How does the night end?
How does the night end?
With cameras pointing at him Jason began to answer all of their questions as he spoke into their mics. "With this victory over Dominion Jefferson has finally gotten their first win against a high profile team at this year's National tournament. How are you feeling right now?"
Jason wiped some sweat off of his face with his towel before answering "A win feels good no matter who it's against but I would be lying if I said that tonight didn't feel a little different.
I just hope that everyone that was saying that we could only make it this far because we were going up against weaker programs can come up with something more interesting this time around."
The reporters clamored over Jason's response. "With their elite back court pairing of Gerald Thomas and Devin Collins, Dominion was a heavy favorite to win it all this year.
Having just come out on top against a team like that, how are you and the rest of the team feeling about your chances of potentially raising that trophy up as the dark horses of this year's tournament?"
Hearing what the reporter had said unlocked some memories within Jason that had been tucked away to the back of his mind for years. 'Oh yeah, I forgot about it but Devin did tell me that he had come close to winning a National title back in Middle school.
Details about an under the table deal between him and a high school coach got leaked right before the finals. With that happening the committee had no choice but to suspend Devin from the final game of the tournament.
And seeing how good his team was they probably would have won it all if he hadn't been suspended for the final game. Especially considering that their coach was someone who did a short stint as a head coach at the college level.
That leak was probably why Devin ended up moving all the way out to California to play ball instead of playing for an elite program here in Chicago.'
To the reporters it looked like Jason was giving their question a moment of thought. He remembered that he was in the middle of an interview and answered.
"Nothing is set in stone. Just because we beat the heavy favorites for this year's title doesn't mean that we can afford to get complacent or start taking our foot off the gas.
But that being said, we are a team that are always confident and that believes that we have a chance against any team. We've been that way since the start of the season, since the start of the county tournament, since the start of the state tournament, and nothing has changed.
Other people might have seen us as a long shot or a team that got lucky to make it this far but we have always gone into our games with the mindset of it being just another step in our pursuit for the ultimate victory."
The reporters from Chicago were stunned after hearing Jason's answer. The ones in Riverside and California all together had already somewhat gotten used to it since they had been covering Jefferson for a while now.
But to these reporters, hearing such mature and well thought out answers from a kid who wasn't even in high school yet was a huge shocker. At most they had thought that they would get an interesting soundbite. But what Jason had just given them was completely out of the ballpark of things that they had expected.
The reporters continued to bombard Jason with questions about the tournament, the team, and even his own personal life and his plans for the future as their cameras flashed nonstop.
Finally after appeasing the ravenous group of reporters Jason was able to make his way into the locker room to clean up. He quickly showered and got dressed into his street clothes as he rushed towards the back of the arena after telling Coach Swendel and the team that he needed a moment to take care of something.
Waiting standing by a vending machine with a soft drink in hand was Devin. A slightly annoyed look on his face as he watched Jason approach him "Yo, you ask me to wait up for you and then you take your sweet ass time? This better be good dude cause I'm holding up the whole team making them wait on the bus."
Jason gave a nod "My bad Dev, those reporters wouldn't leave me the hell alone. I thought I was going to be there forever." Devin rolled his eyes before tossing the soda can to Jason.
"Whatever dude. Take it, consider thanks for the pizza." Devin then pulled out a few coins as he got a soda out of the vending machine for himself. Jason couldn't help but chuckle seeing that even at this age Devin had already developed some of his superstitions.
Even with the widespread use of digital wallets and paying electronically, Devin had the habit of using coins for vending machines whenever possible. It was to the point where he would make sure to have coins in his wallet whenever he went out.
Jason popped the top of the soda can open and took a sip "You know... I'm hardly someone that people would call picky. But a pepperoni pizza flavored soda is a little much."
Devin was already half way through his own can when he heard Jason "Alright, so you good at hoops but got shit taste buds. Good to know that even Mr. Hollywood ain't perfect. Now are you going to get to the point of what you wanted to talk about or are you just gonna complain about my taste in soda?"
Jason smirked "I feel like the comment about shit taste buds is more suited for you but I'll just drop the subject. I wanted to talk to you because I heard that you have a thing for making wagers."
Devin finished up the rest of what was in his can as he listened to Jason. After downing all of its contents Devin dropped the can to the floor, crumpled it with a solid stomp, kicked it up to his hand from the ground, and then tossed it into a black metal trash bin that was twenty feet away.
The corner of his brow raised as he looked at Jason with a hint of curiosity "Yeah... I like to make the occasional friendly wager." Jason chuckled as he heard Devin's answer.
'The occasional friendly wager huh? That's one hell of a downplay considering how often you used to hustle me back in high school and college.'
"Well, if you're up for it I have a wager that I think you'd find pretty freakin interesting." Jason then began to explain the wager that he had in mind. As Devin listened in his face went through a sequence of expressions. Curious, shocked, serious, and finally he busted out in laughter.
"Hahahaha! You crazy as hell bro. And everyone is always talking about how serious you are all the time, but you got joke jokes."
Jason shrugged his shoulders "No joking here Dev. I'm a hundred percent serious. All you gotta tell me is whether or not you're up for it."
Devin smirked "You know what? Fine, I'm game. But you better not regret this. You the one who came up with this crazy bet."
Jason stuck his hand out for a handshake "Right back at you. No coming to me crying about how you got tricked." After finishing their discussion Jason left first as he began to make his way to his team's bus. Devin watched as he walked away "Win or lose, things are boughtta be interesting as fuck next near."
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In a stadium packed to the brim, the crowd was going so wild that nothing could be heard except for their enraptured cheering. The faces of the commentators from the scorers table was one of unbelievable excitement.
"We are in the final moments here folks. These seconds will determine if Jefferson can take their Cinderella story all the way to the end, or will we see the carriage turn back into a pumpkin as the clock strikes twelve."
The commentator was on his feet as he clenched his fists at his side watching the game unfold in front of him "With everything on the line Jefferson puts the fate of the team in the hands of no other than their team captain Jaya!"
Sweat dripped down his face as his eyes looked like they were about to pop from their sockets "Eight seconds left on the clock, Jaya has just crossed half court!
With a dribble between his defenders legs Jason goes for the nutmeg before snatching it right back up! Crossover, crossover, spin move, sidestep and he goes for the fadeaway! Bang!
Jaya hits the game winner! Jefferson wins the game! Jefferson wins! The clock has struck twelve but Cinderella is staying for the after party because Jefferson is this year's National champions!"