1. AUDITION(5)

"Nice."

"Not bad."

Clarence's real strength that David was talking about was his shooting ability.

Even when he was a few steps away from the 3-point line, he made those shots as if he were on the free throw line. He then shot the ball with ease from the 3-point line as he sent me a wink.

At this point, Clarence was shooting in between the 3-point line and the center-line.

How on Earth is he throwing the ball like that?

"(Your turn my friend.)"

The majority of the people from Mater Dei were kind to me. At the same time, they got to see who I was.

As if we were doing a 3-point competition, I was 2nd right behind Clarence. As Dwayne gave us a short break, I wondered from how far Clarence could shoot the ball.

Not quite sure why it's so important, but David advised me to follow them closely.

Naturally, I started to feel myself getting competitive against Clarence.

"Whew…"

If I were to shoot the ball from the same spot as Clarence, I can image the coach would be extremely upset. He'd probably scold us, wondering what we are trying to do.

For 6 years from middle school to high school, no matter how well you play, being repetitive when it comes to practice was forced upon you. Pattern playing was enforced, in order to master our dribbling and defensiveness. In order to improve our stamina, we ran mountain trails.

Yes. It can get quite tiring.

"…"

As a young child, I've watched videos my father saved to grow up.

A generation above my father were players considered the best, named Kim Hyun Joon and Lee Cheung Hee. I've watched hundreds, if not thousands, of times scenes of Moon Kyung Eun, Jung In Gyo and Jo Sung Won's shooting.

I've been lectured to either play ball, or study ball to grow my interest in it.

When I turned 8 years old, my father decided to teach me basketball.

"This amount of distance should do."

From this distance, it would be impossible for me to shoot the ball with a proper posture. Therefore, I decided to use the momentum from my knees to take the shot.

As the ball flew in the right direction, it looked as if it was going to be sucked in by the hoop.

*TING*

"Oooooh!"

"Ah, so close!"

However, the shot was a little short, barely hitting the inner side of the rim and bouncing back to the floor.

As the players complained at the close shot, David let out inaudible but disappointed words.

I was also disappointed that it didn't go in.

Dwayne came up to me at this moment and said something.

"(As I thought, his body isn't ready yet.)"

"??"

David quickly ran over and translated what Dwayne just said to me.

"He's asking how much weight training you usually do?"

"Around 2 hours a day?"

"(2 hours? And that's all he can do?)"

What the…

Out of nowhere, Dwayne began touching all around my body. As I slightly flinched, he carefully touched my back and asked David to translate.

"He says your weight training is probably done incorrectly. He says that a lot of the muscles that a basketball player needs is missing. The back muscle is important when it comes to your shooting range, but you've been focusing on shoulders and chest."

"…"

This whole time I thought I did a pretty good job building my muscles.

Although they say it's changing, the basketball program that I took trained so hard for winning that we didn't get much time for personal training. Especially when we go to camps, there is absolutely no time for weight training.

I was a 202cm high school player. Inevitably, I always played near the hoop.

"He's asking if you were a tweener in Korea?"

"I often played center position as well."

As David explained this, Dwayne nodded his head as if it all made sense now. For some reason, I started to feel a bit embarrassed.

"(Well, let's see something else this time. Montrell! Montrell!! Come over here and help me. And you guys do relays for now.)"

"…"

The court instantly got busy and the players began to run around.

The same guy who gave me a hug started to run towards my direction.

"He's also one of the best. His name is Montrell Evans."

Montrell Evans played power forward and center positions. Next year he's either going to Illinois or UCLA, which are both Division 1 colleges.

So, he's saying that he's a year younger than me, but is even better at basketball compared to me?

I hated that I was thinking negatively again.

"Montrell is going to be blocking you. They want to see a post-up play."

As Dwayne and David were watching, I put my back to Montrell as we began to play.

He felt massive as he put his arm against my back. He was both taller and bigger than I was.

I tried to play aggressively and move forward, but Montrell blocked me like a brick wall. In fact, I felt as if I was being pushed farther back.

So, I stepped back towards the center of the court and switched the ball to the left, attempting a hook shot.

*SMACK*

"…"

Unfortunately, Montrell blocked the ball with ease.

"(Enough. There's nothing more to see here. Good job, Monty.)"

"(Good game, bro.)"

"…"

It felt as if all my skills were seen just from that one simple play. I began to notice the feelings and emotions I had earlier started to fade away.

In just a week, I am realizing where I truly stand.

When it comes to 1:1, I won't be able to impress anybody.

"(Hmm... this puts me in a tough spot.)"

"(Come on, Dwayne. He plays a lot better than what we saw. Let him play a 5:5.)"

"…"

Keeping the ball under my foot, there's nothing that I could do.

My friendly atmosphere began to fade away and was replaced with anxiety. I started to feel like everyone was feeling sympathy towards me. I may be mistaken, but I could feel myself becoming smaller and smaller.

Jeez. Should I just go back?

Should I ask for forgiveness? Say that I made a mistake. Say that I was wrong and ask if I can join the team again?

It seemed pathetic, but I couldn't help to think that way. Although I once felt joining American College basketball would be a good challenge, it began to feel like an impossible wall to cross.

I suddenly felt myself coming back to reality.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*Clap clap*

"Hmm? What?"

"What are you doing? Wake up!"

"Oh."

