'd better prepare to receive them."
Kogure was stunned. "Huh? Guests? Coach, how many people are in one group?"
Just then, a burst of laughter came from outside the door, a hearty laugh that was almost irritating. "Hahaha, we're all family here, why bother with hospitality!"
Amidst the laughter, a disheveled middle-aged man in a suit strolled in. His first action was to bow deeply to Coach Anzai: "Greetings, Coach! Kazuharu Takizawa has come to pay his respects!"
Coach Anzai's eyes narrowed into slits with a smile; he was finding his disciple increasingly pleasing to the eye. Both were disciples, yet Kazumi Kawasaki was constantly scheming to poach Shirasawa from Anzai, while Kazuharu Takizawa had personally delivered Shirasawa to him. Although their positions differed, Kazuharu Takizawa's approach was clearly more appealing.
From a professional standpoint, if it weren't for Kazuharu Takizawa's keen eye, there might never be Shirasawa today. Coach Anzai never expected that this carefree disciple would have such awareness and patience, sticking with him for three years. Now, under Anzai's tutelage, he has become practically the most popular person.
Today, Kazuharu Takizawa didn't come alone; he came at the request of his teammates to see firsthand the brilliance of Shirasawa, a national five-star high school player. Yokota Junior High School's promotion of Shirasawa is no less enthusiastic than Shohoku's. They can confidently say, "This is a player our school has nurtured! Want to be the next Shirasawa? Want to be a five-star high school player? Come to Yokota! This is where miracles happen!"
As a result, Yokota Junior High School now very successful, with a bunch of promising young players vying for a spot, making it almost the only school of thought in Kanagawa. Although Kazuharu Takizawa is usually a bit of a rascal and is known as "the nation's number one Shirasawa," he is genuinely responsible for his players. In this respect, he did even better than his mentor, Coach Anzai, back in the day.
In order to ensure the team's continued improvement and to avoid repeating the mistakes of Kainan, Kazuharu Takizawa and Coach Anzai agreed to regularly bring the Yokota Junior High School basketball team to Shohoku for joint training. Today is the first time.
"Hey! Xiao Bai!" Kazuharu Takizawa as he spotted Shirasawa on the sidelines and immediately darted over.
He draped himself over Shirasawa's shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.
"Didn't we just meet a few days ago...?" Shirasawa was a little helpless as he was being squeezed.
Indeed, Shirasawa had made a special trip to see him a while ago, but he didn't go to the team; he went directly to his house.
That day, Kazuharu Takizawa was quite drunk, but he didn't stop talking, pulling Shirasawa aside to go over the situation of the national tournament.
He took his role as a talent scout very seriously, keeping a close eye on Shohoku's movements and even starting to study the top teams nationwide early on. In his mind, Shirasawa was sure he could lead Shohoku to the national tournament.
He actually made a list of opponents that he felt Shirasawa needed to pay special attention to.
He highlighted two names: Tsuyoshi Minami from Toyotama and Kazunari Fukatsu from Sannoh Industrial High School. Coincidentally, both of them are now national five-star high school students.
Kazuharu Takizawa felt that Tsuyoshi Minami was ruthless and might use dirty tricks; Kazunari Fukatsu, was an exceptionally tough defender, especially against point guards, and was known as the nation's best iron gate.
Last year, Kainan lost because, on the one hand, Eiji Sawakita too outstanding, and on the other hand, Kazunari Fukatsu locked down Shinichi Maki.
To this end, Kazuharu Takizawa collected a lot of information about the two's matches, compiled it all up, and gave it to Shirasawa for his reference.
Whether it works or not is another matter, but Shirasawa certainly felt warmed by the sentiment.
However, Shirasawa also noticed something: Kazuharu Takizawa said that he had a daughter, Anzai's wife had also mentioned it, but when he went to his house that time, he didn't see her at all.
Before leaving, Shirasawa couldn't help but ask, "Where's your daughter? Doesn't she live with you?"
Kazuharu Takizawa out a loud burp, his words becoming incoherent, yet he still spoke with great arrogance.
"You brat... don't even think about my daughter! My daughter is destined to be a big star... she's currently in Tokyo... somewhere else... anyway, she's training!"
Shirasawa pursed his lips upon hearing this, patted him on the back, and said earnestly, "I heard Tokyo is quite hot... Take care..."
At this moment, in the Shohoku Gymnasium, Kazuharu Takizawa waved his hand, and the entire Yokota Junior High School basketball team arrived. They were in good spirits, each one holding their head high and chest out. They didn't show any fear when they saw the seniors from Shohoku. They were clearly the kind of guys who could dominate in the junior high league.
Hello, senior!
All the team members bowed to Shirasawa in unison, a gesture that made Shirasawa a little embarrassed.
"Alright, alright," Shirasawa waved his hand, "It's kind of awkward to see so many people bowing to me alone..."
