Chapter 171: Game 3 of the state tournament: part-10

The quarter passed with Jefferson barely managing to remain in the lead. Jason had to expend all of his energy on both sides of the floor.

Jefferson didn't have the luxury of being able to sit Jason down for a few minutes in order to give him some rest.

And to make matters worst Jason didn't have the luxury of taking it easy. Not even for a single play.

On offense it was all up to Jason to keep their system going as even though he wasn't the one scoring all the time he still had to stay active off the ball in order for their plays to work.

If Jason just stood around on the perimeter waiting for a the ball to come to him their entire offense would stagnate.

Jason's presence and the gravity that he created by constantly moving around the court off ball is what allowed their other players to find their shots. And he had to do all of this while being guarded by an elite defender like Nate.

While on defense Jason had the responsibility of guarding Rudy. Even though they were match up hunting Jason didn't let them have it easy.

Jason made sure that if they wanted to get Rudy a different match up then they would have to put in some real work for it.

He chased him around the court as he ran off of screens. He fought hard to get over the screens and to stay with Rudy.

And even after they finally managed to get Jason off of Rudy he would still orchestrate their defense as he called out all of High Bridge's plays.

And just because he was playing defense off the ball didn't mean that Jason was taking it easy and catching his breathe.

He made sure to stay active on defense as he played the passing lanes, provided weak side support, and took charges.

There was one play where Udonis messed up the coverage after a pick and roll play with Rudy and their starting Center.

Instead of dropping back to stay with the Big Udonis thought that they were going to switch.

So he accidently started trapping Rudy with Matt which meant that High Bridge's starting Center was wide open as he began to roll towards the rim.

Luckily Jason read the situation and made the correct choice. He left his man and ran to the paint as he set himself up to take the charge.

With Jason in position outside of the circle the Center ended up crashing right into him as he tried to attack the basket.

Pain shot through Jason's whole arm as he fell to the floor. He had tried his best to try and protect his hand but the impact alone from the fall was enough to cause his finger to hurt.

But even with the pain Jason was smiling as his defensive work had helped Jefferson in stealing a possession from High Bridge.

- - -

The game was currently paused as Jefferson had called for a timeout after Jason had succeeded in taking a charge from High Bridge's starting Center.

Tony was smiling at the camera "What a game folks! I think that we might not be satisfied unless this game goes to a quadruple over time because this has been a real treat to watch.

Not only have we been lucky enough to see two offensively blessed players go shot for shot with Jason and Rudy.

We have been able to see these offensively gifted players put to the test as they have each had to deal with an elite level defender.

In Rudy's case he has had to deal with Jason's superb understanding of angles and how to best utilize them to get to where he needs to go and how to best contest shots.

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While Jason has had to deal with Nate's impressive wing span, athleticism, and natural defensive instincts."

Cameron nodded his head before speaking "You're right Tony. This has been a great game to watch through three quarters so far.

Rudy has showed why he's one of the top ranked players in the state at the middle school level.

His handles make him hard to stay in front of and his ability to score the ball at all three levels make it hard to defend him.

And as for Jason.... I honestly don't know what to say other than to repeat the things that everyone has been saying about him already.

His play on the court on both sides of the ball make him such a valuable piece that any team would want.

I personally think that he could be a top ranked prospect at the national level. Not just in the state of California."

The game then resumed just as Randel began to talk "I honestly thought that getting assigned to be a commentator for these middle school games was gonna be ass-"

Before he could finish what he was going to say Cameron turned toward him and gave him a death stare.

Randel gulped and changed what he was going to say "A-sspecially boring assignment. But after having gotten the chance to see J-money in action, aka Young Buckets as his fans like to call him, I have changed my mind.

You right Cam. I believe that Jason is at the level where it wouldn't be surprising to see his name in the same breathe as the top middle school players in the nation.

But I'll take it a step further. I would rank Jason as the top middle school player in California. I have him over any other young star from any other school here in the state.

Not only does he play hard on both sides of the ball. But this kid has something that not just anybody can have.

Jason plays with some real heart. He got that dog in him. You give him a beatin and you think that he's down for the count.

Only to get blindsided when he tears your throat out after you turn your back to him. This kid doesn't know how to back down and I mess with him heavy because of that.

The surprising thing is that he plays like a guy fighting for minutes. He's got that fire, that hunger, that only desperate people usually have.

It's hard to find a star level talent with that typa mentality and mindset. People with the offensive abilities that Jason has are normally prima donnas or at the least feel like they don't need to work as hard as other players.

Think about this. This kid just had his finger twisted and popped outta place. But how did he answer back?

He taped that bad boy up and told the rest of his team to get ready for the third quarter. And despite what I'm sure has to be some pretty bad pain this kid is still playing hard without taking any plays off. 

I love me these typa hoopers man. They put they head down and go to work. They don't care bout nothin but getting that dub.

This game has been great because we've been able to watch some of the highest level play you can expect at the middle school level.

And I know that for most people Jefferson is just this nice Cinderella type story about coming together and playing as a team but I think that everyone got lucky.

If Jefferson had just a few more players to fill in their rotations, if their starting Center hadn't been put outta commission to start the state tournament,

or if Jason hadn't gotten this injury, I think that Jefferson would have had a real chance to win the state title this year and maybe even make some noise at the national level."

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