The next day, at 5 a.m., at an outdoor basketball court.
Sakuragi Hanamichi has been practicing basketball here.
Because the school gates don't open until 7 a.m., it's really troublesome to jump over the wall to get into the school every time.
So Sakuragi Hanamichi decided to train at the outdoor basketball court in the morning and at the school's indoor basketball court after school in the afternoon.
Breathing in the fresh morning air, Sakuragi Hanamichi felt relaxed and happy.
There's a saying that goes something like this: The early bird catches the worm.
It seems this is an English proverb.
Looking back now, when I think about memorizing English words and Tang and Song poems in the mornings, it doesn't seem so tiring anymore.
During adolescence, everything is so wonderful.
Sakuragi Hanamichi smiled wistfully and said, "Oh, the beautiful youth! Here I come!"
The rising sun casts its hopeful rays upon the young people training on the basketball court.
Glistening beads of sweat rolled down, brimming with youthful vitality.
Sakuragi Hanamichi ran and jumped tirelessly, sometimes dunking, sometimes attempting layups, and sometimes practicing shooting from the spot.
When I'm tired, it feels like all I need to do is catch my breath and I'm instantly full of energy. I don't need the goji berry water in my thermos to keep me going!
With a "whoosh".
Sakuragi Hanamichi's mid-range shot!
The basketball went in!
Sakuragi Hanamichi's lips curled up. "The probability of making a mid-range shot is gradually increasing! As expected, as long as you keep practicing, you can improve your basketball skills."
Thinking of this, Sakuragi Hanamichi felt extremely pleased.
Because isn't that a bug in itself?
Working hard? Many people are working hard!
But is hard work worthwhile? Does hard work guarantee success?
That's absolutely impossible!
If hard work alone could lead to success, how could the world possibly divide people into different classes? How could so many people be struggling to survive?
The same applies to basketball. Many people practice desperately, but they still can't make a three-pointer!
At this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi felt that he could gradually improve his basketball skills by practicing continuously, and he naturally felt very comfortable!
Next, he tried to dribble and make a layup.
Dribble, catch the ball, jump.
The ball didn't go in.
After landing, Sakuragi Hanamichi looked back at the basketball hoop. "I still need to practice my layups more. My success rate is still too low."
Sakuragi Hanamichi's current basketball skills are roughly like this: First, his strongest ability is positioning himself under the basket and grabbing rebounds.
Next, dunking when there's no one guarding you is also very impressive.
Then there's the mid-range shot, but the success rate of the mid-range shot is still relatively low, around 20% to 30%. However, Sakuragi Hanamichi can sense that as long as he increases the number of practice sessions and trains continuously, he can definitely improve the success rate of the mid-range shot to a very high level.
Finally, there's the layup. Currently, the layup is Sakuragi Hanamichi's weakest area; so far today, he hasn't made a single layup.
He himself found it strange. He felt that there was nothing wrong with his movements, and that the timing and position of his jump were also correct, but he just felt that the final pass of the ball felt odd.
Perhaps it's the legendary "feel".
Besides what I've mentioned above, his dribbling skills are also terrible.
However, one must take things one step at a time, and Sakuragi Hanamichi is not in a hurry to become an all-around player like Rukawa Kaede.
For Sakuragi Hanamichi right now, he wants to use his strengths to prioritize improving his skills under the basket, namely positioning himself to grab rebounds and dunk.
When Mitsui Hisashi and Miyagi Ryota return, Shohoku's lineup will be: Akagi Takenori at center, Miyagi Ryota at point guard, Mitsui Hisashi at shooting guard, and Rukawa Kaede at small forward.
Sakuragi Hanamichi could use his rebounding advantage to play the power forward position, and together with Akagi Takenori, solidify Shohoku's interior defense.
As for other skills, they will become Sakuragi Hanamichi's secret weapon, unexpectedly helping the Shohoku basketball team to victory at crucial moments.
Thinking about this, Sakuragi Hanamichi even felt that even if his mid-range shooting and layup skills had really improved, it would be best to hide his strength for now and not let people discover it, so that everyone would think he was just a basketball beginner who could grab rebounds.
Hmm, this feels pretty good.
Isn't this the legendary case of "pretending to be weak to eat strong"?
Sure.
Sakuragi Hanamichi became more and more excited as he thought about it, and happily made the decision.
From then on, whenever we played a game, I made it seem like all I could do was grab rebounds and nothing else. If Shohoku was in the lead, I would completely hide my true abilities. If Shohoku was behind, I would unleash my full power at the right moment to help Shohoku win.
"Bang bang bang"
Sakuragi Hanamichi dribbled the basketball again, a smirk playing on his lips. "I never thought that playing basketball could turn into a 'pretending to be weak while actually being strong' scenario. I'm a real genius."
Sakuragi Hanamichi then dribbled and went for a layup again.
The result was still the same: no entry.
But this time, as soon as he landed, a pleasant voice reached his ears.
"Wow! Sakuragi Hanamichi, you're training here so early?"
It's Haruko Akagi!
Haruko Akagi went out for a run and happened to pass by here.
Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes lit up. "Haruko! We're so destined to be together!"
Everyone witnessed the final "fight" between Akagi Takenori and Sakuragi Hanamichi yesterday.
It's clear that Takenori Akagi has begun to truly accept Hanamichi Sakuragi, otherwise he wouldn't have joked around with him like that.
Haruko Akagi was, of course, the happiest person.
At this moment, Haruko Akagi said with a smile, "Hanamichi Sakuragi, you really have a lot of fighting spirit!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, and said with a smile, "As long as I think about how much hope Haruko has for me, I'll be full of fighting spirit!"
That's it, keep subtly suggesting to her that she has a significant, positive influence on you!
You are constantly changing because of her!
Haruko Akagi smiled brightly, but didn't say anything more.
Sakuragi Hanamichi continued, "Haruko, you're up early too. No wonder you have such a great figure and skin. I've heard that girls these days like to sleep in late, saying it's beauty sleep. I think that's nonsense. Only by going to bed early and getting up early like Haruko, and exercising in the morning, can you have a good figure and skin."
This got Haruko Akagi talking a lot.
Haruko Akagi chuckled and said, "Actually, it's not as exaggerated as you say. I just like to exercise, and my figure and skin are just average."
Yes, girls like to pretend to be reserved. Even if they are very happy inside when others praise them, they always pretend not to care.
Sakuragi Hanamichi immediately said, "It's true, Haruko, your figure and skin are the best I've ever seen among girls!"
As he spoke, Sakuragi Hanamichi reached out his hand.
He grabbed Haruko Akagi's hand.
Under Haruko Akagi's surprised gaze, he grabbed her hand and made her touch her own face.
Sakuragi Hanamichi said seriously, "Haruko, feel it yourself, isn't your skin very nice?"
Akagi Haruko: "..."
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