Only with influence can players gain their trust, fans love them, and ultimately, they have commercial value.
In general, this leading player needs to have influence over fans and players, and be willing to listen and unconditionally trust them.
This seemed impossible, but Shirasawa and Sanae exchanged a glance, understanding each other without saying a word.
Shirasawa, as the proposer, is the best candidate.
For Sanae, even if the plan wasn't what Shirasawa wanted, once she became his agent, the first person she would sign would definitely be Shirasawa, regardless of his influence.
Sanae was willing to give anything as long as it involved Shirasawa, and now that everything was going smoothly, she was overjoyed.
Of course, Shirasawa's plans weren't just about finding a new way out for Sanae, given their relationship.
Sanae is nominally the manager, but in reality, it's Shirasawa who makes the decisions behind the scenes. From now on, she won't just rely on the system to pay her.
Once a few players are signed, there will be more room for maneuver, making this undoubtedly a win-win situation.
From that day on, the two began their operation: Shirasawa was responsible for building up his reputation, Sanae was responsible for gaining fame and manipulating things behind the scenes.
When Shirasawa became famous, his agent, Sanae, was born.
Opportunity favors the prepared mind. With the help of favorable external conditions, Shirasawa made a name for himself and his team in just one match.
Fortunately, Sanae was a strong executor and took over the project, which led to what happened later.
Until this moment, when Sanae uttered the title " Shirasawa's manager," Coach Anzai nodded deeply upon hearing it, and couldn't help but think of his former beloved student Ryuji Yazawa.
If Ryuji Yazawa had had a reliable manager back then, that terrible incident might never have happened.
Coach Anzai had heard of Sanae Nakagawa. Although she was young, she had a good reputation in the industry, and many veteran coaches approved of her way of doing things.
Moreover, he had already heard from Shirasawa's first coach, Kazuharu Takizawa, that the relationship between Shirasawa and Sanae was quite unusual.
To be honest, Coach Takizawa has gone to great lengths for Shirasawa over the past three years, trying every possible way to guide him onto the path of basketball.
If we're talking about who understands Shirasawa best in this world, Kazuharu Takizawa would be second to none.
Therefore, Coach Anzai figured that having Sanae as Shirasawa's manager would only benefit Shirasawa, and not cause him any harm.
Ayako listened for a long time and gradually understood.
She was even a little surprised; Shirasawa and Sanae were quite bold.
Only Takenori Akagi remained standing there, his face bearing the standard bewildered expression.
For him, the final conclusion is simple: if Coach Anzai is right, then he is right.
His presence today is purely a formality due to his status as team leader.
Then, in front of the head coach, captain, and team manager of Shohoku, Sanae laid out her plans for team promotion.
She is indeed Shirasawa's personal agent, but Shirasawa is currently tied to Shohoku.
So Sanae simply took over the media operations as well.
From now on, she will be in charge of all of Shohoku's external publicity arrangements.
And it was all done entirely voluntarily.
Ayako was responsible for overall coordination and implementation, working in conjunction with the Sanae.
Coach Anzai and Ayako naturally had no objections to the proposal and wholeheartedly supported it.
Leave professional tasks to professionals to maximize results.
And so it went.
From this moment on Shirasawa and Sanae's agency officially opened for business.
Back at the locker room entrance.
As soon as Sanae appeared, a small commotion arose among the reporters.
This is especially evident in Yayoi Aida.
But in that instant, the tangled mess in her mind seemed to suddenly become clear!
"Everyone, please don't rush," Ayako said with a smile, "From now on, all team interview-related matters will be arranged by Sanae."
Ayako had a good impression of Sanae, finding her to be friendly and easy to get along with, and noting that Sanae had many admirable qualities she could learn from.
Not only in terms of doing things, but even in things like dressing and grooming, which are typically considered girly, Ayako felt she could learn a thing or two from her.
More importantly, Ayako could sense that Sanae genuinely wanted to help Shirasawa, and based on that alone, her favorability towards her was immediately maxed out.
Beautiful women are often attracted to each other, because the two had only met a few times before they were already chatting enthusiastically, and even made plans to work out together.
After Ayako said that, the reporters were all stunned.
So, Sanae is now in charge of all the Shohoku Basketball Team's external publicity?
She even quit her job at Basketball Weekly to do this?
This operation is a bit confusing...
But soon, everyone realized a problem—
What will happen to reporter Aida?
Sanae didn't give the news to " Basketball Weekly " last time, what about this time?
When all eyes turned to Yayoi Aida.
Sanae smiled slightly and nodded politely to her.
" Aida, I'm sorry, Shohoku is not currently accepting interviews from Basketball Weekly."
As everyone guessed, it was right.
This is good news for other media outlets!
This will put an end to that arrogant Basketball Weekly again!
Yayoi Aida frowned slightly, feeling displeased, but she didn't show it on her face.
She smiled back, then turned and left with her entourage.
Regardless of Yayoi Aida thinks,
Sanae did this not because of the so-called rivalry between the two of them before.
