Chapter 15: The first half

Jason stepped through the doors to the locker-room and saw Coach Swendel dressed in jeans and a white collared shirt.

Coach swendel was holding a clipboard and talking to someone when he noticed Jason walk in "Jason! I'm glad to see you. I have your jersey right here. Oh and this was last years team captain. Udonis this is Jason. The newest member of the team"

Udonis was a year older than Jason. He was about 5'9 tall for a 13 year old. His skin was darker than Kyle and he had a bit of heft to him. He wasn't fat but rather husky. He had his short hair styled in waves all around his head.

Jason shook his hand "Nice to meet you Udonis" Udonis smiled "Nice to finally see you in person. I've only seen your video so far"

Udonis thought back to the conversation he had with Coach Swendel when he first walked into the locker-room ten minutes ago.

Coach Swendel had shown Udonis the video of Jason playing against Trell "Udonis I'm telling you. This kid is special he has future superstar written all over him"

Udonis nodded "You ain't lying Coach. He look nice with it. But what's this got to do with me? Why'd you tell me to come here earlier than everyone else?"

Coach Swendel hesitated for a moment before he decided to just bite the bullet "In order to get him to join the team I had to promise him that he could run the show"

Udonis was surprised "What!?" Coach Swendel looked at Udonis "And your reaction is why I called you here. If everyone else on the team sees Jason getting special treatment it might cause some friction. You've been with those boys for years Udonis. Think you can keep the locker-room in check?"

Udonis answered right away "So you're asking me to sponsor this kid? I'm sorry but I don't cosign people that easy Coach. That's my name I'm putting on the line"

Coach Swendel pleaded "Please Udonis. Just give it some thought huh? How about you just try it for this game. If it turns out he's not worth the trouble then you can forget about it"

Udonis thought for a moment "Alright Coach. I'll be watching him during the game. If he ain't worth it then I'm sorry but I ain't sticking my neck out for him"

Back to the present. Jason and Kyle put on their Jerseys as the rest of the team arrived. There were fifteen of them in total.

Trell was wearing his Jersey as he listened to some music on his headphones. Jason tapped him on the shoulder "Hey thanks for showing up Trell"

Trell sneered "You just lucky I ain't beat you yet. But since I am here we better win. Bet or no bet I'll beat your ass if you dragged me here just to take another L"

Jason took a look at all the kids as they gathered around and listened to Coach Swendel give his speech about sportsmanship and winning.

Jason wasn't trying to be mean but he couldn't really remember the name of any of the kids besides the one that was last years team captain, Udonis.

This was a problem in his past life too. If you couldn't give him a reason to remember your name or face then he probably wasn't going to.

It was only five minutes to game time. Coach Swendel announced the starting five. Jason (PG), Matt (SG), Trell (SF), Udonis (PF), and Kyle (C)

Some of the kids got upset after hearing the starting lineup "Coach! How you gonna have three kids who just joined the team be on the starting five! This ain't fair!"

Coach Swendel looked at Udonis. Udonis noticed the look Coach Swendel was giving him. He stepped forward and faced the other kids.

"Hey come on guys. This is a practice game so that we can see what we got and how good we are. This is the best time to give the new guys minutes because even if we lose it won't affect our record"

Udonis looked at the rest of the team "I don't want to hear anyone else complain okay? Let's just play hard today"

The ones who were complaining lowered their heads. No more complaints were raised. Jason looked at Udonis with some admiration.

'He was able to bring things under control pretty quickly. I guess being team captain wasn't just for show'

The team walked out of the locker-room and onto the court. Jefferson middle school wore their team colors white and black. Mt. Vernon's jerseys were silver and black. The opposing teams center was the same height as Udonis.

He was going to face off against Kyle for the jump ball. The referee held the ball as Kyle stood there staring at it.

Kyle was nervous. His hands shaky and sweaty. But then he remembered what Jason told them as they walked out of the locker-room.

"Everyone gets nervous Kyle. Just remember that you just need to try your best. If you fuck up I'll have your back."

The referee tossed the ball into the air. The look in Kyle's eyes intensified 'Just try your best. Jason is right behind you'

Kyle jumped as the ball reached it's apex. His long arms extended towards the ball. The opposing team's Center was still on his way up when he saw Kyle's finger tips reach the basketball.

Kyle managed to tip the ball over to Jason. The opposing team went to 2-3 Zone Defense.

Jason sneered 'This is pure disrespect. I better let them know who they're playing against'

In middle school the three point line was a little less than 20 feet. Jason dribbled the ball up to the top of the arc before he shot the ball.

Not only was the opposing team surprised Jason's own teammates were surprised as well. Udonis stared as the ball flew through the air. He even forgot to position himself for the rebound.

Swish. The ball fell through the net. The referee was stunned for a second before he remembered to blow his whistle as he raised his hand in the air with three fingers to indicate that a three pointer had been scored.

It had only been five seconds since the start of the game but Jason had already scored a three. The opposing teams coach was yelling "Stick with the plan! Don't let them shake you up! That was just a lucky shot! Run the offense!"

