As the days passed following the Mcdonald's all American, Jake's social media image had a huge boost in his followers on his instagram and his twitter. Even getting attention from ESPN and some top college prospects even reposted the post, some notable names being Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgrem.
Currently Jake was practising his three point shooting with his dad, who was also a professional basketball trainer. Though he never reached close to NBA or even G-league level, he did play professionally in their home country of the Philippines.
"Come on! You've removed the habit of stopping in the middle of your stroke, but now you're gathering the ball from the right when you shoot a three!" His dad, Michael scolded.
"Ok how about let's try this again. Shoot a normal mid-range jumper." Jake's father ordered, not wasting any time, the young man took one dribble and swished a mid-range jumper as usual.
"Alright, now do that same motion, this time on the three."
Trying to replicate what he did, Jake shot a three pointer, despite his form being correct, he had put too little power as the ball airballed.
"Tsk, ok let's try that over again!" This drill went over again and again, even if Jake had hit a three, his father wouldn't let him stop, insisting that he needed to put 5 in a row. With his eyes full of determination, Jake tried over and over, eventually hitting 5 in a row 16 minutes later.
"Great job! There's the fifth one! Alright now let's try dribbling from the corner to 3 different spots in the three point line!" Jake almost complained but he kept his mouth shut, knowing if he didn't then there would've been consequences.
This went on for nearly an hour and half straight, with Jake barely even breathing properly, his dad had decided to end the training.
A few more days later, it was finally time for the private workout. Jake had worn some classic adidas shorts with an adidas tee and the same curry 8 he had worn in the Mcdonald's all American.
As he walked in the court, he was met by Amari who looked like a kid among the giants.
"Oh Jake! Man you I was starting to think you weren't gonna come!!" Amari exclaimed.
"Hey man, NBA caliber or not I'm up for any challenge!" Jake eagerly replied as he put on his shoes and knee pads. Stretching his body he quickly joined the shootaround, chatting with a few people, he was even approached by a few people who wanted to take a picture with him, though most of them were kids, he was still pretty happy people had started to recognize him.
Just a few minutes later, Tim Hardaway Jr. had walked in the building. Despite it being offseason, Jake was impressed that Tim was still working on his game.
"Aight! Tim's here now, let's get the game started." The owner, Mich, shouted, getting everyone's attention.
While everybody else waited as Tim was stretching, Jalen Duren had all of a sudden approached him.
"Hey man, Jake right? Saw you on the Mcdonald's all American, and had to say, you were really impressive." Jalen complimented which he did not expect at all.
"Thanks man, couldn't say the same to you. I mean you look destined for the NBA."
"Appreciate the praise, but the gap between college and the NBA is a really big one, so I'm trying to polish my skills against NBA talent like Tim. Plus I heard Normal Powell was gonna come as well, but I'm guessing he might be late." Jalen stated, this inspired Jake quite a bit.
As he's seen Jalen's highlights, and he was sure that he would be able to make an immediate impact in the NBA, but hearing that he wasn't good enough spoke volumes on how good the NBA is.
Alright, when I call your name out get ready to play in the first game! Tim Hardaway, Amari Bailey, Marcus Mcdonald, William Lowe and Luke Joy! For the second team, Jalen Duren, Vincent John, Jake Mendoza, Ibou Badji, and Simon Bohre..
Hearing his name Jake immediately stood up, looking around he noticed Ibou Badji, in his past life he was a bench player for the Portland Traiblazers, a player known for getting great blocks in the limited game time he had.
Everybody gathered around the middle of the court, they started shaking each other's hands and even Tim Hardaway Jr. told him, "Make this fun" with a smirk.
As the referee blew the whistle Ibou Badji easily won the opening tip. With Jake being the smallest in the team, he was made point guard. Dribbling down the court, he was marked by Tim Hardaway Jr., and despite not being known as a good defender. Jake found it difficult to get past him, looking around the court, he saw Jalen against Amari.
An obvious mismatch he bounced the ball to Jalen, who quickly powered his way through the rim.
Now in defense, Jake tried sticking with Tim. But an NBA player vs a highschool player is the mismatch of the century, after a few dribbles, Tim feinted to the right which Jake bit into, leaving Tim open as he sank a three.
Now with the ball back with them, Jake drove with a burst of speed as he tried to lose Tim who was still on him. Trying something special, Jake stopped and took a step back as he rose for a jumper. But Tim had stayed close enough to bother the shot as Jake missed it, luckily Ibou Badji easily dunked it with a putback.
For a few more possessions, Jake was hit by a reality check. Despite being one of the best prospects in high school, he was still very far from the level of even an NBA role player.
On one possession, Jake was backing down Tim, and this was the only advantage he had. Being the taller and slightly heavier player, he had no problem backing down Tim. One dribble, two dribbles, he then went to his spot, the elbow just outside the free throw line. Stepping back, he hit the shot. Despite the contest he had just enough space to be able to release a good shot.
The ball with the help of the backboard went in, running down the court, Tim nodded his head up and down saying, "Great shot kid". Initially Jake smiled, but after that one possession he couldn't score nor could he defend against Tim Hardaway Jr. He was absolutely outclassed in every aspect, even boxing out Tim managed to out rebound him by being in better position.
As the game ended, the final score was 30-22. Despite Jalen and Ibou Adaji scoring 16 combined, Tim had scored 18 himself. With Amari scoring 4 and even getting 2 steals.
As Jake sat down looking exhausted, Tim went up to him.
"Hey kid, great game, my bad if I went too far, I just really wanted to see how good you were. I mean you are the Mcdonald's all American MVP so maybe I thought you were really good. But I guess you're not Lebron James, but hey kid, you scored on me, be proud of yourself." Tim said before walking away.