Senior Scrimmage Game against Edwin High III
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~~~(POV: Ulysses Kennedy)~~~
~~~(Date: October 8th, 2025)~~~
~~~(Time: 3:37 PM)~~~
~~~(Location: Holden Basketball Court)~~~
I get the ball passed to me, and I'm double-teamed yet again. They scored last possession for the first time this game. So they're feeling a bit fired up, but after being defended by Lebron at Rucker Park. It's not even comparable. Doubled or not.
I see my shooting guard open again on the wing, and I pass the ball to him. I could've scored if I wanted to, but the younger and newer starters need to get used to playing. He takes a shot from the wing, and it bounces off the brick, close. Not close enough, though. I watch him clench his teeth in frustration.
I'm the only person on the planet capable of shooting 100% consistently, and I know it frustrates my teammates and opponents when I'm doing so good, and they're not. I move back on defense, and I stay with my match-up.
This time they run a pick and roll, and I switch on to the point guard. Now there is a mismatch in the post, and they exploit that. They score another two-pointer, and the score is now 9-4. The ball is inbounded to me, and it's time that I start making some plays. I slowly dribble behind the three-point line.
I'm quickly double-teamed before I can actually get any isolation moves going. I'm fine with that. I did want to be a score this possession, but the power forward is open and has a mismatch. I pass it to the power forward, but he's not the best at catching the ball. Or Dribbling it. Or shooting it.
He's great at grabbing rebounds, though. He loses the ball, and a fastbreak happens. "C'mon, Tyler!! Catch the ball!" I hear Coach Rodgers yell from the sidelines and clap his hands. Tyler has just made it on the varsity squad. The only reason he's really here is cause he's 6'8 and grabs rebounds like crazy.
He's the second-best rebounder on the team right behind me, of course. I try to get back on defense fast enough, but they moved the ball up court too fast. They score another 2 points with a layup. Making the score 9-6. I try not to laugh.
I see Coach Rodgers mumble curses to himself. While it is a preseason game, he uses it as a baseline for this year's squad. Since 3 out of the 5 starters are juniors and seniors moving up from the old players heading to college. They aren't used to playing in a gym filled with celebrities and actual basketball scouts.
NBA or not, they do want to make a good impression. "Tyler!" I call out to the power forward, and he turns his head towards me. "Don't let Coach get to you. He just wants us to win, and he thinks yelling at you will make that happen!" He slowly nods his head, and we refocus on the game.
I make my way down the court as our point guard. Laden dribbles the ball up the court. He's also new to varsity and will have a hard time acclimating. The best thing he can do for himself is playing the role of the point guard and not a scorer.
I stand on the left wing, and I try to lose my defender by catching him on other players as I slip past them. I get open, and Laden passes the ball to me. I hit a beautiful fadeaway from the baseline, and it's nothing but net. That's 5 for me.
The score is now 11-6. There are about 2 and a half minutes left in the first quarter. I watch Ellie bounce up and down and cheer for me. I see Hannah doing the same, seemingly over what happened earlier. I shouldn't speak too soon, though. There's a chance she might want to bring it up.
We're back on defense, and Maurice guards Edwin's point guard tight. He's trying to make up for the missed shot earlier with good defense. I admire him for that, but sometimes it isn't necessary. Maurice is a great shooting guard.
His matchup takes a bad mid-range shot, and Lenny gets the rebound. He's the one playing center. Since I'm the tallest player on the team, I should be playing center. I'm not playing that garbage time position. Sorry, Lenny, that's all you. He tosses the ball to Laden, and the fast break starts. The score is still 11-6, and there are just under 2 minutes left.