Tokiwadai Gets Ready

It had been a few months and Tokiwadai had improved, and now was ready to enter the tournament season.

Not many things had changed, but the team had gained a few skills that would be helpful in difficult circumstances.

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

Shun was playing in the mini-game, and the ball was with the opposite team. Shun looked at the players, pass possibilities, and saw an opening to Mibuchi.

Shun: 'I will be too late for a steal, but a contest will be plausible.'

Shun ran to Mibuchi, and just as Shun predicted, the ball went to Mibuchi.

Shun arrived near Mibuchi and stopped. Shun didn't go in straight with a jump and contest Mibuchi as he didn't want to be faked out by a pump fake.

Mibuchi smiled as he saw Shun closing in.

Shun wondered the reason behind the smile.

Shun: 'Why is he smiling?'

Many thoughts went through Shun's mind, but he wasn't able to think of anything.

Mibuchi bent his knees, ready to take a shoot. Shun followed the same, and both of them jumped for a shot and the corresponding contest.

But, Shun found that he wasn't able to contest as he wasn't able to jump. At that time, Shun understood the meaning behind Mibuchi's smile.

Shun: 'The Void Shot! When did he develop this?!'

Mibuchi felt confident from successfully tricking Shun and shot the ball with total confidence.

Shun turned to look at the ball as it went in the net without touching the rim.

Shun turned to Mibuchi and commented.

Shun: "That was incredible, but it is not going to work on me again."

Mibuchi smiled as he replied.

Mibuchi: "That is just you. There is no way others would figure this out so easily."

Shun nodded and said.

Shun: "This makes three special shots. With this, I think you are the most versatile shooter in the country."

Shun was right if it was the matter of versatility, Mibuchi had passed Midorima by a large margin, who only used simple jump shots.

Mibuchi smiled and said.

Mibuchi: "Thank you for the compliment."

Mibuchi Reo was finally in his complete Uncrowned King form.

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

Yuki was guarding Aone in the key. Yuki was trying to stop Aone from entering the low post. He knew if Aone got inside to the post, then his chances of stopping Aone would plummet.

Yuki got in close and spread his arms to restrict Aone's movement.

Aone tried to move, but Yuki was there to stop him. Aone had to pass the ball to his teammate before he wasted any more time on the shot clock.

Aone looked back at Yuki and nodded. That was his way of saying good work.

Yuki smiled as he nodded in thanks, though the next possession Aone and Yuki once again met at the key, this time Aone faked out Yuki with a pass fake. As he had stopped with the ball in both of his hands, if he moved further, then he would have charged with carrying.

So he squared up to the basket and shot the ball to the basket, he had no illusions that it would go in, so he went in for the rebound.

Aone charged into the Dee and beat two players to the rebound and got the ball. Aone then jumped once again to dunk his ball into the hoop.

Yuki wryly smiled as he said.

Yuki: "He sure is competitive."

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

Kaitani Riku dribbled through the court with a grin on his face.

The sky might not be his domain, but the ground was his home. He could beat anyone on the ground.

The speed and agility he showcased helped him move through the court, and he had been working on his dribbling skills.

Kaitani remembered the advice Shun had given him.

-*-*-*-

Shun had the ball with Kaitani in front of him.

Shun: "You have the control over your speed, so why don't you put it to good use."

Shun dribbled the ball and said.

Shun: "Try to stop me. I will show you what I mean."

Kaitani nodded and got ready to defend against Shun.

They started at the top of the key.

Shun looked at Kaitani and said.

Shun: "Now look carefully and try to stop me."

Shun ran diagonally to the left, and Kiatani followed him. Half-way between the key and the baseline, Shun put the breaks on and made a sharp right turn to the basket.

Kaitani was not ready for the sharp turn by Shun.

Kaitani: "Oh, carp!"

Kaitani also stopped and followed Shun, but found that Shun was faster than before, plus he had a head start on him.

Kaitani: 'I won't reach.'

Shun reached the basket and put the ball in with a layup.

Kaitani spoke when Shun looked at him after scoring.

Kaitani: "That was a sharp turn. Is this what are you're talking about."

Shun nodded and explained.

Shun: "Sharp, quick turns will be perfect for you. The defender will take time to adjust and follow you."

Kaitani nodded but then put up a question.

Kaitani: "You were faster after you made the cut. What was up with that?"

Shun sighed and explained.

Shun: "First, going full speed all the time is not a good practice. It will tire you out. Second, if you go at full speed during dribbling, then you would end up crashing with the defender and gain a charging foul.

Regulating your speed will help you gain more control. I never go full if there is not a clear path for me to charge."

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.