Chapter 007: This kind of strange practice, in the end... does it all come down to talent?
The next day.
Four o'clock in the morning, before the sky had brightened.
Hoshiumi Mì quietly left his house and hurried to the Kamomedai Junior High gym. He had barely slept a wink last night, wanting to start on the 'Effort and Sweat' right away.
But because it was too late, he could only forcefully suppress his inner excitement.
He ran with his head down on the streets, without a single person in sight.
But he couldn't help but smile.
He thought to himself...
He hadn't seen Los Angeles at 4 AM, but he had seen Tokyo at 4 AM~
Although that famous quote was later pointed out to be something Kobe only did occasionally, it could still be seen as a testament to his diligent training throughout his career.
True or false, Hoshiumi Mì thought it was cool.
It's just that... he never had the motivation of a 'system mission' to do it before.
"Running can be a warm-up~"
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Soon, when he arrived at the gym entrance, his body was lightly sweating. He familiarly climbed through a window and began his training preparations. The mission given by the system was to make 1000 three-pointers. However, he would get tired later, and his shooting percentage would definitely drop, so he estimated he would probably have to shoot over 3000 times to get it done.
After pushing out the cart loaded with all the basketballs from the club room.
He took a deep breath.
He clicked on the video package in the system...
Buzz~!
A phantom image, identical to Hoshiumi Mì and wearing the #12 jersey, appeared simultaneously on the court.
"I have to ensure my form is identical to the one in the video, and it only counts if it goes in..." Hoshiumi Mì grabbed a ball, then jumped lightly. His body stretched out in mid-air, and with a gentle flick of his wrist!
Swish!
The three-pointer went in.
At the same time, two lines of numbers appeared in his mind.
[999]
[11:59]
Obviously.
The first number showed he had completed one shot, subtracting 1 from the 1000-three-pointer goal. The latter... was it a countdown? It would be impossible to shoot that many threes in 12 minutes...
So...
12 hours?
There was a time limit!
Realizing this, a bit of excitement in Hoshiumi Mì's heart faded, replaced by a sense of urgency. He grabbed another ball and shot.
Swish!
Another three-pointer went in.
He then took ten consecutive shots, making six of them.
Having a higher shooting percentage in practice than in a game is a normal phenomenon for any player. Even players who were known for being poor free-throw shooters, like Dwight Howard in his later career, had a game free-throw percentage of only around sixty percent, yet in practice, his percentage could occasionally reach ninety percent.
..................................................................................
Half an hour later.
Hoshiumi Mì checked his progress:
[895]
[11:20]
On one hand, he had to maintain a form consistent with the 'package', and on the other, he had to focus on accuracy. As a result, he had taken over three hundred shots just to complete one-tenth of the task, and his subsequent accuracy had clearly declined.
His brows furrowed tightly, and he slowly shook his head. His gaze fell on the mission countdown. The time, displayed in red, was still ticking away mercilessly. After a moment of contemplation, Hoshiumi Mì decided that since accuracy was bound to suffer, he could only compete with speed!
Jump, shoot!
Clang~!
Without a doubt, a bricked three!
Second shot!
Clang~!
Another miss.
But the interval between this shot and the last was significantly shorter. It was as if he were in the NBA All-Star Three-Point Contest, being chased by the countdown timer!
The third shot also failed to go in.
However, Hoshiumi Mì was not discouraged in the slightest. It wasn't until his fifth shot that a swish was heard, and he finally made a three.
Shooting at such a rapid pace sacrificed adjustment time. Making shots relied entirely on muscle memory, and his accuracy was only about twenty percent. This meant that the number of shots required to complete the mission would increase dramatically.
But... his accuracy was bound to decrease as his stamina dropped anyway. Pursuing accuracy at that point would be meaningless.
Clang~!
Clang~!
Clang~!
Clang~!
Clang~!
A series of clanking sounds echoed in the empty gym, occasionally interspersed with the sound of a three-pointer swishing through the net. Hoshiumi Mì's practice clothes were already completely soaked with sweat, steam was rising from his head, and his breathing began to grow heavy.
However, he did not stop for a moment.
Gradually, the sky outside the window began to brighten. Hoshiumi Mì was already exhausted and panting, but he couldn't stop, because in his mind, the countdown, like a death knell, had never ceased.
..................................................................................
After practicing for an unknown amount of time, Hoshiumi Mì quickly glanced at the mission progress displayed in his mind.
[702]
[9:53]
Good, at this rate, he would definitely be able to complete the mission smoothly!
He paused briefly, taking a few deep breaths.
At this moment, the gym door creaked open slowly.
A tall figure then walked in.
It was the captain, Imamatsu Shinshu.
His gaze landed on Hoshiumi Mì, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes. On previous rest days, Hoshiumi, much like himself, would usually start practice at eight. But seeing Hoshiumi drenched in sweat now, it was clear he had been practicing for quite a while.
Seeing how engrossed Hoshiumi was in his practice, Imamatsu Shinshu didn't go up to disturb him.
He quietly sat down on the side, watching him intently.
Then, very quickly, his expression became quite strange. He gradually became dumbfounded as he watched Hoshiumi Mì rapidly shoot a barrage of shots from beyond the three-point line, all by himself.
This is...?
Not accurate at all.
But...
So intense!
It was just a solo shooting practice, but he was making it look like he was fighting for his life!
Imamatsu Shinshu: "!"
'I recently discovered that as long as I practice three-pointers like crazy, and practice enough, when I get the feeling, I can shoot exceptionally well.'
Is this what he meant?
Indeed... at this rate, the amount was truly unimaginably 'much'.
But the accuracy of this practice seemed more and more unreasonable to Imamatsu Shinshu. Seeing Hoshiumi's grave expression and all-out effort, he didn't dare to say anything, just continuing to watch with a strange look on his face.
Until... he saw balls scattered all over the floor where Hoshiumi Mì had been shooting, and saw Hoshiumi picking them up and shooting from wherever he was outside the three-point line, even from the center circle or half-court without hesitation...
He was finally certain.
With such a bizarre practice routine.
To be able to produce the terrifying accuracy from yesterday's game.
In the end...
It must come down to talent, right?