The warmups felt different at Riverside Valley. The gym was smaller than Lincoln Heights, but it was packed. Every seat in the bleachers had bodies in them. Students. Parents. Even some local community members who probably didn't have kids on the team but showed up anyway because this was their school, their team, their Friday night.
Darius went through his routine mechanically. Layup lines. Form shooting from the elbows. Three-pointers from the wings. His hands felt good. His legs felt fresh. His mind was clear and focused. This was it. His first real game representing Lincoln Heights, even if it was the second string.
Connor was next to him at the three-point line, knocking down shots with that smooth stroke that made it look effortless. "Yo, crowd's pretty hype for a C-tier school, huh?"
"They showed up," Darius agreed, draining another three. "Respect that."
The buzzer sounded, signaling the end of warmups. Both teams jogged back to their benches. Coach Martinez gathered them in a huddle one last time.
"Starting lineup: Marcus at point, Ty at the two, Connor at the three, Devon at the four, and Jerome at center. Everyone else, be ready. You're going to get your minutes."
Darius felt his stomach drop slightly. He'd known he might not start, but hearing it confirmed still stung. He glanced at Connor, who gave him a sympathetic look before heading out to the court with the rest of the starters.
The ref blew the whistle. The starting five from both teams took their positions at center court.
Riverside Valley won the tip. Their point guard, a skinny freshman with quick hands, brought the ball up court. Lincoln Heights set their defense, but the freshman found a cutting teammate for an easy layup.
Riverside Valley 2, Lincoln Heights 0.
Marcus brought it back up for Lincoln Heights, his dribble controlled but not particularly aggressive. He crossed half court and immediately looked to make something happen. But instead of running the set Coach had drilled all week, he waved everyone off and went into isolation at the top of the key.
Darius leaned forward on the bench. "What's he doing?"
Marcus drove hard to his right, forcing his way into the paint. The defense collapsed. Connor was wide open in the corner. Ty was spotted up on the wing. Both had clean looks. But Marcus didn't pass. He threw up a contested layup that clanged off the rim.
Riverside Valley grabbed the rebound and pushed in transition. Their freshman point guard drove baseline and dished to a teammate for another easy bucket.
Riverside Valley 4, Lincoln Heights 0.
"Come on, Marcus!" Coach Martinez shouted from the sideline. "Run the offense!"
But when Marcus brought it back up, the same thing happened. He called for isolation, waved off the screens, and forced another contested shot. This time it went in, but barely.
Riverside Valley 4, Lincoln Heights 2.
The game continued like that for the next few minutes. Back and forth. Neither team pulling away, but neither team playing particularly good basketball either. Riverside Valley was scrappy but disorganized. Lincoln Heights was talented but playing like five individuals instead of one team.
Ty got the ball on the next possession and immediately looked to attack. Devon had sealed his defender in the post, calling for the ball with his hand up. But Ty ignored him and took a stepback three that missed badly.
Darius turned to Connor, who was still on the bench during a substitution rotation. "Yo, what's going on out there? Nobody's passing. Everybody's just trying to do their own thing."
Connor glanced at him, then back at the court where Jerome had just taken a contested hook shot instead of kicking it out to an open Marcus. "Welcome to second string basketball, bro."
"What?"
"Everyone's playing for themselves," Connor said quietly, his eyes tracking the action. "Marcus is trying to show he can run an offense as well as Khalil. Ty's trying to prove he can score. Devon wants to show his post moves. Jerome wants his rebounds and blocks. Nobody's thinking about winning. They're thinking about getting noticed."
Darius watched as Marcus drove into traffic again, forcing another bad shot that missed. Riverside Valley grabbed the rebound and scored on the other end.
Riverside Valley 8, Lincoln Heights 6.
"But why would Coach let that happen?" Darius asked, genuinely confused. "Like, isn't he seeing this?"
"He sees it," Connor said. "But what's he gonna do? Bench guys who are trying to show out? That's the whole point of these games. We're here to prove we deserve first string minutes. So everybody's auditioning, even if it means playing selfishly."
On the court, Devon finally got the ball in the post and immediately went up for a shot, even though he was double-teamed. The ball got stripped, and Riverside Valley took it the other way for another easy score.
Riverside Valley 10, Lincoln Heights 6.
"This is how it always is on second string," Connor continued. "First string has chemistry because they've played together all season. They know each other's games. They trust each other. Second string? We're all competing for the same thing, so nobody wants to give someone else the spotlight."
Darius stared at the court, his mind processing what he was witnessing. Ty had just launched another contested three instead of swinging it to Connor who was wide open. The shot missed. Riverside Valley rebounded and scored again.
Riverside Valley 12, Lincoln Heights 6.
This wasn't basketball. Not real basketball. This was chaos with a scoreboard. Five guys in the same uniforms playing five different games, all trying to prove they were better than the person next to them.
And Coach Martinez wasn't stopping it. He was calling out instructions, yeah, but nothing was changing. The pattern continued. Someone would get the ball, wave everyone off, try to do something individually, and either make a tough shot or miss and give up an easy transition bucket.
Riverside Valley 14, Lincoln Heights 10.
Marcus finally found Ty for an open three that went in, but it felt more like an accident than intentional ball movement.
Riverside Valley 14, Lincoln Heights 13.
Darius sat on that bench, his warmup gear still on, watching his teammates play the most selfish basketball he'd seen since... well, since he'd played that way himself against Jace Carter. The realization hit him like cold water. This was what it looked like from the outside. This was what happened when everyone cared more about their individual stats than the team's success.
Connor got subbed back in, and Darius was left on the bench next to the other reserves. The game continued its back-and-forth pattern. Neither team pulling away because neither team was playing cohesive basketball.
Riverside Valley 18, Lincoln Heights 17.
Three minutes had passed. Just three minutes of game time. And Darius had learned more about the reality of second string basketball than he had in weeks of practice.
This wasn't about winning or losing. This was about survival. About standing out. About making sure that when Coach reviewed the tape, your name was the one that came up in conversations about who deserved to move up.
And everyone on that court understood that, even if nobody said it out loud.
Darius watched as Jerome fought for a rebound against two Riverside Valley players, secured it, and immediately went back up for a putback instead of passing it out to reset the offense. The shot missed. Riverside Valley grabbed it and scored again.
Riverside Valley 20, Lincoln Heights 17.
This was going to be a long game.