Legendary

Unofficial practice was in full swing for the returning upperclassmen of the Fighting Illini that afternoon. They had no time to waste as the season was already looming on the horizon. 

The three new recruits had joined in seamlessly into the light practice regimen the fitness coaches had in store for the freshmen. 

Now that he thought about it, there were only seventeen of them right now in the facility… why? He can't really remember what happened at this time during his first life.

"Yo, cap!" Khalil stopped training and clasped the newcomer's hands hard with a light hearted attitude. 

Tremaine noticed the shallow wince on the newcomer's scary, hardened face… and did he say Cap?

"It seems like that's the captain of the team, a senior center with a fantastic name, Legend Stone Jr." Deshaun knew that that man's unmistakable appearance was truly too unique. He's like a gentle giant that could bring down mountains, and cause a storm, yet any woman would love to take home and meet her parents. 

After hearing his first name again, Tremaine almost burst out laughing. He finally remembered who the man was. 

Inside Tre's mind, memories long locked away flooded in. 'Trez must not be born yet.'

"Boss, when's the delivery date?" Khalil asked with gleaming eyes. "I'm excited to be a godparent."

Almost every single rookie on the floor moved their eyes in the direction of Khalil and the captain. Delivery date? Godparent?

Captain Legend is going to have a kid?

What a legend.

"You're giving them ideas, K! You haven't even introduced me to any of them yet!" 

Legend sprinted into the coach's side and bowed. The coach gave him several words and Tremaine saw him beam with delight, wipe tears on his eyes, and shook his hands like crazy. 

"Thank you, sir!" 

"Fuck off out of here now, will you."

Khalil explained to the freshmen who the scary newcomer was. Of course, to almost all of them, who'd followed college basketball since they were young, and especially the school they wanted to join in recent years, they'd know who Legend Stone Jr was in their hearts and minds.

He's the captain of last year's Big Ten dark horse team that had gone to the Sweet 16 of March Madness.

If not for a torn rotator cuff injury he suffered in the early goings of their Sweet 16 game, many pundits believed that the Illinois roster would never have collapsed the way it did. 

Illinois lost that game in overwhelming fashion, 87-53.

In the aftermath of their disgusting exit, two of their best scholarship players left and transferred to other schools, their vice captain graduated, and their captain underwent surgery on his hand. Therefore, even if they were overachievers throughout the last collegiate season, a rebuild had been expected for the Illini this year. 

With only two of last year's starters returning… Coach Roughan's side had been largely expected to struggle against stiffer competition, with many holes to fill.

Legend himself was only five months into his recovery, and is expected to miss some more time before reentering the roster.

"Hello, I am Legend." 

"Everytime you say those lines, you're like a badass movie superhero or something, boss."

Even if they were the same height, Legend exuded a different level of reverence and respect than Khalil. "I always feel awe, and jealousy… that my name isn't Legend."

Legend ignored him like he's nothing but air. "I'm the captain of this basketball team, and if you want to ask for help about various basketball or non-basketball related bullshit, you can ask me." 

His deep, friendly voice fit in with the deep personality, and the legendary attitude like a glove. Tre knew how fantastic of a captain this man is during the lone year he spent with the Illini in his past life. 

"How long does it usually take a walk-on to break through the thirteen man rotation?" The third walk-on asked from the back of the seven man group. 

He was a redheaded, out of shape, white man wearing a headband and shin high socks. He also sported a pair of flashy neon shoes.

He didn't look the least bit like a college basketball player.

"Uhhh… what's with that outfit, man?" Legend couldn't help himself asking the walk on back. He looked so overly dressed that he annoyingly stuck out like a sore thumb.

"This is just my practice attire, captain." He said that with such a straight face that everyone would believe that he had a few screws loose.

Legend was dumbfounded, while Khalil was already laughing in stitches beside him. 

"Just do well in training, and in scrimmages, and maybe, at some point you'd have shown your worth enough to crack the fifteen." Legend thought about it for the moment and added. "You guys need two more lucky breaks. I'm already on the inactive list, meaning, two more players out, and all three of you would be on the gameday roster. Right, uhhh… what's your name again?" 

The walk-on pointed at his left arm sleeve, which peculiarly had his name on it, and said in a way that was pretty much a reference to something, "Walters… Curtis Walters."

"What are you, bro, a James Bond fan?" Deshaun jokingly asked.

The awkward silence, and the disgusting blush that bloomed on Curtis' face told them all they needed to know. 

"Don't tell me your high school number is seven…" Khalil chimed in with a teasing remark… and regretted it in an instant…

"Yes…" Curtis uttered in a low voice before turning away. Curtis himself knew that the coach gambled on him based on the three point shooting, and his low post potential, especially once he's fit. He blames his lack of fitness on the new James Bond movie that came out, which he'd already scrutinized more than fifty times this summer, while rewatching the many films it had on its franchise for decades. 

With fish chips, sour cream, and soda of course.

"One word of advice, freshman. You should get into shape as quickly as you possibly can. The coach will drop you if you can't get into shape by the start of the season." Captain Legend gave the freshmen a quick look, etching their names, and their physical characteristics into his mind. He noted the one person the coach told him to nurture with extra care. "Mills, on me."

Tremaine was already spacing out around this time, his brain had already been fried by the influx of old and new stimuli. 

"Bro, cap's calling you, you lucky bastard." Deshaun was a scholarship player, signed as a highly rated four star recruit from within the state. He slapped his best friend's back without inhibition. 

"Shit! What the fuck!" 

"Cap's calling you, dammit!"

Tre stood up disoriented, as if once again calibrating his consciousness to the current timeline, and walked with a wobble towards Legend and Khalil.

"Tell your fellow rookies that the initiation ritual is tonight at seven. You don't have to bring anything, so don't be late." Legend whispered crisply at Tremaine. Khalil was cracking his knuckles beside him with a menacing stare. 

'Fucking colleges and their initiations…' Tre could never forget the men's basketball team's initiation. 'Please be different this time…'

Legend dismissed Tremaine, and said with an authoritative voice to every single rookie, "Get back to practice, y'all. See y'all later tonight."