For Covanord, with virtually zero appeal to top talent, scouting freshmen and sophomores was this season's primary objective.
Luke Young himself knew that with this roster, a state championship was impossible.
He needed to discover a true talent—a cornerstone—then build tactics around that player for Covanord to have any chance of rising.
This was the team-building philosophy used by all franchises, including the NBA.
It was destined to be a long journey—unless you could be like the Lakers or Celtics and suddenly have an All-Star or even superstar-caliber player parachute in.
Only then could a team produce results quickly.
And Yuuto.
His performance in these opening minutes was so good it felt unreal to Luke Young. It felt like a superstar had descended upon Covanord.
Watching him play, it was easy to imagine his future might be the NBA!
This made Luke Young proud of his sharp eye—discovering such a gem in the unlikely soil of Asia.
The damn thing was, this player he'd identified was a troublemaker.
He kept throwing up those brain-aneurysm-inducing logo threes.
Even worse, that bastard kept challenging his authority.
If he weren't playing decently, Luke Young would've kicked his ass already.
"We played well these past few minutes. You answered our opponents with your performance. But remember what I said—I don't just want victory."
As he spoke, his eyes locked onto someone else.
The supposed core of this garbage team had actually gone out partying the night before the season opener.
His days weren't going to be easy from now on!
"If anyone on this team doesn't want to win, then stop embarrassing yourself here—get off the court and get the hell out!"
He didn't mince words. Walker wasn't named, but he knew the coach was talking about him. He didn't dare say a word.
Still though...
Lena's ass really was huge!
Yuuto rolled his eyes. His roommate was truly beyond saving.
...
The game continued.
Marian Catholic hoped the timeout would calm their players and break number 10's rhythm.
They were being too optimistic. The Star Bible's existence allowed Yuuto to always maintain peak condition.
After the timeout.
Ziegler didn't force it—he drew defenders and passed out.
But the moment his pass left his hands, Yuuto immediately abandoned him, spun around, and charged into the paint to deliver a chase-down block.
The home crowd was stunned. When did their school produce such a monster?
Then on offense, Yuuto caught the ball, blew past Ziegler with one step, pulled up, and drained a two.
Ziegler looked like some country bumpkin who'd never seen anything. He watched the ball sail through his fingertips into the net and yelled, "This is Eastern sorcery!"
"You idiot, that's Alexandra's fadeaway!"
Marian Catholic's head coach screamed from the sideline.
Alexandra had some name recognition in America.
Not much, but among industry insiders she was somewhat famous—she'd even made the national team.
The game became a blowout.
Yuuto displayed elite performance on both ends. He and everyone else on the court simply weren't the same species.
Scoring, steals, blocks—he did it all.
The local reporter had originally come to evaluate Walker and Ziegler—to see if these two kids had improved over the past year and whether they qualified for five-star rankings.
But shortly after tip-off, his attention was captured by one player.
"Yu? Someone from China?"
This was completely different from the Chinese guards he knew.
Frankly speaking, Japanese guards on the international stage had only one job: pass to Yao Ming, then spot up for threes.
Since when could they dominate like this on the court?
Looking at the stat sheet.
Yuuto came out with 10 minutes remaining, having put up 26 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, and 4 blocks.
He looked more like a star than either Walker or Ziegler.
Ryan circled Yuuto's name in red pen.
An Asian talent wreaking havoc in the Cornfield—this kind of story would definitely have value.
Luke Young high-fived Yuuto with a neutral expression as he sent him to the bench.
He didn't want to appear too excited, but inside he knew that coaching a player like Yuuto was a rare opportunity. He couldn't waste the next few years.
Because Yuuto's talent far exceeded Walker's and Marian Catholic's Ziegler.
What came next?
Five-star recruit!
Talents at that level had a 70% chance of making the NBA!
Add in his nationality—if no injuries occurred, Covanord might actually produce an NBA player.
After all, everyone knew how much money the Rockets had made because of Yao Ming, right?
Plenty of NBA teams were watching!
...
The game ended.
Covanord dominated Marian Catholic 86-64.
Luke Young returned to the locker room, still stone-faced. "Your first game was decent. You might not be the worst rookie. But don't think beating up a team like Marian Catholic means you're hot shit."
"Remember this: true winners never get complacent from victories like this."
Yuuto rolled his eyes again.
Win and you can't be happy. Lose and get chewed out. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
"What's with that face?" One look at Yuuto and Luke Young's blood pressure spiked.
"...I'm trying hard to digest your teachings."
"Are you done digesting? Do you understand?"
"No. I just can't help feeling happy right now."
Pfft!
The locker room erupted in laughter, but the coach's cold glare swept over and everyone immediately stifled it—though you could see their shoulders still shaking. Holding it in was torture.
A few days later.
Covanord defeated another opponent—a team from Carmel.
Indiana truly deserved its reputation as America's basketball heartland.
Though the state only had 6 million people, almost every single citizen was a basketball fan.
High school games didn't have many seats, and attention was nowhere near NBA or NCAA levels—yet both of Covanord's games had been sold out.
Yuuto's performance remained highly efficient.
In 30 minutes, he put up 32 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals, and 3 blocks.
His assist numbers dropped significantly because of the position change—he now played more as a finisher.
His time with the ball decreased considerably, with more plays coming off cuts and catches.
He had become Covanord's most reliable scoring option.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific.
Ever since Yuuto left Japan, Sora had been visibly down. Her smiles were rare.
She would occasionally wander past the basketball club, but the sight only deepened her longing for Yuuto.
Sora sighed, habitually opening her computer to search for news about Yuuto.
NSAA coverage was just too low—each state only reported on their own region. Finding precise news required knowing the right channels.
Fortunately, Sora had become quite skilled at this.
Opening the news, she clicked on the Indianapolis Star's homepage.
First came Pacers news, then Indiana University Hoosiers news.
After searching for a while, Sora finally found Covanord's coverage.
The headline read: "Yu—Asian Guard Sensation Sweeps the Cornfield!"
Sora immediately clicked in. What met her eyes was nothing but praise.
Across three games, Yuuto had scored 20+, 30+, and 30+ respectively, leading the team to a 3-0 start.
...
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