Rebound: A 2nd Chance

At first the audience in attendance were silent. But as Jason and the rest of the team made their way out they seemed to have found their spirit again as their booing picked back up.

The reserve players made their way to the bench while Jason and the other starters stepped on to the court as they lined up for the pregame handshake.

Even though the pressure that Jason was currently exuding was much more intense than usual the players on the opposing team were only slightly shaken.

They showed the heart befitting of a team that was fighting for a high seeding and that had the hopes of chasing a county title.

As the two teams shook hands words were barely exchanged as the players all seemed to have a tacit understanding.

Hoover's team knew what had happened recently in regards to Jason and all the controversy currently surrounding him.

They also understood that this game was going to be a statement game for him and the team one way or another.

While Jason and rest of his teammates knew that Hoover was a team that had finally broken through the wall from scrappy underdogs that played hard to a legitimate program within the county.

This game would be their greatest test yet since their ascension to their current level. This could be the game where they solidified their position as one of the strongest teams in the county.

Kyle walked to his spot as he got ready for the tipoff. Just like Jason his eyes were sharp and focused as he exuded the air of a razer sharp blade that had just been prepared for battle.

As the referee tossed the ball into the air Kyle bent his knees slightly as he prepared for the jump. After seeing that it had reached its apex he launched off the ground as he effortlessly tapped it over to his team's side.

Danilo caught the ball as he passed it ahead to Jason who had began sprinting down the court. With the ball in his hands he didn't give the opposing team a chance to set up on defense as he drove down the middle of the court.

Although he wasn't at the level of being an explosive athlete his hard work and dedication to physical training showed their results as he was now a good deal faster than he was last year.

Seeing that their team had lost the tipoff the crowd immediately began to boo as they hoped that Jefferson would fail to score on this possession.

As different defenders tried to get in his way and slow him down he easily maneuvered his way around him with a variety of moves.

As soon as he neared half court a defender got in to a low defensive stance as he prepared to defend Jason.

With the ball in his right hand he did a inside out dribble move that got the defender leaning just enough to the left that he was able to slip by him.

Although Jason had just showed an incredible display of ball handling the crowd wasn't the least bit excited as their chants and boos intensified. 

It was clear to everyone that they were here to see their home team defeat the reigning county champions.

At the top of the three point line he ran in to another defender but his defensive stance was a little more upright showing that he was ready to turn and sprint at any moment.

As he approached him Jason slowed down his speed a bit as he did a hesitation move to the right before exploding in the opposite direction with a quick crossover.

The defender then turned and got ready to go into a full sprint in order to stay with Jason. But as the opposing player turned to stick with Jason he came to a complete stop with a through the leg dribble.

The defender couldn't control his momentum as he ended up falling backwards. After seeing that the had broken his defenders ankles Jason gazed down at him for a split second before firing off the wide open long distance two pointer.

As the numerous people sitting in the bleachers saw the ball swish through the net they all fell silent. It had been less than ten seconds and Jefferson had already scored a basket in a dominant fashion.

After nailing the shot Jason turned to the crowd and put his hand up to his ear as if he was asking where all their booing had gone.

The crowd was stunned by his clear act of provocation. A moment later and they exploded in anger as they resumed their booing.

Normally Jason wouldn't do something like this. It was normal for the home team's fans to boo the away team and root for their team.

But as they were walking into the gym before the start of the game Jason had seen a multitude of posters with the words 'Fruitloop' 'Pansy' and even '***'

And on those posters were pictures of Jason that were clearly taken from the video of him practicing his lines.

Jason was tired of suppressing his emotions and acting how other people thought he should act. He had done enough of that in his past life.

He would no longer wear a fake mask just in order to attempt and please everyone. The only expectations he would try to meet were his own.

It didn't matter if it was fans, players, or even media outlet personalities. If they wanted to be disrespectful then Jason would happily beat them at their own game.

Of course he would do it the best way he knew how, and that was on the court and with his skills.

As the minutes passed by Jefferson was clearly in control from quarter to quarter as they held their opponents to horrible shooting percentages while also scoring at ease.

Jason had switched his playstyle as he became much more ball dominant on the offensive end similar to how he had played last season.

The only difference was that the pieces surrounding Jason were leagues better compared to the pieces that were put around him last year.

Jason played all but a few minutes of the game as he once again broke his season high for points by dropping 54 points in today's game.

But that wasn't all. His full stat line consisted of 54 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assist, 3 steals, and 1 block. And he had done all of that without having committed a single turnover. 

Jefferson absolutely destroyed the toughest team that they had encountered so far this season as they won with an unimaginable score of 122 to 38.

After the end of game handshake Jason and the rest of the team were heading back to the locker room when the crowd's resentment had finally boiled over.

As they booed Jason and the team they began to throw their popcorn containers and soda cups down at the court.

Kyle and the others who had been on the team last year weren't the least bit affected as they had gone through something similar last season.

However, the other 7th graders were shaken as they had never experienced something like this in their entire lives.

But as they were rooted to the floor unable to move Jason did something that pulled them out of the crowd's atmosphere.

Jason smiled as he put his hand to his mouth and began blowing kisses to the crowd. He then waved them goodbye as he entered the locker room.

- - -

Scenes like the one at Hoover Middle School repeated themselves as Jason and the rest of the guys on Jefferson destroyed their opponents in their next two games.

Not only did Jason continue to play with his newfound level of intensity but the other teams were clearly weaker compared to Hoover.

With his undeniably dominant performances coupled with his new look and clearly unapologetic behavior Jason and the rest of the team were put under an even more intense spotlight and were under a higher level of scrutiny.

But despite all the negative attention coming his way Jason just seemed to be enjoying every moment of it.

Instead of it impacting his game in a bad way it seemed to be fueling him to continue playing at the level that he was currently.

And with him setting the tone the rest of the team began to do the same as they seemed to thrive off of being the villains of the basketball world.

They didn't care if media outlets or other fanbases didn't like them. All they cared about was showing out for their own fans.

After the three game stretch a new video began to trend on social media. It was a compilation of Jason's best highlights put together from the latest episode of Through the Hoops.

There were tons of comments of people who were in awe of Jason's skills while there were also comments from people who were clearly just haters.

But the number one comment that was at the very top was from a verified account. Although it was short it had the most number of likes without question.

TheRealKlaw: @JasonYang Slim Reaper....

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