Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Chapter 150 - Getting More Attention

Tucker laughed as he began putting in some of his ingredients into the blender "Don't worry Jeff. These aren't just your standard garden variety snails.

I had to go to a french restaurant and ask them for these. At first they didn't want to give them to me but after I told them what they were for they were more than happy to help haha."

Tucker turned the blender on as he began to make the smoothie. The blender was so loud that his voice was barely understandable.

"YOU HAVE TO PULSE IT IN ORDER TO GET THAT REAL SMOOTHIE TEXTURE!" Jeff couldn't understand him "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Tucker repeated himself "I SAID, YOU HAVE TO PULSE IT IN ORDER TO GET THAT REAL SMOOTHIE TEXTURE!"

After a few minutes Tucker turned off the blender and unplugged it as the smoothie appeared to be ready.

As Tucker poured the smoothie into a red plastic cup the color alone was enough to give someone a stomach ache.

The smoothie was weirdly pale with just a hint of red and orange which was most likely from the peppers that Tucker had put in.

After the last bit of the smoothie had plopped into the cup Tucker handed it to Jeff with a smile on his face "Bon Appétit Jeff. Hope your hungry."

Jeff had a scared expression on his face as he looked into the cup "Do I really have to drink this whole thing?"

Tucker laughed "Alright I'll make it easy on you since you're my pal. You only have to drink half of the smoothie hahaha. How's that?"

Jeff had a hopeful expression after hearing the first half of what Tucker had to say. But after he heard that he still had to drink such a large amount of the disgusting smoothie his face went back to the same scared look.

Tucker put his hand up "Wait! You almost forgot to put on the shirt. You have to wear it while you drink the smoothie."

Jeff sighed hopelessly as he put the shirt on. He then took a few deep breathes as he prepared himself for the ordeal that was to come.

He picked up the red plastic cup and began to gulp down it's contents. His face went from normal to bright red to sickly pale within the span of a few seconds.

After he put his cup down he had to use his hand to cover his mouth in an attempt to not throw up.

With a few tears rolling down the sides of his face he finally managed to talk "God I hate you Tucker.

That was the most disgusting thing ever. The worst part was that it was disgusting and spicy all at the same time."

He grabbed a water bottle and finished it all in one go. He wiped his mouth with a sheet of paper towel and glared at Tucker.

Tucker simply laughed at Jeff's reaction "Well now that we have the bet out of the way how about we talk about Jefferson's game.

I was a Jefferson fan from before the start of the state tournament but even I didn't think that they would do this well.

I originally thought that they would only get two games deep before eventually losing because of fatigue.

But Jefferson is now on the way to playing in their third game of the tournament and a large part of their success is due to Jason."

After drinking the water Jeff looked to be in better shape. He nodded his head in agreement with Tucker.

"I have to say that Jason has really made me change my mind about him. I was skeptical at first but I think I can see what all the hype was about.

This kid might not be the biggest or the best athlete but he just finds ways to impact the game.

If you can do something once it might be because of luck. But in order to do something multiple times there's no way it can just be a coincidence.

Jason has been on a real roll in terms of clutch plays. There was the game against Nashton Academy.

Then in every game so far in the state tournament Jason has been pulling off these ridiculous plays in order to get the win."

Tucker smiled after finally convincing his friend "It's good to hear that you have found your way to the light Jeff.

I'm with you. Jason has been playing like a superstar so far in the state tournament. His field goal percentage and his three point percentage have dipped down a bit.

But if you take into consideration the context then I feel like it's not much of a problem. The only thing that worries me is that Jason is the only one from Jefferson that has been able to stay effective.

Jason has played every minute so far out of the two games that they have played and yet he's still the most effective player for Jefferson.

They start out strong but as soon as the second half starts you see all of the players take a hit to their game."

Jeff took a sip out of a plastic cup that he had filled with some soda "We kinda already expected that didn't we?

We already knew that Jefferson's biggest weakness was their small roster. And after they lost Kyle we knew that they would struggle even more."