The opposing team inbounded the ball to their Point Guard. But as soon as he received the ball Jason was pressing up against him.

The opposing coach was surprised again 'Full court press!? No it's just that one kid. The rest of his team is playing normal defense'

The opposing team's Point Guard struggled to get past Jason as he suffocated him. In his panicked attempt to get past Jason he lost his dribble. The coach began yelling again "Pass the ball! Just get rid of it!"

But it was too late. The referee blew his whistle "Ten second violation!". In the professional Basketball Association you had eight seconds to advance the ball past the half-court line once the ball has been inbounded. In middle school you had ten seconds.

Jason managed to steal a possession. His nostrils flared as he stared his opponent down before walking back to his team. Jason was dribbling the ball once again as Mt. Vernon stuck to their 2-3 Zone Defense.

As Jason approached the top of the arc his defender hesitated between sticking to his zone or closing out on Jason.

The coach could see the hesitation in his player "Stick to the zone! That was just a lucky shot! focus on protecting the paint!" After hearing his coach the player decided to stick to his zone.

Jason was wide open. As soon as he reached the top of the arc he let the ball fly once again. The opposing coach was swearing in his mind.

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'What the hell is the other coach thinking! He's just giving his player the green light like that!? Is he even treating this game seriously!?'

But he had to swallow his own words as he saw the ball once again swishing through the net. Udonis stared at Jason 'Damn! Guess coach wasn't lying. This kid's even better than on the video. We might really have a shot at the county title'

The opposing team had to inbound the ball again. Jason stuck close to the Point Guard before they could even throw the ball in. In the end they had to inbound it to a different player.

The opposing team tried to run their offense. As they were executing a play Jason was trash talking the Point Guard "You see that? I took you out of the play. Your coach don't trust you to play against me"

The Point Guard scowled "Shut up man. It's just the beginning of the game. You guys are gonna lose that lead real soon"

Trash talking was a part of basketball. If done right you can get in your opponent's head and under their skin. You can prevent them from playing to their best potential.

Jason had an abundance of experience in trash talking compared to these little kids. In fact he was already toning it down. He didn't want to go overboard and make a little kid cry.

The play continued as Mt. Vernon's Shooting Guard managed to make his way into the paint. Kyle met him at the rim.

Jason had taught Kyle the basics of protecting the rim.

"If someone manages to get into the paint the first thing you need to do is come up to him and put your arms straight up. Only jump if you feel like you can block the shot. And if you do jump only jump straight up. Don't jump into the offensive player or you'll get a foul"

The Shooting Guard underestimated the length of Kyle's arms. Kyle was able to block the shot without jumping. Udonis got the rebound and passed it up court to Jason.

Jason was running the fast break. He scanned the court before a smile grew on his face. He threw the ball ahead to the person who was originally one of the people who were furthest back.

Trell might have lost every game he played against Jason but that was only in terms of skill. When it came to raw horsepower you would have a hard time finding someone that outshines him.

He was originally guarding his assignment in the corner but as soon as he saw the ball getting pushed up court he revved up his engine and started flying down the hardwood.

He soon found himself alone as he ran towards the opponents basket. He ran with everything he had. He ran with conviction.

'As long as I'm in position to score that Jackass will make sure the ball gets to me. I hate to admit it but he never misses anything happening on the court'

It went just as he imagined. As soon as he ran past everyone else and had a clear runway to the basket Jason threw a bullet pass to him.

Trell caught easily caught the ball. The pass was thrown with pinpoint accuracy. Everyone expected Trell to just lay the ball in but his next move left everyone in awe. Even more than when Jason had made back to back three-pointers.

Trell launched himself into the air as he jumped off his right foot. He extended his arm out as far as he could. As he was in the air he began regretting his decision.

'Shit! I might not make it! Gotta stretch my arm out!' Everyone held their breath as they watched Trell move through the air. Trell barely managed to get the ball over the rim before his body started falling back down to the ground.

It wasn't the most powerful or graceful dunk. In fact it was kind of a rinky dinky rim grazer. But you had to remember that this was a thirteen year old. And he was only 5'8.

Jason ran up to Trell and chest bumped him "Crazy shit bro!" Jason then stuck out his fist. Trell looked at it for a second before bumping it back with his own fist "Good pass"

Trell's athleticism didn't improve over the week he spent training and practicing with Jason. But Jason did help Trell improve his body mechanics. He taught Trell how utilize more of his athletic ability.

Jason smiled as he looked at Trell's skills again.

[Skills

Free throw: F

Lay Up: F+

Dunking: C

Close Shot: F+

Mid Range Shooting: F

Three Point Shooting: F

Dribbling: F+

Passing: F

Ball Handling: F+

Play Making: F

Post Scoring: F

Rebounding: D

Post Control: F

Perimeter Defense: D+

Post Defense: F+

Steals: D

Blocks: D

Athleticism: AA ]

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