It was the break. Leonz and Madelyn both sat at a table, neither of them in a particularly good mood.
"Hey, why're you mad?" (Madelyn)
"What do you mean? I ain't mad." (Leonz)
"You've had this foul mood around ya for some time now. You would totally scare kids." (Madelyn)
"Same for you then." (Leonz)
"Hey! I have a completely legitimate reason for being pissed off, okay?" (Madelyn)
"Yeah? Shoot." (Leonz)
"My wrist hurts, my waist hurts and my ass hurts. Ya got a problem with that?" (Madelyn)
Leonz decided to remain silent.
Madelyn crossed her arms.
"No. 1 my ass. Couldn't even play proper basketball. Next time we play them, I'm making sure she gets tackled." (Madelyn)
"At least you aren't that injured." (Leonz)
Madelyn sighed and flexed her left wrist.
It was the day after the Stars played the Amazons, and Madelyn was recovering from the beating she took.
"Wait until someone does this to ya, you'll understand." (Madelyn)
"Sure, sure." (Leonz)
The next day, the both of them went to practice as per usual. Madelyn was forced to sit out most of the practice due to her wrist, but Leonz was finally cleared to participate in light practice.
The boys gathered around Coach Dom.
Dom checked his clipboard, Joseph standing by his side, checking the attendance of the guys.
Asher was nowhere to be seen.
"Other than Monegotomy, who else isn't here?" (Dom)
"Everyone's here." (Joseph)
Dom sighed and faced the group.
"We'll be playing another practice game next week. It'll be the last practice game we have before the season starts, so let's try to get some momentum from this." (Dom)
"Who're we playin'?" (Joseph)
"We're playing the Gunners. It'll be a home game for us, so they'll be playing on our court." (Dom)
Coach Dom gestured towards the Video room.
"Let's review some footage before we play against the Gunners." (Dom)
"To the Video Room!" (Joseph)
Joseph led the boys towards the room, all of them chatting with each other as they walked. Leonz had gotten more familiar with them, and it was easier for him to speak with them.
They sat down in the Video Room and Joseph started setting up the projector.
"The Gunners were a pretty average team last year. They barely made the playoffs and lost to the Spartans." (Joseph)
"But they are likely better than you folks." (Dom)
Joseph put up a video.
"They got this really tall Center, makes Crox look puny." (Joseph)
Dom shot him a look to tell him to shut up.
The video played.
There was someone who towered over most players on the court. Even the opposing Center seemed small compared to him.
The guy rebounded the ball over the opposing Center and threw up a layup. Another clip showed him catching an alley oop that was too high for the opposing Center to contest.
"He's about 7'1, one of the taller Centers in Highschool. He's quite skilled, so don't expect any shots under the rim to be easy." (Dom)
On cue, the guy reached high and blocked a shot, sending it into the audience.
"#2 Frank Contid. Crox will likely be a liability against him. However, he is slow, so we'll practice a few switches to have him on the ball handler." (Dom)
Dom signalled to Joseph.
Joseph switched the clip.
"Next, their star player from last year, currently a senior. #77 Lelo Montez, a 6'6 Point Guard." (Dom)
The clip showed a compilation of outside shooting, handles, playmaking and inside scoring.
"He's a freakish Point Guard, he can dribble, shoot, get to the rim and playmake. Our defence needs to be a team effort if we want to stop him." (Dom)
"There shouldn't be too much of a worry though. They have one of the worst bench production last year." (Joseph)
"We can't say for sure. For now, we prepare to play against the Gunners, especially our defence." (Dom)
Coach Dom crossed his arms and looked out towards all the boys who were present.
"We play good defence, secure the rebound, play hard on every possession, that's how we're going to win. If I see anyone slacking off even a little, I'm sending your ass to the bench." (Dom)
"Yes Coach." (Basketball Boys)
The boys went to practice soon after.
Dom stood as he oversaw the practice. There was a distinct lack of information on the Gunners, and he was slightly worried about it.
Halfway through the practice, he pulled Joseph aside.
"Wazzup?" (Joseph)
"In the upcoming match, I'm trusting you to run the offence." (Dom)
"I mean, that's what you've been doing the entire time, no?" (Joseph)
"It's different this time. Against Montez, it may very well become a battle of Point Guards. I need you to compete with him." (Dom)
Joseph scratched his head.
