Harlem Beat

Harlem Beat summary:

Some athletes dream of the bling-bling, others dream of the women. But real hoop dreams reflect the desire to be the best. The dream of being able to take the rock, drive the lane, and take it to the hole. That's Nate Torres, branded as the team bench-warmer, just trying to get that shot at high school fame and glory. When he blows his chance to try and make his high school team, he takes his dream to the only place he has left... the streets.

Away from the spotlight and glory of organized basketball, Nate Torres discovers himself on a back alley half-court.

(Source: Tokyopop; In the Tokyopop edition, the character's names have been Americanized. Tooru Naruse became Nate Torres, for example.)

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Toru had always wanted to be a hero -the center of attention- But whenever he tried something new, he would always give up, thinking he wasn't good enough. In high school, he enters the basketball team. As usual he ends up on the bench. Toru's childhood friend, Mizuki Kusuda, introduces him to street basketball. When Toru manages to throw the ball into the hoop in a match against Shu, the street basketball champion and member of "Three Men," something changes inside. He realizes that "if he only has the guts to carry through something without giving up, his dream will come true." He teams up with Sawamura, a fabulous 3-point shooter and wins more "3-on-3" matches. Toru's devotion to basketball affects everyone around him and his basketball team soon enters the national games.