Chapter 139: First game of the state tournament

Jason could feel his heart speeding up in excitement as he looked out into the crowded arena.

All of the seats were filled as not only fans of the two teams had shown up but people from both counties were there to show their support.

Even though it was over a three hour drive from Tulare county to Los Angeles that didn't seem to have been a problem as their were a ton of posters and banners being raised and waved.

But Riverside wouldn't lose out. Seeing as how Riverside was a lot closer to Los Angeles than Tulare county was it was easier for the people from there to come to the game.

But not only that, starting at the state level all the games would be streamed live on the internet as well as take place in a college arena.

Right now Jason was on the sidelines of a very familiar arena to him. Today's game was taking place at the Pauley Pavilion.

The court where the UCLA Bruins play their games. This was also the court where Jason played all of his years in college.

Jason didn't think that he would be back at this court so soon. Just as he was about to get lost in his memories he felt a hand place itself on his shoulder.

Jason turned his head to the side and saw that it was Udonis. He smiled at Jason "Taking in the sight?"

Technically he wasn't wrong so Jason nodded his head. Udonis chuckled "Ima keep a hunnid with you Jaya. I never thought I would ever get a chance to play in a arena like this."

Jason laughed as he replied "Come on UD. Even if you never got the chance to play in a arena like this in middle school I'm sure you would have gotten a chance to play in one after going to college."

Udonis shook his head "I honestly don't think I would have Jason. Before you joined the team we weren't making any type of noise.

No scouts and no schools were looking at me like that. But after we went undefeated and won the school its very first county banner me and my mom have gotten a few calls from different high schools offering me scholarships to attend.

They might not be tier one programs but they are a lot better than a regular public school like Newberry."

Jason smiled after hearing that "Wow that's great UD. But you should give yourself some more credit than that. 

Even with me on the team if you didn't put in the work to improve your game no one would be giving you a call. This is all you."

Udonis smiled as he ruffled Jason's hair "You always got something to say huh? Well let's focus on this game. We can't let ourselves get bounced out in the first round."

Jason finished tying up his shoes as he then joined the rest of the guys that were warming up on the court. After a few minutes both teams lined up to shake hands and the game began.

It was the first day of their winter break but instead of relaxing at home or hanging out with friends Jason and the rest of the guys were going to fight like their lives were on the line.

Their first opponent in the state tournament was Hill Crest Middle School. They were representing Tulare county.

It was much smaller in comparison to Riverside county and had a lot less success at the state level.

But that didn't change the fact that Hill Crest was playing with all the pride of their county behind them.

Jason took a look at the opposing team and saw that their wasn't anyone noteworthy to pay special attention to.

Jason knew about all the top talents and diamonds in the rough because basketball had been the only thing in his past life that he had really paid attention too.

So although he couldn't tell you which companies would become immensely successful or which stocks to buy he could tell you which athletes dominated at which level. And who would be able to translate that into the professional league.

Although there weren't any particular stand out players all of Hill Crest Middle School had decent skill levels.

After using Heart's eye on the opposing team's starting lineup and bench Jason saw that their players had an average skill level of B- in their positions primary skills.

Jason wasn't worried though because they weren't the only ones who had been working hard this season.

Trell's skills.

[Skills

Free throw: D+

Lay Up: C

Dunking: C

Close Shot: D+

Mid Range Shooting: D+

Three Point Shooting: D

Dribbling: C-

Passing: D+

Ball Handling: C-

Play Making: D+

Post Scoring: D+

Rebounding: B-

Post Control: C+

Perimeter Defense: B

Post Defense: C+

Steals: C+

Blocks: C+

Athleticism: AA ]

Udonis' skills.

[Skills

Free throw: B-

Lay Up: C+

Dunking: D

Close Shot: C+

Mid Range Shooting: C+

Three Point Shooting: C

Dribbling: D

Passing: C

Ball Handling: D

Play Making: C

Post Scoring: B+

Rebounding: B+

Post Control: B+

Perimeter Defense: C

Post Defense: B+

Steals: D

Blocks: C+

Athleticism: B ]

Matt's skills.

[Skills

Free-throw: B

Lay Up: C

Dunking: F+

Close Shot: C

Mid Range Shooting: B

Three Point Shooting: B

Dribbling: C+

Passing: C

Ball Handling: C+

Play Making: C

Post Scoring: D-

Rebounding: D-

Post Control: D-

Perimeter Defense: B-

Post Defense: D-

Steals: C+

Blocks: F+

Athleticism: B- ]

Nick's skills.