Next, Kogure led Yokota's team members to get to know each of the Shohoku Team, and everyone treated them with utmost respect. Kazuharu Takizawa watched from the sidelines, looking quite smug.
" Xiao Bai, see that?" He put his arm around a teammate next to him. "This is our captain. He came to Yokota specifically because of you! Let me tell you, this kid is a real gem. He's known as the best striker in Kanagawa junior high! Not bad, right?"
After saying that, he winked and grinned, "Guess where I poached him from?"
Where are you? Why are you laughing like that... could it be...?
"That's right!" Kazuharu Takizawa grinned slyly. "It's Tomigaoka! By dismantling the opponent from within, I, Kazuharu Takizawa, call this winning without a fight!"
As they were talking, the "first striker" nodded politely to Shirasawa.
"Hello, senior. My name is Ichiro Mizusawa."
Ichiro Mizusawa, formerly the ace forward of Tomigaoka Junior High School and Kaede Rukawa's junior, is currently a second-year junior high student. When Kaede Rukawa was dominating Tomigaoka, Ichiro Mizusawa was still a relatively unknown rookie. Logically, Shirasawa should have played against him—in that junior high final. However, Shirasawa doesn't remember him, and probably wouldn't even recognize him if Kaede Rukawa saw him. Back then, Kaede Rukawa didn't care about his teammates; if it weren't for the rule requiring five players on the court, he probably would have wanted to carry the entire game himself...
After Kaede Rukawa graduated and left Tomigaoka, Ichiro Mizusawa, who had always been overshadowed by Rukawa, finally had a chance to shine. His playing style was somewhat similar to Hisashi Mitsui's now; his physical talent wasn't explosive, but his playing style was unusually composed for his age, with solid technique and impressive offense and defense. However, Tomigaoka seemed to have gotten used to Kaede Rukawa's domineering style of play and wasn't too optimistic about Ichiro Mizusawa's future. He was undoubtedly an ace, but would he receive special treatment on the court? No way.
So, even with the title of "top junior high school striker," Ichiro Mizusawa could only continue playing a predictable, conservative style of football, unable to fully unleash his talent. It was at this time that Kazuharu Takizawa came knocking. His meaning was clear. "I discovered and nurtured Shirasawa; you'd better think about it yourself!"
Upon hearing this, Ichiro Mizusawa felt as if he had found a kindred spirit. For him, only by being truly seen and valued could he fully demonstrate his abilities. And wasn't the story of Kazuharu Takizawa and Shirasawa the perfect example?
Ultimately, Ichiro Mizusawa left Tomigaoka and chose to join Yokota.
This instantly elevated Yokota's strength to a new level.
Coach Takizawa genuinely wanted to nurture this child.
However, he knew perfectly well that Ichiro Mizusawa could not become the second Shirasawa. After all, how could a once-in-a-century genius like Shirasawa be copied so easily? He had said this before.
But Takizawa is confident he can mold him into the next Hisashi Mitsui.
Once Akagi and Mitsui leave Shohoku, Mizusawa will become the team's new blood.
Of course, this was also to find a capable partner for Shirasawa in advance.
In fact, Takizawa brought Ichiro Mizusawa here today specifically to "become his apprentice."
The goal is clear: find the best 3D player, Hisashi Mitsui!
As a member of the best lineup in the prefectural tournament, Hisashi Mitsui is now the undisputed number one forward in Kanagawa.
He is the perfect person to guide Ichiro Mizusawa.
Coach Anzai, of course, had no objection to this.
My top disciple is sending talent to Shohoku again; how could I refuse?
Kazuharu Takizawa did indeed learn a lot from his teacher Mitsuyoshi Anzai.
On one point, he and Coach Anzai were on the same page: the team needed to experience defeat at the right time.
This is especially important for a strong team.
To be a winner, you must first learn how to face failure.
You need to know how to deal with adversity.
However, this kind of defeat can't happen in an official match; it's fine to experience it, but not to take it seriously...
then,
A practice match between Yokota Junior High School and Shohoku was arranged.
Shohoku approached it with a training mindset, treating it like an intra-squad scrimmage.
Moreover, playing ball with younger players and enjoying the feeling of being admired is quite enjoyable.
Yokota is a top team in the junior high school league,
However, their strength is still quite different from that of Shohoku.
After all, monsters like Shirasawa and Kaede Rukawa are not common in junior high school.
However, this gap is mainly compared to the Shohoku Five Tigers.
If they faced Shohoku's reserve lineup, Yokota's starting lineup might actually have a chance to win...
This match,
Out of respect, Shohoku fielded their full starting lineup right from the start.
Yokota's players were incredibly excited to be able to compete against these five people.
Especially when facing Shirasawa —the new king of Kanagawa.
As a top team in the national junior high school league, Yokota's starting lineup is indeed impressive.
They were all eager to show off their skills in front of Shohoku.