Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Across the court from the scorer's table at the announcer's table, a middle-aged man in a dark brown suit with slicked-back black hair had a fervent look in his eyes as he looked at the court.     

"Coming into this game most people had this out to be a tough one heavily favoring Golden Oaks as the number one ranked middle school team in the state.     

In fact very few thought that Jefferson would walk away with the win tonight. But things couldn't have played out any differently."     

Out on the court from the top of the perimeter Jason threw the ball toward Kyle who was standing on the right wing before sprinting towards him.     

Kyle held the ball ready to hand it off to Jason but seeing that the defender didn't bump into him he held back and used his pivot foot to turn and reverse.     

Jason then spun back around as he changed directions, forcing his defender into Kyle who then threw a short pass to Jason.     

Golden Oak's Center rushed forward in an attempt to contain him but with a simple pump fake he was sent jumping into the air.     

With a single dribble and step to the left Jason was now wide open as got into his shooting motion for the deep two.     

The ball flew through the air before swishing through the net. Jason pumped his fist in excitement before running toward Kyle and low fiving him.     

At the announcer's table the man smiled as he shook his head "Tonight Jason showed a highly advanced understanding of the game utilizing skills far ahead of his competition.     

Leading Jefferson to a hot start with his near-unstoppable offense combined with their usual oppressive brand of defense it's no surprise that they are leading the game 76 to 60 and are only a few minutes away from being crowned the middle school champions of California."     

- - -     

Kyle and Vince raised Jason up into the air as their teammates surrounded them. All of their faces flushed with excitement.     

"JAYA! JAYA! JAYA!" They were all cheering in unison. All of a sudden things seemed to be moving in slow motion for Jason.     

He felt as though the lights up above were shining brighter than they were during the game and the cheers and shouts from his teammates and the fans in the stadium were so loud he couldn't even hear his own thoughts.     

His entire body felt hotter than it was when he was playing and he could even feel every inch of him buzzing.     

Even though this was just a middle school state championship and he had experienced higher levels of success in college, at this moment he was feeling something he had never felt before.     

Finally he was placed back down on the ground by his friends as a familiar face approached him with a mic in hand and a cameraman in tow.     

"Congratulations Jason. I know that you will probably want a moment to celebrate with your teammates but if you don't mind we would love to get a quick word from you."     

Jason's head began to clear. He nodded his head "Sure thing Gloria- wait just a sec." Gloria and her cameraman were surprised as Jason ran off.     

But his professionalism showed through as he made sure to keep Jason in frame. Recording as Jason joined Vince and DJ who were carrying their team's Gatorade container.     

The three of them sneaked their way behind Coach Swendel who was in the middle of an interview of his own.     

"Haha I always knew that this year was our-" Before he could finish he was doused in a torrent of ice-cold red liquid as Vince and DJ flipped the uncapped Gatorade container upside down above their Coach.     

Luckily the reporter that had been interviewing Coach Swendel only suffered a few splashes onto his shoes as he was a safe enough distance away.     

Coach Swendel wiped his wet hair out of his face as he turned around to see who was responsible "Come on guys this suit is-"     

Just as he was about to lecture the boys with a smile on his face Jason threw the contents of the two cups in his hands into Coach Swendel's face.     

"Congrats Coach, I gotta head back to my interview." Before Coach Swendel could say anything Jason ran off back towards Gloria and her cameraman.     

Gloria let out a small chuckle as Jason made his way back to them "Obviously you and the team are in a great mood after a well-deserved win to clinch the title of state champions, but can you tell us what the team's mindset is knowing that this is going to be your school's first appearance at the national level?"     

Jason nodded his head with a faint smile on his face "Just like you said Gloria we're more excited than I could even describe to have earned not just a state championship but our team's first state title.     

But for us, this is just the starting point. Going into this season we knew that we had what it took to get here it was all just about making sure we played to our level.     

The real test is gonna be seeing how far we can take our brand of basketball into the national stage. But knowing the guys on our team and our level of talent and commitment I am very confident moving on to the national tournament."     

After he finished speaking he grabbed the bottom of the front portion of his jersey and used it to wipe some of the sweat that was on his face.     

Gloria nodded "Knowing you and your team's level of competitive spirit, is making school history by giving Jefferson their first national appearance something you guys already feel satisfied with or is there a higher goal that you guys feel needs to be reached in order to call this year a success?"     

Jason took a moment to think about the question "I mean, we are proud of what we've managed to do so far and I am even more proud of how hard my teammates have worked this whole year.     

And we could say that getting this far is already enough considering how big of an accomplishment it is to make school history like this.     

But I'm sure I'd be lying to say that this would be enough for all of us. We want to go as far as possible and show everyone everything that we have."     

Not seeming the least bit surprised by his response Gloria smiled "I guess we should have expected that kind of answer from a team as competitive as Jefferson.     

We know that this team has built its identity around outworking its competitors but seeing as how historically the winners of the California state title have always earned a seeded position in the tournament Jefferson should have a few weeks to rest as the national tournament goes underway.     

How will you guys be spending this bit of downtime? Do any of you have plans to take a break? Or will you all be jumping right back into practice?"     

Jason shook his head with a grin "Working hard is important but no one can go a hundred percent nonstop. We'll probably take a rest and start practices back up a week before the tournament."     

"Alright, well thank you for giving us some of your time Jason. We'll let you get back to celebrating."      

Jason nodded his head "No problem. Thanks for the interview Gloria." Jason turned around and walked away, heading towards the locker room.     

Gloria smiled as she turned to face the camera "And there you have it folks. A few words from the captain of your new California state champs."     

- - -     

As the interview came to an end and a commercial popped up on the TV to take its place DJ let out a hearty laugh.     

"Hahaha I still can't believe it man. We really messed around and got that state title. Golden Oaks had no chance."     

DJ, Kyle, and the rest of the guys were sitting around the living room in the apartment of Jason's parents with a few open boxes of pizza on top of the table in front of them.     

It had been a few days since they had convincingly beaten down Golden Oaks and earned the California state title and they were having a small get-together.     

Vince grabbed a slice of pizza and folded it before taking a huge bite "Bhan (man) sbfeak fhur urshelf (speak for yourself)"     

Almost choking he grabbed a cup and chugged down it's fizzy content "Maybe you were messing around but we worked our asses off."     

Kyle and Nick joined in on the roasting. Momentarily the room was filled with laughter and comebacks.     

Jason shook his head with a helpless smile on his face "Alright alright, that was enough of a break. Crack those books open and let's get back to chapter twelve."     

DJ sighed as he picked his book back up from the floor "Man, you the only dude that would turn a kickback into a study sesh Jaya."     

Vince nodded his head in agreement as he held a pencil under his nose with his top lip. Nick added "We finally got some time to relax but we've been doing nothing but hitting the books. So wack man."     

Jason had his standard hard-to-read expression as he picked up his notebook "We made history by getting Jefferson its very first national tournament appearance so I'd hate to ruin it by having any of you guys end up missing games because of grades.     

And besides, just cause we lettin our bodies rest don't mean we can just slack off and not do anything."     

Kyle shook his head "Come on guys. You already know how Jaya is. We're not going to talk him out of this.     

The best thing we can do is hurry up and finish this chapter so we can get back to doing something that's actually fun."     

With dispirited sighs, the boys turned their attention back to their studies. Not knowing that in just a few days they would once again be a popular topic of discussion, all because of one online article.     

Breaking News: Jefferson Middle School, the first California state champions to be unseeded in years.