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The shohoku team
Shohoku High School (湘北高校 Shohoku Kōkō) has for two years running been considered of no consequence at the district level and largely a one-man team because of the presence of Takenori Akagi. It is not until Akagi's third year that things begin to turn around for Shohoku and they start to become a team to be reckoned with. They are the only non-seeded team to make it to the final four of the Kanagawa Interhigh Tournament, and their sole loss in the tournament being against the Kanagawa District Champion, the "invincible" Kainan.

Despite being the runner-up representative for the Kanagawa, they are ranked as a C-class team and placed into a tough tournament bracket, facing Toyotama and the reigning National Champion Sannoh. They favor a run-and-gun style of play and have a wide breadth of offensive capabilities. However, their major weakness is their weak bench and as a result must rely completely on their starting lineup.

Here are the individual profiles of the Shohoku Six:

Hanamichi Sakuragi | Kaede Rukawa | Takenori Akagi | Ryota Miyagi | Hisashi Mitsui | Kiminobu Kogure
Hanamichi Sakuragi: The Genius
Year: Freshman
Height/Weight: 189.2 cm, 83 kg
Jersey Number: #10
Position: Power Forward (PF)
Specialty: Rebounding, saving loose balls
Weakness: Foul trouble
Birthday: April 1
Voiced by: Takeshi Kusao

At the beginning of the series, Hanamichi Sakuragi (桜木花道 Sakuragi Hanamichi) was a slacker, always trying to ask girls out but getting constantly rejected (the 50th rejection occurring at the start of the series). He then met Haruko Akagi, with whom he fell in love immediately. This passion led to him joining the Shohoku basketball team. However, as a complete beginner, he was not able to keep up with the rest of the team at first despite his physical attributes (great height, athleticism, stamina, speed and leaping ability). He regards himself as a genius though, with self-confidence that borders on arrogance. His most recognizable trait is his red hair, though he shaves his head as reparation for an error that led to the loss against Kainan.

At first, Sakuragi was known for his poor basketball skills as a beginner; in his first few official matches, he fouled out every game. However, his basketball skills advanced throughout the series. First he developed his basic skills, such as dribbling and layups. Then, trained by Akagi, he became a formidable rebounder; his rebounding became his claim to fame throughout the latter half of the series. He also is seen more than once defining the match for Shohoku in the last seconds, for instance, by dunking a ball that Akagi would have missed in the league round match with Ryonan, then against Sannoh, by giving a buzzer-beating shot assisted by Rukawa. His jump shooting was then developed by Coach Anzai, who had him make 20,000 shots in a week. He hit a buzzer-beating jump shot to win the match against Sannoh. However, he also injured his back during the match against Sannoh, and underwent rehabilitation after Shohoku's subsequent loss to Aiwa Academy.
In spite of the setbacks he has had to face, Sakuragi displays a great deal of tenacity and determination that carry him through and help reciprocate for his other failings, both on and off the court. Although his love for Haruko and rivalry with Rukawa are the main driving forces motivating him to succeed in basketball, his injury during the Sannoh match makes him realize that he has actually come to love the game, leading him to give his all for his team and bring them victory.

Kaede Rukawa: The Super Rookie
Year: Freshman
Height/Weight: 187 cm, 75 kg
Jersey Number: #11
Position: Small Forward (SF)
Specialty: Rukawa is an all-around player
Weakness: The Kobe Bryant Syndrome (tendency to play a one-man team game)
Birthday: January 1
Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa

Kaede Rukawa (流川楓 Rukawa Kaede) is, in many ways, the opposite of Sakuragi - attractive to girls, skilled at basketball, and very cold and unfeeling. He regards Sakuragi as an idiot, and is not shy about calling him an idiot to his face - actually, he knows Sakuragi can put his talents to a better use, but is ashamed to see the immaturity with which he deals with things. His hobby is sleeping, and is usually seen asleep whenever he's not on the court; he can even ride his bike while asleep. Waking Rukawa from a nap is considered unforgivable, since he'll almost automatically beat up the culprit; unsurprisingly, he's been in his fair share of off-court fights, but can hold his own. Rukawa's goal is to be the best high school player in Japan, and he considers Akira Sendoh of Ryonan to be his greatest rival.

