2. GAP(8)
HALF-TIME 7 : 46
WSU 17 VS 22 TEAM GREAT
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WSU 17 VS 24 TEAM GREAT
"(Good! Keep it up!)"
"(Maintain the tempo, Arty!)"
Team Great continued to attack me time and time again.
Artemis McRae continued to possess the ball while matched up against me and, every time we were in this situation, he successfully suppressed me and easily scored the ball.
This continued to happen 3 times.
"(It's okay, let's go.)"
"…"
Davion Berry tried to encourage me as he received a pass from out of bounds, but I didn't feel any better. As I began to feel helpless again, I started to become depressed to the point where I felt nauseated.
To be fair, Artemis McRae was a college graduate and I just finished high school. Our skill and experience level naturally should be different, considering the fact that he played at college-level for 4 years.
The plays I was able to pull off during the first half of the game quickly became distant memories to the spectators and players alike.
"(Hey, Bookie. Just leave that kid alone.)"
Just like that, Team Great started to blatantly ignore me.
McRae, who was originally guarding me, switched to guarding Davion Berry and the guy named Devon Booker was matched up with me. He was an extremely short guy.
"(You really became irrelevant, huh?)"
"…"
Considering how Devon put himself in a difficult matchup, it seemed like he was preparing to help the strong side. WSU's offensive plays were mainly Lillard and Leon's 2:2, so they were forced in a mismatch situation because of this.
It was honestly a good game plan. We were able to create advantages for ourselves.
"(Take the shot!)"
"…"
And one of those advantages presented itself to me.
However, I was once again unable to shoot and ended up passing the ball. As a result, Kyle was forced to shoot the ball at the half-line, throwing an air ball.
"Boooooooo!"
The jeers from the crowd just made me shrink more and more.
They seemed to be worried about the fact that I was a WSU's special student. They seemed to be excited that I was an Asian player, especially last night. Maybe they expected me to play the way Jeremy Lin did when he smashed Kobe Bryant.
Jeremy Lin scored 38 points and had 7 assists in his game against the Lakers, leading the New Your Knicks to a victory. After the game concluded, ESPN along with the NBA was only using one word.
Linsanity.
Linsanity, which is simply a wordplay combining "insanity" and "Lin", was the first time it was heard ever since "Vinsanity".
That goes to show how amazed people were over Jeremy Lin.
It seems like the audience here may have similar expectations from me.
"(Take that chinky-eyed player out!)"
"(Why did this guy come out instead of Byron?)"
"(What were you thinking, Stanley?)"
Slowly, everyone began to turn to Stanley for answers.
Byron Fulton was Artemis' backup, WSU's most prominent sixth man. If you were sensible, it would've been logical for him to play in today's game. However, Freddy chose me, Stanley had to respect that.
*SWOOSH*
"(Woah! This is way too easy. Don't you think so?)"
Once again, Artemis evaded me with a screen and scored a mid-range shot. As he passed by, he tapped my shoulders as he ran back to his defensive position.
I put my hands on my waist as a thought came to my mind.
Is it possible to fall so dramatically within only 5 minutes?
"Where Amazing Happens"
In a very perspective, Kevin Garnett's words crept up to me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
END OF FIRST HALF
WSU 32 VS 40 TEAM GREAT
At one point, they were ahead by 17 points. But thanks to Lillard and Berry's plays, it was reduced to 8. As the first half of the game concluded, WSU players seemed to be exhausted.
They looked at me very differently, but I felt I still had a little strength left in me.
'Damn, this sucks.'
In my junior year of high school, there was a special student player that made life difficult for all of us.
His name was Yoon Minsoo, he was quite tall but not the best at basketball. However, because of the fact that he was tall, the coach kept putting Minsoo in games. Whenever he would play, the remaining 4 players on his team had a hard time.
There was a time where he lost his team a practice game by 12 points, leading to players threatening him to quit playing basketball.
Of course, I didn't participate in these acts, but I was a bystander.
Informal basketball games in high school affected one's entrance exam scores, making it crucial to be the leader on the scoreboard in order to receive a better grade.
A single bad player affected their entire team's basketball career, so it was proving to be a real problem.
But today, I am in the same position as Yoon Minsoon.
"(Calm down. Calm down.)"
Lillard tried to console me as he noticed that I was having a hard time taking in all these thoughts flooding in at once. As David hesitatingly walked to me, he started to translate for me once again.
"(You've done really good. Artemis is a forward that's quite hard to defend against. It may be frustrating, but Team Great is showing much better team play right now. It's not your fault.)"
"…"
Leon tapped my shoulders and said likewise.
"(I've been focusing too much on recovery. I just talked to Kyle. #55 doesn't seem to have a lot of offensive plays. Kyle will help me guard my guy and I'll try to more actively create hedges. So, try to defend and read the situation. You seem to be a smart guy. You'll be able to recover quickly.)"
"(You heard that, right? But be more confident when it comes to shooting. Nobody can say anything to you even if you miss 10 shots. The audience is just the audience. To these guys WSU is everything, so they'll be sensitive no matter what. You know what happened when I was injured last year?)"
When Lillard was benched for his entire junior year, WSU was not able to keep their points and was nearly demoted from the NCAA Division 1, receiving criticism from all different angles and peoples.
He wasn't able to play a single game, having no control of the outcome.
Lillard said this is the negative side when it comes to North American college basketball. At times, the NCAA's March Madness had more views than a professional sports game.
Lillard and Leon were saying that the less I focused on my surroundings, the better I can focus on improving my gameplay.
"(It's just 8 points. Plus, you've been a big help to the team so far. So, have some confidence. Got it?)"
"(That's it.)"
