Yoshinori Miyamasu

Miyamasu is quiet, disciplined and persistent. Nothing about his physique resembles the imposing athletes surrounding him at Kainan, yet he survives a famously brutal training program and earns the trust of one of the prefecture's most demanding coaches.

That perseverance is central to his identity as a player. Kainan's practices eliminate many stronger-looking recruits, while Miyamasu remains because he continues developing a skill that can contribute in important games.

He does not react to Sakuragi's dismissive attitude with boasting. Instead, he simply takes the open opportunities Shohoku gives him.

Miyamasu's defining ability is three-point shooting. His accuracy is good enough that leaving him unguarded is dangerous even against elite opposition.

He lacks the size, strength and overall athleticism of Kainan's starters. Rather than trying to imitate them, he specializes in a weapon that makes him useful from the perimeter.

His greatest tactical value against Shohoku comes from perception. Sakuragi sees a tiny reserve with goggles and assumes he is harmless. Takatou correctly predicts that this will cause Sakuragi to defend him poorly.

Miyamasu enters the Shohoku-Kainan game as one of Takatou's most intelligent adjustments. Sakuragi has become increasingly influential through rebounding and athleticism, but his lack of basketball experience remains exploitable.

Takatou substitutes Miyamasu into the game and assigns Sakuragi to deal with a player he instinctively considers beneath him.

Miyamasu punishes the resulting defensive neglect with perimeter shooting, forcing Sakuragi to recognize that appearance and athleticism are poor measures of a player's actual value.

Riki Takatou recognizes Miyamasu's specialized value and trusts him enough to use him as a tactical weapon against Shohoku.

Hanamichi Sakuragi initially underestimates Miyamasu because of his slight physique, allowing the Kainan reserve to exploit his defensive inexperience.

Soichiro Jin is Kainan's premier three-point specialist and a teammate whose shooting provides the standard against which Miyamasu's own perimeter ability is understood.

Shinichi Maki captains the Kainan team on which Miyamasu earns his reserve role.