Thirty seconds left in the period.
Darius stood at the top of the key, the ball in his hands, his teammates frozen in their spots like they were waiting for a director to yell "action." The shot clock was winding down. Fifteen seconds. Fourteen. Thirteen.
He passed it to Connor on the wing. Connor immediately attacked, drove into traffic, and forced another contested shot that missed. Riverside Valley grabbed the rebound and pushed one more time before the buzzer.
Their freshman point guard drove hard down the right side of the floor. Darius was back on defense, tracking him, staying between him and the basket. The kid was fast, just like he'd been all quarter, but as he approached the three-point line, Darius saw it.
The hips.
They committed early, just like Coach Martinez had said. The kid's body leaned left before his feet actually moved left, telegraphing the drive a full second before it happened.
Darius read it perfectly. He slid left just as the point guard made his move, cutting off the driving lane completely. The kid tried to adjust mid-drive, but his momentum was already committed. He picked up his dribble awkwardly and threw a wild pass toward a teammate.
Darius jumped the passing lane and deflected it with his fingertips. The ball bounced out of bounds, but it was Lincoln Heights' ball with three seconds left.
Objective Update: 1/1 Turnover Forced
The buzzer sounded before they could inbound it.
End of first quarter: Riverside Valley 37, Lincoln Heights 22.
Both teams jogged to their benches. Coach Martinez didn't look happy, but he didn't look surprised either. He knew what second string basketball looked like. He'd been coaching it for years.
"Better defense in the last possession, Darius," was all he said before turning his attention to the whiteboard.
But Darius wasn't thinking about the score or the deficit or even the coach's words. He was thinking about those hips. About how Coach's subtle advice had unlocked something in that final defensive possession. The game will come to you if you let it. Don't force anything. Read what's in front of you.
The second quarter started with the same lineup. Darius brought the ball up, and immediately Ty was calling for it on the right wing. But this time, instead of just giving it to him automatically, Darius watched. Really watched.
Ty's defender was playing tight, denying him space. Connor was on the left wing with more breathing room. Darius swung it to Connor instead.
Connor caught it, took one dribble, and rose up for a three-pointer. The shot was good.
Riverside Valley 37, Lincoln Heights 25.
Objective Update: 1/3 Assists
Riverside Valley brought it back up, and their freshman point guard did the exact same thing. Fast dribble down the right side, body leaning before his feet committed. Darius read it again, this time even earlier. He cut off the drive, forced the kid to pull up for an awkward mid-range jumper.
Miss.
Jerome grabbed the rebound and immediately passed it to Darius instead of trying to go back up himself. Progress.
Darius pushed the pace, sprinting up court before Riverside Valley could get set. He crossed half court and immediately saw the opening. Their defense was scrambling, one player still not back. Darius drove hard into the paint, drawing two defenders, then kicked it to Ty who was trailing on the right side.
Ty shot the three. Good.
Riverside Valley 37, Lincoln Heights 28.
Objective Update: 2/3 Assists
Nine-point game. Four minutes left in the quarter.
Something was shifting now. Not dramatically, but noticeably. Darius wasn't trying to force anything anymore. He was just reading what the defense gave him, making the simple play, letting the game come to him exactly like Coach had said.
Riverside Valley's offense tried to respond, but their freshman point guard was getting frustrated. Darius had taken away his primary move, and now the kid didn't know what else to do. He tried to drive again, his hips committing early again. Darius cut it off and this time forced a traveling violation.
Lincoln Heights ball.
Darius brought it up, called for a screen from Jerome, and used it to turn the corner. When the defense collapsed, he kicked it back to Jerome rolling to the basket. Jerome caught it and finished with a dunk.
Riverside Valley 37, Lincoln Heights 30.
Objective Update: 3/3 Assists (COMPLETE)
Seven-point game. Three minutes thirty seconds left.
Connor jogged next to him as they got back on defense. "Yo, whatever you're doing, keep doing it. This is working."
But Darius could feel something else happening too. His teammates had noticed that he was making good passes, finding open shooters, setting people up for easy baskets. And now they were starting to look for him.
Riverside Valley scored on their next possession, hitting a three-pointer to stop the run.
Riverside Valley 40, Lincoln Heights 30.
When Darius brought it back up, Connor immediately passed him the ball after catching the inbound. Then Ty passed it back to him after a swing pass. Then Jerome kicked it out to him from the post. Everyone was giving him the ball, trusting him to make the right read.
Darius drove into the paint, his body control allowing him to navigate through traffic. He rose up for a floater that kissed off the glass and dropped through.
Riverside Valley 40, Lincoln Heights 32.
Objective Update: 4/6 Points
Eight-point game. Three minutes left.
Riverside Valley came back down, and this time their coach had made an adjustment. Their point guard wasn't trying to drive anymore. He was passing early, getting other players involved. They ran a set that got their shooting guard an open look from the corner.
The shot went in.
Riverside Valley 43, Lincoln Heights 32.
Darius pushed the pace again, and when he crossed half court, all four of his teammates were looking at him. Waiting for him to make something happen. Connor was open on the left wing, but instead of passing, Ty was pointing at Darius like "give it back to me so I can give it back to you."
The offense had gone from everyone trying to score individually to everyone trying to get the ball to Darius so he could set them up. Which sounds like good team basketball, except it wasn't. It was just a different kind of predictability.
Darius drove left, and Riverside Valley's defense immediately collapsed on him. All five defenders sagged toward the paint, knowing that the ball was going through Darius on every possession. He tried to kick it to Connor on the wing, but the passing lane was clogged. He pulled it back out and reset.
Jerome set a screen, but Darius's defender fought through it easily because he knew Darius was the only threat. Darius tried to drive again, but this time there was no room. Too many bodies. Too much help defense.
He kicked it to Ty in the corner. Ty was wide open because his defender had abandoned him to help on Darius. But the pass took too long to get there, and Ty's defender recovered just in time to contest the shot.
Miss.
Riverside Valley grabbed the rebound and pushed in transition. They scored easily on a layup.
Riverside Valley 45, Lincoln Heights 32.
Thirteen-point game again. Two minutes thirty seconds left.
Darius brought it up, and the same thing happened. Everyone passed it to him. Everyone looked for him to make plays. But Riverside Valley had adjusted. They knew the ball was going through number seven, the freshman point guard with the cornrows and the headband who looked like a young Allen Iverson.
So they trapped him. Hard.
Two defenders jumped out at half court, cutting off his angles, forcing him to pick up his dribble. Darius tried to pass out of it, but the outlets were covered. He held the ball for three seconds, four seconds. Traveling violation.
Riverside Valley ball.
They scored on the next possession, extending the lead.
Riverside Valley 47, Lincoln Heights 32.
Fifteen-point game. Two minutes left in the quarter.
Coach Martinez called timeout.
As Darius jogged to the bench, he could see the problem clearly now. His teammates had gone from playing too individually to relying on him too much. The ball movement that had sparked the comeback had disappeared, replaced by a new kind of predictability where everyone just gave the ball to Darius and waited for him to do something.
It wasn't team basketball. It was just hero ball with extra steps.
And Riverside Valley had figured it out in about thirty seconds.