"Kid, what are you doing? Kid. Listen carefully. We're going to start a 5:5. You'll be on the same team as the starters for Mater Dei. Dwayne's trying to make this easy for you."

The impromptu 5:5 team consisted of me, Denzel Robinson, Clarence Wall and Montrell Evans. Caucasian third guard J.D Dillon was playing the point guard position.

The other team consisted of their original center position player Brad Lang and the rest of the bench players.

"Hey, Minhyuk."

"?"

"Please prove me wrong. You can do much better than what you've shown us so far. Got it?"

I was thankful for David's words, but it wasn't necessarily comforting.

I was nervous, having a hard time overcoming the fact that I was getting smashed all week and that these guys were younger than me but had better skills than I did. I've never felt this depressed in my life.

Whatever. Whatever happens, happens.

"Huh?"

That's right. Whatever happens, happens. Why am I being so hesitant?

I have nothing to begin with. It was unlikely to succeed from the beginning and this just shows where I really stand. I never expected to succeed in America, but I was expecting trials and tribulations.

Self-criticism always seemed to help me.

While stretching lightly, I could feel myself getting a bit more comfortable. Even if I go back to Korea without anything in my hands, I still have to try my best so that I can be satisfied.

The best I can do is clear my mind and give this game my all. No matter what the results are, if I can give my best that's all that will matter.

"(Okay. We'll be playing this game with 2 halves, 15 minutes each.)"

In a moment, Dwayne walked to the middle of the court with a whistle in his hands and raised his voice.

I could basically understand him saying 15 minutes. I wasn't sure if he said 50 or 15, but considering it's basketball, it had to be 15. I don't know how much I can run in 30 minutes, but I will play as competitively as possible.

"(Everyone, get into position. We're going to start with a jump ball.)"

"…"

"(Wait, what was that?)"

As they prepared the jump ball at the center line, I realized that the person in front of me is the person I'd be playing against. He was much shorter than me, but a lot bulkier than I was.

I couldn't let myself be nervous in front of any of my opponents.

"(Alright, let's get started.)"

As the ball began to ascend, the aggressive fight for the ball began.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*SWOOSH*

"(Oh wow! That's pretty good!)"

As the first half of the game began, 5 minutes past.

As the time flew by, I started to get more and more comfortable.

"Switch! Switch!"

"Get him!"

My first impression of American 5:5 basketball was very hectic. I eventually realized that the 4 members of my team were covering the areas of communication that I did not understand, which was quite a bit.

Sometimes they would speak too fast for me to understand, but short and easy words sunk right into my ears.

I stretched my arms out towards the ball that rapidly flew in the direction that I was running in.

"Dang!"

Barely missed it.

I was almost able to steal the ball.

My teammates tapped my butt and complimented me, so I didn't feel discouraged for missing a play. It was my first time experiencing this sort of American-style motivation, so I got more excited.

"(Alright, that was a good defensive play. But I think he has to work on his screening.)"

"He said screening, right? Screening."

"(Huh? Yes, screening.)"

I'm sure he said I have to improve my screening.

It may just be high school basketball, but teams in America emphasize the importance of good screening. Watching the NBA and their screening techniques when I started practicing proved to be a big help.

America definitely uses the NBA as their high standards for play.

*TING*

"(Run!)"

Another thing I learned.

Montrell Evans is a rebound machine. He was responsible for almost all the defensive rebounds on our team, but when the opposing team missed a shot, our team's players would run towards the opposite end, assuming he'd get the rebound.

Our main strategy was Montrell Evans passing the ball to J.D Dillon and swiftly running it down from half court.

Before the opponent's defense line was back on their feet, we found another opportunity for an attack.

Basketball is a sport where opportunities for plays will come and go constantly.

There is a position on the basketball court called Elbow position. It's called this because it is a very crucial area when it comes to strategy.

I'm also very familiar and comfortable in Elbow plays.

As I received a pass from Dillon, I put the ball above my head, observing my surroundings. Our team's tempo was significantly faster, and we've been able to find many open chances because of this.

However, the opponent's team was also ready this time.

'I'm sure it's around now? I see it!'

Korean basketball legend Hu Jae said this.

["Basketball is a 5:5 game. That means nothing can be done independently."]

He, the President of Korean Basketball, made this statement when he was voted President, which made an even bigger impact on the listeners.

Just as he had said, when basketball became a 5:5 sport, many things changed.

I perfectly passed the ball to Montrell, who became the trailer (a player who is behind the first wave of players) and dunked the ball after 2 swift steps.

In Korea, layups would be more common in this situation.

The play was so thrilling, I even had goosebumps all over my body.

"(Wow! It's just as I've said.)"

"(I'm sorry I couldn't hear you.)"

"(I said it's just as I said! He's a completely different person in a 5:5 match.)"

I wonder what Dwayne and David were talking about right now?

"KIM! Switch!"

"Dang it."

My father always believed that if I focused just a little bit harder, I could become an even greater player. He said I was always distracted by thoughts when I was on the court.

That problem was happening now.

When I was on the court, especially on an important match, I tried very hard to focus only on the game.

*SMACK*

"(OOOOOH)"

I was able to stick to the guy that tried to run past me and slapped the ball mid-air as he tried to do a layup. Montrell came up to me and gave me a high-five, followed by the other guys extending their hands while smiling.

It felt like I was riding a rollercoaster.

After a few minutes into the 5:5, I could feel my confidence slowly rising. Could it be?

'Is it because of my personality?'

No doubt.