Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Kyle got into a defensive stance as he bent his knees and spread his arms out. He stared down Danilo 'Just remember what Jason told you.'

Kyle didn't spend too much time guarding out in the perimeter but Jason had given him a crash course during one of their practices.

In an instant Jason's voice played itself in Kyle's head 'Keep your knees shoulder width apart. Point your feet forward and position them slightly wider than your knees.

Stay on the balls of your feet and keep your heels off the floor. Make your back flat but slightly arched. Keep your hands active and most importantly you need the right mindset.

You gotta be hungry, You have to want to play defense. Don't just play defense because you have to. Make it your goal to make life miserable for whoever you're guarding.'

Jason nervously watched as Danilo began dribbling 'I still have the badge activation for Defensive Anchor. But it only lasts 8 seconds so I'll need to time it perfectly.

They have to go for a three if they want to tie things up.' Jason yelled out "Stick to your guys on the perimeter. We can give up a two. No threes and no fouls."

Danilo frowned after he heard Jason yelling out instructions 'Shit! looks like things will be a little harder now that their defense won't collapse inside.'

Danilo did a quick crossover to the right. Jason decided to activated his Defensive Anchor badge. Jason watched as the bar for his DNA points emptied out.

Kyle turned his hips and started running to stay in front of Danilo. He came to a stop with a through the legs dribble.

Kyle stopped on a dime and turned his hips again as he prepared to move left and right. Danilo was surprised at how well Kyle had stuck with him.

Danilo did a hesi toward the right before crossing over to the left. Kyle bit on the hesi and took a step to the right.

He saw that Kyle was a step slow in recovering from the hesi-crossover combo so he decided to capitalize on the seperation that was created.

Danilo stepped back after the crossover to the left and entered his shooting motion. The building went silent again as they watched Danilo try and take the game into over time with this three-point attempt.

While everyone had their eyes on Danilo Jason was watching Kyle. He saw Kyle turn at the last second and explode off of his feet as he shot towards Danilo.

Just as the ball was about to leave Danilo's hand he saw Kyle coming toward him in the corner of his vision 'What the hell!? How did he manage to recover so quick?'

Kyle covered the distance between them almost instantly. Kyle opened his hand and extended his arm toward the ball as he tried to reach for the block.

Danilo couldn't readjust or change his shot otherwise he would lose some power and the shot would end up being short.

All he could do was commit and hope that either Kyle couldn't reach him or that he could get off the shot before Kyle could block it.

Kyle was coming at Danilo as he focused his attention to the ball. The ball had just left Danilo's hand when it was swatted down by Kyle.

Kyle chased after the rebound. Since he was the closest and there wasn't really any time for the others to react Kyle was able to gain possession of the ball.

Kyle then hurriedly passed the ball to Jason before he could be fouled intentionally again. Jason hugged the ball tight against his body as Verde Gardens had no choice but to foul him.

Jason had to get some help from Kyle as he walked to the free throw line. Even with his legs as exhausted as they were Jason was able to sink both of them in.

The rest of the game went quickly as Verde Gardens tried for another quick three-pointer that missed. They allowed Jefferson to dribble out the rest of the clock.

Jefferson won their closest game of the season with a score of 70-65. Jason leaned against Kyle as the teams lined up to shake hands one last time.

When Jason got to the twins he smiled "Good game out there guys. Both of you were some tough competition. You guys twins?"

Jason already knew all about them but seeing as how this was his first time meeting them he didn't want to seem suspicious by knowing too much about them.

Danilo smiled and extended his hand toward Jason "Yeah we twins. I'm Danilo and this my lil bro Alex. Guess they was right about you on TV. You one hell of a competitor dog."

Jason was happy to talk to the twins. He had numerous battles against them in his past life. The two of them were like him in the sense that he would talk trash to whoever he was playing but after the game he could be cool with them almost instantly.

Alex jabbed Danilo in the side with his elbow "You were only born like a minute earlier than me so don't act like the big bro."

He then smiled and extended his hand toward Jason "This was my first time meeting someone that I couldn't guard. That was a hell of a performance man."

Jason chuckled "Thanks. If you guys don't mind me asking, why is your team's record so bad? With how good the two of you are I would think that you guys would be undefeated just like us?"

Alex embaressedly scratched his head "Well we kind of got into it with the guys from our old school. They didn't like two 6th graders making the starting lineup.

We just transferred to Verde Gardens. And because of that we weren't eligable to play a few games."

Verde Gardens terrible record finally made sense to Jason. He patted the two of them on the shoulders before leaving "If you guys ever want to win a national title just come to Jefferson. I would love to play with the both of you next year."

Jason made his way into the locker-room with the rest of the guys. He took off the medical tape wrapped around his legs before hopping into the showers.

As he was letting his body relax in the warm water he saw a notification pop up in the corner of his vision.

[Skill badge level up.]

[New skill badge unlocked.]

[Ironman (Silver): Gives you a tougher body. You will be less likely to experience an injury as well as recover from injuries at an improved rate. Effectiveness decided by badge rank.

Workhorse (Bronze): Lowers the affects of fatigue on your performance. Allows you to play at your optimal level for short moments when low on stamina.]

After the shower Jason was changing back into his clothes. He was sitting down and about to put his shoes on when Trell came over and sat down next to him.

Trell didn't look at Jason but he began talking "It really hurt that you didn't trust me enough to give me a second chance at guarding that dude by myself."

Jason was silent for a moment "I know that you wanted a chance to redeem yourself Trell. But I just couldn't let you take that gamble. Not when everyone elses time and hardwork was on the line."

Trell nodded his head "The entire time I was sittin on the bench I was thinkin about why I was so bothered by it. Why did I care so much about guarding that guy?

I realized that I was bothered because that Silva kid was the first person that ever made me feel so helpless.

When I lost to you I could at least think in my mind 'Oh he's just a little more skilled than me. If I can learn to do half of what he knows then I can kick his ass.

But with Silva he was just as athletic as me but he had the skills that you did. It felt like it would be impossible to catch up to him.

I hated feeling like no matter what I did there would be someone better than me. And when Udonis started talking to me I realized that I was playing selfishly while you was out on the floor bustin yo ass to try and get us the win.

I'm still pissed that you didn't let me try and guard him by myself, and I'm pissed that you wanted Nick and Matt on the court with you during the last minute instead of me.

But I can't blame you for that. I can only blame myself. If I was better then I'm sure you would have wanted me out there."

Jason smiled as he put his hand on Trell's shoulder "The way that you feel right now is perfectly normal Trell.

Even if we know that something was for the better it's okay to feel upset about it. I didn't handle the situation perfectly either.

I wish I was as good as Udonis when it came to leading a team but I'm just not. And as long as you have the desire to get better then I'm sure you'll pass the Silva kid in no time.

But I'm kinda glad that this whole thing happened. If it weren't for this little situation then I don't think that you would have ever opened up about what you were going through.

And I just hope that you know that it's okay to ask for help Trell. No one will think that you're weak or soft.

Sometimes life just throws shit our way that's a little too heavy for us to handle on our own.

Basketball is a team sport with clear and defined roles because it's impossible for one player to do everything by himself.

So if you ever need anything just let me or one of the guys know. Because just like UD said a team is a second family. And we need to be there for each other."

Trell looked at Jason and smiled "I hear you dog. I'll definitely keep that in mind." Jason laughed "Good. Now you want to come over to my place?

We're having another get together to watch this week's episode of Through the Hoops. It's going to be smaller than last time though. It's pretty much going to be the team and Kyle's mom because our apartment is small."

Trell hesitated for a second before responding "I guess I can go. I ain't got much else to do today."