Main character list:
There are a lot of characters in Slam Dunk but the most prominent ones are the characters from the Shohoku basketball team. I've listed popular characters (charas people like to write about) from the other basketball teams as well. More on their characters when I talk of the pairings.

-- Shohoku High School --
Sakuragi Hanamichi, Rukawa Kaede, Akagi Takenori, Mitsui Hisashi, Kogure Kiminobu, Miyagi Ryota, Anzai sensei, Akagi Haruko, Ayako.

-- Ryonan High School --
Sendoh Akira, Koshino Hiroaki, Aida Hikoichi, Uozumi Jun, Fukuda and their Coach.

-- Kainan University High School --
Maki Shinichi, Kiyota Nobunaga, Jin Soichiro and their Coach.

-- Shoyo High School --
Fujima Kenji, Hanagata Toru
 

Short Synopsis/Theme:
It is recommended that you look at the manga instead of the anime since the anime stops before the manga ends (a _very_big boo because the ending of the manga is _very_ good). Okay, anyway, Slam Dunk is a basketball series who's main character is the redhead Sakuragi Hanamichi. He's a failure at love, having been rejected 50 times, and in the first year of high school, he falls for Haruko. She's a big basketball fan since her brother is the team captain and Sakuragi joins the basketball club because of her. He also dislikes the star player, Rukawa because she has a crush on him. Sakuragi transforms from a total incompetent to an important member of the team. Throughout the series, you will meet more characters from the other teams and be impressed by Sakuragi's idiocy as well as his natural talent. You can't help but become attached to the ahou (idiot), as Rukawa calls him.

Overall, this series is a smorgasbord (sp?) of boys -- all young and nicely built. There is nice basketball action and nice characterisation for most of the boys but what I love most about this series is the fact that it can make me laugh out loud. And you can't help but become attached to Sakuragi.

As a fic writer, I love this series because of its characters. The series focuses on the important Inter High (IH) basketball match that our boys are working so hard for and you don't get to see a lot of what happens outside the basketball court. This being the case, a fic writer can conjure up any background for the characters (you don't know a lot about them - family, relationships, etc - and have to make it up anyway). So a lot of fun can be had.
 

Potential slash couples and why?

This is a bit of a daunting task -- there are lots. I'll just cover the
more conventional pairings. Of course, this is all _my_ opinion only.

- RuHana (Rukawa x Hanamichi aka Sakuragi) or HanaRu (Hanamichi x Rukawa) They both like to irritate one another: Hanamichi because he can't stand the fact that Haruko likes Rukawa; Rukawa because the redhead is too easy to goad. A RuHana fan would argue that Inoue Takehiko drew Slam Dunk as a RuHana story. ^_^; But otherwise, the pairing is very popular because of several "evidences" from the manga, as well as the fact that their characters go very well with each other in fics. The hotblooded redhead with the cold Rukawa. Opposites attract, anyone? You've got the cat-dog affair, the hissing at each other, the passionate making up love sessions... *grin*

Some fans though are very adamant about which pairing they "approve". Some can't see Rukawa as uke, others can't see him as seme. This also goes for Sakuragi. But to me, it doesn't matter which position they're in. IMHO, as long as they're in character, and the fic's written well, how can you not see them in either position? *ahem* Let's continue.

- MitKo or MitsuKo (Mitsui x Kogure)
Mitsui is the bad boy of Shohoku who joined a bad crowd due to an injured knee. But he later rejoins the basketball team. Kogure is the quiet guy who'd always respected Mitsui and was disappointed with what he became. They're paired together because of "evidence" from the manga: the fact that Kogure knows so much about Mitsui and was affected by him. In truth, I'm not very fond of this couple, may MitKo fans forgive me. I'm not interested in Kogure's personality and when he's paired with Mitsui, I find that he makes Mitsui seem less...vibrant. But I can see that they make a sweet couple, which is perhaps why a lot of people like them. They're like the steady loving couple, one reason why they don't interest me so much, I guess.

