Dream Chaser

 CHAPTER 2

Our trainings started every morning before school. She expected basketball drills. Instead we ran at the track. I wanted her to be in better shape than everyone else on the court. As I ran with her to push her further I realized just how out of shape I had become from my exile. I had to will my body to push forward so she would keep going as well. A couple weeks past and she finally had her first 2 games. After observing her games one thing was certain. She was able to run just as hard in the first quarter as the 4th. I decided it was time to start going through actual drills with her, but only after her practices at school. The mornings would still be reserved for running. She was so excited I was finally going to start doing basketball activities with her that she didn't care about the extra work. So excited in fact she invited a couple of her friends to our first practice session together. Before we even started I was blind sided by 3 fifteen year olds chanting at me to dunk. They wouldn't let up. I couldn't believe I was letting these teenage girls pressure me into it. I didn't even know if I still could. I hadn't dunked a basketball in almost 2 years. I was nervous. Sweating. There were actual butterflies in my stomach. I knew the only way to get them to stop was to do it. As I made my way up for the dunk attempt I realized I wasn't going to get it down so I audibled mid flight to a lay up in order to save face. My neices face was plastered with disappointment. I told them I was just "warming up". Was I though? Not even I knew. I took a moment to take off my knee brace and stretch. Then I gave it one last go. This time my leap felt different. It felt almost normal. I successfully converted the dunk and just hung there on the rim for a couple seconds. I had missed this feeling. After I landed I looked at my neice. Her face was beaming. Then she turned to her friends and said "See ! I told you he could still dunk ! Now give me my $5 !" I couldn't believe I had been pimped out to win a $5 bet. I made sure to up our runs as pay back after that.

After a few weeks she was really starting to progress. She was a natural shooter and had that killer instinct on the court that made me proud. Her ball handling had come a long way too. We started watching games together and I would break them down more in depth for her. One night we planned to watch the Laker game together. It was a late tip off so we caught part of the pregame. That's when I heard the news. Jeff Bailey my old college teammate was active for the game. He had just signed a 10 day contract with the Lakers to fill in for some of their injuries. I couldn't believe it. He was the first player from our school to make an NBA roster. It was a bitter sweet feeling as I was happy for him, but at the same time I couldn't help feeling jealousy, resentment, regret. "Hey that's one of your old teammates isn't it? -

 I was so zoned out I barely heard her question. I half-heartedly answered yes. Then she asked another question that punched me right in the gut. "Weren't you better than him?" I didn't know what to say so I responded with "Some called me the best player in school history, but he was a great player too" Unfortunately for me her questions didn't end there. "So why aren't you in the NBA? You're better than that guy." I used to be. During our senior year I was Batman and he was Robin. Together we had our team undefeated and on our way to our first ever NCAA tournament bid in school history. It was what I had dreamt of my whole life. Ever since I was a kid shooting in my driveway I dreamed about playing in the tournament. Being a bracket buster. Being one of the reasons they call it March Madness. Cutting down those nets at the Final 4. I was on my way to living that dream before it happened. Before Covid-19 happened. The remainder of my senior year was canceled. It broke me mentally. It was the most depressing moment of my life. I fell to the floor that day and spewed puddles of tears from my eyes. My Coach told me to move on and get ready for the NBA draft, but I couldn't get over it. I started drinking heavily. School facilities were closed just like everything else and I had never felt so alone. One night I was drinking at home solo during lockdown. I had been drinking since I woke up that day so I was already fairly drunk. After I drank the last beer I had drunk me decided it was a good idea to go out and try to find some more. That's when I crashed my car. Breaking my leg and tearing my knee in a devastating accident. On top of that I was slapped with a DWI. Now no NBA scout wanted anything to do with me. No one wants to waste a draft pick on an injured kid with "off the court issues". That's when I went into exile. I hated myself, but also still resented the fact my shot at an NCAA title was stolen. I used that as an excuse. If that hadn't happened I would have never gone into depression which meant I never would have been in that car. It wasn't my fault right ? I knew that it was though. Seeing my former teammate in a Laker jersey made me realize. If he could make it. Maybe I still can too. I didn't think he had any chance, but look at him now just 2 years later. He's rubbing elbows with Lebron James! "You should be playing on TV too!" I heard as I stopped my flash backs. "You're right" I said. "You're Uncle is going to the NBA"