There are actually two reasons why Shohoku has always excluded Basketball Weekly.
The first reason is to leverage the shared sense of righteous indignation among other media outlets to keep Shohoku in the spotlight.
They fought tooth and nail, but in the end, it was Shohoku and Shirasawa who benefited.
Secondly, Sanae used to work for Basketball Weekly, so she knows their ways all too well.
That's outrageous!
It's as if being featured in their magazine is an immense honor.
Star players and teams mean absolutely nothing to them.
If you want to promote your work, you have to beg them for help.
How the content is written is entirely up to them.
Shirasawa and Sanae deliberately went against the grain, waiting for the day when Basketball Weekly would come knocking on their door. Only then would the agency truly be established.
Of course, relying solely on Shirasawa and Shohoku might not be enough right now.
But I believe it won't be long.
Next, Sanae began selectively arranging interviews with reporters.
With this selection process, naturally some people were excluded.
Firstly, the interview time was limited.
Secondly, she made her judgment based on the effect of the previous report.
Limited time should not be wasted on useless people.
Sanae's decisive and organized approach to tasks earned Ayako's secret admiration.
All the reporters' focus, of course, was on Shirasawa.
This highly anticipated newcomer delivered an explosive performance in today's game.
30 points, 30 assists, 5 rebounds, 8 steals, and 3 blocks!
This is the first time in the history of the county competition that a player has achieved a double 30!
Even on a nationwide scale, probably no one has ever accomplished this.
The only drawback is that their opponent, Kakuno, is indeed a bit weak.
But then again,
Even Kakuno other strong teams, who can guarantee that a player would put up a double-double (30 points and 30 assists) while achieving a 146-point blowout victory?
This result is really outrageous.
Basically, all of Shohoku's points were directly or indirectly related to Shirasawa.
There aren't that many "what ifs" in competitive sports.
For example, "What would happen if we went up there?"...
Or, "Would the result be different if we changed the venue?"
If you catch up and prove yourself, that's real strength!
Let the results speak for themselves.
Sanae stayed by Shirasawa's side throughout the interview.
She looks more like a full-time assistant...
The admiration in her eyes was impossible to hide.
the next day.
The Shohoku Basketball Team has once again stirred up a storm in Kanagawa.
The media coverage of this match was far more intense than that of the match against Miuradai.
[Phoenix Rising from the Ashes! Shohoku's Expedition Leaves No Grass Standing!]
[The next era! Double 30! The Kanagawa's Grim Reaper!]
[A crushing defeat! Kakuno's 146-point blunder!]
[ Shohoku's number 9, Shirasawa, Kainan's biggest challenger!]
One eye-catching headline after another was thrown into the eyes of the fans.
The entire Kanagawa Prefecture was in an uproar.
No team or player has ever generated such a buzz in the media.
Sanae's behind-the-scenes manipulation was one aspect.
The more important reason is that Kainan has dominated the Kanagawa High School League for a full 16 years.
Everyone is eager for a true challenger to emerge and reignite the battle.
In the past two years Shoyo High School has come closest to achieving this goal.
But the result was clear: the gap was obvious.
Shohoku is different; what story is more captivating than a phoenix rising from the ashes?
A perennial bottom-ranked team.
They've had a phenomenal start to the year, breaking records in major competitions one after another. They seem unstoppable, a true dark horse.
Moreover, compared to Kenji Fujima of Shoyo, Shirasawa of Shohoku is even more exaggerated!
Compared to Shinichi Maki, he is in no way inferior in terms of either static talent or dynamic qualities.
It even makes one think... he might be even above him!
It's not impossible to dethrone him!
Moreover, Shohoku is not just Shirasawa's team.
After reading the report, everyone realized just how strong Shohoku's roster was.
" Gorilla " Takenori Akagi needs no introduction; he has long been considered one of Kanagawa's top interior players.
It could even rank in the top three.
This was after his personal evaluation was affected by the team's poor performance.
Secondly,
Hisashi Mitsui, the MVP of Takeishi Middle School who caused a sensation back then, has actually returned to Shohoku!
Mitsui was a nightmare for many people that year.
As for how much of his former strength he retains upon this comeback?
Two consecutive games with 30+ points are the best proof!
And there's also defender Ryota Miyagi.
He was a highly anticipated player during his junior high school years and was quite well-known.
Unfortunately, last year was his first time playing in the prefectural tournament, and Shohoku was eliminated in their first match against Ryonan.
He missed the Winter Selection Tournament again due to injury.
Only now have we officially embarked on this journey.
This is Shohoku's lineup.
These two resounding victories have certainly sparked much speculation.
But in all the reports, there was one person who was not mentioned in detail.
It's Hanamichi Sakuragi...
Most introductions to Sakuragi consist of only a dry, one-sentence statement.
"And number 10, Hanamichi Sakuragi."
It's not very harmful, but it's quite insulting.
The genius was extremely frustrated.
Tearing up more than a dozen newspapers didn't quell my anger.