Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 18: Eurostep

As soon as Coach Anxi finished speaking, the players began to talk.

"Is this true? Ryonan High School took the initiative to invite us?"

"No way! They were the top eight in last year's county competition. How could we be so worthy..."

All the players present were surprised. They never thought that the Ryonan team would take the initiative to invite them to a friendly match.

Normally, there shouldn't be any intersection between the two.

It’s no wonder they think so. After all, on one side is the Ryonan team that reached the quarterfinals of the county tournament, and on the other side is the Shohoku team that was eliminated in the first round.

If we really want to find opponents for friendly matches, we should look for teams with similar strength.

"Strange, there shouldn't be this friendly match this year!" Murasakibara was a little puzzled.

This is mainly because Akagi and Uozumi met for the first time after the county tournament began.

At that time, Yuzumi, who was in the game, discovered Akagi who was watching the game. After the game, Yuzumi specifically asked for information about Akagi.

Therefore, this friendly match is most likely not present in the original book.

If nothing unexpected happens, Coach Anxi probably rejected Coach Tiangang's proposal for a friendly match.

The reason why we agreed to Coach Tiangang’s request now is probably related to this intra-team competition.

At this time, Akagi asked in confusion: "Kumure, why would Ryonan have a friendly match with us?"

"Akagi, Coach Anzai is a former national player and has coached famous university teams for many years. He has rich coaching experience. Coach Tiangang of the Ryonan team is probably doing this for Coach Anzai's sake."

Akagi's frown relaxed a lot, but his tone was obviously not very confident: "But, can we beat Ryonan?"

"Akagi, if you keep this mentality, how can we realize our common dream in the future?"

Murasaki looked at Akagi seriously, with a hint of blame in his tone.

Perhaps it was because Akagi suffered too many defeats in the three years at Kitamura Junior High School that he seriously lacked self-confidence.

"Akagi, you have to believe in yourself and believe in us. Although Ryonan is strong, it may not be invincible. Besides, this is also an opportunity for us. As long as we can defeat Ryonan, it means that we have a better chance of fulfilling our promise to Mitsui!"

Hearing what Murasakibara said, Akagi couldn't help but recall the promise he made in front of Mitsui's bedside.

He took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, and his eyes became more determined.

In any case, before Mitsui returns to the game, he must ensure that the team is not eliminated.

"Kumure, you are right! For Mitsui and our common dream, we must defeat the Ryonan team!"

Akagi clenched his fists, his eyes seemed to be angry, and he was full of unquestionable determination.

"Poor Yuzumi, I hope he won't be overshadowed by Akagi!"

Looking at the high-spirited Akagi, Mugure observed a three-second silence for Uozumi.

There is no doubt that Ryonan is the best choice to test the strength of Shohoku.

At the same time, Yuzumi is the key figure in building Akagi's confidence.

"Akagi, in order to defeat Ryonan, we must work harder during this period of time!"

Murasakibara kept giving Akagi encouragement, and under his encouragement, Akagi seemed to be given an injection of chicken blood and couldn't wait to start training.

Murasaki shook his head and walked towards Coach Anzai.

If he wants to become stronger quickly, he must master more skills.

Coach Anzai is undoubtedly the best candidate in the entire Xiangbei team.

Mu Mu came to Coach Anxi and asked curiously, "Coach, I heard that you were once a national player?"

"Oh ha ha ha! That's all old news, not worth mentioning!"

Coach Anxi waved his hand and let out his signature laugh.

Judging from his hearty laughter, he doesn't seem as indifferent as he appears.

“You must have been amazing back then!”

"Murakura-san, what do you want from me?"

Coach Anzai is an experienced man, so how could he not see what Murasakibara is thinking?

"Coach, can you teach me a trick?"

Murasakibara no longer tried to hide his intention and stated it directly.

Coach Anzai did not agree immediately, but said earnestly: "Murakuri-san, basketball cannot be won by just one or two skills. It relies more on teamwork and requires the efforts and dedication of every player."

In order to avoid Mu Mu being hit, he actually didn't say one more thing, that is, basketball is essentially a body-oriented sport. In short, Coach Anxi is a coach who only believes in talent!

"Coach, I want to make a greater contribution to the team!"

