Game Face

by Sylvia Gunnery

  When the numbering was finished, Jay walked over to the bench to join the rest of the twos. He sat next to Kyung, who was adjusting the safety strap on his dark-rimmed glasses.

  “Ready to show Coach Willis how you play like the SK Knights?”

  Kyung didn’t laugh. “I hope I get to be a player on this team. It means a lot to me.” He put on his glasses and pushed his hair off his forehead. “In Korea, I always play my best. But now I am not positive I will play my best.”

  “Don’t sweat it. Basketball’s basketball. Doesn’t matter where you play, it’s all the same. Rules, moves, everything.”

  “Yes, that is true. But the team is not the same. I am not —”

  A sudden shout drew their attention to the court.

  “Over here!” It was Colin, positioned for a layup and wide open. The pass was high and slow, allowing time for defence to scramble into place and make the block. The ball was tipped away and the play reversed direction. Jay caught the look on Colin’s face and knew exactly what he’d just muttered.

  Coach Willis was obviously a lip reader, too. He blasted his whistle. “Substitution! Colin, you’re out! David, you’re in!”

  Colin sat on the bench beside Jay, the only space available. He didn’t say anything, just leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

  If this were last year, Jay might’ve said something to Colin, like, “Tough call” or “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Jay could picture Colin sitting back and muttering some joke like, “What’s Willis got against Latin?” They’d both have smirks on their faces and would have another laugh about it in the locker room after practice.

  Lots of things change in a year, thought Jay.

  A second basket was scored, and Coach Willis stopped the action. “Let’s switch things up. Twos against ones!”

  “Here we go!” Jay said to Kyung. “SK Knights! Let’s do it!”

  “Colin, you’re back in,” said Coach Willis. “Try to keep it that way. Tyler and Colin, take the jump at centre.” He held the ball in the air and waited until the players found their positions. Then he blew the whistle and tossed the ball.

  Tyler tipped the ball away from Colin, but it hit the floor and rolled out of bounds.

  Coach Willis stopped the game. “Let’s try that again. I want to see a plan for that basketball. Where’s it going? Who’s receiving?” He tossed the ball.

  Colin’s leap was successful and the ball was solidly received. Tyler made up for the miss by a quick and tight defence that stopped the player with the ball. The guy fumbled and the ball bounced free. Tyler grabbed it and pivoted. Then he slowed down the action with a steady dribble on the spot, his arm held out against any move from his guard.

  Jay headed for the basket. Tyler saw him and made the pass. Jay caught the ball and dribbled twice before he came up against a two-man block. He quickly tossed the ball over their heads to Kyung, who was under the basket. Kyung received the pass, hesitated, then aimed. The ball rolled on the edge of the rim and teetered, then fell lazily through the hoop. Kyung raised his arms in victory.

  “Two!” shouted Jay.

  The coach blew his whistle. “Okay. Okay. Let’s do a mental replay and remember what we just saw. Who can tell me the precise moment this two-pointer started?”

  “Tyler blocked the pass and stole the ball.”

  “Right. Exactly right. Then what?”

  “He threw it to Jay.”

  “No. That came later. What happened before that?”

  Everyone searched their minds for every detail of the play.

  “I slowed things down,” said Tyler.

  “That’s it. You slowed things down. And tell us why you did that.”

  “To avoid a scramble. So guys could plan their moves.”

  “Right.” The coach looked around to make sure everyone was listening, then he gave his lecture. “This is basketball. It’s not a game of speed. It’s a game of moves. Intelligent moves. Basketball players anticipate. Basketball players read the defence. They do not throw the ball away. That’s why there are times when the action’s gotta slow down.” He turned back to Tyler. “Great ball handling, Tyler. And you used your team. That’s what we want. Thank you. And Kyung, don’t give your opponent an opportunity — even two seconds’ worth — to move in and block your shot. You were lucky this time.” He blew the whistle. “Ones, the ball is yours. Take it out under the basket. Let’s play this game.”

