 A.k.a.: Red Haired Monkey, Tensai, Genius, King of the Rebound, King of Fouls, Iron Man Age: 15 - 16 Birthday: April 1st Highschool: Shohoku Highschool Junior High: Wakou Junior Highschool Year: 1st Class: 7 Height: 188 cm (6'2); at the end 189.2 cm (6'2 ½) Weight: 83 kg (182.6 lbs.) Position: power forward (PF) Jersey no.: 10 Shoe Brand: Nike Air Jordan 6 and Nike Air Jordan 1 Voice actor: Kusao Takeshi  Sakuragi is a natural talent. His greatest abilities are his rebounding ability and his endless energy. He is tall and strong, but also very fast and flexible. And just like Rukawa he can jump really high! The Slam Dunk story's time span is only 4 months, but during these months Sakuragi already learned how to dribble, rebound, dunk, block, the layup and some shooting to become a very valuable player to the team. And he is able to do unbelievable things at unexpected moments! He grows stronger by every game he plays. By the way he gets into fights a lot, but probably hasn't lost any fight in his life, so he actually is the Street Fighter King... A funny note: Sakuragi was able to ride a bike even faster than a car. Coach Anzai says that Sakuragi brings the team rebounding powers and strength. Special features: Sakuragi is a loud guy and claims to be the genius of the court. You recognize him by his big mouth... And his red hair is definitely his trade mark. He cut off his hair after the game vs Kainan, because in his opinion it was his fault they lost the game. He passed the ball to Kainan's center Takasago instead of Akagi with less than 20 seconds on the clock and 2 points behind. Personality: Sakuragi is a short tempered person, but he slowly changes. He is anything but modest: although he is just a rookie he always claims to be the best player of the team, district and country. He is very stubborn and ignores criticism. But he is also a very quick learner who learns from his mistakes. He can be sensitive and naive sometimes, which shows that he actually is still a young guy. He 'hates' Rukawa for his ability and for being the person Haruko is in love with. Deep in his heart he knows that Rukawa is a very capable player, but he will never admit. Rukawa has become his biggest rival and that probably will never change. But Rukawa is also an important reason for this development: he wants to be better than Rukawa so badly! He isn't really a very smart guy, but you have to admit that sometimes he really is a genius (on the court). He is just a newbie but understands the game very well. He's always learning from his own mistakes, he analyzes his own technique and improves every day. For example: his free throw kinda sucked, and he found out to throw the ball from low (between the knees) to high. |