In order to receive the guidance of Coach Anzai, Murasaki bowed deeply.

"Okay, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Seeing that Murasakibara was so sincere, Coach Anzai couldn't refuse.

After finishing speaking, Coach Anxi stood up from his chair and slowly walked onto the court.

Murasaki's heart was full of anticipation, and he didn't know what kind of skills he could learn from Coach Anzai.

As Coach Anxi came onto the field, the players on the field gathered around him curiously.

Coach Anxi did not stop him. After all, teaching one is teaching, and teaching two is also teaching.

Coach Anzai stretched his body and asked, "Mr. Mumu, do you know the Eurostep?"

"heard about it!"

Murasakibara knows the principle of the Euro step, but it is easier said than done. In his previous life, he was not famous and was at best just a basketball enthusiast. He did not master the trick of the Euro step.

The Eurostep is said to be a dribbling step first used by European players when making layups, hence the name Eurostep. Its representatives include future Argentine legendary stars Manu Ginobili, Dwyane Wade, and Irving.

"The Eurostep is a technique used when dribbling the ball to the layup. Its biggest highlight is the pace during the layup. The amplitude of the left and right swing is very large, which can easily cause the defender to misjudge the direction of the ball handler and lose the defensive position."

While speaking, Coach Anxi squatted slightly and picked up a basketball on the ground.

"First, when approaching the defender, suddenly changing the dribble direction and moving the footsteps at the same time can cleverly lead the defender to misjudge the direction of the breakthrough and guide the defender's center of gravity to shift."

Coach Anxi demonstrated as he spoke. He first took a step forward with his right foot to deceive his "opponent" with a fake move, then stepped to the left and finally completed the layup.

Due to his old age and obesity, he could only show the whole set of movements and various variations in slow motion.

The Xiangbei players watched intently, afraid of missing any details.

After Coach Anzai finished his demonstration, Murasakibara received a prompt at the right time.

[Learnable skill detected - European Step, learning progress 13%! ]

"The European step requires a lot of coordination. The key is timing. You have to react immediately when the defender shifts his center of gravity."

Coach Anxi breathed slightly and did not continue demonstrating because he was well aware of how bad his body was.

Due to his age and body shape, he is not suitable for strenuous exercise, otherwise he may suffer from a heart attack like the one in the plot.

"Mumu, you try it, I'll guide you from the side."

Coach Anzai handed the basketball to Murasakibara.

After catching the basketball, Murasakibara began to imitate Coach Anzai's movements.

His movements were not smooth and he made mistakes from time to time.

"Remember, the ball must follow the upper body. When changing direction, follow the upper body to complete a large change of direction. It is best to lower the center of gravity. Lowering the center of gravity is not only conducive to increasing speed, but also protects the flexibility of the knee position. Otherwise, the knee is easily locked in an upright position, which is more prone to injury."

Coach Anxi has a keen eye and points out some shortcomings from time to time.

Mu Mu asked doubtfully: "Coach, how can I lower my center of gravity better?"

"If you lower your shoulders a little, your center of gravity will naturally go down."

Coach Anzai corrected Murasaki's movements step by step, teaching Murasaki how to exert force better while refining the movements into great detail.

Like a sponge, Murasakibara quickly absorbed the techniques taught by Coach Anzai into himself, which made his progress in learning the European step increase rapidly.

The teammates are also studying hard, but they don’t have a panel, so they don’t know how long it will take them to learn.

As time slowly passed, Murasakibara's movements gradually became smoother, and his steps became more agile and rhythmic.

In just half an hour, the learning progress of the European Step has reached 99%!

Coach Anzai was amazed by Murasakibara's rapid progress. He had never seen a player with such a strong learning ability.

At the same time, Coach Anzai also felt sorry for Murasakibara.

If Murasakibara had explosive physical fitness, he would definitely teach him carefully and maximize his potential.

Unfortunately, there is no if!
"Mumu, I'll teach you one last trick. When you start, you can try landing on your toes with your heels off the ground. This will make it easier to exert force."

[Congratulations on learning a new skill - the European step! ]

Until this time, Murasakibara successfully mastered the European Step, but it was unknown what benefits it would bring.

(End of this chapter)