Sean Nguyen was undoubtedly surprised when Tremaine Mills caught up with him at the rim. In the few months Sean knew him, Tremaine was not a player athletic enough to do something like this at all.
Sure, he had room to grow, room to get faster, and room to get stronger in the future, but right now, as a walk-on freshman, he was still among the worst natural athletes in the team.
However, despite his athletic limitations, Tremaine still caught up to him and messed with his lay-up attempt.
That's when he caught, by the corner of his field of vision, Quandre Thornton streaking to the rim.
Everything will work out in the end.
Sean lofted the ball up at the last second, barely evading Tremaine's fingertips.
It whistled over the top of the rim, and right as everyone thought the chance was lost, Quandre Thornton rocked the rim with thunderous jam.
"Yeahhhhhh!" Quandre was fully pumped. He hung at the basket for more than what's legal, and landed with an aggressive smile of authority.
He then high fived his fellow sophomore Sean, due to the job well done.
Thunderous applause followed suit, as the game restarted at the top of the key.
14-12.
The game reached a fever pitch within the next few possessions.
Each team's leader was more vigorous, more unyielding, and much more unstoppable as the game went on.
Quandre and his style on one side, Tremaine and his technique on the other.
In this flavorful battle for supremacy, both teams slugged it out and gave themselves opportunities to win.
Quandre's crew scored three more points after the putback dunk. Two was from a wide open corner three ball from Kristian Geis that was hounded by Deshaun. And the other, was from a DJ Johnson steal and reverse layup.
After retaking the lead in cagey fashion, they lost it again, in the same gritty fashion.
Tremaine was instantly hounded by a quick double team from the inbounds pass. Sean, and Kristian, blocked every passing lane that was available to him, and forced him back to almost the half court line.
Doing so, they intentionally left Deshaun wide open.
Deshaun, instead of finding a wide open spot on the floor, rushed to his point guard's aid without thinking much. It would only be a fair fight, if he's there.
However, Tremaine didn't need him.
For some reason unknown to him, Tremaine Mills somehow managed to nutmeg one of the two and escape unscathed.
'What a fucking beast.'
Deshaun changed directions and moved closer to the basket the same time his friend did.
Behind Tre, were Sean and Kristian, who had no time to ponder what exactly happened to them. A third man broke off from his assignment, and that was Abdoulaye Eze.
Abdoulaye left Tarik just outside the paint near the right baseline.
That quick move managed to stop Tre just inside the arc.
Kristian caught up with Deshaun, blocking off the entry pass angle between Deshaun and Tre.
Before Tre was able to throw a lob pass to Tarik, Quandre had already moved to cover the lone man.
For the people outside the court, what the defense had been doing was beautiful, especially on the fly. That level of defensive awareness is dreamlike.
First, Kristian blocked Deshaun, Second, Abdoulaye left Tarik down low to deal with the ball handler. Third, Quandre got to the freed big man at the nick of time. Fourth, DJ rotated to fill in for Quandre at the corner. And lastly, Sean gave up chasing Tremaine, and went to the side, to cover Curtis.
All holes in the defense have been locked down again, and Tremaine was left searching for other options.
Deshaun pointed his index finger upwards, locking eyes with Tremaine in the process. Of course, Kristian saw the two look at each other, but his reaction was a little too late.
Deshaun had already ghosted past his blindside within the split second that Kristian was out of focus.
Abdoulaye was also helpless when he saw Tremaine lob it high up ahead.
'Oh fuck…'
Deshaun jumped, showing off one of the most underrated facets of his game to the crowd of teammates, coaches, and random bystanders: his athleticism.
He was almost gliding in the air, and Kristian didn't contest him up there anyway.
His left hand was raised even higher, when he snatched— or caught— the ball in the air…
And of course, he threw it down hard.
***
Coach Mike had been silent for a long while.
He cut a stern figure in the sidelines, with his arms crossed, and his face a blank mask.
The first game had already finished, and the second game had already begun a while back, and yet his expression had not changed in the slightest.
No one bothered asking him, even among his staff.
Tremaine was already cooling down in the sidelines, watching how his upperclassmen approached the street game.
Since it would just be a four versus four, everything would be different.
"Would the coach still buy us pizza even if he looks like he would kill anyone who dares interact with him?" Deshaun was seriously apprehensive. The reward they've all been busting their asses for… seemed so far away…
"Haha, don't mind the coach, aren't you used to it still?" Tarik's laughter was bright, since he completely shut down Abdoulaye.
The five against five ended with a pull up jumper from the inbound. Tremaine's confidence had risen to the peak as the game ended, so why not end the game with something that was not as hard to do?
Now, as the younger players watched their senior teammates, and Jaylen Mitchell, duke it out in the asphalt court, they were instantly entranced by the intensity.
People diving for the loose ball without regards to their body, better defensive instincts, more fluid offensive sets, and superior decision making.
All of that was in full view. The youngsters quickly saw that their play was lacking.
Khalil and Legend were duking it out for every inch of real estate in the court, like two gladiators fighting for supremacy in the arena.
Dwayne and Jaylen's fierce rivalry also raged on, with neither giving the other breathing room.
Ryan and Miguel, the two lead guards of the team's present, and the near future, were also fighting hard.
And lastly, Caleb and Lamont, two best friends who are competing for the starting two guard spot this year.
Tremaine loved watching games like these where no holds are barred, especially among close friends and teammates. It would show everyone's current ceiling, and peak abilities.
A fierce battle like this one would always be a good watch, even for a casual.
"Wait, where's Curtis?" Deshaun realized that their teammate was nowhere in sight.
"The bastard's over there…" Quandre pointed at the other side of the street at the back.
Curtis was lining up at the ice cream truck with some kids…
What is this situation…
***
Extras:
Curtis' sweat won't stop pouring. Sure he might have slimmed down by more than two dozen pounds, but his sweat glands won't slow down.
It was not really a blazing hot day, since it was already October… but he played in the sun… and these sports drinks aren't working for him anymore…
Then he heard music that was so pleasant, he felt like he'd returned to his younger days…
Music of an ice cream truck.
Curtis' eyes went wide, as he lost control of his emotions. He ran straight out, and crossed the road into a local playground… and he fucking lined up for it like a madman…
He was a sweaty six foot eight man… and the people lining up with him were mostly kids with snot dangling on their noses…
He's not ashamed, because for him, nothing is hard to do for ice cream.