Joseph approached Leonz and shook his hand.
"Good game, if I can even call it one." (Joseph)
"Uh… yeah, good game." (Leonz)
The rest of the Club got into their feet while Asher walked over to the bench, picking up his glasses. He put them on, blinking before walking to the group.
The coach stood in front of the group, only four of the members who had been playing the game sweating.
The coach looked around once.
"I don't want anyone here not sweating. All of you, go run ten laps around the gym." (Coach)
There were some groans, but they started jogging anyways.
The only ones not running were Asher, Leonz, Joseph and Crox.
The coach looked at them in turn before asking them questions.
"Monegotomy, what position do you play?" (Coach)
Asher contemplated answering the question.
"Small forward." (Asher)
"Lovehart, what position do you play?" (Coach)
"Shooting Guard." (Leonz)
The Coach nodded and pointed at Joseph, then Crox.
"Point Guard, Center." (Coach)
He glanced back at the group running around the gym.
"Well, to discuss something with y'all, from what I can tell, the two freshmen are ready to start after some team practice. Our starting lineup, including the both of you, is solid with the exception of the Power Forward position." (Coach)
"The previous team captain was the Power Forward, but he's not playing anymore." (Joseph)
Joseph was speaking to Leonz and Asher to explain the situation they were in.
"What are y'all aspirations?" (Coach)
Coach pointed at Leonz.
"Championship." (Leonz)
"Everyone wants that. I'm asking what you want to achieve individually? How many points you want to average? What awards do you want to win?" (Coach)
"DPOY*." (Leonz)
* Defensive Player Of the Year
The coach nodded and pointed at Asher.
"MVP, Finals MVP. All high school first team, High school All-Star game MVP." (Asher)
"Aiming high, aye? I like that attitude." (Coach)
The coach glanced back at the group which was running once again to make sure they were actually running.
The coach looked back.
"But I don't like your attitude on the court and your attitude to your seniors." (Coach)
Asher made eye contact with the coach.
"Monegotomy, you won the MVP in middle school, yes? I assume you were given the ball often?" (Coach)
Asher did not reply in any way or form.
"Middle school is different from high school. In high school, if you keeping hogging the ball, the offence will be easily stopped by teams. Sure in a 2 on 2, or in a middle school game, the defence won't be able to keep up, but in high school, the people here are bigger, stronger and skilled." (Coach)
The coach glanced at Leonz before pointing at him.
"You. I like the effort you put into the game, but your entire play style is full of holes. Missed a wide open layup and wide open midrange shot. Don't tell me the only thing you know how to do is shoot threes." (Coach)
It was silent in the group of five.
"And the two of you, what the Hell do you think you were doing?" (Coach)
"Crox suggested it." (Joseph)
"Throw me under the bus the moment you could, huh?" (Crox)
"The both of you got blocked by Lovehart. Crox, he's 9 inches shorter than you, what the hell man? The both of you need to work on defence. Besides, your offence is too one-dimensional. Crox, you ain't do anything but receive passes from Joseph. Joseph, you ain't done much yourself either." (Coach)
"Tough, innit?" (Joseph)
"You're a lost cause." (Coach)
The coach turned around and shouted loud enough for the whole gym to hear him.
"Everybody better finish their laps in three minutes!" (Coach)
The coach turned around and faced the four of them again. He gestured to the rest of the Club.
"Go on." (Coach)
"Shit." (Joseph)
Joseph and Crox started running, Crox obviously much slower.
Leonz saw Asher start jogging too, though his pace was fast even if it was a jog. Leonz started running too.
He managed to run half the gym, passing by the girls team, some of them looking at them as they ran by.
Leonz saw wave at him, but he had not time to wave back.
"Hurry up man." (Joseph)
"Shut up, I don't run fast." (Crox)
Meanwhile, Asher and Leonz ran at the same pace, already overtaking a few of the other club members.
At the end, Leonz and Asher both sat down on the ground, breathing hard, dripping with sweat.
Joseph and Crox joined them soon after.
The coach paced around the exhausted boys.
"To introduce myself, I'm Coach Dom, your coach for this year and probably for the rest of your high school life. Warm welcome to the two freshmen who applied through the Sports Offer." (Coach)
Leonz was too busy trying to consume oxygen.
"Well, to start off, I'll need to rearrange the starting lineup, seeing as your seniors from last year left." (Coach Dom)
Coach Dom pulled out a clipboard.
