March 23, 2013
Tournament of Champions (ToC) Final
Royals vs. Crusaders
The atmosphere inside the Christ the King High School gym buzzed with excitement while the crowd screamed in anticipation of the game starting and the players taking the court.
One section in particular was especially lively, with most of them wearing Royals team jerseys with the number 15 on them. "Royals! Royals!!" shouted the crowd of students and people who had come to see the team's last game of the season—and possibly also the last game of one player in particular.
"The atmosphere is more lively than other times," Paola said over the shouts of the people around her as she held and gently rocked the little person she carried in her arms.
"Tell me about it," Melissa told her, being by her side in the same jersey as the rest of the people in the stadium, her cheeks painted with the Royals' team colors while she kept her gaze fixed on the court, waiting for Aaron to come out at any moment.
"You're excited to see your big brother, aren't you, sweetheart?" Paola cooed toward the tiny baby she held in her arms, who simply babbled some incoherence upon hearing Aaron's name.
"I still can't believe you brought Mia to the game," Melissa said, melting as she looked at the little one, who peered everywhere with her tiny eyes as if everything were new in her little head. "You know she likes seeing Aaron," Paola said, adjusting her grip as a man hurried toward them, sitting down beside them.
"I didn't miss anything, did I?" Hector said once he took his seat, looking at the crowd of fans who had come to see the game. "What took you so long?" Paola asked him while she passed him the little girl, who squealed with joy upon seeing her father's face.
"How's my little princess?" Hector said in a high-pitched voice, causing Mia to laugh as she received cuddles. "There's barely any place to park outside," Hector told Paola and Melissa once he finished giving attention to his little girl.
"Well, this place is bursting at the seams," Melissa said, seeing how the stands were completely full with no available seats; despite that, there were still people standing near the doors watching the court while the referees were already in position along with the scoring table.
A commentator from a local television network stood at the edge of the court with a microphone in hand and a cameraman in front of him recording.
"Right now, we are at Christ the King High School stadium where shortly the Royals will face off against the Long Island Lutheran Crusaders," the commentator narrated into the camera.
"And as you see in the stands," the cameraman turned to show the bleachers, which were completely animated with the majority of people supporting the Royals team. "The atmosphere inside here is out of this world," the narrator continued once the camera pointed back at him.
"And all because of one player," he stopped talking for a moment, adding more suspense. "And I think the whole country must know who we're talking about." With a smile, he didn't keep them waiting. "Aaron Reed," he said the name under the noise of the crowd's screams while a photo of a 17-year-old young man appeared on the television screens.
Aaron Reed (C)Points: 32.5Rebounds: 10.9Assists: 8.8Blocks: 2.5
"The number 1 prospect in this class, ahead of names like Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker," the commentator said with a smile while they played a segment of the best plays from Aaron's entire high school career.
"In just a few moments, we will see what is possibly the last game for this player in his high school career," he finished saying to the camera before the game began.
Locker Room
Inside the Royals' locker room, the atmosphere was solemn, with each of the players preparing for the game that would start in a few minutes, in which the champion would be decided.
With a streak of 29 wins and 0 losses, the Royals needed to win this last game in order to achieve a completely undefeated season.
Without being able to help it, most of the players inside the locker room focused on the player who was preparing in complete calm, adjusting his shoelaces with total composure.
Standing at an imposing 7 feet tall, he unconsciously drew the gazes of everyone in the room; along with his slightly messy brown hair and deep brown eyes, he finished getting ready diligently.
"Ready for the show, Aaron?" said the boy sitting next to him, in a more cheerful and optimistic mood as if they had already won the game without having played it.
"Don't get cocky, Drew; the Crusaders aren't an easy team if they managed to make it this far," Aaron responded while adjusting the compression sleeve on his left arm.
"You said the same thing about the Bishop Kearney Kings before dropping 32 points on them, man," was Drew's counter-argument, rolling his eyes at the seriousness with which his friend took every game.
Before Aaron could say anything else to his silly friend, the locker room door opened while Coach Arbitello, followed by Artie, entered the room, ready to announce the starting lineup and the final guidelines before they headed out to the court.
"The starting lineup will be the usual one," Coach Arbitello blurted out as he wrote the names of the regular starters for this season on the blackboard:
Aaron Reed (C)Drew DeLuca (PG)Isaias Cosbert (SG)James Coleman (SF)Jordan Fuchs (PF)
"You all know very well what needs to be done, so let's get out on that court and win that trophy," Coach Arbitello finished saying as he opened the door and let the players out toward the court, with Aaron being the first of all to exit.
As soon as the Royals players reached the tunnel leading to the court, they immediately ran into the Crusaders players, who, upon seeing the Royals team, immediately fixed their gaze on Aaron, who was leading the way with his eyes fixed on the court.