"Huh?"
Leon and Lillard's compliments made me embarrassed for many different reasons. Not only were they better at basketball alone, but their mental strength and personalities were better as well.
I felt ashamed that I wasn't able to help Minsoo back then as well.
How many people were successful from the very beginning?
"(That's exactly what I was trying to say. It's only 8 points. And everyone's been doing their job. Team Great just isn't an easy opponent. They have players who are constantly contacted by D-League and up.)"
Stanley came in between us and pitched in.
As he tapped my back with his warm hands, he called over Berry and Kyle. He then pulled out a memo with complicated letters on it that I couldn't read.
"(First of all, they're going to continue attacking Minhyuk's side during the second half of the game. And, to our disadvantage, Artemis' shooting is really good. Damn, if only he played like that before.)"
"(Hahahaha.)"
As Stanley made a joke and brought up a past game against Idaho, the players burst out into laughter. And just like that, the fatigue that was in the team's face seemed to slowly disappear.
Stanley started to talk about what's written on his memo.
"(Anyways, we can just view #55's shooting as nonexistent. He's going to keep down screening, which will create openings. So, Kyle? Try to create a wider hedge. Leon! You too. Focus more on Artemis' side.)"
It may sound strange, but to be able to read Leon and Damian's plays was an incredible feat. What Stanley was telling us now was almost exactly what Leone and Damian were saying to me earlier.
What the current problem was and what we had to do to improve them.
To be able to assess a situation as a player the same way a coach would, in Korea we would say you have a natural gift. Players like Hu-Jae, Lee Sang Min, and Kim Sun Hyung showed these sorts of qualities.
What do I have to do to be able to do this?
"(Good. Rest a bit, clear your heads, and warm up.)"
Stanley was very straightforward with his direction and most of it was focusing on our defensive sides.
As I turned to head back to the benches, Stanley placed his hand on my shoulder and stopped me.
"(What are you so worried about? You don't expect that you'd make all your shots, do you?)"
"…"
"(Have a little confidence. Your shooting release is quite slow. So of course, you have to put that into consideration. Team Great are also aware of this. Even if they are away from you, they have enough time to contest your shots.)"
"…"
That's upsetting.
The fact that everything Stanley was saying was true made me mad. Becoming a bad shooter? I've experienced this multiple times in the States now.
There was a scene that came to mind of when the old North American team came up against Korea.
When Lee Gyu Sub received a pass and tried to shoot at the sideline, there was no one within 3 meters of him. But the moment the ball left his hand, it was blocked and went out of bounds.
As that once happened in L.A., twice today I've experienced the same scenario.
What's more frustrating was the fact that I've never been told my shooting release was slow up to this point. I knew I wasn't fast like Jo Sung Won or Jo Sung Min, but people would usually say I was faster the than average.
But none of that seemed to be true here.
"(That's right. Your opponents will know that too. Am I right?)"
What? That's all you're gonna say? Nothing at the end?
As he patted my back one more time, Stanley ran to Damian, leaving me alone to digest what he had just said to me. I'm sure there was a reason he told me what he just said.
*FWEEEEEEEEEE* "(Please come back onto the court!)"
Unfortunately for me, I didn't have much time to think about it. The referee called back all the players, and the ball was now in Team Great's possession to start the second half.
Since we had the ball in the first half, naturally, the ball is now theirs. Parker slowly crossed the court and Artemis is once again in the elbow position with his hands up.
Is he not tired of it?
"(Huh?)"
"Huh?"
But this time was a little different. Leon and Kyle were focusing on my side a bit more, giving the opposing team's strong side a bit more space.
So, the pass wasn't connected with Artemis this time around but, instead, was passed to Josh Giles, who was matched up against Davion Berry. But his shot was a little short and, after a fierce battle for the rebound, the ball rolled to one direction.
As I moved my feet toward the ball, Lillard flew past me.
"(Move it!)"
"Huh? Oh."
I don't know why, but I felt a heavy weight coming from Lillard's words.
With Lillard's command, I found myself sprinting to my offensive position. Berry was doing the same, and as he caught a pass I remember what Stanley said to me before.
'What is the best that I can do right now?'
Team Great's defenses were one.
A 2:1 situation would definitely be to our advantage, but I slightly turned and ran a little further from the inner circle. I could get scolded for making a seemingly bad decision, but my instincts told me to go that way.
Berry and I were now in our position and, as he pushed through the right, he faked a layup and passed the ball to me.
At that moment, I remember the last thing Stanley had said to me.
["Your opponents will know that too. Am I right?"]
I pulled my hand above my head with the basketball. It may be because of all the talk about my release speed, but it felt as if time was slowing down.
"(What?)"
But this time, I didn't try to shoot the ball right away.
I pump fake and dribbled again with my left hand, took a step backward and planted my feet to take the shot. Artemis ran right past me as he mumbled something.
*SWOOSH*
"(Whew! That's what I'm talking about!)"
I scored my first shot as the second half of the game began.
People gave Stanley a strange look for his overly-happy reaction to a simple score. But I knew he was happy because I realized what he was trying to tell me earlier.
"…"
McRae slightly looked toward me as I turned around and headed back to my defensive position while giving Lillard a fist bump.
Leon ran by and tapped my butt.
Stanley would probably want to say this. Whenever you possessed the ball, why not give it a bit more thought before making a play?
Although I've been told to think before I play countless times ever since elementary school, the way Stanley did it was on a different level.
No, he didn't even say one word.
Isn't that amazing?
I really felt as if I've grown a little. And, if I could, I wanted to tell Artemis this.
"This is just the start, you son of a bitch."
And, this time, Artemis had the same expression on his face as I did.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone