Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Chapter 7 - Talent Shines Through

Trell stared at Jason in amazement before he quickly shook himself and regained his composure "Whatever, lucky shot"

Jason picked up the ball before walking outside of the three point line. He passed the ball to Trell "Check" who the passed the ball back to Jason.

Jason gestured for Kyle to move to the other side of the court. Kyle stiffly ran to where Jason gestured. Jason looked at Trell, analyzing his defensive stance.

'Feet are too close together. His lateral movement is gonna be slow. He's backing up a lot. Looks like he doesn't respect my jumper yet. He has a pretty good wing span. And from what I saw this morning he has some pretty quick hands'

Jason quickly came to a decision 'First things first I'll teach you to fear my shooting hehe'

Trell had backed off of Jason by a large margin. He gave Jason around six feet of space.

Jason started dribbling casually with a relaxed smile on his face "Why are you so far back Trell? You do know we're playing basketball right? Not red light green light"

Trell brushed Jason's comments off "Whatever loser. I won't waste my energy trying to guard you from all the way out over there. You probably can't even throw the ball far enough let alone get it in the hoop"

Jason smirked "Don't say I didn't warn you" Jason set his feet, bent his knees and slightly dipped the ball down. His body sprang back up with his hand and elbow aligned with the basket.

With a flick of his wrist the basketball started flying towards the hoop. The high straight arc had everyone gazing at the ball. After what seemed like a few seconds the ball once again swished through the net.

Jason turned to Trell with a big grin plastered across his face "Well what do you know? Looks like I can throw it that far."

Jason got the ball back and passed it to Trell "The scores 3-0. You're up Trell. Let's see if you got anything to back up that big mouth of yours"

Trell muttered under his breath as he received the ball "lucky fucking shot. It had to be luck" Trell passed the ball to Jason who then passed it back to him.

Trell looked at Jason "Alright Ling Ling. I'm about to show you how to really play ball" Trell started dribbling.

Jason almost winced in pain after seeing Trell dribble 'The way he handles the ball is so sloppy. He lets it get too far on his crossover. And his dribbling speed is slow'

After a few size up and rhythm dribbles Trell sprinted towards the basket. Trell was able to gain separation in the beginning but Jason managed to catch up and put his body on him. He stayed in constant contact with Trell.

'Damn! He almost got me. That's a crazy fast first step. Lucky for me his handles suck. He had to slow down to match his movement with his dribbling'

Jason rotated his hips, shuffled his feet and kept his hands up as he defended Trell. Then Trell went for a crossover but Jason was able to swipe the ball away.

The ball rolled on the floor. Trell started running towards it but he was one step to slow. Jason dived for the ball. His body crashed into the hardwood and slide for about a foot.

Jason grabbed the ball and jumped back to his feet. Coincidentally Jason found himself outside the three point line. He started his shooting motion and shortly after the ball fell through the net.

Jason held his right hand up in the air showing three fingers in celebration. He walked to the ball and passed it back to Trell "6-0. What Happened Trell? You still warming up?"

Trell couldn't help but gulp. He tried to think of something to say but his mind kept drawing a blank. It was Trell's turn at offence again. He managed to separate himself from Jason using his quick first step again. This time he did his best not to slow down, even if it made his dribbling awkward.

Trell managed to get close to the hoop. He was only a step away from the restricted area. He picked up his dribble and was getting ready to lay the ball up with his right hand.

All of a sudden Jason who had been maintaining contact with him throughout the posssession on his left side disappeared. Trell couldn't Feel Jason on his side.

Just before Trell could lift the ball up in order to do a lay up, Jason appeared on the right side and knocked the ball out of Trell's hand while it was still at its low point.

Jason ran after the ball and managed to retrieve it before it went out of bounds but that was enough time for Trell to position himself back on defense.

This time Trell smothered Jason. He stood right in front of Jason with his hands all the way up to contest any shot.

Trell started trash talking as he pressured Jason with his body "I may have underestimated you short shit. Looks like you played ball before but I bet you only know how to shoot. Lets see you try and score if I'm all up in your face"

Jason panted a bit but there was still a smirk on his face "Nice to see you actually trying Trell. Just try not to get hurt".

Jason sprinted to the basket attacking the left side. Trell had a poor defensive stance but his physical agility allowed him to keep up.

Jason could feel Trell's body running alongside him. Jason used a spin move to change direction.

Jason was now attacking the basket from the right side. The spin move caught Trell totally off guard.

Trell still ran a few steps towards to left before he could stop and change directions to follow Jason.

But that was enough separation for Jason to reach the basket. He jumped jumped off his right foot and laid the ball in with his right hand.

Jason did a small fist pump before turning to Trell with a smile on his face"8-0 Trell. You better hurry or you won't get a chance to score"

In the corner of the gym there was the supply closet. Coach Swendel was dripping sweat from his shirt all the way to his jogging pants. He had been pumping the basketballs for over an hour.

He ran his hand through his short blonde buzz cut to shake of the sweat. He had a fit build with a farmers tan. He stopped pumping the ball because his arms were starting to cramp up.

"Jesus, I should have tried harder in school" He said. Coach Swendel looked at the dusty storage room and then at his drenched clothes.

He frowned "How much longer am I going to have to do this? Teaching P.E. and coaching the worst middle school basketball team in the county. I'll never get a chance to get any achievements under my belt."

He continued talking to himself "I didn't think it would be easy to move up the food chain but I thought I would at least have the chance to prove myself. If things keep up like this I might end up retiring with my whole tenure being with this shitty school"

Just as Coach Swendel was about to get back to pumping the basketballs he heard some dribbling going on at the court.

Coach Swendel was confused "No way. Those lazy shits were so excited when I told them that I was giving them the day off today. There's no chance they would organize their own practice?"

Coach Swendel peaked his head out of the supply closet and look at the court. There were a bunch of kids crowded around the court and they were watching what looked like a game of 2 on 2.

Coach Swendel moved to a spot where he could watch the game. But since the kids were all focused on the game and since the Coach was away from the crowd no one noticed him.

After Coach Swendel moved to a better spot he was able to make out the details of the kids playing. He was so surprised that he had to pinch himself to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

He was surprised to see that one of the kids playing was Trell. Coach Swendel knew about Trell. He had tried to recruit him to join the basketball team but was quickly refused.

All the sports teams of the school had been trying to recruit Trell ever since he got here in the sixth grade. He had amazing physical tools that screamed natural athlete.

His quick twitch muscles made him fast and explosive. He had great endurance considering that he never did any training. And his physique was something that would leave some high school students jealous. He had the kind of muscles that didn't look like they belonged to a 13 year old.

But what shocked Coach Swendel even more was that a scrawny looking asian kid a few inches shorter than Trell was eating him alive on the basketball court.

That gifted athlete that all the sports teams wanted couldn't do a thing to stop a kid who was giving up a good size advantage in both height and weight. And he didn't even seem that athletic.

The asian kid wasn't particularly fast or explosive. And he didn't have the body build to absorb contact and get to the basket at will.

But what he did have was skill and know how. On the offensive side Coach Swendel couldn't see any sloppy or wasted movements. Everything was precise and on the money.

The dribbling wasn't anything too fancy but every move had a purpose and a goal. And the shooting, Jesus. He had never seen a kid like the kid in front of him.

His shooting motion was the same every time. it didn't matter if he was shooting with the ball starting from his left or right hand or even off the dribble. The ball always followed the same path.

But that wasn't the most shocking part. Coach Swendel gulped as he realized that the kid was also locking down Trell on the defensive side of the ball.

'Giving up that much size and he can still shut Trell down...Jesus, this kid might be the real monster. He's making Trell look like a cuddly puppy'

Coach Swendel watched on as the game continued. Eventually Trell couldn't take it anymore as he yelled "Get your ass over here man! Help me double team him!"

Trell's goon ran towards them in a hurry. In a few seconds he was able to team up with Trell as they tried to pressure Jason.

Coach Swendel began to frown 'So they're going with a double team huh? Makes sense. That asian kid's been the only one scoring so his teammate must just be there for decoration. I wonder how he'll handle it?'

Coach Swendel shortly got his answer, and frankly it frightened him a little. Jason managed to protect the ball from Trell and his goon even with the both of them pressing him.

Jason then shouted "Run to the basket Kyle! Don't just fucking stand around!". Kyle was brought back to his senses as he began to run to the basket.

Jason was able to hold out long enough for Kyle to get to the hoop. He found an opening between Trell and his goon. Jason threw the ball towards Kyle "Just jump and try to put the ball into the basket!"

The ball landed in Kyle's hands. Kyle felt like the ball was gonna slip out of his sweaty hands but he tried his best to follow Jason's instructions.

Kyle jumped as high as he could 'Don't fuck up Kyle. Don't let Jason down again!' At the peak of his jump Kyle's right hand was just inches away from the rim. He tried his best to gently drop the ball into the hoop.

Kyle landed back to the floor and he stared up at the basket. The ball hit the side of the rim, then it bounced of the back board, then it bounced on the rim again before finally falling through the net.

Kyle couldn't understand the feeling that was building up inside him. He couldn't help but do something that seemed out of character.

Kyle looked up at the sky and yelled "Yeah!!". Jason ran up to Kyle and shoved him "Good shit bro! That's what I'm talking about!"

Coach Swendel looked at the boys cheering as a smile began to spread across his face 'I just found my Golden Ticket!'