Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Chapter 221 - One One One At The Rucker: Part-2

Jason tossed the ball to RJ "Check" RJ then passed the ball back to Jason. With the ball in his hands Jason got into triple threat position.

With his left foot behind as the pivot foot Jason brought the ball down and swung it to the right as he also jabbed in that direction with his right foot.

After seeing that Amarion didn't react to his jab step Jason pulled the ball back, repositioned his right foot, and got into his shooting motion.

Amarion rushed toward Jason as soon as he saw him getting into his shooting motion. Unfortunately for him he had underestimated the speed of Jason's jump shot.

By the time he was able to get a hand in Jason's face the ball had already been launched into the air.

The entire crowd went silent as they all watched as the ball flew through the air in a high arc. The only sound that could be heard was the music being blasted through the speakers in the park.

The ball swished as it hit nothing but net. Jason could hear the crowd getting hyped after he had made that shot.

The energy of the park and the people there was infectious as Jason could feel it. In a moment of inspiration Jason decided to copy the celebration of another New York legend.

Jason put up three fingers on his right hand before pointing to his head with the three fingers.

Some of the people in the audience became even more excited after seeing Jason copy Carmelo Anthony's celebration.

"Ay yo he doin Melo's celebration!" "Lil dude really knows how to put on a show haha!" "Damn that three was cold blooded! He shot it right in Amarion's face!"

Jason went over and grabbed the ball. He then walked back toward the three point line where Amarion was standing.

Jason passed the ball to Amarion "2 to 0, looks like it's your turn now." Amarion caught the ball. He turned it over in his hands a few times.

"That shot was nice, not gon lie. But now it's my turn to show you what New York basketball is all about."

He then tossed the ball back to Jason "Check" Jason casually passed the ball back after having caught it with one hand.

Jason got into a low defensive stance as he kept Amarion at an arms length of distance. He watched him carefully.

Amarion looked at Jason as he tried to feel him out 'I heard dude was a good defender. Should I go in strong to the paint or try to get in rhythm with my jumper?'

After thinking for a moment Amarion seemed to have come up with a plan for how he would approach the game as he finally began his attack.

With the ball in his right hand Amarion began to dribble. Left, right, left, he then exploded to the right as he began driving.

'That's a fast first step. Good thing he's still a kid. It's way too easy to read him.' Jason then lifted up his foot as he slid to the right.

But before the two of them could make contact Amarion dribbled the ball from his right hand to his left as he changed directions with a quick crossover.

'Fuck! This guy has that herky jerky ball handling.' Compared to Jason's smooth style of ball handling that focused on exploiting the weaknesses and holes in a defenders stance and positioning Amarion's herky jerky ball handling took a different approach.

A herky jerky ball handling style works best with ball handlers who besides having good ball handling skills possess elite athleticism.

By using extreme changes in direction and speed this style of ball handling can allow a ball handler to fully utilize his athleticism. 

Luckily although Jason's body was slower than Amarion the fact that he knew how to best position himself on defense as well as his ability to recover on the defensive end allowed him to catch back up.

Amarion attempted a few more times to lose Jason by shifting directions and shifting gears but nothing was working.

He finally decided to simply put his shoulder down and try to muscle his way to the basket. Jason kept his hands up as he shifted his feet and stuck with Amarion.

Amarion was surprised to see that despite his small and thin frame Jason showed no difficulty in absorbing contact and staying on his hip. 

'What the hell is up with this kid? It's not like he's strong and able to knock me of course but even though he's light I can't get him off of me.'

What Amarion didn't understand was that Jason's years of experience as a college level basketball player had given him the knowledge of how to best cover a defender as well as how to best recover after having your defensive stance broken or disturbed.

In his past life Jason had been known as a perimeter lockdown defender. He guarded the opposing team's best perimeter offensive player.

That included Point Guards, Shooting Guards, and even small Forwards. And the reason why he was able to play up in terms of the positions that he defended was because of his defensive IQ and tenacity.

His stubborn mindset and tenacity that bordered on crazy is what allowed him to not back down despite having to guard larger and stronger offensive players.

And his defensive IQ and understanding of the game is what allowed him to do it at such a high level.

As they approached the paint Amarion picked up his dribble as he got ready to make his move. Jason saw this and his focus intensified as he began to observe every small movement from Amarion.

Amarion jumped into the air with the ball in his right hand and Jason on his left side. As soon as he saw him leave the ground Jason jumped up along with him.

As they met in the air Jason took aim as before shooting out his left hand toward the ball. What Amarion did next took Jason by surprise.

Despite their contact and Jason's physical presence Amarion was still able to maintain control of the ball and his body as he extended his right arm far out.

With the ball resting on the palm of his right hand he had his arm fully extended out as far it could go.

Then with a flick of his wrist he managed to launch the ball into the air as it flew over the both of them toward the basket that was to the left of him.

Because of the contact they made in the air the two of them were off balance as they landed back on to the court.

They both turned their eyes to the hoop as they waited to see the results of the shot. The ball landed on the rim and bounced a few times before finally falling through the net.

The crowd all jumped to their feet and started cheering and yelling in support of Amarion. He stared down Jason and started thumping his chest.

"That's what I'm talkin bout! You thought shit was sweet over huh!? Shit ain't sweet! Not in here son!

You ain't in Cali no moh bruh. These the cold streets ah New York. You in my city! You in my house now!"