  Jay glanced at Kyung. He could see that Kyung’s victory mood had been zapped by what Coach Willis had said. Who’d want their coach to call a shot lucky? No one. Especially a guy who’s worried his game’s off because he’s playing with guys he hardly knows.

  “Let’s review give-and-go,” said Coach Willis. “Cory, you start.”

  “It’s a basic offensive play. You fake direction to lose your guard.”

  “Where’s the ball? What’s the sequence? Jay?”

  “You have the ball. You pass it and cut to the basket to receive the ball back again.”

  “Where’s the fake Cory was talking about?”

  “Pass. Then fake. Then cut to the basket.”

  “Right.”

  “And make the shot count,” Jay added.

  “Exactly. Let’s see this in action. Jay, you’re in the middle. Cory, you’re over at the side. Show us what you got.”

  Everyone moved off the court except Jay and Cory.

  Jay threw a solid chest pass to Cory, faked to the right and then made a quick diagonal left toward the basket. He missed Cory’s return pass and the ball bounced out of bounds.

  “One more time,” said the coach. “Keep your eye on the ball, Jay.”

  Jay spun the ball between his fingertips, trying to concentrate on his next moves. This was just a demo. No defence to stop him. No surprise moves. He should have caught Cory’s pass.

  He took a deep breath, made a rapid pass to Cory, then faked left. He switched direction and ran down the middle of the key. Cory’s pass found its mark and Jay jumped for the layup. But the ball overshot the hoop and dropped. Jay’s heart sank. With all eyes on him, he’d just messed up two plays.

  Cory retrieved the ball on the second bounce, dribbled to the other end of the court, and made his shot. It missed. He scrambled for the ball and started to aim his overhead pass.

  “Okay. That’s the general idea,” said Coach Willis. His disappointment was unmistakable. “Thank you, gentlemen. Tyler, explain the drill set-up.”

  Jay sat back down, hoping the sinking feeling he had would soon evaporate. Why should he be that uptight trying out for a team he’d already played on for two years?

  “Well, there’s two lines and three basketballs,” said Tyler. “One line’s down the middle and one’s over at the side. The first three guys in the middle line have the basketballs.”

  “Brendan, explain the action.”

  “The first guy in the middle — he’s at the top of the key — passes to the first guy in the other line. Then the middle guy does a quick fake and changes direction. He receives the return and goes in for a layup. The other guy gets the rebound and makes a fast break all the way down to the other basket. He scores, gets his rebound, and overhead passes to the last guy in the middle line. Then he goes to the middle line and waits his turn. They switch up, so the first guy’s over in the other line now.”

  “And while all this is going on, we just stand around watching the action?” asked the coach.

  “The next two guys in line start the play as soon as the key’s free,” said Brendan. “But everyone else watches.”

  “Right. The action doesn’t stop. Got that? Good. Let’s see two lines. Finn, you’re first in the middle. Steve, you’re first on the side.”

  When everyone was in their places, Jay cautiously looked to
see who he’d be doing the drill with. He was fourth. The fourth guy in the opposite line was Kyung. Good. It’d be easy doing the drill with him. No pressure. As he counted back, he saw Colin switch places in line so he’d do the drill with Tyler. Those guys weren’t going to chance teaming up with someone who wasn’t rock-solid.

  The action moved fast, and in just minutes, Kyung passed the ball to Jay. He fumbled, but recovered and made the return. Kyung grabbed the ball, pivoted, and jumped for his shot. The ball smacked against the backboard and slammed to the floor. Jay retrieved it and made a fast break to the other end of the gym. His layup was good, but they had lost too much time. No one was watching. Jay got his rebound and threw the ball to the last guy in the middle line. As he jogged back into position, he gave himself a pep talk. Take it cool. Play like normal.

  Inside the key, a ball had just landed in Colin’s hands. He went up for the shot and the ball swished through the hoop. Tyler was there for the rebound. In seconds, he was under the basket at the other end of the court. His layup was dead-on and his overhead pass to the guy at the end of the middle line was strong. Jay could see Coach Willis making mental notes.

  The lines kept moving as the drill continued. Jay suddenly realized that Kyung wasn’t opposite him.

  “Hey, Brendan,” he said quietly. “Mind if we switch places? My fumble threw Kyung off last time. I’d like to give it another try.”

  Kyung was studying the action in the key as Jay quickly stepped behind Brendan.

  Soon they were both at the front of their lines. Jay’s pass was low. Kyung grabbed the ball and made the return pass. Jay dribbled closer to the basket, but his balance was off as he jumped for the shot. The ball tapped the edge of the backboard and fell. Kyung got the rebound and started down the court.

  As he headed to the sideline, Jay could see that Coach Willis was not impressed with what he had seen. If the coach was making any mental notes now, they weren’t going to be positive ones.

  Again, Tyler and Colin tried to make sure they were opposite each other, but this time, Coach Willis caught the move. “Tyler, back of the line.”

  Jay realized that it put him opposite Colin. His heart lurched.

  In seconds, Colin was at the head of the line, holding the ball. The key was clear. He made a bounce pass to Jay, faked left and ran toward the basket. Jay’s return was quick but had too much power behind it. The ball flew past Colin, hit the floor, and bounced uselessly out of bounds. Without even looking at Jay, Colin walked out of the key to the end of the line. Jay hustled over, picked up the ball and completed the drill.

  Coach Willis blew the whistle. “Time to work on dribbling! Get a partner and pick a defined area. Use the key, the three-point line, any defined area. Ball goes outside the area, you switch up offence and defence.”

  Kyung picked up a basketball and walked over to Jay. “You are not playing your best basketball. Like me.”

  “Just off my game today.”

  “For what reason?”

  “Who knows?” Jay said defensively. “Same reason you’re off, maybe.”

  “For me, everyone is new. That is the number-one reason. I am not used to playing with all these guys. You should not be off your game because you have already played for the Rockets.”

  Jay frowned.

  “Kyung. Jay. Come on, fellas!” shouted Coach Willis. “Let me see some action here.”

  Kyung tossed the ball to Jay. “I will be defence.”

  Jay went into the centre circle and started to dribble, keeping his back to Kyung.

  “That’s it, Jay. Protect the ball,” said Coach Willis. “No fouling. No pushing away. Good. Stay with him, Kyung. Force the ball outside that circle. Jay, keep your head up.”

  Jay pivoted. Kyung kept his defence tight. Jay lost his balance and the ball went outside the centre circle.

  “Switch it up. Kyung, you’re offence.” Coach Willis moved away to give tips to a couple of players at the top of the key.

  Soon he blew his whistle again. “Okay. Now, let’s look at triple threat.”

  ***

  When practice finally ended, Jay’s hair was stuck to his forehead and sweat trickled down his neck. He lifted the edge of his T-shirt and wiped his face.

  “Last season,” said Coach Willis, “our team came close, very close, to owning that spot at the regionals. We played some tough games. And even though some of our guys have moved on to high school, we still got plenty of solid talent for the tough games we’ll be playing this season. Like Colin, over there — MVP.”

  Everyone gave a noisy round of applause.

  Coach let the applause fade, then added, “Though he almost messed up on that honour.” He waited to let the idea sink in. “I’m not saying anything you don’t already know, Colin. There’s no room for temper or ego out on the basketball court. You did pull through for us. No question. But remember that no one’s infallible. And everyone relies on everyone else. This is no one-man show.”

  Jay glanced at Colin to see how he was taking the lecture. Coach Willis didn’t pull any punches. Everyone knew that. But being singled out like that had to be embarrassing. Colin stared down at his sneakers for a couple of seconds, then looked over at Tyler and raised his eyebrows as if to say, “So what?”

