Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 433 Matchup Against Rahim

"Are you really okay?"

Coach Stephen did not immediately agree; instead, he stared intently at Kogure with a suspicious look.

Kogure is only 196 cm tall, which would be considered tall in Asia.

However, this is America, and even in high school leagues, there are plenty of giants over two meters tall.

Farragut Academy's next opponent is St. Joseph's High School, a team that focuses on its inside game.

St. Joseph's High School is a force to be reckoned with; their playing style emphasizes control of the paint and rebounding.

In addition, St. Joseph's High School has a top-ranked five-star high school student – ​​Sharif Abdul Rahim!

In 1994, Sharif Abdul Rahim had already won the state Mr. Basketball honor and participated in the famous ABCD training camp.

He ranks above Ronnie Fields and Garnett on the list of top high school players and is a strong contender for the number one spot in the nation.

In the future, Rasheed Wallace will become the third overall pick in the 96 draft class and a future NBA All-Star.

Rasheed possesses outstanding physical attributes and excellent basketball skills.

Of course, this is relative to high school.

Once he gets to the NBA, Rasheed's athleticism, which he was so proud of, will become rather mediocre.

Thanks to his exceptional skills, he was able to secure a place in the NBA.

Rahim was agile and one of the best footwork power forwards of his time. He had a mature and well-rounded playing style and a unique low-post turn and one-handed volley.

It is difficult for opponents to find effective defensive strategies to limit his performance.

Compared to his offense, Rahim's defense is much weaker; he is a typical example of someone who is strong on offense but weak on defense.

Making SF is too slow, making PF is too soft; it's a typical example of something that's neither fish nor fowl.

For Kogure, this match is both a challenge and an opportunity.

"Coach, I'm confident I can beat Raheem!"

Kogure's voice was firm, and his eyes revealed a confident gleam.

As a max-level player, he was full of confidence in his abilities.

His athletic ability is more than enough to make up for his lack of height.

"How about this, let's have an intra-team scrimmage first, and I will decide whether you can play center based on your performance."

Coach Stephen thought about it and decided to prioritize stability.

Kogure nodded in agreement.

Soon, under Coach Stephen's arrangement, the intra-team scrimmage officially began.

In this scrimmage, Kogure was matched up against the team's backup center, Ogley Tohn.

This is a typical white center, 204 cm tall and 102 kg, and the second tallest player on the team.

On the surface, Oglet Tohn's physique clearly gave him the advantage.

Unfortunately, Kogure's athleticism and skills made up for his lack of height.

Ogle Thorn was horrified to discover that he couldn't budge Kogure at all and was struggling quite a bit in the fight.

Not only that, even his best low-post offense was easily defeated by Kogure.

I never expected that an outside player would possess such superb low-post skills.

Compared to Kogure, his low-post skills were quite poor.

In addition, Kogure's excellent positioning and rebounding instincts allowed him to grab several offensive rebounds.

Not long after, Coach Stephen called a halt to the ongoing scrimmage.

If the match continues, Oglet Tohn could suffer both psychological and physical damage.

Most importantly, he was completely convinced by Kogure and there was no need to continue investigating him.

After stopping the game, Coach Stephen began preparing for the next game. Following several trials, Coach Stephen reinstated Arnold Johnson as the starting point guard.

However, Arnold Johnson's main responsibility is to dribble the ball across half-court and create space for Kogure.

At the same time, Farragut Academy changed its tactics to a one-star, four-shooter tactical system.

Compared to the still somewhat inexperienced Garnett, Kogure's offense, organization, and support were clearly superior.

Of course, Kogure's defense was no less than Garnett's.

While the new lineup was being fine-tuned at Farragut Academy, the day of the match arrived before they knew it.

This is destined to be a highly anticipated and pivotal battle.

With Garnett absent, many people are optimistic that St. Joseph's High School can end Farragut Academy's winning streak.

At the same time, both sides have well-known star players.

In the ranking of five-star high school students, Rahim is even above Ronnie Fields, and is even called the number one high school student by many media outlets.

As a result, ESPN temporarily changed the game to be broadcast live nationwide.

In this way, if Kogure defeats Rahim, his ranking and influence will definitely rise even further.

How did gOat become famous during high school?

He climbed to the top by stepping over former number one high school player in the nation, Lenny Cook, and thus replaced Cook as the number one high school player in the nation.

In 2000, at the ABCD Training Camp All-Star Game, second-year student Cook won both the scoring title and the rebounding title, earning the MVP award.

At the time, Lenny Cook was considered to have a bright future; in the 2002 national high school rankings, he was ranked above Anthony and Stoudemire.

In his senior year of high school, Lenny Cook averaged 30 points and 15 rebounds per game.

Lenny Cook's decline into obscurity was not solely due to being trampled on by gOat, but also related to his past experiences and personality.

After graduating from high school, Lenny Cook entered the NBA draft early, but unfortunately, he got injured before he could try out for various teams, which caused him to miss all the tryouts.

In addition, NBA managers also considered Cook to be a troublemaker, which was one of the reasons he was not drafted.

After the match began, both sides took to the field.

Then, to everyone's shock, Kogure and Rahim were standing together in the center circle.

Rahim: 204 cm tall, 100 kg.

Kogure: 196 cm tall, 95 kg.

On the surface, Rahim was a full half a head taller than Kogure.

Rahim stared at Kogure in surprise; he hadn't expected Kogure to be his opponent.

Soon, the referee tossed the ball high into the air.

As soon as the basketball began to fall, the two jumped up almost simultaneously.

Kogure's ball speed was clearly better, allowing him to pass the ball to his teammate first.

The next moment, Arnold Johnson dribbled the ball past half-court.

As soon as Kogure landed in the low post, Arnold Johnson immediately passed the ball to him.

Kogure caught the ball with both hands, leaned against it, and tested Rasheed's ability to withstand contact.

bang~
Rahim swayed slightly, a look of surprise on his face.

Kogure's combat capabilities were clearly beyond Rahim's expectations.

bang~
With the second impact, Kogure clearly increased the force, and Rahim felt a tightness in his chest, involuntarily taking a step back.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kogure quickly turned around and broke through.

Rahim's heart tightened; he wanted to stop it, but it was too late, and Kogure easily broke through.

(End of this chapter)