Undefeated
As I walked into the gym for the Long Island Eagle’s last game of the season, my mind wasn’t even on basketball. I couldn’t even focus on the game, as I first had to figure out how not to throw up. Chipotle was not a good idea. The pressure of this game was enormous, as no team in the Rockville Centre Summer Basketball League had gone undefeated in the varsity A1 division in 4 years, when John Buck’s Luhi Crusaders streamlined through the competition, headlined with current college stars such as UCONN’s Kenton Facey and St. Louis’ Ash Yacoubou. I idolized these guys for their intangible characteristics: their mental toughness, hard work, and love for the game. However, today’s task wouldn’t be as easy. I wasn’t the best one on my team by any means, but I needed to step up as did everyone. A scrawny Asian kid from Great Neck was thought to have no shot at basketball success, but through a great coach in Mike Daly, and a couple of close friends who I really worked on my game with, I was at my peak. Even in practices, I would be constantly be bodied by my 6’4 -6’7 teammates. Most of them were going to college to play, and I couldn’t even make varsity. But I loved the game. I knew that today would be worth it if I had the right mindset and kept focused on the game.
As we prepared for the game we all tried to get a little looser and get the nerves out by jamming out to some music. We had all memorized the same songs: Drake, Kanye, J. Cole etc.; these are the songs that blasted through practice where we would run, sweat, and puke. They served as a reminder of how we got to this spot and the hard work we needed to pull of a victory. That night we were up against a team from Elmont. We easily won against them earlier in the season, but they always were a sneaky underdog. Underdogs are scary if you are a Goliath. As much as we felt that this would be an easy game, there were always those Cinderella teams that came out of nowhere. If you look at the Butlers, the Davidsons, the Dayton’s and the Florida Gulf Coast’s that upset the one seeds and made a huge runs at the playoffs, you could tell that crowds really embrace the underdogs; that’s exactly what happened to us.
As I stepped on to the court, I locked eyes with a close friend on the other team. We had been playing together for maybe 5 or 6 years before he left for Elmont. I gave him a respectful nod and went to join the huddle with the rest of my teammates. I’m not really sure which is harder, being a star player or a role player. As my specified ‘’Steve Novak-corner-threes’’ and ‘’lockdown-defender’’ roles developed over the season, I realized how hard it was to satisfy my coaches. If I didn’t do my job, that was the end of the line. I entered the game after a few minutes because our starting shooting guard picked up two early fouls. The opposing crowd was taunting us every second of the game but I didn’t let it bother me. I knew that this was our game to win. However, at halftime we were down by 8. We had come back from deficits before but this one was different. The other time had a motive to beat us, and they worked as hard as dogs. We caught fire in the second half. I drained 6 shots from behind the arc to lead my team in scoring. I realized that tonight I wasn’t just a role player; I was the star. The star amongst kids going to college on basketball scholarships. Who would have known that that scrawny Asian kid would be the one hitting the free throws to ice the game? As we showered coach with Gatorade, I saw Luhi Coach John Buck smiling, as he watched yet another generation of basketball players hoist the trophy, the holy grail. It was an amazing feeling, as we brought the trophy home. With most of our team graduating and moving on to the next level, it is now up to me and a few others to lead our team to victory again. A lot of people in our program call it a rebuilding year, but we’ll continue to work hard listening to those same songs in the same old sweaty gym.
As I walked into the gym for the Long Island Eagle’s last game of the season, my mind wasn’t even on basketball. I couldn’t even focus on the game, as I first had to figure out how not to throw up. Chipotle was not a good idea. The pressure of this game was enormous, as no team in the Rockville Centre Summer Basketball League had gone undefeated in the varsity A1 division in 4 years, when John Buck’s Luhi Crusaders streamlined through the competition, headlined with current college stars such as UCONN’s Kenton Facey and St. Louis’ Ash Yacoubou. I idolized these guys for their intangible characteristics: their mental toughness, hard work, and love for the game. However, today’s task wouldn’t be as easy. I wasn’t the best one on my team by any means, but I needed to step up as did everyone. A scrawny Asian kid from Great Neck was thought to have no shot at basketball success, but through a great coach in Mike Daly, and a couple of close friends who I really worked on my game with, I was at my peak. Even in practices, I would be constantly be bodied by my 6’4 -6’7 teammates. Most of them were going to college to play, and I couldn’t even make varsity. But I loved the game. I knew that today would be worth it if I had the right mindset and kept focused on the game.
As we prepared for the game we all tried to get a little looser and get the nerves out by jamming out to some music. We had all memorized the same songs: Drake, Kanye, J. Cole etc.; these are the songs that blasted through practice where we would run, sweat, and puke. They served as a reminder of how we got to this spot and the hard work we needed to pull of a victory. That night we were up against a team from Elmont. We easily won against them earlier in the season, but they always were a sneaky underdog. Underdogs are scary if you are a Goliath. As much as we felt that this would be an easy game, there were always those Cinderella teams that came out of nowhere. If you look at the Butlers, the Davidsons, the Dayton’s and the Florida Gulf Coast’s that upset the one seeds and made a huge runs at the playoffs, you could tell that crowds really embrace the underdogs; that’s exactly what happened to us.
As I stepped on to the court, I locked eyes with a close friend on the other team. We had been playing together for maybe 5 or 6 years before he left for Elmont. I gave him a respectful nod and went to join the huddle with the rest of my teammates. I’m not really sure which is harder, being a star player or a role player. As my specified ‘’Steve Novak-corner-threes’’ and ‘’lockdown-defender’’ roles developed over the season, I realized how hard it was to satisfy my coaches. If I didn’t do my job, that was the end of the line. I entered the game after a few minutes because our starting shooting guard picked up two early fouls. The opposing crowd was taunting us every second of the game but I didn’t let it bother me. I knew that this was our game to win. However, at halftime we were down by 8. We had come back from deficits before but this one was different. The other time had a motive to beat us, and they worked as hard as dogs. We caught fire in the second half. I drained 6 shots from behind the arc to lead my team in scoring. I realized that tonight I wasn’t just a role player; I was the star. The star amongst kids going to college on basketball scholarships. Who would have known that that scrawny Asian kid would be the one hitting the free throws to ice the game? As we showered coach with Gatorade, I saw Luhi Coach John Buck smiling, as he watched yet another generation of basketball players hoist the trophy, the holy grail. It was an amazing feeling, as we brought the trophy home. With most of our team graduating and moving on to the next level, it is now up to me and a few others to lead our team to victory again. A lot of people in our program call it a rebuilding year, but we’ll continue to work hard listening to those same songs in the same old sweaty gym.
