November 13 at University of Connecticut.
Illinois' 13 man contingent were ready to crash the home party tonight. They were coming off a fantastic opening win, and they were now ready to gobble up their second ranked opponent in a row.
They only had one full day of practice in between the last game and this one, however, all of them had been raring to get the job done. Hopefully, more decisive than last time.
Most of the media attention was on rookie hotshot Jaylen Mitchell, but to most of the home team's fans, it was on either last year consensus All-Americans Khalil Ogwuzeni, or Legend Stone Jr.
These two were the longtime stalwarts of the opposing team, and their combination provides Illinois a brick wall tandem up front that even the best teams in the nation could not underestimate.
However, the Connecticut Huskies will not lose their home opener. They have a plan.
Meanwhile, Tremaine Mills had put the game's live telecast on his phone with a loudspeaker.
Of course, since Illinois were the away team, the 14th and 15th man in the roster did not travel with the rest of the team. Meaning, he and Kristian Geis were left with a free night to do whatever they wanted to do even if they wanted to join the rest of their team.
For Tremaine, he would use his night to get some extra shots off.
A couple hundred more, in fact.
The sound of the game's beginning perked Tre's ears up. He might not be there right now, but he'll burn every single bit of energy he has to support the team. Even if that's not how it worked.
Tre finished his warm-ups, and had collected 50 balls into 5 racks. He had a few, quick sets of air boxing as warmup before he heard that Jaylen Mitchell had buried a tough shot from midrange.
It has begun.
Tre ran off to the side, channeling the complex emotions he's experiencing into his hands and into his fingertips.
"I'll earn the right to play soon." Tremaine grabbed the ball, jumped, and released it at the apex. His fluidity was fantastic, and the form was impeccable. The flick of his wrists and the follow through of his motion was picture perfect.
It was almost too bad that there was no one here to witness it.
As the sounds of the excited commentators and the hostile crowd reverberated throughout the empty Illini practice facility, and into Tre's ears, his hunger only burned brighter.
He would be there.
"Oh to spoil the home fans' day." Tremaine knew the feeling all too well. As he got older, and gained more and more experience playing abroad, away games became his strongest suit. His hardened psyche rampaged when the stadium full of people were against him and his team.
Playing the sport you love in such a hostile atmosphere became his favorite. The slurs, curses, and threats thrown at him became his meal. The unprovoked hate became the firestarter for his will.
Now, listening to his team get smashed in the background didn't dim the burning inferno that was his relentless passion.
Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, all of a sudden, he's buried twenty five triples in quick succession.
Just as Connecticut buried 3 unanswered triples of their own.
It was not the same kind of slow start they had against North Carolina either. Rather, it was the kind of being casually overmatched.
Even if Tremaine Mills wasn't watching, he knows it when the opponent is toying with them.
This game had the same feeling.
Connecticut's lead guard, Deron Summers, a prototypical, dominant senior cut into the mold of Huskies legend Kemba Walker, ran the show in emphatic fashion. Either by driving down the lane with impunity, or burying tough shots day in, day out. He was one of the country's best volume scoring point guards last year.
As the Robin to his Batman, sweet shooting, yet deceptively athletic swingman Robert Davis Jr. stood out. Many scouts believe that he could be the next Rip Hamilton, a high scoring menace that could either be a complementary playmaker on an off-night, or a lead scorer that could explode for 40 plus on good nights.
Tremaine picked up all the balls one by one and quickly put them back into the racks, as the screams of the UConn faithful continued to pack a punch.
"Are they that good?" Tremaine heard the commentators showering the Huskies praise. Racing out into a 25-5 lead in less than 7 minutes of action was of course fantastic by any means, but are they sure that UConn could keep this up?
One of the commentators put the brakes on the praise for the Huskies, citing how the Illini caught fire and rebounded from a large early deficit just like this one a few days ago against the Tar Heels.
Tremaine agreed. He started adding some dribble moves to his routine before shooting. Astoundingly, he started trying to shoot with his right hand…
As an ambidextrous person, he usually writes and does everything with his left hand, however, he started learning how to use his right hand more as he grew older, partly because it could allow him better opportunities in basketball…
Being able to utilize your right and left hand to shoot screams versatility on its own.
However… his 17 year old self still is horrible at shooting with his right hand…
He didn't mind at all if he started shooting bricks from then on… but instead, he focused on the form, release, and the follow through he wanted.
Small progress.
He started spacing out following the game that had intensified further, and instead had gotten into the zone… while still missing more than half his right handed attempts.
This night will probably be long for Tremaine Mills.
***
"Do you think that transcendent first game performance from Jaylen Mitchell was just a flash in the pan?" The female commentator asked his older male colleague in the halftime analysis show. "Or is it the team's overall performance in general?"
"It's too early to tell. But if they can't pick their play back up, their praiseworthy opening day performance will really be a flash in the pan."
"Worthy to take note of however, the Illinois big 3 are struggling. Big time."
"Yeah, 18 points spread across the three of them, in 7-22 shooting from the field? That, to me, is the biggest reason their team was down big tonight."
"However, the elite Connecticut defense is shutting the two big men down, and of course, you can't talk about defense without praising Robert Davis Jr. He's completely shut Mitchell down."
"2 points, in 1/7 shooting, 2 assists, and 3 turnovers. He's playing like the shell of his debut game self."
"Davis put the highly touted rookie on clamps the entire half. He might not have scored a ton tonight, but he's showing both the NCAA and NBA that he's a fantastic defender once he's engaged."
Tremaine's mind had finally returned to earth, after hearing his team's dilemma.
"Wait, are we still down big?"
He ran over to the side to watch a little bit, and the screen flashed bone chilling statistics…
UConn 66, Illinois 35.
An absolute disaster.
"What am I fucking spacing out for?" Tremaine almost cried.
***
Extras:
Before the Illinois team traveled to Connecticut.
The Illinois members that would travel to Connecticut were already boarding the team bus earlier than usual. It was surprising, because the flight was quick, and the game would start at 6 PM.
Coach Michael Roughan was talking to the five players that will be left behind.
"You're free to use the entire afternoon, and night as you wish."
Tremaine was surprised.
"I want you to think about what you want to do if left to your own devices."
The five young men nodded furiously.
"See you in practice in 2 days.