章 12: Entering The Zone
Marcus heard all the words that Xavier said. He walked slowly towards them as he wore a smile on his face. "Coach Michael, do you want to continue this game?"
Coach Michael turned his gaze toward Xavier who was adamant in playing the role of a Power Forward. However, this wasn't the time to be practicing. He would admit that Xavier was an exceptional player because of his tryout but these monsters were in a completely different league.
"No. My players are already exhausted. Thank you for this practice match." Xavier's eyes were in disbelief as he listened to the words the coach was saying. Will they give up just like that?
"Coach, what are you saying? I want to play. I can fill the role." Xavier insisted as he tried to convince the coach.
Coach Michael signaled Xavier to look at his seniors. They were drenched in sweat just trying to stop these five monsters. In fact, it would have been traumatic for them if it had continued. Luckily, one of their players ran out but it was a blow to their school's reputation in the league.
Xavier could only bow down his head as he stared at his exhausted seniors. They were all in the last year of their middle school while he was only a freshman.
He heard footsteps approaching him as he looked up and saw Marcus.
"Are you a freshman?" Marcus was a really difficult person to read as he could not tell if he was really friendly or not.
"Yes, I am." Xavier answered in a polite manner.
"Do you want to play?" Marcus asked for the ball from Daniel and caught it with his hand.
"I want to..." Xavier muttered in a very low voice.
He really wanted to play as he was excited by how powerful these five students are in the game. Although it was Christopher who played the most, he greatly desired to test out the training he had for almost two weeks. He never had the chance to actually show it.
"Do you want to play a 1v1 match with Christopher?" Marcus' lips curled into a smile as he offered the ball with his right hand.
"Sure." Xavier agreed with the arrangement.
This game was unlike the one that their father played. The rules would be the same as when it is a normal game only with one person and one side of the court.
Xavier passed the ball to the coach before going to the locker room to change. His blood was pumping as he felt really excited. I will be playing a match against an NBA player of the future, he thought.
The coach followed him to the locker room and he saw that he had almost completely changed. "Xavier, are you sure about this?"
Xavier felt the worry this coach has as he was very much aware what the coach is scared to happen. Thoughts would linger to a coach's mind if something demotivating was about to happen to his players. This was one of such situations.
He only put on a smile while he was tying his shoelaces. "Don't worry, Coach. I am not scared of defeat."
Coach Michael felt those words as it made him remember one of the players he taught back in the days. He was someone who was very eager to play basketball and he didn't back down in the face of defeat. Instead, he fought through and won the basketball league around a decade ago.
It had been years since this school won the championship but looking at Xavier's behavior, was it possible to instill this kind of thoughts to his players? Was there a renewed chance to ever win the championship?
The coach decided not to stop Xavier and he realized that when these five monsters graduated, there was a higher chance of gaining a stronger start. It would be best to seize the opportunity to train with such monsters.
There were always two results in all of failures and defeat. One would be to succumb to hopelessness and give up. The second one would be to improve and put effort until you get the abilities to win and conquer the situation.
Xavier and the coach walked toward the court.
Christopher looked at Xavier with a grin. He threw the ball as hard as he could. "How about this? If you can score against me even once, I will admit defeat."
Xavier struggled a bit to maintain the ball but he was strong enough to catch it.
"Christopher!" Marcus shouted when he heard this. This was a direct insult to Xavier and the team.
Xavier looked at his hands as he felt a burning sensation from that pass. This guy really possessed an absurd amount of strength. It made him curious as to whether his stats are much higher than him.
"I agree." Xavier dribbled the ball one time as his gaze fell on Christopher.
"Captain, he already agreed." Christopher put on a smile as he prepared himself. Though, he planned not to take this too seriously as this young man was only a freshman. "You can have the first ball."
Xavier held the ball tightly as they went in position. He was in the three point line and in front of him, Christopher guarded him loosely.
He did a few dribbling moves and he felt that he had left Christopher behind. He rushed to the paint only to find his hands feeling light. He looked back and saw that the ball was stolen.
His eyes were wide open in questioning his ability but he regained his senses. You got this, he said to himself in his mind.
Christopher stretched one of his hands forward, his palm facing the ceiling and he flicked his finger back and forth. He was signaling Xavier to guard him and Xavier moved toward him.
Christopher dribbled to make some distance from him to Xavier. He shot the ball with his one arm.
Bang. The force used to throw was really strong as it made a sound when it collided with the board. It went in and the coach and players on the bench were terrified.
Xavier took the ball and got back to the three point line. He also tried to make some space between him and Christopher before trying to make a three point shot.
However, Christopher was really agile as he was able to rush forward and jump to block the ball. The bounce from the ball almost reached the ceiling of the gym. Why do they feel that he seemed mad at Xavier?
Truthfully, he was really petty as Xavier forced them to still have a match. This place was really boring and they didn't even stand a chance. He was happy that one of them ran off to avoid the match but Xavier stepped in and said he wanted to play.
The ball went out of bounds and Xavier retained possession.
His body felt terrified at the strength and power Christopher had been showing. This wasn't the power he showed earlier in the match with his team. He was casual with the earlier game.
The game continued as Christopher completely dominated the game.
The score was 10-0 and Xavier was unable to get a single score. The coach and the players were all looking pitifully at Xavier. He was just a freshman and a new recruit in their basketball team. It would be a traumatic experience for him. They played as a team earlier but this was a very terrifying scene.
While they looked pitifully at Xavier, Marcus' eyes were wide open as he continued to watch before Daniel approached him. "Captain, you are seeing it, too, right?"
Marcus nodded to the question given by Daniel. He could see it clearly that Christopher was slowly becoming serious. It could only mean one thing.
Xavier was improving at an incredibly fast rate.
The possession was currently given to Xavier. He was drenched in sweat as he held the ball.
He dribbled the ball but this time it had caught the attention of the four players of the Grandview Basketball Team. There was a certain rhythm to how he dribbled it. This was similar to when Christopher gets serious during training.
Xavier's face turned serious as his eyes squinted. He felt nothing on the court and only connected with the ball. His heart and mind both desired for this next shot to go in.
Christopher's defense intensified as he tried to catch up to Xavier. The dribbling skill had a sudden leap and improvement from the previous lousy one.
However, his defense broke this time when he fell on the ground, an ankle-breaker.
Xavier gathered the ball as he took a glance on Christopher before he smirked and took a shot.
The ball went in and all of the people in the gym were shocked by this event.
The five players of the Grandview Basketball Team had the same thoughts in mind.
'He has entered the zone.'
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