Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Chapter 96 - Guidance

As soon as he heard Kawhi say that Jason's heart started racing at the thought of getting a chance to learn from an NBA legend like Kawhi personally.

After he was done giving his speech Kawhi told the groups to split in half and that they would be playing king of the court.

Jason followed half of the group as they moved to the court beside them. They began to shoot around to see who would start off first.

Not surprisingly it was Jason that ended up winning the shoot out. Jason found himself the one to start off the game of king of the court.

Jason stared down his defender 'Without Nav in my group I don't think that there is anyone else that could potentially beat me.'

Jason noticed that his defender was sagging off of him just a bit. He hit his defender with a jab step to the right with his right foot.

The jab step got the defender to react. Seeing that Jason fired off a quick three-pointer. As he was shooting his shot Jason's face contorted in pain.

'Fuck! My shoulder.' Jason's arms and shoulders were still hurting from all the different workouts that he did during the test. Jason did his best to ignore the pain as he continued to shoot.

His defender tried to contest the shot but the small opportunity that was created from the jab step was enough for Jason to get off his shot.

The pain disappeared from his face. Jason smiled as he watched the ball swish through the net "Next."

- - -

Kawhi was watching the different courts as the kids played king of the court. Every once in a while he would walk to one of the courts and give the kids advice.

"That crossover was good but you could make it better. You're lettingthe ball get too far away from you. That means that it's taking longer to pull it back."

"You got burned because you were too scared of his jumper. If you're going to play your man tight on defense make sure that you're ready for the drive as well."

"Don't hesitate when you see the space. You got your man with the pump fake but you didn't make your move soon enough after you got the space."

"You don't always have to for the block. Contesting the shot is more than just trying to swat it out of the air. Position your hand to cover your opponents view of the basket as they're trying to shoot."

As he was making his way through the different courts Kawhi's gaze locked on to one court in particular.

The corner of Kawhi's mouth lifted up just the smallest bit 'Looks like the kid is the real deal. His body can't be in the best condition right now.

It's impressive how he's playing through the pain. Even if he misses his shots he's managed to stay king of the court by getting multiple stops on defense.'

But then Kawhi's face went back to normal before sighing 'If only the kid had the right tools to be an elite defender.

It's a real shame to see someone who plays with so much heart on both sides of the ball be limited by their body.

It's almost like seeing a person with Jimmy Butler's defensive grit and intensity being locked away in Jimmer Fredette's body.'

- - -

Jason was currently going against his fifth opponent so far. Ever since Jason's first round of being the king of the court the pain in his shoulders had become unignorable.

The accuracy of all of his shots had dropped because of the pain affecting his ability to move his shoulder. 

But despite the pain and discomfort Jason had managed to play his standard hard-nosed defense.

His ability to clamp down and keep his opponents from scoring bought him multiple chances to score the ball and stay king of the court.

With the ball in his hands Jason winced in pain as he dribbled the ball 'Damn my shoulders are killing me. Even moving them just a bit sends pain shooting down my arms.'

Jason did a left to right crossover before doing a hesitation move to the right. Seeing that his defender didn't respond to the hesi Jason began to drive right.

His opponent's reaction was slightly delayed as he tried to slide over and initiate contact. But just as they were about to collide Jason pulled out the spin move as he spun to the left.

With his right foot sealing the defender's back foot Jason blew past him as he continued to drive toward the paint.

The defender saw Jason spin around him and drive toward the basket. He turned his hips and went into a full sprint in an attempt to catch up to him.

Jason saw the defender running after him as he stopped driving and stepped back to the left. The defender saw Jason going into his jumpshot as he jumped toward him in an attempt to block the shot. 

But Jason simply held on to the ball. He got his defender into the air with a pump fake. After his defender flew past him Jason got into his shooting motion as he shot the ball from the free throw line. 

The ball clanked around the rim a couple times before falling through the net. Everyone clapped and cheered as Jason managed to stay king of the court for five straight rounds.

But to their surprise Jason didn't wait for his next opponent to step up to the court. Instead Jason walked off the court as he shook his head.

"I'm dead tired y'all. Next person up can take my spot. I might be done for a bit. I need some serious rest."

Jason didn't even stick around the group. He walked to the bleachers at the side and took a seat. Jason was expecting to be alone for a while so he was surprised to hear a set of footsteps approaching him.

Jason turned his head and was even more surprised to see that it was Kawhi that was walking toward him.

Kawhi stuck his huge hand out as he dapped Jason up a bit "You really showed while you were playing king of the court. You were winning against juniors and seniors back there."

Jason shook his head "I was lucky that Nav put me in with all the Riverside guys. So even if they were taking me serious they weren't going all out and playing super physical.

If I was playing with those Moreno Valley guys they probably wouldn't have had any problems playing me super physical and roughing me up a little. I have the skills but my body right now just can't take the physicality that comes at the next level."

Kawhi nodded his head "Impressive. I thought you would let the fact that you were beating older guys get to your head. But you were able to honestly evaluate yourself. That's a skill that not everyone has."

Jason shrugged his shoulders "When you're as small and unathletic as me you need to use your head to be able to compete. You need to use it even more if you actually want to win."

At this point Kawhi had lost count of how many times he had been surprised by the kid in front of him. 

'This kid doesn't seem like a kid at all. It sounds like I'm talking to an adult. He is such a cerebral player. From his offense to his defense the real magic comes from upstairs.

He might not have the physical tools to lock down his assignment or beat his man off the dribble but he makes up for it with knowing how to position himself and how to move on the court efficiently.

He hasn't even played at the high school level and yet it seems as though he had aspects of an old man game. He uses small tricks that even some college players don't know.'

Kawhi patted Jason on the back with his enormous hand "You know what? You remind me a lot of myself when I was younger. You have the same cold and emotionless face when you're out on the court.

You play hard on defense and although you have an occasional outburst of emotion for the most part your cool and collected when you play.

Although there are a couple differences. I was never as vocal a player as you are. And I was way more athletic. I also had big hands, a long wingspan, I was also-"

Jason interrupted Kawhi "Okay I get it. We're similar but also different. Anything else?"

The corners of Kawhi's mouth raised just the tiniest bit "I feel like it's my fault that you overworked your shoulders. You probably won't be able to get the most out of this camp since your not at your best condition.

So whenever the rest of the guys are doing group training you can come to me and I'll guide you one on one. I'll let you pick my brain for whatever you need."