Some people may like KoMitsu. *grin* But mostly, it's in lemon pwps where Kogure's a seme. It's nice to see the quiet one take control. *wink*

- SenKosh (Sendoh x Koshino)
Sendoh is Ryonan's star player. Many fans see him as the ultra happy-go-lucky, flirtatious, hentai seme. In the manga, he's only seen as easygoing and just a little friendly. ^_^; But fans like the hentai version of him. You'll see the fan-version of Sendoh a lot when you read SenKosh fics. Mainly because Koshino, his friend and fellow teammate is the opposite of him. Koshino is not shown as being very friendly at all and fic writers like to write him swatting away Sendoh's advances. The fans like the fact that Koshino loves to say "no no no" while he really means "yes yes yes". They're not another favourite of mine as Koshino's character leaves much to be desired (imo). But I can see why people like them. It is fun to read about Koshino trying to pretend that he dislikes Sendoh's flirting or moves or to read about him trying to come to terms with what he really feels for Sendoh. .

- SenRu (Sendoh x Rukawa)
Sendoh in this pairing is usually seen as _very_ friendly. This is because Rukawa's a cold person -- or as most SenRu fans have him: a quiet, introverted person. Rukawa sees Sendoh as an obstacle on his way to the top. Sendoh on the other hand recognises in Rukawa a potential rival and we've already seen him giving Rukawa advice. Some people -- RuHana fans especially -- can't stand this pairing because Rukawa (to them) is seen as weak (not only because of the uke position, but the way he's portrayed). It could be because Sendoh seems too vibrant and seems to overpower Rukawa's quiet personality in some fics. The two _are_ good together though because you can always see Sendoh slowly worming his way through Rukawa's shell. How can anyone not fall for that smile? *big smile* The pairing has its own charm. Even if they're not lovers, they make an interesting pair as friends.

- end of the more popular conventional pairings - and on to a few more -

- JinKiyo (Jin x Kiyota), KiyoJin (Kiyota x Jin)
This pairing has its sweet moments. You have Jin, the calmer, sweet-looking senior and his wilder junior Kiyota. You can easily see Kiyota's respect for his senior as something more and Jin's tolerance as something more.

- SenHana (Sendoh x Hanamichi)
I don't know if people even write about the two but there is a good dj-ka focusing on this pairing. Some people dislike this pairing though I can't think of the reason right now. They _are_ a good pairing if you want to look upon "evidence". In the manga and anime, it's Hanamichi who really captures Sendoh's interest. Actually, the redhead captures _everyone's_ interests, hence he makes a good yaoi partner in any pairing. *big grin* Anyway, Hanamichi interests Sendoh a lot and you can see the friendly boy wanting to challenge the redhead to a one-on-one, which can lead to so much more.

- FujiHana (Fujima x Hanagata)
My first few SD yaoi fics was based on this couple, cute little stories where they're already an establish couple. Fujima is the brown-haired blue-eyed boy from Shoyo and Hanagata his best friend, or best teammate. Fujima trusts Hanagata a lot and Hanagta seems to want to prove to Fujima that he (Fujima) can depend on him. Yep, that's from the manga itself so you can see how that can translated to yaoi. Both make a dependable couple. (Don't translate that to boring because of me. ^_^; I just like the more...spicy couples)

- MakiFuji (Maki x Fujima)
Another nice couple. Maki, dark-skinned, gorgeous beyond words (after certain volumes in the manga). I think the reason he's paired with Fujima is because the both of them are on rival teams and they're both considered the best point guards in the district. There's this competition thing going on between them and it can be interesting when love's also involved.

- HanaYo (Hanamichi x Youhei) or YoHana (Youhei x Hanamichi)
Now this makes an interesting pairing. Youhei is Hanamichi's best friend and the best friend turn lovers scenarios is hard to resist. Youhei is the cool to Hanamichi's fire. They look good too.

- Rukawa and anybody
IMHO, Rukawa can be the most sensual character in the series. See him as a man, years into the series, who knows his own sexual charm and knows exactly what he wants -- and if it's sex especially -- you'll see a lot of possibilities and a lot of lemons. There's just something about seeing that cold mask of his drop in the throes of passion (or seeing that vulnerability disappear into fierce passion)... Seme or uke, he's interesting.

Actually there are probably other pairings but I can't recall any more at the moment.

A note: I prefer certain pairings because of the dynamics involved when their personalities are put together. I often find myself putting two boys together, who'd otherwise never even be thought of together, just to see how they would act with one another. And this is where a lot of fans would argue with me and say that certain pairings _can't_ be together because the manga never _hinted_ at the possibility, even after being studied under a yaoi microscope. Well, I say boo to them. The conventional pairings are based on friendships or tiffs we see in the series. Why not have pairings which result from friendships which _could_ have formed in the background, even if they weren't drawn in the manga? Ah, see what I mean when I said a lot of fun can be had?

Most pairings are possible as long as you want enough to create a background for the couple and establish it slowly and convincingly. That of course is a reason why not a lot to people write or think of the less popular pairings. And that is also a big reason why I like them so much.
Less popular pairings are different, and more challenging to write. And it is also interesting to see how a writer can write the pairing so that a yaoi relationship is possible and not contrived in any way.

I just had to say this because some SD writers/readers are biased beyond words and thus limit the fun that could be had. _Their_ opinions are not to be taken as _the_ word or their fics as _the_ only possible path. *grin*

That being said, my favourite pairing -- which only one other person writes
with me -- is:

- RuKiyo (Rukawa x Kiyota) and KiyoRu (Kiyota x Rukawa)
While some people think that Kiyota is similar to Hanamichi, he's a whole different person. Kiyota can't stand Rukawa because Rukawa's more popular than he is and has the star spot he wants for himself. But he respects Rukawa and his skills. You can easily change that to admiration and later love. Rukawa on the other hand pretty much ignores Kiyota. Oh, he knows the boy's got a thing against him but he doesn't really care. You can have Kiyota irritating Rukawa to no ends and Rukawa finally lashing out at him. Put them together however you want and see the sparks fly. (All right, so it could be only me who can see them ^_^;;).

Despite all I've said about not being big fans of some of the pairings, I devour their doujinshi. Actually, I devour _any_ Slam Dunk doujinshi. I'm never sick of seeing how different artists draw the boys.

Urls of good web resources or slash stories:

I have to admit that I read SD fics long ago and got back into the fandom
only last year. And as yet, I can't remember most of the fics I've read or where I got them. Of course you can always check out anipike.com for more Slam Dunk links. Most of the general information sites will have pics and a little info on all the characters.

- Aka Tombo Slam Dunk Files:
http://www.mindspring.com/~theduffields/SDfiles.htm
Come here for summaries of the manga.

- Slam Dunk Anime Synopses:
https://members.tripod.com/~Amis_Lee/slamdunk.htm
Good place to go for summaries of the anime.

- Slam Dunk Babble Club:
http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/goto?forumid=13053
This is a forum where the latest yaoi fanfics in the fandom are posted by
up and coming writers. Not all the fics posted are of high quality though.
The archive's address: http://rivendell.fortunecity.com/nemesis/834/main.html

- Slam Dunk HQ:
http://fangirls.icestorm.com/ritz/sd/
Great place to find information on the series, some djs and there are fics
here as well.

- Untitled: a RuHana shrine:
http://digilander.iol.it/ruhana/
Lots of yummy RuHana dj scans here. _Very_ nice, hot scans. *big smile* The site is also host to the RuHana fic contest so you can find RuHana fics here.

- Sunfire's Slam Dunk:
http://rivendell.fortunecity.com/curse/449/index.html
She writes RuHana and her site also has good information and dj scans.