Rukawa is extremely good at basketball, and possesses a wide range of skills to complement his height, athleticism and drive to win. Despite being merely a first-year high school player, he is the undisputed ace of Shohoku's team. He has managed to change the course of many a game, such as when he single-handedly brought Shohoku back from a double-digit deficit against Kainan. However, his style was criticized as being too selfish, and he sometimes comes into conflict with his teammates for various reasons; this was one of the reasons why Anzai-sensei refused to give him his blessing when Rukawa told him that he intended to go to the USA, and told him to become the best in Japan before he even thought of it. When he was outplayed by Eiji Sawakita during the match against Sannoh Technical, though, he realized that he had to change his style and pass the ball. It was his pass that led to Hanamichi's buzzer-beating shot, winning the match. Rukawa is subsequently named a member of the All-Japan basketball team.
Just from his stats, it seems obvious that I don't like Kobe Bryant.

Takenori Akagi: The Gorilla
Year: Senior
Height/Weight: 197 cm, 90 kg
Jersey Number: #4
Position: Center (C)
Specialties: Inside scoring, the Flyswatter, the Gorilla Dunk
Weakness: Ranged shots
Birthday: May 10
Voice Actors: Kiyoyuki Yanada

Takenori Akagi (赤木剛憲 Akagi Takenori) is the captain of the Shohoku basketball team and Haruko's older brother. Despite at first not thinking too much of Sakuragi (who addresses him as Gori due to his immense physical presence, and whom he met after he loudly screamed insults against basketball after fighting with Haruko and Rukawa), he actually realizes Sakuragi's great potential as a basketball player. Serious and disciplined, Akagi's dream is to lead Shohoku to the national championship. His determination is shown in the match against Kainan, where he played on despite a serious injury to his ankle. Akagi considers Jun Uozumi of Ryonan to be his biggest rival, though their rivalry is not antagonistic; indeed, there is respect that borders on friendship.

Akagi differs from the other starters in two respects. First, he is the most academically talented out of all them and is considered a model student. After the loss to Aiwa knocks Shohoku out of the Nationals, Akagi leaves the team along with Kogure to study for the college entrance exams. In contrast, the other four had to beg their teacher to be given the chance to retake some exams they had flunked; they would otherwise have been disqualified from playing in the Nationals for having failed too many classes. Second, Akagi is the only starter not to have gotten into an actual fight, although he has used physical force against his own players (most notably Sakuragi, and once Mitsui after the gym fight) to keep them in line. He is the only other character able to take one of Sakuragi's trademark headbutts without being knocked out (besides Rukawa).

Regarded as the best center in the Kanagawa prefecture, Akagi plays as a fairly typical center, using his height and power to score close to the basket. He also has a reputation for being a virtually unbeatable defender. As captain of the team, he keeps discipline among his players during matches. Akagi met his match during the game against Sannoh, in the form of Masashi Kawata, considered one of the best centers at the high school level. Initially intimidated when Kawata outplayed him, he regained his confidence thanks to Uozumi's encouragement and led his team to victory.

Ryota Miyagi: The Playa
Year: Sophomore
Height/Weight: 168 cm, 59 kg
Jersey Number: #7
Position: Point Guard (PG)
Specialties: Speed, steals, assists, playmakers
Weakness: His height
Birthday: July 31
Voice Actors: Yoku Shioya

Ryota Miyagi (宮城リョータ Miyagi Ryōta) is Sakuragi's closest friend on the team. After an initial misunderstanding that caused conflict between them (he was fighting Mitsui when Sakuragi and Ayako came around, and he thought she was dating him), both found camaraderie in the fact that they had both been unlucky in love, although Miyagi, having only been rejected 10 times, still falls short of Sakuragi's record. Like Sakuragi, Miyagi is motivated to play by his love for a girl: his best friend and classmate Ayako, the manager of the team, whom he refers to as Aya-chan. He has been known to pose for Ayako during matches. Off-court, Miyagi has a reputation for being a bad boy. He was hospitalized for a while after his fight against Mitsui's gang.