Tucker sighed "You're right. I was expecting it but I guess I was just surprised by how much the fatigue is affecting them."

Jeff replied "I think that's just you. I wasn't anything special but I played hoops back in high school.

You would be surprised how big of a difference it makes when you don't get enough time to rest.

Too be honest I'm more surprised by Jason. The fact that he's played every minute so far in the tournament is so underrated.

And it's not like he takes breaks or cruises through some parts of the game. This kid is putting in the work every possession.

On offense and on defense this kid plays hard. That's not something that just anyone can do.

There are some guys in the pros that can't play more than thirty minutes before their games start to dip.

Everyone talks about Jason's shooting, his handles, and his defense but in my opinion his motor doesn't get enough attention."

Tucker went silent for a moment as he thought about what Jeff had said "I think you have a point Jeff.

And the weird part is that I remember reading about Jason in some local news website. Back in the beginning of the season they said that his biggest weakness was his lack of size and his conditioning.

It's kind of weird to think that now his conditioning is one of his biggest strengths." The two of them continued to talk about Jason and the other guys from Jefferson for a few more minutes.

The rest of the episode was spent discussing the other teams still in the tournament as well as the highlights from the pro league that had happened recently.

After the show was done Jason and the rest of the guys spent a few hours watching some of the games that were being played that day.

After they watched the Miami heat blow out the New York Knicks by over 40 points Jason was about to change the channel when they saw another show come on.

It was another sport's talk show but no one on the panel was recognizable except for the host.

She was beautiful in her red dress. She smiled at the camera "Hello and thank you for tuning in to today's episode of The Dribble.

I am your host Kelly Johnson and today with me are some big names. On my right is Logan Banks. He was a number analysts for the Houston Rockets as well as the Chicago Bulls."

The man waved his hand as he smiled at he camera. His smile looked awkward and his suit was a tad bit too big on him "Thank you Kelly. It's a pleasure to be here."

Kelly then introduced her next guest " And on my left is multiple time all star Donovan Mitchell!"

Donovan Mitchell smiled brightly as waved at the camera. He looked classy in his dark blue suit "Thanks for having me Kelly.

It's been a while since I've been in front of some cameras so I hope I look alright." Kelly laughed "You look great.

So you mentioned that it's been a while since you've been in front of the cameras. How's retirement been treating you?"

Donovan Mitchell replied "It's been great. You know as a professional athlete there's a lot that we give up in order to live the dream.

We have to spend so much time training, practicing, watching film, and taking care of our bodies.

So we end up missing out on things like birthday parties, your baby's first words and first steps. Obviously being able to play basketball for a living is a blessing but there are some downsides."

The three of them spent the first ten minutes talking about the games that had just taken place.

But then Kelly changed topics "So I don't know if you guys keep up with middle school basketball but there's a name that's been making some noise recently."

Donovan Mitchell clapped his hands "You're talking about Jason Yang right?" Kelly smiled as she nodded her head.

Donovan Mitchell added "If you're talking about middle school basketball then you have to bring up Jason.

This kid has made a real name for himself since winning the county tournament for Riverside.

And now he's had two games in a row where he's been playing like a superstar" Kelly chuckled "You're right Donovan.

Jason has been performing amazingly well ever since the start of the state tournament in California.

A lot of current and former players have been praising him online for his performance on a bright stage like the state tournament."

While Kelly and Donovan were smiling and having fun talking about Jason and the state tournament Logan Banks had a bored expression on his face.

Kelly looked over to him and jokingly said "Well it looks like not everyone is a fan. What are your thoughts on Jason Yang?"

Logan Banks answered "It's not that I'm not a fan of Jason Yang. Truth be told I haven't watched any film on him.

This is middle school basketball we're talking about. I don't understand how anyone could hype this up so much.

When was the last time that middle school basketball really mattered? There's a reason why most scouts only care about high school and college level basketball.

Are we really going to talk about middle school basketball on ESPN?"