"Momoi Satsuki?"
Yuuto in the outside world was surprised, astonished by Momoi Satsuki's intelligence gathering ability and range.
Human power has its limits.
She is only one person; how could she manage to gather all the information on important players nationwide?
He continued reading.
[Your continuous outstanding performance attracted the attention of Momoi Satsuki.]
[Day 2: You still have games to play. The intense schedule of the National Tournament leaves people with almost no time to rest.]
[The single round-robin competition among the three teams will be completed within two days. All participating teams will have to complete an important back-to-back battle.]
[Round 1 of the Round Robin: Your opponent is a Tochigi Prefecture powerhouse. They have made it to the main National Tournament twenty-five times in their team history. Their record of consecutive National Tournament appearances was only ended by Homi Academy, led by you, last year.]
[You are only a second-year student, yet you walk at the very front of the team, looking every bit like the team boss.]
[You spotted a pink-haired girl in the audience. Her existence is very conspicuous, not only because of her outstanding appearance but also because the school uniform she wears belongs to Teiko.]
[The National Tournament qualifiers are being held simultaneously across the country. At this time, Teiko, like Homi, has also reached the round-robin stage. Their average margin of victory in the group stage was a massacre of 58.9 points, shocking all of Tokyo.]
[The team's ace, Aomine Daiki, seemed to have divine help. Even with a group of genius teammates around him, he still averaged 38.7 points per game, looking down on the competition. He is an out-and-out scoring machine.]
[You withdrew your gaze and focused on the game in front of you.]
["Yuuto, I'm glad to see you here. I was worried for a long time when I heard you quit the Homi basketball club. It's good that you're back. The score from last year should be settled."]
[The person speaking is the captain of your opponent today. After losing to you last year, he has held a grudge and worked hard for a year just to avenge last year's defeat.]
["I heard you received an invitation from a prestigious Tokyo school. Congratulations in advance on a happy high school life." You ignored the other party's provocation.]
[You feel that an opponent you could beat last year is even less likely to defeat you now.]
[The game began. The first time you held the ball, you realized the opponent had definitely studied your game tapes.]
[A 3-2 defensive stance, a typical zone defense. The perimeter duo is at the very front, and 3 players are lying in ambush near the paint.]
[You understand that the opponent wants to create obstacles for your drive-and-kick game.]
[You know the solution. With such a defensive stance, you will get good shooting opportunities on the perimeter, but you don't possess outstanding long-range shooting ability.]
[You choose to force your way through.]
[Sure enough, when you drove inside the three-point line with the ball, the opponent immediately closed the door with two players to meet you. Their speed was so fast they had definitely practiced this many times.]
[You didn't panic. You quickly took a step back, then changed direction and continued to drive toward the paint. Your movements were as concise as ever, yet always able to be one step ahead of the opponent. Even with two people, the opponent still felt immense pressure from you.]
[You couldn't completely shake off the defenders, but you also gained enough space. You involuntarily passed the ball to Sakurai Ryō, who was ambushing at the left horn.]
[The opponent reacted quickly, closing in on Sakurai Ryō immediately, but Sakurai Ryō's release speed was faster.]
[With a "Sorry!", Sakurai Ryō hit the three-pointer.]
[You think this mushroom head is even more punchable than you!]
[You got off to a good start. You also noticed the pink-haired girl in the audience quickly recording all this with a pen in hand.]
[The opponent responded, completing a pick-and-roll cut to get 2 points, demonstrating the foundation that allowed them to dominate Tochigi Prefecture for many years.]
[Immediately after, you received the ball from a teammate again, using the simplest crossover to fight one against two.]
[You made a passing feint. The opponent was so fooled they wouldn't recognize their own mother, lunging out in an attempt to steal. The double-team instantly turned into a one-on-one.]
[You didn't give the opponent a chance to recover on defense. With a textbook jump shot, you got your first field goal of the game. The geezer coach on the sidelines clapped vigorously; your extremely standardized shooting motion was enough to make him rest in peace.]
[The first half ended with the score at 58:50. Homi Academy, led by you, led the opponent by 8 points.]
[Sakurai Ryō continued to perform well. In the first half, he shot 4 of 8 from three-point range, with a shooting percentage over 50%, scoring 12 points.]
[But the fans finally noticed something wrong. Because you, with your plain playing style and unassuming presence, had already harvested stats of 17+4+5 in the first half. This is the rhythm of heading for another triple-double.]
["To be able to train fundamentals to this level, how on earth did he do it?" Momoi Satsuki recorded continuously. 80% of the notes in her notebook were about you, and the remaining 10% were respectively about Sakurai Ryō and the tactical analysis of the Homi team.]
[The notebook clearly recorded the stats you obtained in the past few games. Momoi Satsuki was surprised to find that the stats you harvested in every game were extremely stable.]
[There are only two reasons for this result. First: You firmly controlled the game, and the opponents you encountered could not create pressure on you. Second: Your limit lies within this range.]
[Momoi Satsuki believes you are the first type. Before, it was bullying scrubs, so stable stats didn't prove much. But facing the overlord of Tochigi Prefecture, you can still perform so stably, which is enough to prove that your ability is superior to everyone on the court.]
"..."
Yuuto in the outside world looked at Momoi Satsuki's analysis without speaking.
He knew his own situation.
His stability was brought by the Big Stone Buddha's [The Big Fundamental].
It ignores match intensity and can produce stable performances in any situation, which protects his floor (minimum performance).
But at the same time, Yuuto's current ceiling is not high.
Excessive stability also means he lacks sufficient explosiveness.
He can get at least 20+5+5 stats per game now.
This is his floor.
But to break through 30+, he needs to improve abilities in other areas.
[The second half began. The opponent's targeting of you became more obvious. They were determined to contain your performance.]
[Even if the opponent didn't have a large enough sample size, and Homi Academy only recently started playing with you as the core, one thing was crystal clear to the opposing coach: you are undoubtedly Homi Academy's engine.]
[The opponent changed their strategy, and you also changed yours.]
[Your insufficient ceiling left you lacking the ability to brute-force a solution in this situation. You started calling for pick-and-rolls, engaging in two-man plays with the team's center.]
[Pick-and-roll offense: the most basic and also the most practical tactic in basketball. Most modern basketball tactics evolved from the pick-and-roll.]
[You called for a pick-and-roll, used your teammate's help to break into the free-throw line, and used a bounce pass to get the ball back to your teammate who continued to cut. Your teammate attracted the defender and smashed the ball heavily into your hands.]
[Your goal was achieved. You faced the opponent's center directly, obtaining a mismatch opportunity of 'small against big'.]
[You used the simplest continuous pivot turns to create shooting space for yourself.]
[Swish~ The ball grazed the backboard and fell into the net. You easily dissolved the opponent's targeting with rich experience that was several versions ahead.]
[Momoi Satsuki started recording again. Your importance in her heart was getting higher and higher. She thinks you play very smartly, the complete opposite extreme of her childhood friend.]
[Your basketball is utilitarian and smart, while Aomine Daiki is flashy and stubborn!]
[She deduced the opponent's tactical changes based on the situation on the court, but she didn't deduce your method of resolving them.]
[Momoi Satsuki thinks you are a genius, and given time, your name will spread throughout the country.]
[On the court, you can feel the opponent getting impatient. Their movements started to become savage, but your 1.8-meter frame isn't just for show. At the stage of the second year of middle school, your body model is already top-tier. Compared to the Generation of Miracles, you only lack athletic ability.]