"Sure, but must we take it so seriously? It's just a practice game." (Joseph)
Dom sighed and started walking away.
Joseph shrugged and walked towards Leonz, who was standing at the side while the rest of them were resting up.
Leonz was trying to dribble the ball between his legs alternately, but occasionally, the ball would slip out of his hand.
Leonz saw Joseph and stopped dribbling.
"Leonz, I'm gonna have to speak to you about something." (Joseph)
Joseph stepped in front of Leonz, who listened attentively.
"You just recovered from an ankle injury and all, so don't push yourself too hard. For now, I'm going to tell you the main plan we'll be pulling off." (Joseph)
"Is this the coach's instruction?" (Leonz)
"Nope!" (Joseph)
Joseph pointed at Leonz.
"You're a sharpshooter and you specialise in catch-and-shoot, yeah?" (Joseph)
"Yes." (Leonz)
"You probably saw it in the game against the Jesters. Our offence tends to stagnate quite a bit. I doubt Monegotomy will be playing, so a portion of the offensive load will end up with you." (Joseph)
"Really? What kind of plan is it?" (Leonz)
Joseph smiled and started explaining it to Leonz as simply as he could.
"You set a screen, and I'll drive. I can throw it back to you, easy, right?" (Joseph)
Leonz remained silent for a few moments at how stupid the plan sounded. A simple play like that could never work in most situations.
"That's… questionable." (Leonz)
Joseph patted Leonz on the back and walked away.
The training continued. Coach Dom was insistent that they work on defence, so they ran a few defensive sets, especially in scenarios where Crox gets switched onto a guard.
By the end of it, everyone was exhausted, especially Leonz, who had been unable to exercise for quite some time.
Joseph stayed behind to get a few three point shots in before he left for the day.
Dom also stayed behind to speak to Joseph for awhile.
"Do you know anyone who's willing to be a manager for the team?" (Dom)
Joseph shot a three, which completely missed the rim.
"Why d'ya ask?" (Joseph)
"Obviously cause we need a manager." (Dom)
Joseph walked down the court and scooped up the ball before walking to the closest segment of the three point line.
"I don't know many people willing to be a manager. After all, so many people here are into the performing arts." (Joseph)
"Then do you know anyone who isn't in the club at the moment?" (Dom)
"Not in my class, that's for sure. You should probably check the freshmen classes. At this point in time, not all of them would have decided on a club." (Joseph)
"You approach them then." (Dom)
Joseph chucked up another miss.
He sighed and walked towards the ball again.
"Why me? I'm not the type of guy to approach my juniors." (Joseph)
"You're the captain." (Dom)
"Doesn't really mean much. I'm only Captain cause you know me better than the others." (Joseph)
"Exactly, so do your damn job." (Dom)
Joseph shrugged and brought the ball under the rim, casually laying in a few shots as he talked.
"Coach, do you really think we can win the Championship this year?" (Joseph)
Coach Dom did not respond, waiting for Joseph to finish speaking.
"There's a bunch of great players out there, huh? Like Snyder from the Jesters, Montez from the Gunners. You've got all the stars from the previous season, as well as all the freshmen who came into High school. Excluding Monegotomy who isn't even playing, we just got a bunch of normal guys." (Joseph)
"Then get good." (Dom)
Joseph missed a layup, catching the ball, sighing and walking to the storage room.
"Real encouraging, Coach." (Joseph)
Coach Dom stood up and walked out when Joseph left too.
"I trained you, but you have zero intentions of being one of the great players out there amongst High schools." (Dom)
Joseph tilted his head before letting out another sigh.
"Like I said, I can't make it anyway. We've got other guys with greater potential you should focus on, like Leonz or Theodore. I'm just some Senior who's stepping down soon." (Joseph)
"You're useless." (Dom)
"Very encouraging, Coach, real encouraging." (Joseph)
Joseph returned the keys before they left for home.
The match with the Gunners was important.
They needed to get their offence in order. Without the Seniors from the previous year, the Sophomores and Seniors at the moment were not used to playing with each other.
Against the Gunners, they needed to make sure their offence was smooth, especially with Leonz and Theodore from the perimeter.
If Asher decided to play, that would bring a whole different issue regarding the team chemistry.
Joseph shrugged it off.