In his heart, that foreign old man was no different from his own grandfather. He was quite satisfied with his life. His first step was to find out about his origins and then make further plans.
Moichi Taoka didn't take him anywhere else; he led him straight back to the Ryonan Basketball Gymnasium.
Inside the stadium, Akira Sendoh was leading his team in a methodical training session when Moichi Taoka brought in a tall man, drawing curious glances from everyone.
After all, no one in Ryonan could disagree with Moichi Taoka's judgment. From Jun Uozumi to Akira Sendoh, and later Kaede Rukawa, even the troublesome Kiccho Fukuda had been brought under his thumb. The person he brought back this time was clearly no weakling.
Everyone tacitly focused their attention on Hikoichi Aida, who had been following Moichi Taoka and must know the inside story.
Hikoichi Aida felt extremely uncomfortable under the gaze. He couldn't keep a secret and wanted to reveal Sota Miyagi's background on the spot, but Moichi Taoka now looked like he wanted to devour him. If he dared to let out a single word, he could forget about following his teacher in the future.
Moichi Taoka knew perfectly well that the recruitment of Sota Miyagi just beginning. He wasn't afraid that it would fail if word got out, but rather that too many people would gossip and the news would leak out.
His biggest fear was Riki Takato from the Kainan University Affiliated High School. That guy had a keen sense for good prospects, even better than a dog. If he found out that Sota Miyagi was back, wouldn't he fight tooth and nail to get him?
He didn't want to be Riki Takato for Takato Riki, so his first priority was to get Sota Miyagi into Ryonan. Second, even if they failed, they absolutely couldn't go to Kainan. He could tolerate going to Shohoku, but if they went to Kainan, he would never be able to hold his head high again.
The two found a quiet corner by the court and sat down. Hikoichi Aida lackey, poured three glasses of water and sat down himself without even getting up.
He couldn't let this opportunity to meet a legendary player slip by; it was far more valuable than any material his sister had painstakingly gathered, and it was a pivotal moment in his career.
Moichi Taoka sip of water, his gaze shifting from the players on the field to Sota Miyagi's face, and slowly began to speak.
Previously, Moichi Taoka been holding back a lot of things about Sota Miyagi, and he didn't want to talk about them, but he couldn't resist being watched closely, so he finally couldn't hide it anymore and spilled it all out.
Although he was obsessed with getting people into Ryonan, he would never use Sota Miyagi's background as a pretext; Moichi Taoka still had that much integrity.
He values talent, but he is by no means selfish. He treats other players the same way, hoping that promising talents will not be wasted and will have a good future.
Even Gao Tou Li from Kainan, their Riki Takato- rival, who has a keen sense for good prospects and usually wants to trample Moichi Taoka underfoot, has to give a thumbs up when it comes to his character.
As Ryonan grew stronger, Moichi Taoka's reputation in the basketball world also rose. In his middle age, he finally established himself and, at this rate, he would eventually gain a place in the industry. Right now, the person closest to that goal is probably Sota Miyagi.
This kid was the youngest MVP in the country back then, famous throughout the nation. When Goro Domoto poached him beforehand, the entire basketball world was in an uproar.
When Moichi Taoka recounted these events, he didn't add any personal bias; he spoke from his own eyes and ears, without embellishing or showing any favoritism.
Moichi Taoka paused, then sighed, "That September, the basketball world was in an uproar again. News broke that Okinawa's prodigy Sota Miyagi tragically died and was missing."
As he recounted this, it was as if he were recalling his own difficult days. Back then, he was worried that Ryonan was without a pillar of support. The appearance of Sota Miyagi almost made him think that he had seen the light, but before he could catch his breath, he was pulled back to reality and still had to deal with the mess that Ryonan.
At that time, Riki Takato was already the head coach of Kainan, and he was incredibly successful. Moichi Taoka felt that his coaching career had no future. He was young and ambitious, and inevitably became pessimistic after comparing himself to others. Fortunately, he persevered and led Ryonan step by step to the top, accumulating a lot of experience. Last season, he finally made it to the top.
Sota Miyagi listened very attentively and even tried to find a reflection of himself in the story. The effect wasn't great, but it wasn't entirely fruitless either.
Moichi Taoka recounted half of his memories, and he can now recall about 70% of them. He himself never expected that he was so famous in Japan; no wonder he was so adept at playing ball.
As for his family situation, Moichi Taoka didn't know much either.
Back then, the media wasn't as developed as it is now, and basketball wasn't as popular. Nobody paid attention to the players' private lives. Back then, playing basketball was just playing basketball, and nobody talked about off-court matters. In addition, Sota Miyagi was particularly protective of his younger brother, Ryota Miyagi, and never talked about family matters with outsiders. Even when Goro Domoto said he was going to visit, he only went to his junior high school and didn't even know which way his front door faced.
Sota Miyagi would never say that too many teams wanted to sign him at the time, and he didn't want his younger brother to get involved, lest he hurt his brother's pride. So before he disappeared, Ryota Miyagi basically lived under his wing.
It wasn't just because he was famous; it was also because he genuinely loved his younger brother. After he disappeared, it took Ryota Miyagi many years to recover, and he even left his prefecture. As recently as this morning's game, Ryota Miyagi was still wearing the number seven jersey and the old wristband left by his brother.
