Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Chapter 119 - Lock Em Down

Kyle bent his knees as he got down low into a defensive stance. The opposing team's ball handler laughed after seeing Kyle do that.

He then began dribbling the ball slowly before wagging his finger side to side at Kyle as he stared him down.

Seeing the ball handler get so cocky Kyle felt a surge of energy in his body. He remembered the gesture that Jason had taught him.

Kyle bent down slightly as he slapped the floor in front of him with both hands. After slapping the floor twice he looked up at the opposing team's Point Guard "LET'S GOOO! BRING IT!"

At first he was intimidated by Kyle's energy and presence. But after a second that intimidation turned into anger and frustration.

'You think that you're hot shit or something huh? Well let's see if you can keep up the attitude after you get turned into a highlight motherfucker.'

He did a slow crossover to the left before exploding to the right with a fast crossover. He had thought that he had beaten Kyle with that move so he was surprised to see that Kyle had managed to stick with him.

He then changed directions with a behind the back dribble but Kyle was once again staying in front of him.

He tried a variety of moves in order to try and get away from Kyle but no matter what he did Kyle was always there in front of him.

'Fuck! How the hell is he so good at guarding on the perimeter?' Unfortunately for him Kyle was just a bad match up.

Kyle's main weakness was his lack of size and strength in the post. However the thing that he had over a majority of other Centers was his agility and nimbleness. 

Kyle was light on his toes and could run the floor like a guard. Even though his fundamentals in perimeter defense he more than made up for it with his agility.

At this point the opposing team's Point Guard was beginning to get frustrated as he retreated back to the top of the perimeter for the fourth time.

He could hear his coach yelling at the sidelines telling him to dump the ball into the post so that their Center could take advantage of being matched up with Jason.

However at this point his pride was damaged by the fact that he couldn't take advantage of his match up with Kyle.

This clouded his judgment as he decided to force the issue. He went at Kyle full speed before crossing over to the right.

He saw Kyle step in that direction and stepped on the breaks before dribbling once and stepping back for the jumper.

The move has actually managed to create a bit of space between him and Kyle 'I can do! I have enough space to get my shot off!'

But before he could flick his wrist and get the ball out of his hands Kyle jumped forward as he extended his arm as far as he could.

Kyle's long arm managed to reach just in time to deflect the shot upwards into the air. Kyle then gathered himself and jumped for the ball.

After gaining possession of the ball Kyle passed it over to Jason who was running toward him the the two of them began to push the fast break.

Jason had left the opposing team's Big alone after seeing the Point Guard try to shoot over Kyle 'He's underestimating just how long and athletic Kyle is.'

Jason didn't even feel the need to activate his Defensive Anchor badge. Ever since the game against Verde Gardens Kyle had been practicing his perimeter defense against Jason.

Now only elite scorers at the level of Danilo Silva could pose a problem for Kyle. Although he could still be overwhelmed in the post by stronger players his defensive versatility was an amazing strength that more than made up for this weakness.

There was a defender that was running up the court alongside Jason as he tried to defend the fast break.

Jason didn't mind the defender on him as he continued to run toward the basket. As they approached the paint Jason jumped into the air as he held the ball up in his right hand.

The defender was on his left side and jumped as soon as he saw Jason jump. He tried to contest the layup.

However, instead of releasing the ball with his right hand Jason brought the ball back behind his back, moved it over to his left hand, and threw a lob pass from behind the back of the defender.

The defender lost sight of the ball and only realized that he had been tricked by Jason when it was too late.

Kyle jumped off of his right foot from behind the restricted circle before catching the ball on the left side of the rim.

Kyle then slammed the ball toward the basket with his right hand. After dunking the ball Kyle fell back down to the court and flexed toward the crowd.

The audience began making more noise as they chanted Kyle's name. As Kyle made his way back on defense he pointed to Jason and the two of them high fived.

- - -

Troy and Billy were both shocked as they watched Kyle defend the opposing team's Point Guard.

They watched on as Kyle chased him around the perimeter and forced him to retreat and reset a few different times.

And finally they watched as Kyle blocked the attempted jump shot even after getting beat by the dribble move before finishing up the fast break the alley-oop dunk.

Troy slapped his leg before laughing enthusiastically "Hahaha Damn! I like this kids spirit. Did you see him hype up the crowd and himself with that floor slap?

That's the kind of shit that says you're ready for a fight. And then the way he managed to lock up the Point Guard and block his shot was fantastic." 

Billy nodded his head in agreement "That was an amazing defensive sequence. He moved his feet well and even though he doesn't have the fundamentals down his long arms let him sag off of the ball handler.

This allows him to give himself some extra leeway in guarding shifty ball handlers while still being able to contest shots.

But what about that fast break? The dunk was great but the pass in and of itself was a highlight. Being able to maneuver the ball like that isn't easy."

This time it was Troy's turn to nod his head "Yeah that pass was some a real big brain move from Jason.

He baited the defender into jumping with him so that he could fully clear the lane for Kyle. Because even though Kyle has great bounce and body control for his age I'm not sure if he's at the point where he can dunk on people on a consistent basis."

The two of them continued to watch the game as Jefferson learned to deal with Millbrook's new more physical game plan.

On offense whenever Jason or Kyle would attack the basket they found themselves getting hammered as they took all kinds of blows to their arms and shoulders as they went up for the shot.

Some of the fouls went uncalled but because of the frequency Jason and Kyle still ended up shooting multiple free throws. 

And on defense all of Jefferson had to deal with Millbrook's Bigs sticking their hips and elbows out during screens, jersey grabbing, and extra physicality in the paint.

Udonis was the most unfortunate one as he caught a elbow to the side of his face while guarding his man in the post.

Jason wanted to run up to the player from Millbrook and give him a piece of his mind but was stopped by Udonis.

"Cool it Jaya. We winnin right now. Ain't no point in trying to speak the same language as a bunch of losers bro."

Jason also continued his exhibition as he called more isolation plays than usual and got deeper into his bag of tricks.

During one play the opposing team's Big was playing the pick and roll aggressively so Jason decided to split the screen as he bounced the ball through the defenders legs.

He almost lost control of the ball as he stumbled during his drive to the basket but he managed to cap off the play with a floater just as another defender was making his way toward him.

Ever since Jason had gone back in time he had made it a point to improve his ball handling and to add more moves to his arsenal.

As the second quarter reached a little over the midway point Jason called for a timeout. The score was a whopping 46 to 15.

Ms. Yuller congratulated the boys as they made their way back to the bench "That was a brilliant performance gentlemen! The audience is simply loving it!"

The boys all smiled at her compliment as they sat down. Jason was worried about one thing so he made his way over to Trell.

"Yo Trell. I think I should give you a heads up before you get back into the game. I think Millbrook's is doing this shit on purpose to get under our skin."

Trell rolled his eyes at Jason "No shit bro, anyone with a pair of eyes coulda told you that. Don't worry about me.

I ain't about to be throwin hands out in the court. Ima show these bitches up the right way. So just sit back and enjoy the show."