  “These may be tryouts,” said Coach Willis, “but I want to see teamwork, same as in any basketball game. Play like you’re already on the Rockets and it’s likely you’ll find yourself wearing a Rockets’ jersey.”

  Jay was confident he’d be picked for the team, even if he was off his game today. His rebound was usually reliable and his offence was pretty strong. He’d almost scored a three-pointer from above the key. Next time, it wouldn’t be almost, it’d be in.

  In the locker room, Kyung sat down beside Jay. “You said when I have questions, I can ask you.” His voice was hushed.

  “What?” Jay stuffed his basketball sneakers into his duffle bag and hauled out his street sneakers.

  Kyung watched as Tyler, Colin, and Randall walked past them and left the locker room. Then he continued, still in a lowered voice. “Coach Willis tells us that Colin is MVP, but then he says he almost was not MVP. I do not understand.”

  “Colin’s got attitude issues. That’s no secret. It’s mostly ego, but he’s got a temper, too. Like Coach said.”

  “But he was MVP.”

  “Mostly, Colin fakes not having attitude issues. And mostly, it works.”

  “Coach Willis watches him very closely.”

  “Coach doesn’t miss a thing.”

  Kyung put on his jacket and zipped it, turning the collar up at the back. “And I see you are trying to avoid Colin. When you play in drills with him, you make more mistakes.”

  “What’re you talking about?” Jay’s tone was harsh.

  “I will mind my own business,” Kyung said calmly.

  “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Sorry. It’s just —”

  “I will mind my own business,” Kyung repeated. He picked up his backpack and left the locker room.

  Jay looked at the closed door, still holding one sneaker in his hand. Though he’d been trying to ignore it, the problem wasn’t going away. Colin might have been his best friend last year, clowning around at practices and teaming with him to make plays work. But he wasn’t his friend anymore.

  It was weird to think that the obstacle getting in the way of that championship banner might not be the other basketball teams at all. It might be right here on his own team.

  He tied his sneakers quickly. Kyung would probably still be waiting for his ride home. It was time to come clean and let him know what was up. Jay’s temporary move to Centreville. Playing for the Cougars. Everything.

  “Glad you’re still here,” Jay said as he walked outside. “I need to tell you about some stuff.”r />
  Kyung shifted his backpack from one shoulder to the other. He looked at Jay but wasn’t smiling.

  A car pulled up and a couple of guys climbed in, leaving Jay and Kyung standing alone under the bright spotlight above the main entrance.

  “Mostly it’s stuff that happened a while ago, but it’ll clear up a few things about what’s going on right now.”

  “I should not have so many questions,” said Kyung.

  “I’d do the same thing if I was in a new school with a whole bunch of new people. It’s just common sense you’d try to figure things out.”

  Kyung looked at Jay, waiting.

  “Well, to start with, I was best friends with Colin since about grade six. I’d stay at his place or he’d come to mine. Stuff like that. We both made the basketball team and that was pretty great. Then he started on this ego thing. It was like anything could get him riled up, especially when basketball was involved. He was practically a different guy. Like he had to win, no matter what.”

  “In Korea, when a player is like Colin, he would not be MVP.”

  “Like I said, he’s pretty good at faking.”

  “It will not always be so easy,” said Kyung. “Soon he will have problems.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re probably right about that.”

  “He is not your best friend because of poor sportsmanship?”

  “Sort of. I had to move to Centreville with my family last February and live with my grandfather. We had a fire at our place.”

  “A fire?”

  “No one was hurt or anything, but the house needed a lot of renovations. Anyway, I had to switch schools. It was still basketball season and I ended up playing some games with the Centreville Cougars. The first one was against the Rockets.”

  “I am definitely understanding now.”

  “It gets a bit more complicated.” Jay took a deep breath, and then continued. “There was this girl I was going with for a while. About a week after I moved to Centreville, Colin was going with her. They’re not together now, but . . .”

  Kyung looked thoughtful. “These complications explain why you are off your game and why you avoid Colin.”