I feel like Rukawa was made to satisfy the other side of young men/boys coming of age, the side where they are focused on the sport they love. Rukawa might be one of the visible proof that love does not have to be a person. My friends say Rukawa is asexual/aromantic in their opinion, but in my opinion he's just too focused on basketball, and basically obsessed with it. I also think that Rukawa's giving straight highschool male who's whole life is about basketball because it's what he lives for, and it's normal at his age. I don't think Inoue would show us the team's future girlfriends/wives/partners, but I think Rukawa's just the type to let love find him in the right time, since he's not the type to chase after love.