In Sota Miyagi's memory, his younger brother's figure was still blurry. He was only sure that he had a younger brother who also had the surname Miyagi, but he couldn't remember anything else.
He had asked Moichi Taoka about his younger brother, but Moichi Taoka, which surprised him quite a bit.
Moichi Taoka pointed out a promising path. "To find out more about your background, you need to go back to Okinawa and talk to your junior high school coach or former teammates and classmates. You should be able to find quite a bit."
Sota Miyagi stood up and bowed to Moichi Taoka: "Thank you, what you said is very important, I'll take my leave now."
After all, they weren't familiar with each other yet, and apart from their backgrounds, they didn't have much to talk about. However, Sota Miyagi wouldn't just bow and call it a day.
Although Sota Miyagi was directly involved in the matter, he could sense Moichi Taoka's goodwill, and the man had saved him a lot of trouble, so simply saying thank you was not enough.
Sota Miyagi had nothing of value to offer besides money. He was thinking of sending some training equipment to Ryonan as a thank-you gift, and of course, he would also send a few bottles of good wine to Uncle Taoka. However, there was no need to say these things aloud, as it would only make the other party refuse. To put it bluntly, it was just a matter of politeness. Acting on these things would be the only way to show real sincerity.
Sota Miyagi's world travels over the years haven't been aimless; both his perspective and temperament are far more mature than those of his peers.
Seeing that Sota Miyagi was about to get up and take his leave, Moichi Taoka became anxious. He had finished talking about Sota Miyagi's background, but he, Moichi Taoka, hadn't gotten to his important business yet.
Moichi Taoka quickly raised his hand to stop them, "Wait, Sota!"
He scratched the back of his head, his tone tentative. "Um... if you're not in a hurry, perhaps we could talk some more?"
Sota Miyagi stopped and turned to look at Moichi Taoka.
Moichi Taoka pressed his advantage. "We've finished talking about the past; now I'd like to discuss the future with you."
Moichi Taoka had talked to at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, players; his experience in dealing with people and situations was already maxed out. As soon as he said that, Sota Miyagi's interest was instantly piqued.
Who wouldn't want to know what this "future" meant? Even if Sota Miyagi wasn't interested, out of respect for this kind old man, he had to sit down and listen.
Moichi Taoka cleared his throat, not mentioning joining the team directly. Firstly, it would be too abrupt and ineffective, and secondly, he hadn't yet figured out Sota Miyagi's current academic situation and thoughts, so he wasn't in a hurry to make a move. After all, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory.
Moichi Taoka hadn't hidden anything about Sota Miyagi's past, and Sota Miyagi had answered all his questions without reservation. This answer excited Moichi Taoka immensely; just as he had expected, Sota Miyagi hadn't studied in Japan.
Those years of traveling the world aren't important. What's important is that if Sota Miyagi wants to go to university in Japan, he'll have to complete a year of high school first. And from his words, it's clear he genuinely wants to stay in Japan. Isn't this opportunity just presented to him? What are young people supposed to do if they don't go to school? They absolutely have to!
However, there's a problem here. Sota Miyagi's school registration is currently only at the junior high school level. It's obvious that if you gave him a high school exam paper now, he probably wouldn't be able to write anything except his own name. Even if the paper is neat, he'd probably only get a 3 out of 100.
However, there's always a way to overcome difficulties. We can't possibly send Sota Miyagi back to junior high school at his age, can we? This situation probably never happened in history.
When faced with this situation, most people either give up their studies and enter the workforce, or they study outside to obtain a diploma indirectly. Even if they miss a year or two, they can still go to university normally if they work hard.
But Sota Miyagi is no ordinary person! What's the hottest thing in the country right now? Basketball! Even someone like Hisashi Mitsui, whose academic performance is ridiculously bad, can get invitations from prestigious universities. That's the huge added value of basketball.
In Moichi Taoka's view, Sota Miyagi has a solid foundation in basketball skills, and with a little maneuvering, he could definitely get him to skip to the final year of high school. If Sota Miyagi can perform at a high level in that year, not only will his maneuvering not be against the rules, but he will also likely receive praise. In short, this is not a problem, as long as Sota Miyagi is willing, everything else is negotiable.
After discussing these topics, Moichi Taoka moved on to the next step and then changed the subject to the current situation and development of basketball in China. He naturally did not shy away from mentioning Shohoku, who had emerged as a dark horse and dominated the country. In the high school leagues of the past two years, it was impossible to talk about anything without mentioning Shohoku.
However, Moichi Taoka also had his own motives when it came to recruitment. He wouldn't deliberately disparage other teams, but he would give Ryonan some extra attention, first planting a seed in Sota Miyagi's heart.
His central idea is actually very simple: if you join a team that is already a champion, you are just adding icing on the cake; they were already champions before you joined. But if you join a team like Ryonan, Ryonan has never won a championship before, they were just formed last year, and they even made it to the national semifinals.
They are one of the strongest contenders for the national championship, just the right size, perfect for a player like you. You can prove yourself, have a solid team foundation, and go further, even winning the national championship. This is what an excellent player should do, and it's the most meaningful thing for your short high school career.