Miyagi is small for a basketball player, but makes up for it with incredible speed, skills, and court awareness. His skills are typical of a point guard: strong passing and dribbling, as well as an understanding of the game that allows him to be a floor leader. He also shares a similar level of arrogance with Sakuragi, claiming to be the number one point guard in the prefecture, though popular opinion among characters in the series ranks him just behind Shinichi Maki of Kainan and Kenji Fujima of Shoyo. In the series he is often pitted against taller point guards but he is able to beat them with his incredible speed.

Hisashi Mitsui: The Triggerman
Year: Senior
Height/Weight: 184 cm, 70 kg
Jersey Number: #14
Position: Shooting Guard (SG)
Specialty: Three-pointers
Weakness: Lack of stamina
Birthday: May 22
Voice Actors: Ryoutarou Okiayu

Before joining Shohoku, Hisashi Mitsui (三井寿 Mitsui Hisashi) was an MVP for Takeishi Junior High. Despite having opportunities to join more prestigious high schools like Ryonan, he choose to go to Shohoku because of Coach Anzai; Anzai had given him the courage to win in the Junior High tournament by encouraging him during the last seconds of the match. However, an injury to his left knee in a training session interrupted his basketball career. An imprudent early return to the basketball court reinjured the knee more severely, leading to a basketball hiatus of over a year.

Although he eventually healed, he was embittered by his exclusion from the court, and Mitsui quit basketball and became the leader of a gang. His gang got in a fight with Miyagi, and during the fight Miyagi beat Mitsui senseless before taking a beating himself.

Afterwards, Mitsui attempted to ruin the basketball team by instigating them into fighting with his gang, as the team would have been banned from competition for fighting. In the end, Sakuragi's gang - Yohei Mito, Nozomi Takamiya, Yuji Ohkusu and Chuichiro Noma - voluntarily took the blame for the fight, and Mitsui was filled with remorse when he saw Anzai again. He rejoined the team and vowed never to fight again.

Mitsui is best known on the team as a three-point specialist, though his skills extend to other areas; during a practice match, he once managed to shut down Sakuragi, playing center. His three-pointers helped Shohoku catch up when they were 12 points down against Shoyo, and again when the team was 20 points down against Sannoh in the National Championships. His greatest weakness, though, is his lack of stamina due to his long break from playing basketball. Thus, in the latter halves of games, he has not always been as reliable - he missed a potential game-winning shot against Kainan, and collapsed on-court during the game against Ryonan.

Kiminobu Kogure: The Sixth Man
Year: Senior
Height/Weight: 178 cm, 62 kg
Jersey Number: #5
Position: Small Forward
Specialty: Balanced gameplay
Weakness: His eyesight
Birthday: July 12
Voice Actors: Hideyuki Tanaka

Kiminobu Kogure (木暮公延 Kogure Kiminobu) is Shohoku's vice-captain and a good friend to Akagi and Mitsui. He and Akagi are the only two players who have been on the team for all three years - Mitsui left during their first year, while other players quit the team because they found Akagi's training regimen to be too strenuous. Along with Miyagi and Ayako, he always tries to bring out the most of Hanamichi's talent. He is gentle, empathic, and always friendly, and is almost never seen without his glasses on (this is why Sakuragi calls him Megane-kun which loosely translates as glasses-wearing guy); however, when needed he shows notable willpower and brutal honesty, such as when he barely flinched after being slapped twice and cruelly insulted by the embittered Mitsui during the gym fight.

Despite spending a lot of time on the bench, Kogure brings experience and considerable firepower to the team when he's on the court; he is the player most likely to be subbed in to replace one of the starters. A pretty good shooter and tactician, he hit a crucial three-pointer against Ryonan.

His weakness is his eyesight...