Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 14: One Star Shoots

When forming groups, the senior players looked eager to try.

They are stronger, have better coordination and more experience in competition.

Compared with them, the freshmen are like loose sand.

If nothing unexpected happens, they will win the match.

Soon, Yuho Ikeda determined the starting lineups for both sides.

Senior grades

Center: Ichiro Sato, 188 cm, 73 kg, sophomore.

Power forward: Suzuki Ohno, 185 cm, 100 kg, sophomore.

Small forward: Yuho Ikeda, 183 cm, 75 kg, third grade.

Shooting guard: Itachi Takahashi, 175 cm, 65 kg, third grade.

Point guard: Masaru Ito, 167 cm, 60 kg, sophomore.

Needless to say, Yuho Ikeda is the core of the senior team.

Itachi Takahashi was once a long-distance runner. He possessed abundant physical strength and excellent explosive power, making him the best candidate to initiate fast breaks. However, since he had only been exposed to basketball for one year, he did not have many skills to speak of.

Masaru Ito is a small point guard with good speed and explosiveness, and even some shooting ability, but he has no organizational ability. He is simply the modern-day "Mo Bu Chuan"!
Ichiro Sato and Ohno Suzuki, who are in charge of the inside line, are known as the fat and thin monks of the Shohoku team. The former is as thin as a bamboo pole, while the latter is as fat as a ball. Both have fatal flaws.

They were able to play mainly because there were only six senior players in total.

The only senior player who did not play was only 150 cm tall, had weak physique, and had no special skills, so he could only serve as a temporary referee.

freshman team

Center: Takenori Akagi, 193 cm, 85 kg, first grade.

Power forward: Yamamoto Kuma, 180 cm, 73 kg, first grade.

Small forward: Jiro Tanaka, 176 cm, 65 kg, freshman.

Shooting guard: Kogure Kiminori, 174 cm, 58 kg, first grade.

Point guard: Nobuhiko Okamoto, 170 cm, 75 kg, first grade.

The starting lineup of the freshman team consists of Akagi, Kogure and three players from Takeishi Junior High School.

Mugure has some understanding of these three players from Takeishi Junior High School.

Among them, Yamamoto has excellent jumping ability and the ability to make open mid-range shots.

Jiro Tanaka is good at positioning and long-range shooting, but his physical fitness is mediocre.

Nobuhiko Okamoto is a heavy point guard with shooting ability. He is strong in physical confrontation, but other aspects are mediocre.

These three players from Takeishi Junior High School all have their own strengths. As long as they are given time to grow, they will have the opportunity to become starters for strong teams.

The starting lineup of a strong team here refers to players with special skills such as Muto Masaru, Nagano, Kono, and Ikegami.

During the preparation stage of the game, Murasakibara began to discuss tactics with his four teammates.

Basketball is a team sport. Even though Murasakibara is very confident in himself, the power of one person is limited after all, not to mention that he has not grown to the point where he can ignore everything.

The freshman team may seem like a group of scattered sand, but in fact they have a certain tacit understanding.

Akagi and Muguro are from Kitamura Junior High School, and the other three are from Takeishi Junior High School, similar to the team formed by Ryonan and Shoyo in the plot year.

In addition, after getting to know each other over the past few days, they have gained a certain understanding of each other.

Mu Mu asked Okamoto Nobuhiko: "Okamoto, what is the main tactic of your Takeishi Junior High School?"

Nobuhiko Okamoto thought hard for a moment, then said in a serious tone: "Pass the damn basketball to Mitsui!"

On the side, Akagi looked confused!
Is this also a tactic?
"That makes sense!"

Mu Mu nodded, not surprised.

In junior high school basketball, the tactics are simple, and whether or not you can win the game depends mainly on the best player on the team.

Mu Mu pretended to be mysterious and said, "Everyone, I have thought of a tactic. We have a chance to win the game!" When they heard that there was a chance to win the game, Akagi and others couldn't help but brighten their eyes and asked impatiently, "What tactic?"

"Based on our respective characteristics, I think the most suitable tactic for us is the one-star-four-shooting tactic. What do you think?"

"One star in all directions?"

The teammates all looked at Murasakibara with puzzled eyes.

In this age of information scarcity, they only know some simple tactics such as pick-and-roll and fast break.

Most importantly, the one-star-four-star strategy was a product of the 1993-1994 Houston Rockets, and it was one of the most successful tactical systems ever.

The Rockets are centered around Olajuwon and four excellent pitchers, such as Horry and Kenny Smith. With this system, the Rockets will win the championship next year.

"To put it simply, it is about surrounding a central point, with the other four players spread out and standing in their respective shooting ranges. This will open up space and make it difficult for the opponent to defend."

“It sounds pretty reliable!”

Nobuhiko Okamoto nodded slightly, indicating his approval of Murasakibara's tactics.

Yamamoto scratched his head and asked in confusion: "But who will be the core?"

"Well..." Mumu's eyes swept over everyone, and finally looked at Akagi and said, "Akagi, your advantage is very obvious, and you also have the advantage of vision. Even if you are double-teamed, you can pass the ball in time. You are most suitable to be the tactical core!"

"I?"

Akagi was very surprised, but he still nodded and said, "Okay, I'll try it!"

"Okamoto, you can play pick-and-roll with Akagi. Akagi's offensive range is concentrated under the basket, so you must find the right time to pass the ball to him.

Akagi, if you are double-teamed, you must pass the ball to the open player in time; if the opponent does not double-team, you can play one-on-one with the opponent, or you can use the pick-and-roll to play one-on-one with a mismatch.

The others stand at the most reliable shooting spot, understand?"

"understand!"

There was an inexplicable light in their eyes, and they all accepted Murasakibara's suggestions.

This star-scattering tactic is indeed very suitable for them.

At this time, Murasakibara discovered that Akagi seemed a little nervous.

This is Akagi's old problem. After all, during the three years at Kitamura Middle School, Akagi didn't know what winning meant!
Of course, Akagi’s mentality now must be much better than in the plot years.

Before Xiangbei formed the Five Tigers, Akagi was really defeated.

Murasaki stood up and slapped Akagi's butt hard to distract him.

"asshole!"

Feeling the pain in his butt, Akagi was extremely embarrassed and angry and wanted to slap Murasakibara in the face.

Unfortunately, Murasakibara anticipated Akagi's thoughts and avoided them in advance.

Akagi didn't realize that after this fight, he was no longer as nervous as before.

Toot~
Soon, the referee blew the whistle.

Akagi and Ichiro Sato stood in the center circle, looking at each other, ready for the jump ball.

The next moment, the referee threw the basketball in his hand into the air.

When the basketball started to fall, Akagi jumped up first and passed the ball to Nobuhiko Okamoto.

Before Nobuhiko Okamoto could hold the basketball firmly, suddenly, Masaru Ito rushed over from the side.

pop~
Ito Sheng was quick-eyed and quick-handed, and completed the steal in an instant.

The basketball was grabbed by Itachi Takahashi, who immediately ran down the court with the ball.

Takahashi Itachi was very fast. He rushed into the three-point line in two or three seconds and prepared for a layup.

"One, two... now!"

Murasaki was chasing closely behind, he stared at Takahashi Itachi closely and silently calculated his steps in his mind.

(End of this chapter)