Chapter 85 - Tokiwadai Gets Ready (2/2)

Kaitani put a hand on his chin as he pondered about what Shun showed him.

-*-*-*-

Kaitani remembered Shun's sharp cut and decided to replicate it.

Kaitani had a defender on his tail. He glanced at him and stopped, but unlike Shun, who made a sharp cut, Kaitani waited just a moment for the defender to move back towards him and then exploded past him.

Kaitani grinned as he heard his defender say.

Defender: ”Get back here, dammit!”

Kaitani spoke, as he jumped to the basket for a layup, and put the ball into the rim.

Kaitani: ”Keep dreaming on.”

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

The substitutes also worked hard as Sora and Hyakuzawa, gained some consistency in their skills.

Shun worked Sora to the bone, as he trained him, to improve his passes.

Shun looked at Sora as he moved around the court.

Shun: ”Sora, you need to pass the ball to me, keep my speed, and direction in mind.”

Sora nodded as he passed the ball to the moving Shun.

Shun caught the ball and shot it into the basket. He turned towards Sora and asked.

Shun: ”What kind of passes does Mibuchi-san prefer?”

Shun had drilled the pass preference of all the regulars into Sora's mind. Sora, without any delay, replied.

Sora: ”He likes the passes around his waist in a bounce pass.”

Shun nodded as he continued to move around.

Shun: ”Good, you still can't do a good bounce pass with good accuracy, so forget about that and just aim for his hands, he places them in his shot pocket. Good?”

Sora nodded and said as he once again passed a ball to Shun.

Sora: ”Yes!”

Shun got the ball and dribbled it around the dummies on the court.

Shun: ”What about Kaitani?”

Sora got another ball from the cage and said.

Sora: ”He likes fast passes that don't interrupt his momentum. He also likes to be passed to just inside the three-point arc.”

Shun and Sora continued to go back and forth, and at the end of the session, Shun said.

Shun: ”Sora, don't just think about passing the ball, okay? If you get the chance and are free to shoot, then take the shot. Even if it fails, trust in the team to get the rebound. Do you understand?”

Sora felt something in his heart as he heard Shun. At the beginning of his admission to the first-string, he sat down with Mibuchi, Shun, and the coach to watch a video oh Tokiwadai vs. Teiko at last year's Nationals.

He knew that he was there to stop Teiko's Kuroko Tetsuya from scoring, but he also saw the level of the match, and he was doubtful that he could be of any use other than guarding Kuroko Tetsuya.

Now, listening to Shun saying that it was alright to score on his own was a great thing to hear.

Sora: ”Yes!”

Shun smiled and added.

Shun: ”Just don't shoot from the three-point arc, your accuracy sucks from there, also clean up here, I am going home.”

Sora: ”Eh?!”

Sora muttered as he saw Shun leave, and then looked around to see balls laying around, dummies standing around the court, and sweat on the floor.

Sora teared up as fat tears came out of his eyes, and he proceeded to clean up the gym.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Coach Koetsuji sat on a chair as he sipped tea from a thermos flask's cap.

He looked at Hyakuzawa, who was doing rebound drills.

The drill was simple; the coach was sitting at the right elbow of the free-throw line, and beside him was a cage of balls. Hyakuzawa would take the ball from the coach, and then rush to the basket, and then he would bang the ball three times on the backboard.

On the fourth time, he would put the ball in with a shot of his choice, and he would then rush back to the coach's chair and get another ball from the cage.

Coach: ”Hyakuzawa, keep your hands up all the time. Rebounding is a 20% technique and 80% toughness. I need your shoulders to be tough.

You need to ingrain it into your body that your hands should be up when you go in for a rebound.”

Hyakuzawa replied between pants and jumps.

Hyakuzawa: ”Yes, Sir!”

Coach nodded as he added another thing.

Coach: ”For the scoring the ball in, do a drop step from now on. You clearly need to work on the move.”

Hyakuzawa had just completed his three jumps and was going to score the ball in when he heard the coach.

Hyakuzawa: ”Yes, Sir!”

He bent his knees, faced away from the basket, pivoted, and squared to the basket and put the ball in with an overhand layup.

The coach had taken a special interest in Hyakuzawa and was personally giving him more time to train him to become a defensive and offensive asset for the team.

He sipped his tea and sighed in content as he looked forward to the upcoming tournament season.

He was looking forward to the team's performance this year.

Coach Koetsuji also wondered.

Coach: 'I wonder how the team would do against Shirogane's team. I heard that his team has gotten a lot stronger than the last time.'

He smiled as he thought about the future of his students and the team.

Tokiwadai was ready, and it was time for the Tokyo preliminary tournament.

The much anticipated Tokyo tournament was on the horizon, and teams all around Tokyo were ready to duke it out for a spot in the Nationals.