Rebound: A 2nd Chance

The smile on Kyle and the rest of the guys' faces disappeared as the jovial and light hearted mood around them vanished as they stood up and made their way down the bleachers.

Despite being the most talented one out of all of them Jason always worked the hardest and lead by example.

Through his actions and his words he clearly showed that he always acted with the team's best interest in mind.

To them for someone to accuse Jason of acting in a way that put his personal interests ahead of the team was straight disrespectful.

Just as they were a few feet away Jason raised his hand up slightly gesturing for them to stop. They all stopped in their tracks but their glares were still directed at the boy who had objected to Jason's decision.

Unlike Kyle and the others there wasn't a hint of animosity or annoyance on Jason's face as he looked at the boy who had raised his objection.

"It's good that you feel comfortable enough to voice your disagreement. Like I said before we're not just a team. We're a family.

And in a family you need to have an open line of communication. In the future if any of you have a question or if you feel like you've been mistreated feel free to bring it up.

A problem can only be fixed when everyone involved is aware of it." Everyone in the gym was surprised by Jason's calm and collected response.

Jason recalled the results of him using Heart's Eye on Sam.

Sam's skills.

[Skills

Free-throw: E+

Lay Up: E+

Dunking: F

Close Shot: E

Mid Range Shooting: E

Three Point Shooting: E

Dribbling: E+

Passing: D-

Ball Handling: E+

Play Making: F+

Post Scoring: F+

Rebounding: F+

Post Control: F+

Perimeter Defense: D+

Post Defense: F+

Steals: D-

Blocks: F

Athleticism: C+ ]

Despite the harsh delivery the boy was right. Sam's skills were severely lacking when compared to some of the other boys.

He had barely scored during the scrimmage and his defense wasn't anything great. He turned over the ball a few times and his court vision wasn't anything special.

But that doesn't mean that he didn't have his own redeeming qualities as a basketball player. If that were the case Jason wouldn't have chosen to give him the last spot on the varsity team.

Jason continued "You said that he didn't do much right? I hate to break it to you but you are dead wrong man.

You're confusing stats with contribution. Sure he only scored four points and they were from wide open layups.

But even though it won't show up on a stat sheet Sam was doing a lot on the court. Some of you became passive whenever the ball wasn't in your hands.

You would sit out on the perimeter ball watching waiting for your turn to handle the rock. But Sam was cutting to the basket, diving out to the perimeter trying to get open, and setting back screens for his teammates.

I know that a lot you guys had never played with each other before and therefore hadn't had a chance to practice any plays or develop much on the court chemistry.

But despite being in the same boat as all of you Sam still put in the effort to do all of that all while getting a sense for his teammates in the middle of the scrimmage.

Not only that. Sam was the only one I saw actively cheering on his teammates whenever they did something good and reassured them when they made a mistake.

I understand that you all saw each other as competitors fighting for a spot on the varsity team but I told all of you that we're not just a team. We're a family.

And when you're playing as a squad you should be able to come together as one. One person's mistake falls on the team and one person's achievements and glory is shared with the team.

Me and Kyle didn't win All State Defensive honors by ourselves. The team as a whole put us in the position to earn that.

And likewise it wasn't any one player that cost us a state title. We all lost in the state tournament as a team."

Jason looked at the boy who had raised his objection "Now, after hearing all of that. Do you still think that I'm just showing Sam favoritism?"

The boy gripped his fist at his side. Even though Jason hadn't called him out specifically he knew in his heart that a lot of the things that he had said were applicable to him.

Whenever the ball wasn't in his hands he just watched the action from out on the perimeter. And when he saw his teammates do something good he felt a tinge of envy deep down inside.

He lowered his head and looked at the floor "No. I'm sorry Jaya. You're right, Sam deserves the last varsity spot."

Jason cracked a small smile as he nodded his head "Good. Like I said you didn't do anything wrong. If you feel like anyone is doing something wrong or if you feel like you've been mistreated in any way feel free to say something.

Even if that person is me. I'll be the first person to tell you that I'm not perfect. I make mistakes and I don't always get things right. I'm human just like all of you.

But because I have friends like Kyle, Vince, DJ, Nick, and Matt I can act confidently knowing that they'll let me know when I'm fucking up."

Behind him Kyle and the other boys were now smiling. They all shared a similar thought. That what Jason had just said was a typical Jason thing to say.

They knew that outside of just his basketball skills Jason had grown a lot as a person in the one year that he had spent on Jefferson's basketball team.

It was that growth as a person that had allowed Udonis to be able to confidently hand down the position of team captain to him.

Jason then looked at the group of boys once more as he asked "Anyone else have a problem with my decision?"

None of the other boys spoke up as they just looked at Jason with a tinge of admiration in their eyes.

Seeing as how no one had anymore disagreements with his decision in regards to giving Sam the final varsity spot Jason smiled as he clapped his hands.

"Alright. Now that all the serious business is out of the way it's time we celebrate in classic Jefferson fashion.

Even though some of you are part of the varsity team while the others are on the junior varsity team we're all one collective unit.

And for us to really be able to work together in the best way possible we need to get to know each other.

And there's no better way to get to know each other than over sharing a meal together. Let's all get together and grab a bite to eat. Coach Swendel's paying for pizza."

All of the boys smiled and clapped their hands as they cheered in high spirits. Coach Swendel felt as though he had seen this scene once before.

With a confused expression on his face he pointed to himself "I'm paying for pizza?" Jason clapped his hands "You heard the man. Eat as much as you guys want. Tonight the pizza's on Coach Swendel!"

Once again all of the boys erupted in to a rowdy cheer as they all clapped their hands together and chanted Coach Swendel's name."

Coach Swendel had a helpless smile on his face as he facepalmed 'I can't believe I fell for that little shit's trick again.'

He raised his head and looked at the boys who all had smiles on their faces 'But I guess it's worth it to see them crazy happy like this.

Good thing Principal Morris gave me that pay raise. I'm going to have to order a shit ton of pizza now that we have a full varsity and junior varsity team.'

Because of their large number they couldn't go out to eat as the school van didn't have enough seats to fit all of them.

Coach Swendel ended up having to order delivery as he had the pizzas sent to the school. That afternoon all of the boys stuffed their faces with cheesy gooey goodness as they all got just a little bit closer.