"Depending on what I see in practice, the starting lineup will change. So if your name's not on this list, guess you gotta work harder." (Coach Dom)
There were some conversations going on between the boys.
"Judging from this list I got here, we've got about twelve people in the Basketball Team. Let's see… Five guards, five forwards and two Centers." (Coach Dom)
Coach Dom looked around, as if confirming who was playing what position.
"From what I saw from y'all last year, and what I saw just now, I've made my decision for the starting lineup for the practice game we got coming up." (Coach Dom)
"Practice game? When did that happen?" (Joseph)
"I got a call just now, accepted it cause I knew it'll be good practice for y'all before the season starts." (Coach Dom)
"Who we playin'?" (Crox)
"We're playing the Homer Jesters. Don't worry too much, in terms of high school basketball, they're literally clowns." (Coach Dom)
"What if they got some insane rookie?" (Joseph)
"I've already checked. They best player they got was ranked No. 66, so no worries there." (Coach Dom)
Coach Dom surveyed the boys.
The four people involved in the 2 on 2 were seated slightly separated from the rest.
"This game'll be our trial run of the starting lineup and rotation I have decided on. They're a bad team, but that doesn't mean we can't lose. If we can't win by at least ten, I'll be forced to make some adjustments before the season begins." (Coach Dom)
"Just tell us the starting lineup already." (Joseph)
"Calm your tits, Quinn." (Coach Dom)
He got some laughs from the boys.
"Right, so our starting lineup… if your name's called, please walk up and stand beside me, alright?" (Coach Dom)
Leonz felt excited to be able to be a part of a team. They may not be the best, but somehow, with Asher there, Leonz felt assured.
"Point Guard, I wish it was anyone else, but we have Joseph Quinn. Don't clap for your captain." (Coach Dom)
Joseph stood beside Coach Dom, looking at the clipboard he held.
Leonz was excited for the chance of his name being called.
"Shooting Guard, Theodore Hatchet." (Coach Dom)
Someone from the group of boys stood up, looking mighty excited.
Leonz could only stare and watch, his heart sinking.
"Small Forward, Asher Monegotomy." (Coach Dom)
Asher stood up, walking up and standing there. Theodore tried offering a handshake, but Asher ignored him completely.
"Power forward, Toby Garland Jr." (Coach Dom)
Another guy stood up.
"Center, it's probably expected. Joseph loves this guy. Crox Devonte." (Coach Dom)
Crox moved his large build up and walked to the rest of them.
Leonz felt isolated from everyone else.
"Following this rotation, starting from the Sixth Man, for now, will be Leonz Lovehart. Following will be Darius Topac and John Harper. We'll be running with an eight man rotation for now, we'll see what happens on the day of the practice game." (Coach Dom)
If it was any consolation, at least Leonz would be guaranteed a chance to play if he was the Sixth Man.
"With that settled, Joseph, go and start the shooting drills. I want both sides taken and used, no one should be allowed to slack." (Coach Dom)
The coach then looked at Leonz, then Asher.
"The rookies will follow me." (Coach Dom)
Joseph gathered the boys for the drills while Leonz and Asher followed Coach Dom to the benches. Coach Dom put his clipboard down before facing the boys who were standing.
"Just wanted to explain a few things without the other boys hearing." (Coach Dom)
"Explain what?" (Leonz)
"Lovehart, I actually want you to be the starting Shooting Guard. But your offensive game needs work. Keep working on it as the season progresses and you'll eventually make your way to the starting lineup." (Couch Dom)
Leonz nodded.
"Monegotomy, you got skill, and everyone knows that. Tell me, what kind of a player are you? From what I saw in the 2 on 2 just now, you don't look like much of a team player." (Coach Dom)
"I score, I pass." (Asher)
"It's true that you passed to Lovehart, but your middle school statistics showed that you only averaged 1 assist." (Coach Dom)
Asher looked more bored than ever.
"Because they can't make a shot, so why bother passing?" (Asher)
"But you would pass to Lovehart?" (Coach Dom)
Asher did not say anything, not bothering to continue the conversation.
"I might remove Monegotomy from the lineup. You need to communicate more, talk to your team more, that's how the game is played. If you can't do that by the start of the season, I'm not going to be playing you, much less starting you." (Coach Dom)
Asher did not reply.
"Alright, join in on the drills, Joseph will tell you two how it's done." (Coach Dom)