Chapter 009: Let's use them to get a feel for things first, and start our Nham Cu summer with a big win
A week had passed since Hoshiumi Mì acquired 'Try Not to Miss'. During that time, the basketball club had completed its recruitment, and the first-year newcomers had begun Kamomedai-style devil training.
However... among the first-years, none of the familiar faces Hoshiumi Mì had been hoping for appeared.
This was an expected result.
After all, any named player in Kuroko's Basketball was at least a second-year like him by now.
As for the Slam Dunk players... the vast majority of the familiar ones were in Kanagawa.
Right now.
Kamomedai's gymnasium.
Because it was so close to Teiko Junior High, it was a given that the players on Kamomedai's basketball team weren't exactly known for their talent. After all, anyone with a bit of talent would flock to the strongest powerhouse in junior high, Teiko.
As a result, under Nakama Sho's leadership, the Kamomedai basketball team had always adhered to the principle of "if you lack talent, train your body hard."
One could imagine... how much the first-year newcomers were complaining.
But before they joined the basketball club, Nakama Sho had explained all of this, and they had undergone tryouts of the same intensity. Therefore, the players who stayed were mentally prepared. But being prepared was one thing; complaining was another, especially today.
"Coach!"
"Doesn't the basketball club have a practice match against another school today?"
"With this level of training intensity, will the upperclassmen have enough stamina to play this afternoon...?"
"Yeah!"
"That's right!"
The second and third-year players not far away all revealed mischievous smiles at this scene, thinking to themselves that the freshmen had their own ideas, but unfortunately, they were no match for Coach Nakama.
But unexpectedly...
"That makes sense~"
"Then let's have free practice~"
Seeing the coach relent so easily not only surprised Hoshiumi Mì, but also the other starters on the team. The third-years, in particular, knew the old man's personality all too well.
"On one condition..."
"If you're confident that in the next two months, you can improve to the same extent as Hoshiumi Mì, then you can have free practice anytime!"
As expected... that stubborn old man was still that stubborn old man.
Hearing this, the group of newcomers fell silent.
Some of them hadn't seen the Kamomedai vs. Seiei game, while others had. But regardless of whether they had witnessed that stormy three-point rain... they were all silent now.
The truth was, on the day of the club tryouts, Hoshiumi Mì had dealt them a heavy blow!
Three-point shooting practice...
Making 90 out of 100? Possible?
Making 60 in a row? Possible?
That level of skill... was overwhelming.
The eyes of the crowd flickered towards the court where the starters were, precisely locking onto the white figure wearing the #12 jersey. Hoshiumi Mì was also watching the newcomers with great interest.
His spiky, somewhat messy white hair was particularly conspicuous under the lights, just like a shuttlecock that had just been hit.
But his eyes... were so fierce!
The newcomers' hearts skipped a beat.
While inwardly sighing 'this upperclassman is so cool,' they could feel their hearts pounding. They thought that compared to physical ability, it was more likely they could learn a thing or two from an upperclassman's shooting technique.
And this upperclassman always said 'it's all effort and sweat'~
So... as long as they worked hard!
"Stop daydreaming! All of you, run!"
Nakama Sho's merciless, demonic voice shattered the newcomers' naive illusions.
"Ugh..."
"Yes, Coach!"
The newcomers' shoulders slumped instantly.
Resigned to their fate, they began to move, throwing themselves into a new round of training.
..................................................................................
Meanwhile.
Tokyo, on the bus from Iwai Junior High to Kamomedai.
The bus drove smoothly. Inside, the captain, Mitsubayashi Koji, was chatting with the teammates gathered around him about their upcoming opponent, Kamomedai Junior High. His expression only turned slightly serious for a moment when he mentioned Kamomedai's small forward, Imamatsu Shinshu, and their center with outstanding height, Ouboki Taro, but... the overall atmosphere was relaxed.
After all, in their eyes, this year's Kamomedai was truly not much of a threat.
"Although we didn't play against Kamomedai in the qualifiers last year, we did scout them specifically. After their third-years retired last year, among the second-years, probably only Imamatsu Shinshu and Ouboki Taro are somewhat skilled..."
"Our..." Mitsubayashi Koji scanned his teammates, a confident smile on his face, "Our goal this year is to secure a seed for the National Tournament! Only the champion and runner-up are my targets!"
"Kamomedai is definitely not our opponent!"
"But... as another defense-oriented team, we can use them to get a feel for things. Starting our summer with a big win... they're a decent opponent for that."
"Right? Tsugawa?"
At the front of the bus, a boy with the same hairstyle as the little bald guard from Seiei who had been demolished by Hoshiumi Mì turned around, revealing a confident smile.
"Heh~ Of course!"
..................................................................................
On the afternoon of Iwai Junior High's visit to Kamomedai, Hoshiumi Mì was full of anticipation, which grew even stronger after seeing a familiar bald head and hearing a familiar name.
And then...
And then he was pinned to the bench by Coach Nakama.
Even though Hoshiumi Mì was visibly stronger than Kamomedai's current starting third-year shooting guard, the latter's starting position was not something Hoshiumi Mì could overturn with just one game's performance.
Coach Nakama naturally knew that promoting Hoshiumi to the starting lineup immediately would definitely boost the team's combat power, and the starting third-year players were probably aware of this too.
But such matters couldn't be rushed.
Considering the bond between the third-year teammates and their pride as upperclassmen, Nakama Sho hoped that the current second-year, Hoshiumi Mì, would follow the proper steps and, through his performance in games, make everyone recognize the facts, then gradually earn more playing time.
This way, Hoshiumi Mì could also integrate into the team more naturally.
Thus... Hoshiumi Mì could only sit on the bench with his arms crossed, watching eagerly for now.
At this time.
On the second-floor railing balcony of the Kamomedai gym, the group of students who always followed the basketball team had rushed to watch the game. They had long heard about the second-year player on the team who had suddenly had a burst of strength.
The reason they had only "heard" about it... was because the vast majority of them hadn't stayed for the fourth quarter of the Kamomedai vs. Seiei game. They had left the gym early, thus missing Hoshiumi Mì's astonishing performance of 28 points in 5 minutes. Afterward, just hearing the descriptions made them deeply regretful. They thought that today they would finally be able to witness the style of this second-year rising star and make up for their previous regret.
But the result was...
As the game was about to start, the starting lineup sent out by Kamomedai filed onto the court... and it was the same old lineup from the last game, predominantly composed of the current third-year players.
"Hey..."
"Are you kidding me? Hoshiumi Mì is on the bench."
Among them were students who hadn't been following the Kamomedai basketball club recently.
"Imamatsu Shinshu is the captain of the basketball team now, he wouldn't lie, would he? He said there's a super-strong second-year, not even inferior to Teiko's 'Generation of Miracles'!"
"Huh?"
"For real?"
"It's true, I just saw it last week! His three-pointers are amazing!"