บท 21: Chapter 21 1st Practice (2)

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[14th August, 15:20]

"Wait a moment who are you guys again?" I asked them with my biggest shit-eating grin causing their expression to distort in both anger and embarrassment. My words received the desired effect as the 3 of them flared up with anger. However, before they could do anything coach blew his whistle calling us in to start the session.

"Alright let us start some practice drills," Coach Garcia blew his whistle and we all raced to line up along the baseline. We're all ready to get started and I am ready for the grind. It's going to be a fun two weeks before my first scrimmage at this new school.

The training was intense as advertised by the coach's as they started us off with different drills for an hour. We got to do a few shooting drills which I enjoyed more than the hard defensive drills he made us do. Despite me knowing how important defence is It's still tiersome to train them. Although I have the instincts from the future me's memories, hustling on D is never fun.

we got a 10-minute rest before moving on to an inter-squad match. I was sorted into team two meaning I was probably part of the second-string team. Team One is made up of seniors and two Juniors who played for the school longer. However, If you ask me It doesn't exactly reflect our skill level to the fullest extent.

Taking a sip from my water I did a couple of stretches to calm my breathing. Since I don't know most of the guys I didn't bother talking to them deciding to scroll through my gram instead. I haven't posted anything since moving here other than the occasional post on my story. However, I kept in touch with CJ and the rest who have been tearing up the AAU scene in upper Georgia.

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Team: 1

(PG) Jace King, (SG) Callum Watkins, (SM) Drew Jones, (PF) Cody Ezra, (C) Devonte Powers.

Team: 2

(PG) JJ Adams, (SG) Hakim Lyon, (SM) Isaiah Hill, (PF) Joel Mendez, (C) Royale Harris.

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Coach Mike tossed the ball into the air between the two centres who looked in. Royale jumped as the ball reached it's apex putting his vertical to good use. His long arms extended towards the ball directly bypassing Devonte's hands. The opposing team's Center was still on his way up when he saw Royale's fingertips reach the basketball.

With a deft flick of his wrist, he launched the ball behind his back to the waiting JJ. The opposing team instantly dropped back to a 2-3 Zone Defense. With high school games being so fast-paced team 2 quickly made it across the court looking for their first points. Outside the 3-point line on the left Hakim called for the ball but Jace proceeded to wave him off.

Soon he was in the line of 3 points and all his other teammates were marked. He called Ryal out of the paint asking for a screen to which the tall centre quickly shuffled appearing behind the opposing PG's left side. Not hesitating in the latest he charged past the screen hugging it as tightly as he could.

Jace tried to chase after him but promptly crashed into the burly built of Royal. There was a bit of separation between JJ and Devonte who was debating whether to guard the paint or go on full press. JJ didn't hesitate tho, as he proceeded to charge into the paint. However, that turned out to be a fake as he forced Devonte in front of him to take a step back.

He immediately transitioned into his shooting motion firing off a shot from just beyond the high school 3pt line. The ball left his fingertips flying towards the basket but the next second that clang of the rim reverberated. Before anyone could even react the ball fell into the waiting arms of Devonte.

Both teams quickly transition from Defence to offence with team 2 rushing back to their basket. They went directly for a man-to-man defence simply because they bet their match up for height. Despite all of them being younger they somehow ended up as the taller team.

Jace picked up the ball from his centre and brought the ball up arriving in front of JJ just beyond the 3pt line. He performed a couple of dribbles in front of JJ digging into his bag and trying to get his matchup to buckle. Despite having a slight height advantage he couldn't shake the Junior off.

In the end, he decided to bail out passing to his shooting guard who had drifted too close to the right edge of the 3ptline. He shakily received the ball after Hakim fainted a steal attempt forcing him to catch it with both hands. Sizing up his match-up with a couple of Jab step attempts but that didn't lead too much as Hakim remained firm.

He matched his opponent physically with a lowered stance keeping his long arms wide. Cam was forced to step back and dribble the ball to face Hakim head-on. He performed a couple of dribbles using his right hand pivoting closer to the corner.

A quick forward step he got closer to Hakim before performing a wide but quick spinmove. Using this he broke into the interior heading past the right of Hakim. Not being left behind he quickly chased after him, Cam wasn't paying attention to this though as he charged forward. With a quick 2 step, he tossed the ball into the air for a layup before Royale could close him down.

However the next second he felt a gust of air pass over his head as a hand slammed the floating ball into the backboard. The next second the figure of Hakim landed beside the basket. The gym erupted with a mix of cheers and groans as Hakim's impressive block sent the ball flying. Team 2 wasted no time seizing the opportunity, transitioning rapidly to the other end of the court as Isaiah picked up the rebound.

Sprinting down the sideline tightly followed by his marker he lifted his head trying to assess the court. Looking for the best way to score he spotted Hakim streaking down the middle lane. He locked eyes with him and in that split instance, he knew what the other wanted. Just as he entered the interior of the 3pt line he scooped up the ball him.

Flicking it up from behind his back he hurtled it into the path of Hakim who caught it in stride. not wasting another moment he took off into the completely ignoring his matchup trailing beside him. Ignoring Cam's outstretched hand he switched the ball from his right to left hand.

Their bodies clashed mid-air for a second but he remained calm flicking the ball up for a layup. The ball left his hand grazing the backboard before dropping into the waiting basket. 0:2 the scoring was open with that as both Hakim and Isaiah celebrated. Both sophomores quickly shoulder-checked before heading back to defend.