[Skills

Free-throw: B-

Lay Up: C+

Dunking: F+

Close Shot: C+

Mid Range Shooting: B-

Three Point Shooting: B-

Dribbling: C

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Passing: C-

Ball Handling: C

Play Making: C-

Post Scoring: D-

Rebounding: D-

Post Control: D-

Perimeter Defense: C+

Post Defense: D-

Steals: C

Blocks: F+

Athleticism: B- ]

Without Kyle to fill in the starting Center spot they had to make some changes to their lineup.

They slid Udonis up to Center and Trell to Power Forward while Nick filled in for Trell's starting Small Forward spot.

Their new lineup consisted of Jason at Point Guard, Matt at Shooting Guard, Nick at Small Forward, Trell at Power Forward, and Udonis at Center.

Off of the bench they only had DJ and Vince.

DJ's skills.

[Skills

Free-throw: C+

Lay Up: B-

Dunking: D-

Close Shot: C+

Mid Range Shooting: C+

Three Point Shooting: C-

Dribbling: B-

Passing: B-

Ball Handling: B-

Play Making: B-

Post Scoring: F+

Rebounding: D-

Post Control: D-

Perimeter Defense: C+

Post Defense: D-

Steals: C

Blocks: F+

Athleticism: B ]

Vince's skills.

[Skills

Free-throw: C

Lay Up: C+

Dunking: D

Close Shot: C+

Mid Range Shooting: D+

Three Point Shooting: D-

Dribbling: D-

Passing: D-

Ball Handling: D-

Play Making: D

Post Scoring: C+

Rebounding: B-

Post Control: B-

Perimeter Defense: D+

Post Defense: C+

Steals: D_

Blocks: C+

Athleticism: B ]

Lastly Jason opened up the system and took a look at his own skills.

[Skills

Free throw: SS+

Lay Up: S+ (SS+)

Dunking: F+

Close Shot: S+ (SS+)

Mid Range Shooting: S+ (SS+)

Three Point Shooting: S+ (SS+)

Dribbling: S+ (SS+)

Passing: S+ (SS+)

Ball Handling: S+ (SS+)

Play Making: SS+

Post Scoring: B+ (A)

Rebounding: B+ (A)

Post Control: A+ (S+)

Perimeter Defense: S+ (SS+)

Post Defense: A+ (S+)

Steals: S+ (SS+)

Blocks: B+ (A+)

Athleticism: B ]

A lot of his skills were getting closer to the highest level possible as the restrictions that were holding him back were loosening up even more as Jason improved the conditioning and athleticism of his body.

Although he was still nowhere near being able to dunk like how Trell and Kyle could. Seeing the improvements that he had made compared to the beginning of the season made Jason even more pumped up for the game.

Jason and the rest of the guys from Jefferson lined up and shook hands with the opposing team. The players from Hill Crest were all around average height for their positions.

Their tallest player was their starting Center who looked to be around six feet (1.82m) tall. After shaking hands both teams got into position for the tip off.

This was the first time in a while that Jefferson had lost the tip off. Udonis jumped as best as he could but against an opponent that had slightly better bounce and a distinct height advantage he didn't stand a chance.

Hill Crest managed to get first possession. However, as their Point Guard tried to bring the ball up the court Jason began to press him.

The Point Guard lost his dribble as Jason's tight defense forced him to a stop. He tried to look for a passing lane so that he wouldn't get hit with a ten second violation and lose the ball.

One of the wing players moved to the side just as the coach had instructed from the sidelines.

The Point Guard saw this and sighed in relief. As soon as he saw an opening he threw the ball toward the wing player on his left.

However this was what Jason had wanted as he jumped into the passing lane with his hand cutting through the air.

He managed to deflect the pass with his hand as the ball then began bouncing back the other way.

Jason knew that this would happen so he was the first one to react. He managed to gain possession of the ball as he ran toward the basket.

It was a one on two fast break as there were two defenders chasing after Jason as he ran toward the basket.

With two defenders sandwiching him Jason used a spin move to split them as he made his way into the basket. 

Although Jason was able to get past them the contact from the defenders had knocked him off balance.

As Jason was about to begin falling over he pushed off of his right leg as much as he could to reposition himself as best as he could.

As he was in the air he focused on the basket and scooped the ball up toward it with his right hand.

Jason had jumped while he was off balance so needless to say he wasn't able to land properly.

He fell on the hardwood and slid for a little bit. But his eyes had been locked onto the basket.

He watched as the ball softly landed on the rim before slowly leaning over and eventually it fell through the net.

Jason stood up and pumped his fist in excitement 'Fuck yeah! You might have gotten the first possession but we got the first points!'

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