A few seconds later, the game official gave the signals for the players of both teams to start entering the court and for the starters to get into position for the opening tip-off.
As soon as Aaron entered the court, the attention of all the spectators centered immediately on him. "Aaron! Aaron! Aaron!!" the crowd chanted his name, and the screams became even more frenetic as they saw Aaron raise his arm in the air in a clear sign of recognition for their support.
With all the players on their respective sides and the starters ready, Aaron immediately placed himself in the center circle, waiting for the other team's center to get into position and for the game to begin.
Hesitantly, the opposing center got into position, bending his knees while the referee gave light bounces to the ball before entering the circle and getting the ball ready to toss into the air.
"Ready?" the referee asked Aaron, who simply nodded in confirmation, and then the referee asked the same question to the other player, who nodded slightly.
Tweet! With the blast of the whistle, the referee tossed the ball as high as he could, with both players jumping at the same time, seeking to get the ball before the other.
Despite his best efforts, the opposing center could only watch resignedly as Aaron's hand touched the ball before his, passing the ball immediately to Drew, who began to bring the ball up to the opposite side of the court.
Giving quick bounces to the ball, Drew was immediately surrounded by the rest of the rival team's players; despite that, he maintained his calm while dribbling between his legs and searching for any opening or passing lane.
Seeing no clear one, he immediately sought to shake off the player closest to him, beating him with a quick acceleration as he penetrated into the paint and prepared to make a layup in front of all the Crusader players.
But it seemed that all of that was a feint, because before even jumping or forcing the shot, Drew passed the ball toward the right edge of the court—the spot where Aaron had already positioned himself—and the moment he received the ball, he shot calmly, scoring the first 3 points of the game.
3-0 Current Score
"And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen," the commentator said quickly, his voice drowned out by the screams of the crowd as they saw their team score the first points. "With ice in his veins, Reed nails a long-distance shot, putting up the first points of the game," he finished saying as the game quickly restarted.
"Well done," Aaron said to Drew while both retreated to their side of the court, and he extended his fist, which was immediately met by Drew's fist.
The Crusaders didn't want to waste any more time and quickly restarted the game with the goal of sinking some points and preventing the Royals' lead from growing large enough that it would be almost impossible to beat them.
The team's point guard shook off Isaias with a quick crossover, passing by his side and immediately continuing his way toward the paint before being blocked by James.
James Coleman was also in his senior year and had just joined the varsity team in his sophomore year of high school; he was a quite stocky power forward and good at individual defense, which was why the other team's point guard couldn't cross him easily, stalling the play for a few seconds.
Seeing that he couldn't pass the player in front of him, the other team's point guard immediately passed the ball to the small forward, who was in the other corner of the court and who drove hard toward the paint, looking to penetrate it.
However, despite his best efforts, he failed to gain enough stability and forced a layup, which ended up hitting the rim and bouncing in the paint, causing the area to turn into chaos.
Aaron, having kept his eyes fixed on the ball, immediately saw where it was going to fall; so without hesitation, he positioned himself in the right spot while boxing out the player next to him and extending a hand, preventing him from being able to jump comfortably while he flexed his legs with strength and jumped, securing the ball in his two large hands.
Planting his feet firmly on the ground, Aaron passed the ball to Jordan, who was outside the paint and didn't hesitate to pivot on his heels with the ball in his hands while Aaron, like the rest of the players on the floor, did the same.
The center, who had stayed outside the paint, was the first to react, immediately returning to his side of the court while the rest of his teammates did the same, preventing Jordan from making a solo basket and giving his teammates enough time to adopt their defensive positions.
Seeing that he couldn't get rid of the player in front of him or create enough space, Jordan passed the ball to Aaron, who, seeing the ball heading toward him as well as the players, passed the ball immediately without even turning his head toward James.
Who, upon seeing the ball heading toward him, immediately took a mid-range jump shot under the watchful gaze of everyone in the stadium, adding another 2 points to the Royals team.
5-0 Current Score
"Every time I see it, it's incredible," Artie said from the sideline where the Royals were.
"He practically dictates the rhythm of play for the entire court," was Coach Arbitello's simple comment. The fact was that Aaron had evolved in these last four years since his freshman year.
A player who can shoot, pass, defend, and have world-class court vision was something Coach Arbitello thought was impossible to see in a single player—or at least it was until he met Aaron and he subverted everything he had seen in basketball.
"You know, I feel a bit sorry that this is his last game," Artie said with his gaze fixed on the court, watching Aaron pass to Drew, completing a pick and roll.
"We knew this day would come sooner or later," Coach Arbitello said, just as resigned as his friend.
While both men conversed about that, on the court the Royals team added another 2 points, increasing the point gap under the frantic screams of the crowd.
The truth was, the Royals were just getting started, and Aaron's goal was to let all the people who had come to see the game see the best show possible.
Authors thought's
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