"Everyone assemble!!"
As Captain Murakami Ken'go's roar echoed through the basketball gym, all the new and veteran players gathered in front of him.
The newcomers lined up voluntarily, while the veteran players stood opposite them.
Once everyone was assembled, Murakami Ken'go returned to his designated position, and everyone waited for Coach Harada to speak.
"Cough cough!"
Looking at the more than twenty young people standing before him, Coach Harada was quite satisfied.
This group of people was the guarantee for his career's success this year!
"New members, I am delighted that you have chosen to join the Miuradai High School Basketball Club. Whether you are here out of interest or to pursue a career in basketball, this club can fulfill your aspirations."
Miuradai High School has two organizations: the Basketball Club and the Basketball Team. Many large private schools also have such structures, such as Shōyō and Hainan.
The basketball team, of course, represents the school in various official competitions, striving for honor for both the school and its members. A basketball team typically has a rotation roster of at least 12 players, with up to 15 players on the main roster.
The basketball club, on the other hand, is a club designed for students who were unable to meet the requirements for the basketball team but still genuinely love basketball.
The basketball team has fixed training times every day, and the coach will design various training plans. They enjoy the most resources and support, including scholarships.
The basketball club, on the other hand, is purely for those who play basketball out of passion. You can come today if you're in the mood, and skip tomorrow if you're busy. It's perfect for those who simply want to use basketball as a way to stay fit or meet people.
Additionally, when members of the basketball team face situations such as transferring schools, dropping out, suddenly losing interest, or getting injured, the coach will draw from the basketball club to fill the vacancies.
The basketball team is limited to a maximum of fifteen players on the roster, while the basketball club has no upper limit on the number of members.
As for the over ten first-year freshmen standing here now, how many will be officially selected for the basketball team and how many will only be able to play recreational basketball in the basketball club depends on their performance in the upcoming evaluations.
Even the upperclassmen from the second and third years are not entirely safe, as the coach may reassign outstanding freshmen to the basketball department.
Therefore, every spring semester, the basketball teams of renowned high schools in the county undergo a major overhaul, ensuring the county tournament remains exciting year after year.
Coach Harada's speech lasted only ten minutes, after which the official selection ceremony began.
For Wu Yufei, this ceremony was just a formality. After quickly completing all the tests, Wu Yufei took a basketball to the corner of the court and began practicing his shooting.
Weekly tasks:
Strengthen shooting: Over the next week, complete 500 mid-range shots and 200 three-pointers daily.
Current task progress:
Mid-range shots: 220/500
Three-pointers: 98/200
Completed: 0/7
Task Reward: Mid-Range Shot Attribute +0.5, Three-Point Shot Attribute +0.5
After all, it's just a weekly task. Compared to the main quests and sudden side quests, the rewards are indeed a bit meager. But even a small reward is still something, and even without the task as motivation, Wu Yufei would still practice shooting on his own. Now that there's a task reward, his motivation to practice naturally increases.
By the time Wu Yufei had made his 300th mid-range shot, everyone else had finished their first round of tests, and it was time for the team-based matches.
Wu Yufei and Ishiyama Jun were assigned to the Red Team, facing off against five others, including three first-year students.
With Wu Yufei alone, the Red Team was already a sure winner. Now with the addition of Ishiyama Jun, who is no slouch himself, the Red Team's strength far surpassed that of the Blue Team.
Although Ishiyama Jun is only 180 cm tall, he is a master of mid-range and long-range shots, and his positioning skills are also quite refined. He repeatedly shook off his opponents to create open spaces, then received passes from Wu Yufei and fired without hesitation.
Less than five minutes into the game, Ishiyama Jun had scored 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, while Wu Yufei had steadily racked up eight assists before being substituted by Coach Harada on the sidelines.
It was just going through the motions, so to speak.
At 6:30 PM, all the other clubs had finished their activities for the day and returned home, but the basketball gym was still brightly lit.
All the first-year freshmen lined up again, each of them drenched in sweat.
Coach Harada looked at the roster in his hand, a satisfied expression on his face.
"I'm very pleased that all of you have persevered until now. Out of the fifteen of you standing here, excluding the three who left midway, three have already been selected by me to officially join the basketball team. Those whose names I call, please step forward."
Everyone perked up their ears. After hours of intense performance throughout the afternoon, no one wanted to be told at the last moment that they had unfortunately been rejected.
Coach Harada cleared his throat and began to call out the names marked with a check on the roster one by one.
"Wu Yufei!"
"Yes!"
"Ishiyama Jun!"
"Yes!"
"Ono Ikki!"
"Present!"
Wu Yufei, Ishiyama Jun, and Ono Ikki stepped out of the lineup, while the remaining twelve people all showed expressions of disappointment and reluctance.
"There's no need to look so disappointed. My evaluation of you all is not over yet. Being called out by me today doesn't guarantee you a spot on the school team."
After offering a few words of comfort, Coach Harada announced that today's training was over, and everyone dispersed.
Wu Yufei, of course, wasn't going to leave so soon. He picked up his basketball again and headed to the corner of the court to practice on his own.
Three people were selected for Coach Harada's roster today. Wu Yufei, of course, was already a sure bet as the starting point guard for Miura Tai. Ishiyama Jun, on the other hand, had caught Coach Harada's eye with his excellent accuracy in the scrimmage and subsequent shooting drills.
Indeed, Ishiyama Jun's height was only average among this batch of freshmen, and his build was not particularly robust, but his speed was decent, his positioning skills were sharp, and his shooting was decisive. With a little more development, he could become an excellent shooter.
As for the third player, Ono Ikki, he is a fairly robust interior player, standing at 190 cm tall and weighing 90 kg. He repeatedly outmuscled his opponents in scrimmages to grab rebounds.
In Coach Harada's plans, once Kawasaki Akihiro retires at the end of this year, this player could become a strong backup for the interior.
A point guard, a shooting guard, and a center/power forward—Coach Harada had a decent haul today.
He kept practicing until nearly 9 PM before Wu Yufei finally packed up and left the gym satisfied.
The required shooting volume had long been completed; the extra shots were all Wu Yufei's own initiative.
Anyway, his own father is a workaholic, so there's nothing to do at home, so it's better to stay at the gym and practice.
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