Nobunaga Kiyota

Nobunaga Kiyota is what could be called the personification of arrogance (something like Kainan’s parallel to Sakuragi, only slightly more skilled during the events of the Kanagawa Trials). He is always bragging about how he’s the real star rookie of Kanagawa, instead of Rukawa. However, he tends to underestimate other teams, especially Shohoku, and this can lead to embarrassing situations, such as when Akagi flattened him with a dunk, and also when Sakuragi faked past him and scored. Kiyota likes to call Hanamichi “Red-furred Monkey” while Hanamichi calls him “Wild Monkey.” Despite being so arrogant, Kiyota has a high level of respect towards his teammates, especially towards his captain Maki.

Kiyota is known for his leaping ability and ball-handing skills. Despite being only 178 cm, he can dunk and block shots quite regularly. He memorably dunked over Uozumi during Kainan’s match against Ryonan despite Uozumi’s height. Kiyota is the only starter for Kainan who is a 1st year.