Slam Dunk:Starting with perfect copy

On the basketball court, Sendoh was dribbling and sprinting at full speed. His movements were fluid, almost effortless, as he surged toward the basket. A Ryonan player was defending him, standing firmly in front of him.

Kenichi Uesugi, watching from the sidelines, recognized the man. His name was Koshino Hiroaki, the main player of the Ryonan team. Koshino was known for his strength and defensive skills, but even Uesugi could tell he was no match for Sendoh's speed and agility.

Sendoh faced Koshino, pausing just for a moment to study his opponent. With a swift fake move, he shifted his weight and then executed a disguised breakthrough to the right. Koshino, caught off guard, stumbled slightly as Sendoh easily evaded his defense.

As Sendoh made his move toward the basket, he leapt into the air, preparing to slam down a dunk. But just as he was about to finish the play, a tall figure appeared in front of him—Sugahira, the backup center for Ryonan.

Sugahira stretched his long arms, trying to block Sendoh's shot, but it was clear he was outmatched. Sendoh, unfazed, stayed suspended in the air, twisting his body to avoid the block. With an elegant, almost graceful motion, he finished the attack with a stunning pull-up backhand dunk.

From the sidelines, a group of onlookers gasped in awe. "Ah! So awesome!" one of them exclaimed.

"Is he the Sendoh? So cool!" another one added, clearly impressed.

"Yes! The magazine said that he's as good as Kainan's Amu! Today, I see that it's true!" a third voice chimed in.

Kenichi Uesugi, along with the other newcomers who had just joined the team, watched in silent admiration. They were seeing firsthand just how talented Sendoh really was, and it made them all the more eager to prove themselves.

Just as the crowd murmured in amazement, a sharp whistle pierced the air.

"Beep!"

Everyone turned toward the source of the sound. Standing behind the crowd was a stern figure, arms crossed,

a serious expression on his face. It was Taoka Moichi, the coach of the Ryonan team.

"Assemble!" his voice commanded.

Immediately, the players—whether veterans like Sendoh or the new recruits—fell into line, forming two neat groups in front of Coach Taoka. There was no hesitation; Taoka was known for his strictness, and no one dared to test his patience.

The veterans, including Sendoh, stood in one group, while the newcomers, including Uesugi Kenichi, formed another. Since Uesugi was the tallest among the newcomers,

he instinctively took his place on the far right.

As he settled into his spot,

Uesugi couldn't help but notice two unfamiliar figures standing behind Coach Taoka. They looked like newcomers as well, but he didn't recognize them.

Coach Taoka scanned the group of recruits, his eyes narrowing as he took in their physical appearances. He felt a twinge of frustration. Compared to last year's batch of recruits, this year's group was disappointing. Most of them barely met the height requirements.

One player, however,

caught his attention. The tall guy on the far right seemed to have potential. Around 190 cm tall,

he appeared to be in good shape. Taoka flipped through his paperwork, searching for details.

"Kenichi Uesugi?" Taoka muttered to himself. He had never heard of him before. There was nothing remarkable about his junior high career, and the coach noted that Uesugi had only started playing basketball in the second year of junior high.

He had less than two years of experience—hardly enough to make a mark in competitive basketball.

Coach Taoka frowned. A novice. He'll probably struggle to even make it as a substitute.

In his mind, Taoka had already labeled Uesugi as a long shot. But there was one thing that gave him a glimmer of hope—his physical condition. It was decent. Maybe I'll give him a chance. If he puts in the effort, maybe he'll grow.

Taoka wasn't the type to give up easily, but as he scanned the rest of the recruits, he felt a wave of disappointment. Ryonan had finished in the top four in the county competition the previous year, and Taoka had hoped that the success would attract more talented players. Instead, it seemed like the best players had already been snapped up by the top high schools—Kainan, Shoyo, and others.

The news that Kaede Rukawa, a player Taoka had high hopes for, had chosen to join Shohoku, ignoring his interest, made him seethe with frustration. That old man Anzai at Shohoku had nothing to offer, but he still got the players!

The anger surged within him as he thought of the young players who had ignored Ryonan's offer. Why don't they want to come here?

Taoka took a deep breath and refocused on the task at hand. He looked up at the group of newcomers and then addressed them in a low, controlled voice.

"Not all of you who have applied to join the team will officially make the roster," he began, his tone serious. "The eight of you, plus these two," he gestured to the unknown recruits behind him, "will be divided into two teams. You will compete, and only those who perform excellently will stay. The rest will be eliminated."

He paused for a moment, letting the weight of his words sink in.

The recruits stood rigid, fully aware of the pressure now on their shoulders. Uesugi felt his heart race. He had no choice but to prove himself in this competition.

Coach Taoka turned to face the recruits, his gaze cold and calculating.

"Give it your all, or you'll be out."

Coach Taoka pointed behind him while speaking. These two people were the ones he had recruited during this period. With the special case of bringing Sendoh from Tokyo last year, Taoka had also spent a lot of energy recruiting talent from other counties this year. But the results had been counterproductive. The elite players in each county had long been snatched up by high schools everywhere. Special cases like Sendoh were too rare.

In desperation, Taoka had to settle for second best and recruited two players who seemed relatively good. Although they could not provide as much help to the team as Sendoh, it was always a good choice to let them be substitutes! At least for now, the two of them looked much stronger than the newcomers in front of him.

From the data, the eight people here had almost no formal competition experience in junior high school, so it was difficult for any of them to stay.

Soon, under Taoka's arrangement, the ten new players were randomly divided into two teams. The two players Taoka Moichi had recruited from other counties were in one team, while Kenichi Uesugi was in the other.

Looking at the results of the draw, Taoka Moichi initially wanted to intervene. After all, if these two "masters" were on the same team, it seemed there would be no suspense in this competition. He didn't think there would be hidden bosses among these newcomers who could contend with these two.

But on second thought, he originally didn't plan to keep these newcomers, so he didn't bother to care anymore. He decided to let them finish the game and let the players continue to train. After all, impacting the national competition was the serious matter!

So, under Taoka Moichi's repeated urging, the players on both sides quickly changed into training jerseys and came to the court. All the main players of Ryonan also gathered outside the court, ready to watch the performance of these newcomers.